Giveaway: Romance Author Swag: Historical & Contemporary

Tweet me a historical tidbit by 11:59pm Tuesday the 21st and I'll randomly choose someone to get a box of author swag.

I have historical and contemporary author stuff and a bit of Romance Writers' of America stuff.

Authors included:

Nalini Singh, Debbie Macomber, Lisa Kleypas, Tessa Dare, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Hoyt, Julia Quinn, Jane Porter, Courtney Milan, Elizabeth Boyle, Jeannie Lin, Candice Hern, Sabrina Jeffris, Susan Mallory, and Brenda Novak.

Swag included:

Eloisa James Bag

Rare Squawk Radio Postcard

Some bookmarks and coverflats are signed, some are unsigned

Different types of coasters

Pens

Lip Balms

Buttons

First Aid Kit

Purse-sized Vanity Mirror

Book Excerpts Booklets

Lined Notebooks

3-D Glasses

I also have a Clinique 3-Step sample pack.

Jaipur Literary Festival

Every January, the glittering literati from the world over gather in the fabled Indian city of Jaipur to exchange ideas, present their thoughts, engage in heated debates, and discuss everything under the sun from fiction to biography, from history to music, and much, much more. Music concerts, art displays, and a wide variety of food forms the esthetic nourishment for the literary discussions.

And best of all, the Jaipur Literary Festival is completely free to the general public. As you scroll through the 2014 program by venue or by date (January 17–21), you can watch videos of most of the sessions. The organizers and sponsors of the festival have really gone out of their way to support the idea that knowledge is meant to be shared widely and freely.

The main themes for 2014 were: Crime and Punishment, Democracy Dialogues, Women Uninterrupted, and Endangered Languages.

For a festival that is still in its infancy, started in 2006, it still featured over 240 authors, some of them very big names. Consider these: British celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Mauritian Francophone writer Ananda Devi, Indian historian Urvashi Butalia, Iranian-American religion scholar Reza Aslan, British historian William Dalrymple, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, British Roman scholar Mary Beard, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, British author Geoff Dyer, Harvard professor Homi Bhabha, American novelist Jonathan Franzen, Olympic gold medalist boxer Mary Kom, and on and on.

I have stars in my eyes just reading that program. What would it have been like to have been there. So listen to these talks amidst the splendor of the Diggi Palace, attending "The Greatest Literary Show on Earth!," according to Tina Brown.

Historical Fiction Survey Results

I blogged here in October 2013 about the Historical Novel Society conducting a survey of readers' reading habits, purchasing/borrowing habits, interest in history and historical periods and reasons behind them, and the types of writing and writing skills of authors.

A few days ago, surveyor M.K. Tod emailed me these results of the analyses of the survey.

Do read the survey in-depth. I found it fascinating. Here are some of the highlights.

The survey reached 2,440 participants (83% female, 17% male) and was conducted between October 16 and November 11, 2013.

The largest participating group was in the 50-59 age range, followed by the 40-49 range.

The number of U.S. participants dominated the chart followed by the ones from the U.K. and Ireland.

The majority of the participants were readers followed by some authors and some bloggers.

Majority of the participants were avid readers, reading more than 30 books a year.

Showing Amazon's grip on the book retail business, people overwhelmingly bought books there.

Print books still dominated the number of books sold, but people tended to mostly buy a mix of print and electronic books.

In choosing a book, the following were important, in decreasing order of importance: subject matter, author, and trusted recommendation. Publisher was the least important of all the factors.

In terms of pricing, people chose the following: eBooks: $2–$6, print $6–$11, and hardcover $16–$20. These prices are below industry standard. The key takeaway from this is that people think eBooks should be much cheaper than print books. The premium put on production and distribution of books as a large part of the pricing of a book, meant that people expected the eBooks to be discounted.

In answer to why do you read historical fiction, people chose: to bring the past to life, because it's a great story, and to understand and learn without reading non-fiction.

People chose the following for the question within historical fiction, what type of story appeals to you?: fictional characters within a backdrop of great historical events, followed closely by, adventure, romance, life of a single historical figure. The least popular were inspirational and thriller.

Popular historical periods: 13th–16th centuries, 18th century, and 19th century. The least popular was prehistory.

Europe and Britain dominated the popular historical geographies category by far, followed by the U.S. The least popular was Latin America.

When reading a historical fiction novel, the following were most important parts: superb writing and feeling immersed in time and place. The least important was dysfunctional families.

Where do you find recommendations chart was broken down equally between: friends, favorite websites or blogs, online retailers especially Amazon, social media, and browsing the bookstore. The least looked for were publishers' websites.

People overwhelmingly didn't belong to book clubs but did discuss their books over social media.

The most popular looked for information from blogs are reviews, new release information, and author interviews.

BTW, as one of the survey participants, my blog is listed on Tod's blog.

Historical Fiction Survey

If you're a fan of historical fiction, like I am, then I'd like you to consider spending five minutes of your time on THIS SURVEY by the Historical Novel Society.

The survey attempts to collect data on readers' reading habits, purchasing/borrowing habits, interest in history and historical periods and reasons behind them, and types of writing and writing skills of authors. You can then choose to have the results of the survey inboxed to you. If you're a blogger, they will highlight your blog if you give them your address.

Promotion Tips by Amish Tripathi, a Million-Books-Sold-Million-Dollar-Advance Author

Wellness guru Deepak Chopra says, "Amish's mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring, unfolds the deepest recesses of the soul as well as our collective consciousness."

Last week, I attended a conversation with India-based author Amish Tripathi (writing as, Amish). His Shiva Trilogy is a mythological fantasy continuity series that falls between young-adult and adult books and became a blockbuster hit in India due to his marketing chutzpah. He's known as India's literary pop star.

With a million and a half copies of the self-pubbed trilogy in print and his fame outstripping him week after week, Amish was recently given a $1 million advance (for South Asian rights only) by Westland Books of India for his next series.

Amish has achieved cult status now with fans sporting Shiva Tattoos, as reported by the Deccan Chronicle of India, and wearing embroidered shirts of his book covers.

The Wall Street Journal recently featured an interview with Amish wherein he talked about his rocky road to publishing fame. He was rejected more than twenty times when he shopped his first book around, so he decided to self-publish it.

In the conversation I attended last week, he said that he quickly realized that no bookseller was willing to sell the self-pubbed book of a debut author. "How will a reader then buy my book if he doesn't even know it exists?" asked Amish. "It's a fallacy that a good book sells itself. While good marketing cannot sell a bad book, it can drive business for a good one. So write a very good book first, and market it like mad."

Amish came up with the idea of creating a free sampler: He bound the first chapter of his book in the same cover as the book and handed stacks out to booksellers to give away at the cashier counters two weeks before the release day. The book started pre-selling itself and created such a buzz that by the release week, the presales and sales put him on multiples bestseller lists. This was the first time in the history of the Indian publishing industry that such a phenomenon had occurred.

His book was then acquired by Westland Books, who published all three books in the series.

(Amish said that he wasn't willing to give away free copies of his first book, however, not even in the first few weeks, because he says when the whole thing is given away for free, it lessens its value.)

Amish used the cash he was raking in to make professional movie-grade book videos. Take a look at his book trailers. He had them shown at top movie theaters all over India in a publicity blitz, as well as released on YouTube. This was the first time, this had been attempted in India. And it proved to be extremely popular. His sales went through the roof.

Then he went a step further for his third book. He hired top recording artists to create a CD of ten original songs depicting themes and scenes from the book. He sold those CDs in advance of the release date of the book, and they flew off the shelves, adding to the waiting frenzy for the third book.

All three of his books are optioned for movies, and the first one is in pre-production. In addition to self-promotion savvy, he also has a sound head on his shoulders for the business side of things with contracts and such. He has portioned his rights out very carefully, leaving most of them in his hands to bargain with.

His writing style and presentation of the story appeals to the young and the old, male and female. He took Indian mythological tales and his personal philosophical beliefs and fashioned storylines to convey them in his trio of books. His books have a devoted female following, because it is rare for a male writer to write such strong female protagonists in addition to male ones. He believes that "stronger women make for a better family." (He claims this is how the original myths were, with powerful female leads, but in the middle of the last millennium, they changed as society changed into a patriarchal system.)

He wrote articles and gave talks to kids as well as to adults on the background behind his books. He said he did this to encourage coffee house discussions of the themes and motivations and conclusions of the books.

He has made a deliberate study of the brand he wants to convey. He told us that he chose only his first name as his pen name, because in India, his last name immediately puts him in a social class, which might mean fewer sales outside his social class. I noticed very similar answers to the questions from yesterday's conversation and the Wall Street Journal interview, which shows he has studied the most commonly asked questions and decided beforehand how he's going to answer those.

He very personable during his author appearances. He comes across as very intelligent, well-researched, knowledgeable without being pedantic, at ease, courteous, very honest, and witty. As with everything about him, I do believe that he gave considerable thought to this aspect of his brand, too.

You can reach the author at his page on Facebook or via his active Twitter feed. You can buy his books in the U.S., new or used on Amazon.

His advice to aspiring writers: "Write first with absolute commitment, with absolute love of the loneliness of writing. Don't write for the reader or the market. Write for yourself and for the story you're telling."

Fan Letters by Great Authors to Great Authors

I blogged last November about how Lord Byron was a fan of Mary Shelley's work, particularly Frankestein, and how he treasued his autographed copy.

We all know that feeling: When we stand in line, with a frantically beating heart, of a booksigning by an author whose entire backlist of books we've read and re-read and treasured. And then we step up to the front, and it's our turn to babble nervously and with joy at the author telling him or her how very much we enjoy their books. Or we send an equally incoherent email to the author recounting all many ways we admire their works.

Well, authors were once or continue to be fans, too. At heart, they're readers who enjoy entertaining, well-crafted stories and admire the authors behind those tales. Here are some of the fan letters by The Greats put forth by Flavorwire.

From Norman Mailer to William Styron:

February 26, 1953

Dear Bill,

You certainly deserve a fan letter. As a matter of fact I’ve been meaning to write ever since I read “Long March” about a month ago. I think it’s just terrific, how good I’m almost embarrassed to say, but as a modest estimate it’s certainly as good an eighty pages as any American has written since the war, and really I think it’s much more than that. You watch. It’s going to last and last and last. And some day people will consider it as being close to the level of something as marvelous as The Heart of Darkness, which by the way, for no reason I know, it reminded me of. [...]

My best to you, Bill,
Norman

From Charles Dickens to George Eliot:

TO GEORGE ELIOT

January 18, 1858, London

My Dear Sir

I have been so strongly affected by the two first tales in the book you have had the kindness to send me through Messrs. Blackwood [Eliot’s publisher], that I hope you will excuse my writing to you to express my admiration of their extraordinary merit. The exquisite truth and delicacy, both of the humour and the pathos of those stories, I have never seen the like of; and they have impressed me in a manner that I should find it very difficult to describe to you, if I had the impertinence to try. [...]

Your obliged and faithful Servant, and admirer

CHARLES DICKENS.

From Virginia Woolf to Olaf Stapledon:

Dear Mr. Stapledon,

I would have thanked you for your book before, but I have been very busy and have only just had time to read it. I don’t suppose that I have understood more than a small part — all the same I have understood enough to be greatly interested, and elated too, since sometimes it seems to me that you are grasping ideas that I have tried to express, much more fumblingly, in fiction. But you have gone much further and I can’t help envying you — as one does those who reach what one has aimed at.

Many thanks for giving me a copy,
yours sincerely,
Virginia Woolf

Romance Trading Cards for Authors

A chat on Twitter has turned into a fun promotion idea for RT 2011 and RWA 2011, says author Jeannie Lin. "Authors can create and print their own cards featuring a character from their books: hero, heroine, villain, or the couple. Bring the cards to signings and conferences for readers to collect and trade."

Jeannie Lin is spearheading this idea. Here are some more details on the cards:

—Actual print size is 2.5 x 3.5
—There is a back and front template. You are free to do whatever you wish with either side, but this is the intention:
—a. Front: Full image of your cover. Border is optional
—b. Back: Romance trading card border with your character info in the middle. The character profile may include an image (original art, stock images, icons, or part of cover), stats, biography or book info, favorite lines, your website. The back design is COMPLETELY open.
—Create the images in your imaging program and save them as .jpg files. Notice how they need to be flipped on their side horizontally before sending to the printer
—Go to GotPrint.com and select Collector Cards (2.5 x 3.5). Put in your order. The standard is 14-point, gloss cover, color on both sides, no rounded edges
—Upload your images and complete your order

Here are two samples by Jeannie Lin and Moira Rogers:

For more information, read the FAQ.

Jeannie has created a basic TEMPLATE to create your own cards.

Join the Web Tutorial on Romance Trading Card Templates and GIMP on March 5, 7-9pm EST. E-mail Jeannie for the link and the password. For now, follow the conversation via the Twitter hashtag #romancetradingcards.

Happy 1st Birthday, Lady Jane!

Lady Jane isn't Jane Austen, whose birthday was on December 16. Lady Jane is a romance reading salon held on the first Monday of every month at the Madame X lounge in downtown Manhattan, and Lady Jane's turning one tomorrow, February 1.

As author Lauren Willig writes, "Rather than being a one month wonder, Lady Jane’s Salon has grown from month to month, building up a population of both repeat visitors and friends of friends." Author Hope Tarr adds, "When [we] came up with the concept for Lady Jane's, we anticipated having ten or so attendees each month. In a very short time, we found ourselves filling up the house to the point where many Salon nights are now standing room only."

What a feat after a mere year for founders: Maya Rodale, Hope Tarr, Leanna Renee Hieber, and Ron Hogan. Salons showcase readings by three authors, perhaps some music, chat, drinks, finger foods, and laughter.

To gain entrée, you need to bring in one gently used romance novel or pay $5 to benefit Share the Love, a charitable endeavor that provides books to non-profit organizations that provide assistance to women in transitional periods of their lives.

So, a very happy first birthday celebration, Lady Jane's Salon. May there be many, many more to follow.

Highlights of the Conference

I wait all year for the RWA National Conference and it's over in a flash. Every year, without fail, I laugh, I cry, I talk myself hoarse, and I come away awed and inspired by the generosity and kindness of the professionals in the romance industry.

The theme to this year's conference, on my own terms: Love is power. Laughter is strength. Put it all together to gain individual and collective knowledge.

2009 HIGHLIGHTS

• My conference was made by dear, dear friend and mentor Amanda McCabe—wonderful writer, funny, hard-working, stylish, meticulous, and above all, very thoughtful. (Ms. Wee and I adore her to pieces!)
  
• Touring DC's monuments with Anna Campbell and Christine Wells
  
• Rooming and chatting after 'lights out' with Amanda McCabe and Andrea Pickens
  
• Meeting both the Smart Bitches in person together
  
• Watching Pam Rosenthal and Joanna Bourne win their RITAs
  
• Congratulating Louisa Cornell on her Royal Ascot and Daphne wins. (Somebody buy her already, for the love of God.)
  
• Being the always marvelous Diane Gaston's date for the Harlequin Party (didn't crash it, nope, nope)
  
• Attending the six-figures workshop and seeing how much Helen Breitwieser and Kristin Nelson adore their 2009 debut authors, Tessa Dare and Courtney Milan, respectively
  
• Being impressed by the posh and bright person that Joanne Grant is
  
• Falling in love with Sherry Thomas, and wisely running away before gushing it all in front of her
  
• Catching up with Deb Marlowe—always cheers me up
  
• Michelle Buonfiglio bowing to my bag
  
• Pitching at a shout at the Harlequin Party and getting a request. In fact, all of my pitches happened at parties and I got requests on all. Perhaps that should be my modus operandi at future conferences
  
• Hugging Romance Novel TV reviewer PJ
  
• Having the fabulous Mary Jo Putney and Victoria Alexander recognize me and say how pleased they're to see me, and having the incomparable Anne Gracie asking various people where she could meet me and being thrilled once she did
  
• Meeting fellow Twitterers in person: Sarah Wendell, Angela James, Jane Litte, Sarah Frantz, Malle Vallik, Kassia Krozser, Dominique Raccah, Don Linn, Pam Spengler-Jaffee, and Barbara Vey
  
• Hugging PJ
  
• Chatting with and raving about Kim Castillo, who's not merely an author's best friend, but a powerhouse in your corner
  
• Watching La Nora kick up her heels at the Harlequin Party. Also seeing Jo Beverley, Stephanie Laurens, Katherine Smith, Jacquie d'Alessandro, Olivia Gates (bellydancing), and Julie Cohen (ooh, can she dance!) let their hair down. (Noticeably missing: Julia Quinn!)
  
• Tearing up over and over during Eloisa James's speech. I've known her through her message board for years, and know of all the individual incidents that have charted her life, but hearing it all put together and realizing her courage and conviction through it all was simply WOW. (I'm even more in love her if that were possible!)
  
• Hand-delivering a note to Julia Quinn from a fan (De Paul professor Eric Selinger's young daughter) and seeing how pleased she was to receive it
  
• "May I take a picture of you?" I asked over and over again. "Of course" and "Sure" said the writers, dropping everything they were doing to pose with smiles at the ready. Graciousness personified.
  
• Meeting the oldest debut author at 76, Pearl Wolf, and buying her book at the Literacy Signing
  
• Watching how fast the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance is gaining in popularity and membership. (Kudos, Sarah Frantz!)
  
• Hugging PJ
  
• Eloisa James Julia Quinn Tea, Beau Monde Soirée, Banditas Bash, Smart Bitches Bootleg, Samhain Extravaganza, and the crown jewel, the Harlequin Party
  
• Anne Stuart as the emcee of the RITA/GH ceremony was the right blend of humor and speechifying. Her various guises were absolutely hilarious
  
• A thumb-drive with conference handouts and Harlequin art
  
• Meeting new-to-me authors
  
• Thriving in the constant hubbub of like-minded individuals
  
• Adult conversations (didn't have to be X-rated for enjoyment)
  
• Not dozing off in the 8:30am workshops
  
• Two boxes of books (oh, yeah!)
  
• Free eBooks by Books on Board
  
• T-Shirt by Quartet Press
  
• Being only a few blocks away from Obama, breathing the very air he was breathing
  
• Meeting up with my cousin for dinner the night before I left DC as the perfect coda to a near perfect conference

2009 BESTS

• Bookmark — Tessa Dare
  
• Excerpt booklet — Tessa Dare & Courtney Milan
  
• Postcard — Sara Lindsey
  
• Pin & Pen — International Association for the Study of Popular Romance
  
• Swag — Harlequin's 60th anniversary cover art goodies
  
• Cookies — Tim Tams by Anna Campbell
  
• Chocolates — Handcrafted by PJ
  
• Snack Goodies — Home-baked by Kim Castillo at the Eloisa James Julia Quinn Tea
  
• Party Outfit — Amanda McCabe at the Beau Monde Soirée
  
• Wardrobe — Every single outfit by Michelle Willingham
  
• Shoes — Silver nothings by Diane Gaston at the Harlequin Party
  
• Purse — Julie Cohen's Mills & Boon book cover from the 1960s
  
• Drink — Lemon drop with lime by Christine Wells
  
• News — Kathryn Caskie's engagement

(Photographs in the next post.)

Romance Extravaganza

Hey Seattle-area Romance Readers! You can meet some of your favorite best-selling romance authors on a day dedicated to romance book lovers.

On Saturday, May 2
From 11:30am–2:30pm
At Covington Library

11:30am — Keynote Address by Jayne Ann Krentz (w/a Amanda Quick & Jayne Castle)

Noon — Book Signing Party with all participating authors; books will be for sale at this event

12:30pm — Historical Romance Panel with Amanda Quick, Gerri Russell & Elizabeth Boyle**

1:30pm — Paranormal Romance Panel with Cherry Adair, Stella Cameron, Yasmine Galenorn & Alexis Morgan

In addition, the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America chapter is throwing open its regular monthly meeting to the public. Speakers will be Jacquie Rogers and Wendy Kunkle-Munk on Pre-Published Promotion: Get a Jump Start on Your Career at 10am.

Sponsored by the Covington Friends of the Library and the Greater Seattle Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

** Elizabeth Boyle will not be making an appearance. Her doctor wants her to stay bed and not be out and about.

Beyond Her Book Turns Two

Fantabulous blogger and supporter of romance novels is celebrated her second anniversary blogging for Publishers Weekly at Beyond Her Book. At the week-long event, starting Monday, March 9, over 200 authors, publishers, agents, editors, bookstores, bloggers, and publicists will come together to help Barbara celebrate. Everyone is pitching in to bring cyber food, drinks, decorations, and entertainment for the big, week-long bash. There will be hundreds of prizes just for stopping by and posting a "hello."

Here's the party schedule...
Monday, March 9
Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy
Tuesday, March 10
Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Adventure
Wednesday, March 11
Publishers, Agents, Publicists, Editors, Bloggers, Booksellers, Librarians
Thursday, March 12
Inspirational, YA, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction
Friday, March 13
Contemporary, Historical, Erotica, E-books, Audio Books
Saturday, March 14th
Romance Blow Out — Everyone is Welcome!

There's still time to get in on the action, but the deadline for donations is Saturday, midnight, CST; no further donations will be taken after that time. Email Barbara at barbaravey@gmail.com if you're interesting in participating.

No Internet, O Noes!

Dear Romanistas,

A quick note to say that I'll be offline for the most part for the next few days. Our cable modem and network router blew out yesterday. Apparently, live-blogging the Oscars using the wi-fi and Internet while the electric egg beater was turned on caused the electronic catastrophe. REALLY!! I couldn't make this up; my imagination isn't that fantastic. :)

Perhaps not being plugged in and online for the next few days will turn out to be a blessing. Well, right now, it feels like the apocalypse, but I'm sure my conscience (AKA Amanda McCabe, Anna Campbell, and Diane Gaston) will agree that this is a good thing, because — Keira.will.get.some.writing.done.finally!

Tragically yours,
Keira

Guest Blogger: SB Sarah Wendell

Romanistas, I have the unprecedented honor of hosting blogger extraordinaire Sarah Wendell of the Smart Bitches as my guest. Here we go...

One of the things we talk about in The Smart Bitch Book (aka Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels) is that romance readers often shop by plot or plot trope, and for that reason we take a lot of crap from people who think we shop for our pornographic stimulation in specific, sugary-ruffled wrappers, and that romance is all the same (and whatever other stupid assumption about romance you can come up with).

Aside from all the pretentious prejudice, I definitely am attracted to specific plots. These are my top two:

1. The Smoldering Silent Hero. He has it BAD, and it shows in tiny, blink-and-you-miss-it ways. And if it's done right, it requires a re-read. And another. And omg, the smoldering.

2. "I don't want to like you, and I can't stop thinking about your hair." I talk about this one a lot — the hero or heroine who can't help being attracted to someone who drives them up a damn wall. If the bickering is funny and tight, the reading is right.

So — what's your favorite plot to revisit?

Writing Advice by Cherry Adair

New York Times bestselling author Cherry Adair was invited for a chat with our RWA chapter last November. She is a fantastic mentor, generous with her time and advice and genuinely cares for the careers of junior and newbie writers.

Website
–Own server on GoDaddy.com
–Change password periodically to avoid hijacking of site
–Have copies of all your files
–Hire a graphics person
–Draw up template pages to make deployment easy

Career Plan
–Plan a career before launching a career
–Website
–Blog
–Goals & strategies
–Number of pages per day & number of books per year
–Write 44 weeks/year at five days/week implies how many pages/week
–By Sunday night, you have to have your pages completed. If Cherry is done Friday night, then she has the weekend free. Write today's pages and then only does she tweak yesterday's work
–For category, send out a proposal (5-pg synopsis + 3 chapters) every three months
–Five-year plan: get an agent, dollar amount of money to make, number of pages to write every year

Agents
Take the first best agent who loves you and loves your book. For Cherry it was Nancy Yost. Don't hold out for the ideal agent. Try to look for the junior-most agent at the firm. She will be hungry and will try hard to sell. Even for category, try to have an agent. Cherry cultivates junior agents for new Seattle writers. Cultivate Cherry. :) Cherry advises the Jane Rosterosen agency highly. Scrutinize every new publishing contract carefully to be sure that it serves both your career and your publisher well in the long term. Your agent is not your friend. It's a business relationship, so be professional with each other.

Category Plan
–Send out a proposal (5-pg synopsis + 3 chapters) every three months
–Month One
– –A -> write proposal (synopsis + 3 chapters)
–Month Two
– –B -> write proposal
– –A -> send proposal
–Month Three
– –C -> write proposal
– –B -> send proposal
– –A -> write book

Your Pen Name
Last name should start with first six letters of the alphabet so your books are at eye-level at a bookstore. Your first and last names should be small so the font can be bigger on the book cover.

Plotting
– Two-three weeks for plotting
– GMC
– Synopsis from plot in two hours
– Character sketches
– Aim all dialogue towards establishing POV, what they're wearing, what the point is, scene setting
– Master template
– Research includes: paint chips and fabric swatches
– Pick one genre and one story and write the damn book first. Get it in your brain. Give yourself a year
– When you read a book, read first as a reader, then read as a writer. Copy-type stuff from a favorite author's favorite writing to understand the rhythm

"Children's cries are marriage music," according to B.E.'s New Dictionary of the Terms of the Canting Crew (1699).

Author Websites 101

Early in September last year, Liz Beemis of Bemis Promotions presented a Websites 101 workshop to Seattle's Eastside RWA chapter. These are my notes from her talk.

As an author, your website should reflect your personal brand, state your logline, explain what you write, and convey your voice, tone, and image of your books.

For a professional and functional appearance, you want to be sure that
–your colors aren't timid
–the look is clean and uncluttered with easy to read text fonts
–the pages are at most 800 pixels wide
–menus are logical, consistent, and are text-based with hover text or image effects
–every page on the site should be accessible within two clicks via navigational buttons
–new, up-to-date content
–professional headshot(s)
–search capabilities on your website and blog. Google has free search tools that can be added
–all pages are consistent and look relatively alike (same background, same color scheme, same fonts, menu-layout, etc.)
–splash page may be different
–animations kept to a minimum

Find sites you love and you don't like and analyze why that is the case. In your analysis consider: content, theme, colors, fonts, images, overall design, menus, layout, and branding. This is to discern your personal taste. Some good examples are: Jenn Stark, Trish Millburn, Pat White, Toni Blake, and Karen Kendall.

A strong first page is essential and should have a "What's New" section and a "Dear Reader" section. For personal information, photos and blog convey a good sense of your personality. Other essential pages from the main nav bar are articles, links, contact, and media page. An example of a site logline is "Taking you where you want to go..." Book pages should give special insight into your books wth blurbs, excerpts, book trailers, upcoming books, and newsletter signup.

Be sure to register and own alternate domains to your main .com site, such as .net, .biz, .org, and different spellings of your name so that no one else can attempt to hijack your name, brand, and traffic. Registration on Go Daddy for $9. A good hosting service is Brinkster. Track and analyze traffic to your site and blog via Sitemeter.

Marketing your site
–on collective author sites
–via a group blog or guest-blogging
–co-promote with a buddy
–mailing lists and newsltters
–contests
–articles for your chapter newsletter
–book trailers
–Facebook, MySpace, or other social networking sites
–reader sites
–reader-author message boards

Book Trailers
–keep it short (Allison Brennan, KILLING FEAR)
–make the viewer feel something (Lisa Gardner, HIDE)
–make it memorable (Diana Holquist, THE SEXIEST MAN ALIVE)
–make sure it selling your product (Meg Cabot)
–remember the medium (Karen Kendall, TAKE ME IF YOU CAN; Elizabeth Bemis, EDGE OF DECEPTION)
–think MOVIE trailer
–use a narrator if possible, narrate in audio, avoid words on a screen
–avoid dialogue, may be one line here and there
–don't use scenes from book; script separately
–avoid bad music
–use upto 36 different images from royalty-free images (like from iStockPhoto)
–making the viewer feel something makes the trailer go viral; scare them like hell
–put them on YouTube

Case Study – Ramona Richards
Before – www.ramonarichards.com
Analysis
–great content
–consistent menus/color/design
–book covers are the perfect size
–all books link to external sites
–great pictures
–site tells a story
–everything within two clicks
–Layout: too wide, doesn't speak to her personal brand, colors are timid, design feels choppy
–Home: doesn't feel like a front page (middle of the story)
–Writing: too much on one page, want to see logical groupings (articles/fiction) on separate pages
Excerpts should be with fictional books, not a separate menu item, one excerpt per page
After – www.bemispromotions.com/rr

Learning Resources
–BA, W3, Web Monkey
–HTML for the World Wide Web by Elizabeth Castro (ISBN 0321130073)
–HTML 4 for Dummies by Ed Tittel & Mary Burmeister (ISBN 0764589172)

Web Designers
Bemis Promotions, American Author, Author Bytes, Authors-online, Authors on the Web, Book a Design, Dream Forge Media, Etherweave, Glass Slipper Web Design, Romance and Friends, Romance Designs, Smart Author Sites, Wax Creative, Writerspace

"A shamocrat is someone who pretends to be possessed of wealth, influence, rank, or indeed any quality which is only conspicuous by its absence," according to John Farmer's Americanisms Old and New (1889).

Strength, Knowledge, Power

And so the excitement starts building yet again...

The 2009 RWA National Conference is at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. from July 15 through July 18.

The fee is set at $425 for member early registration and $475 for member late registration. Non-member fee is $500 early registration and $550 late registration.

Thursday Keynote Speaker: Linda Howard
Friday Awards Luncheon Speaker: Eloisa James
Librarians’ Day Luncheon Speaker: Stella Cameron
Awards Ceremony Emcee: Anne Stuart

Are you a goal-blocking goalie or a goal-getting goalie?

As the year comes to a close and the days gets shorter and colder (and wetter here in the Pacific Northwest), my thoughts turn naturally to brighter things like the coming holidays, new beginnings, the new year, and goals and schedules.

A part of the making of new goals is a reflection of goals for the closing year. I had two main ones: writing and friendships.

On the writing side, I finished one story and started a new one. I joined Eastside RWA chapter, attended the National conference, started this blog, and have write-meets with Lacey Kaye every weekend. I couldn't attended the regional conference due to a mix-up in registration and have unfortunately not been able to update this blog on a bi-weekly or even a weekly basis. This is one of my goals for the new year. Consistency, consistency, consistency, health bedamned.

In terms of books, this translates to finish and revise both books, enter a couple contests, put PRO application through, and pitch, query, pitch, query, pitch, query.

The same goes with friendships. I have made amazing friendships over the course of my haunting blogs and boards for the past three years. I can never say "thank you" enough times or with enough gravitas that is their due. My friends have enriched my life beyond all measure. Life's definitely a far better place to be because of them.

This year, as my writing and health issues crept up, regularity (posting, not the other, hah) has been a problem. My correspondence has suffered. I have too many stops on the web, so many friends, so many interesting places. Greediness is my downfall, because I have less time than I did last year. Better to be concentrated and consistent, than flitting and flirty.

Here is my now prioritized and shortened list of places to stop on the 'Net... Twitter, Facebook, livejournal, Hotmail, Weather, riskyregencies, romancebandits, Candice Hern board, Berkley Jove Authors forums, Eloisa James & Julia Quinn board, waxcreative, rebelsofromance, titlepage.tv, romancenovel.tv, wordwenches, historyhoydens, Elizabeth Boyle, Jo Bourne, Jane Porter, manuscriptmavens, aplacefororiginals, vauxhallvixens, romancevagabonds, Tessa Dare, singlecitychick, Kelli Estes, Beau Monde email loop, WritingRegency email loop, Eastside RWA email loop.

As you laugh, joke, cook, and shop for the holidays, are you thinking of the new year to come and what it holds for you?
How many web stops do you have every day?
Do you have correspondence goals? Travel ones? Writing ones?

Love in Romancebloglandia

The wonderful writers of the blog First Edition: A Place For Originals were kind enough to present me the I Love Your Blog! Award. A big thank you to historical romance writer Kelly Krysten, YA writer Mary Danielson, and historical suspense writer Stephanie Janulis.

Being a recipient of this award doesn't mean I can rest on my laurels. I have a job to do by following these five rules...

1) Add the logo of the award to my blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to me
3) Name at least seven other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on my blog
5) Leave a message on their blogs

Without much further ado, here are my winners...

1. Risky Regencies — In the short lifespan on blogland, the Riskies are the oldest continuously running group author blog with a very loyal fanbase. The six of them write about their stories, their unusual characters, the history of the Regency, and everything from daily life to the fantastical (such as, Austen Trek).

2. Romance Bandits — The Banditas are the funniest group of writers of young-adult, the sweet, the suspensy, and the hottie. Amongst them, they've held every job imaginable, suffered every rejection letter possible, and have succeeded in laughing and writing every single day.

3. Rebels of Romance — If you ever want to learn how to network and market and promote your books, these two edgy, fashionable gals are it. Passion is their middle name and shyness is not a word in their repertoire. Their blog's a breath of fresh air.

4. History Hoydens —As readers of historicals know, we usually see the tip of the tip of the research iceberg behind the stories, which is as it should be. However here, these experts give us a glimpse into the meticulous collection of detail that goes behind every scene, every nuance of every story.

5. Wax Creative — This blog is a look-see behind the scenes of the most prominent website design company for small businesses, freelancers, and the self-employed. Marrying an extremely creative side with a pragmatic core, the Wax team wins first by their generosity and friendliness and then ensures loyalty with their professionalism.

6. Elizabeth Boyle — If you've ever heard Elizabeth's delighted laughter then you know what I'm saying here. Her books and her personna are both hilarious and lighthearted. Always ready with a quip and a helping hand, Elizabeth is one of Seattle's foremost authors. She knits. She cooks. She does many, many things exceedingly well.

7. Barbara Vey — The Babs always has something fun and interesting to say, whether it's her blog or on Twitter or on one of the other social networks. She is one of the most connected professional of the publishing world. She even had drive-by videos of the events around her while waiting out a hurricane in an airport with hundreds of other people.

8. Vauxhall Vixens — They bonded first at Eloisa James and Julia Quinn's message board as The Bon Bons and then again over Avon's e-book chapter-by-chapter contest. Wonderful writers and fabulous people, they love vixenating about the historical hotties and haughties.

RWA: To Do or Not To Do

Everybody in the universe is writing about what you should definitely do once and many times over and what for heaven's sake you shouldn't do ever. The passing of your manuscript under the stall door to the editor while she's doing her business falls in the latter category. Hiding in your hotel room by your lonesome also falls in that group. However, hanging out at the bar and being the life of the party (so long as you don't dance across the table-top or accost an agent in the restroom) is very much in the former category.

If any of the following pictures apply to how you feel about National, then my super sekret tips, that you'll find nowhere else, guaranteed, are for you.



1. Spanx, Body Glide, and you are going to be close intimate friends by the time the Awards Night is over. Body Glide will prevent bandaged, blistered feet you have to hobble on. If you must use a band-aid, use moleskin. It stays on better and will not cause another blister. Spanx and Flexees for the obvious reason—containing those bulging pounds you'd written into your new year's resolutions.

2. The bathroom becomes the bottle-neck to getting you to events on time, if you're sharing a room. So, if you can fit it in, bring a hair dryer, or a dry shampoo for those events when you don't have time to wash, blow-dry, and style hair.

3. Hotels set their air-conditioning to stun to prevent the proliferation of body odor. Weather in San Francisco is changeable and on the cooler side. So, prepared to be dressed in layers. A jacket, sweater, or a shawl works well in most cases.

4. Carry a small water bottle. The air-conditioning can also dry out your eyes, sinuses, and throat. If you wear contacts, carry a spare pair and your glasses. Wearing the latter is better than not seeing.

5. Don't forget an under-eye concealer and an acne buster, if you have the tendency to break out from stress, lack of sleep, and make-up.

6. Attend a workshop given by an agent or an editor. Don't approach them at the close of the workshop when every person sitting on the panel gets mobbed. Wait for an opportunity to present itself later. When that happens, walk up to her and say, "I attended your workshop this morning." Then you can follow it up with a "thank you for giving it" or "this is what I learned" or "I have a question that I hope you could answer." This gets the ball rolling, allows you to connect, and then the opening is there if you want it. I used sentence number one. It didn't get me a contract, but it got me over the fear of this agent as an entity. She was warm and personable.

7. And here's the lucky seventh tip: Have fun. Sounds obvious doesn't it? But, is it on your schedule? No, I didn't think so. Last year, I was so grimly determined to make every possible workshop I could, I trotted to and fro rooms missing people everywhere. They later reported, I was being a devoted student. Perhaps. But I was being a poor networker. After all, what's more important? You can buy the tapes. You won't have the chance to relax and share a few laughs with people for another year.

How many pairs of shoes (22, if you're Tawny, pounds that is) are you taking? Do you think everything that you need to take and bring back will fit in one suitcase? How do you recognize an agent or an editor at the bar? Most rarely choose to wear their badges?

My Photo

Here's my photo so folks can recognize me at National.



[Edited 7/9: Added one more...]