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WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

August 2, 2012 by in category Archives

by Jann Audiss

As the excitement of the 2012 RWA National Conference starts to wane, I pose this question to conference attendees who pitched: what are you going to do now?
The buzz going around at the conference from individuals who pitched was that the editors and agents were voracious. They wanted everything from partials to fulls. On the other hand, we also have heard editors and agents say that they only receive about ten percent of the manuscripts they request.
You took the first step by gathering the courage to pitch. Are you ready to take the next and send it?

 

The next 30 days are so important. It may require you to be selfish with your time. Ask for support and understanding from your family. Let them handle some of those pesky day to day chores and events (dinner, laundry, social engagements) so you can carve out the necessary time to edit and polish your pages. Put your critique group or whoever reads your manuscripts on notice that you might need an emergency read session or emotional support. This is what you’ve longed for – to have an editor or agent read your manuscript. Then send the darn thing!  Don’t let this moment pass you by. 

 

If you have a WIP but were not in a position to pitch, I’m going to assume that your goal at conference was to go to as many workshops as possible to hone your craft, to see how to raise the stakes in your plot, fix that sagging middle, add more sexual tension, etc. The conference workshop schedule had something for everyone. So, I’m going to ask you the same question – what are you going to do now?  

 

Take what you gathered from conference and apply it to your manuscript. Put a plan in motion, do whatever it takes to get that WIP completed, because in just eight months you’ll have the opportunity to attend the SoCal Chapters 2013 Conference in Santa Ana and pitch to editors and agents. 
Don’t let grass grow under your feet and miss this opportunity that will be in your own backyard March 15-17, 2013. Stay tuned for conference update.
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August Online Class

July 26, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

“Make ‘em Laugh: Tools and Techniques for Writing Humor”
with Charlotte Lobb w/a Charlotte Carter
August 13 – September 9, 2012
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassAugust12.html
COST: $20 for OCCRWA members, $30 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Learn from the mistress of humor and a much-published author.  This workshop will take a look at the difference between male and female humor, the basic types of humor and how to use the tools that will bring the reader a smile and add a spark to your writing.  Some of these tools include the use of contrasting main characters, adding humor through secondary characters, dialogue, deep point of view and employing funny words.  The elements of romantic comedy will also be covered as well as setting up a running joke and using props to create humor. 
Exercises will encourage participants to identify what’s funny in the works of other authors and practice using the tools of humor in their own projects with feedback provided by the instructor.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Charlotte Carter has authored fifty-six books under various pseudonyms for Harlequin American, Love & Laughter and Duets as well as Dorchester.  She is currently writing for Love Inspired and Guideposts Books.  Noted for her light-hearted touch, she is a frequent workshop presenter and has taught an online Joke Writing class.
Her honors include Best Harlequin American and Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times and the National Readers’ Choice Award.  In her spare time Charlotte performs standup comedy——G-Rated Humor for Grownups.

Enrollment Information
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassAugust12.html
COST: $20 for OCCRWA members, $30 for non-members
Coming in September 2012
Deep Story Structure: What Does Nora Roberts Know That You Don’t?
with Carol Hughes
Would You Like to Reach the Same Level in Your Own Writing Career as Nora Roberts or Stephen King?  Then Come Learn How to Unlock the Simple Secrets Behind Every Best Seller Novel and Blockbuster Film. 
Check out our full list of workshop at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html
Want to be notified personally two weeks before each class? Be sure you’re signed up for our Online Class Notices Yahoo Group! Sign up at the bottom of http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.htmlor send a blank email to OCCRWAOnlineClassNotices-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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The Burden of Specialness

July 24, 2012 by in category Archives

Did you catch the David McCullough Jr (son of) “You are not special” graduation speech?
In some follow up interviews he speaks about his goals in taking his position that resonated with me:  the burden of specialness.
Watching friends who—perhaps compensating for the lack of desired adulation from their own parents—lavish their offspring with encouragement and praise, and are resentful towards anyone (teachers, employers, friends) who are critical.
Their goal is to inspire and empower their children.  But these aspirational goals, this barrage of belief their progeny’s exceptionalness, is a heavy burden.
It can make every success a failure, because it can never be remarkable enough.  If there ever is something exceptional, then really, it’s just what is expected—nothing remarkable about that!  It makes failure unacceptable, a betrayal of their parent’s faith, something to hide, to be ashamed of.  Not good.
For all those who were dumped on and discouraged in their formative years, rethink your resentments.  If you were strong enough, motivated enough to defy assumptions, to fight for  your own dreams, than every step was a triumph.  The desire to “show” others how wrong they were about you may have lead you to excell in remarkable ways.  Your victories are your own, fought for and won in the teeth of opposition.
Perhaps it is logical to think that it would be easier to achieve success if those barriers were eliminated, but the barriers are what buids and ensures the strength and the motivation to succeed. The challenges we face and overcome in the race to win are the cause of our success. Not what prevents success.
Consider it in physical terms—no one trains successfully to win a race by having their coach move the finish line closer to the start. 
The word “burden” reminds me of Pilgrim’s Progress, read many years ago.  Our burdens can indeed sink us into the Slough of Despond.  And a positive burden can be just as heavy as a negative one.
Let them go and find your own path….
Isabel Swift (somewhat special—in her own special way)
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High Tide Floats All Boats

July 19, 2012 by in category Archives

Monica Stoner, Member at Large
Through a series of fortunate events, Susan Elizabeth Phillips visited the LERA chapter of RWA to chat about the life and business of writing. She got to know her audience by asking the usual question about how many in the audience were published (a lot) how many were nearly published, how many were writing on a regular basis and how many were telling lies to themselves. She nodded to the sheepish hands raised at this last question, and moved on into the meat of her talk.

She spoke frankly about how she produces best selling award winning books, from “monkey writing” on yellow pads to final edits. SEP is a pantster of the first degree, pulling stories from a phenomenally creative mind and the world around her. It’s an arduous process, she writes slowly and the rewrites are a bear. But it’s the way she writes.

For those who admitted to not producing the pages needed to finish a book, she offered suggestions on how she gets past the blocks, and how to pull pages out of our heads. “You can fix a bad page, as long a you have a page to fix,” was one of the aphorisms offered. Yes, we’ve heard it all before, but to hear such from someone who has long since arrived and still suffers from the angst and insecurities so many of us deal with brought it all home.

As the hour wound down, she reminded the published among us to bring copies of our books to the signing that night so she could introduce us. When someone commented on her generosity, she said when she made a similar remark to Sandra Brown, also known for her generosity to other authors, she was told “High tide floats all boats.” The goal is to keep writers writing and readers reading.

That evening, as many members of LERA as could make it showed up for the talk and signing at a library, to ensure she would have an audience. As if she truly needed help filling the chairs. Before she started to talk about her own books, she held up the books brought by LERA members, one at a time, while we introduced ourselves and our writing, so the readers in the audience could jot down the information about authors new to them.

High tide indeed. I want to be her when I grow up.

One of those books I held up was Teach Me To Forget, a story of hidden pasts and possible futures.  My writer self is Mona Karel, who is much more fun to be around.

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emaginings: Social Networking Baby Steps

July 16, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , ,

I’ve been avoiding much of the social network sites for a while now, mainly concerned about being so overwhelmed by it all that I won’t get any writing done. But this year, I’ve been taking baby steps to get involved. I have joined Shelfari, Twitter and now Goodreads, though I am still resisting Facebook.

Now seemed like a good time to join, with RWA Nationals coming up next week and featuring workshops like:

  • 360 Degrees of Promotion: Integrating Social Media, Mailing Lists and Websites
  • Hook a Reader in 140 Characters: How to Promote Using Social Media
  • How to Get the Most Out of Goodreads

What I’ve learned so far:

Twitter intimidates me. It’s such a simple idea, but with so many people tweeting all over the world, how do you not get lost in the shuffle? This one is going to take some time and patience, and it will not come before my writing time. It can’t. I can’t let it.

I’m more comfortable with the reader sites, Shelfari and Goodreads and wish I’d joined them sooner. Do you need to join both? No, many people pick one and stick with it. Goodreads is most popular, I believe.

As a consumer, what I like about Shelfari is that it’s owned by Amazon and you can sign in using your Amazon account username and password, which is why I used my real name instead of my pseudonym. Amazon ownership also means it’s very easy to fill up your bookshelf in a matter of minutes with the books you’ve bought from them. I’ve apparently been an Amazon customer since 1997, so I had a full bookshelf in record time. At Goodreads, I will have to add the books one at a time.

As an author, I like the fact that items added to the Shelfari pages, like character descriptions, will also appear on the Amazon pages of your book. I’ve done a little of that already, but there is a lot more to do. I have yet to set up my Author Page at Goodreads, but I will get to that. Then I can make a better comparison between the two sites.

In the meantime, I will be following the #occrwa12 feed on Twitter during the conference. (I’m taking my iPad so I can check anywhere.) I’ve joined the OCC/RWA Virtual Reading Lounge at Goodreads set up by Deanna Cameron, and plan to check out the OCC members pages.

Any tips for effective use of any of these sites would be appreciated. Use the comment section below or tweet me @LyndiLamont. Leave a comment and I will follow/friend you at any of these sites.

Linda McLaughlin / Lyndi Lamont

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/LyndiLamont
Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/lindamclaughlin
Twitter: @LyndiLamont

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