What it’s all about – and yes, it can happen to all of us.
March 19, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as First Book, Member At Large, Monica Stonerby Monica Stoner, Member at Large
We sit in front of our screens, our typewriters, our yellow pads, pouring thoughts and emotions out for the world to see with the hopes some day the world will see. Other than our critique partners, our supportive friends and a few anonymous contests judges, our words’ world is very small. We dream of the day we get the call, and as we keep typing, keep plotting, keep running scenes through our heads while going through grocery checkout, deep down inside we start to wonder. What’s it all about? Is it really worth the time investment?
Sure we need to give a home to our characters. One day. In the meantime there are so many demands on our energy, and to say “I can’t, I have to write†becomes weaker and weaker as the weeks, months, and years slide past. Until “I have to write†segues into “I’ll write later†and the span between writing times grows. We pull ourselves out of the pit from time to time, take a class or two, jot down some plot ideas, maybe enter a contest. Or maybe judge a contest, telling ourselves we’re “giving back†or “keeping our hand in.†We keep up our memberships, though sometimes we wonder if that money couldn’t be spent better elsewhere. Giving up our memberships and meetings might mean we are giving up on ourselves as writers.
Because we retain our memberships, nurturing that tiny spark of hope we hope will rise into a flame; because we still plot, still polish, still review, one day we participate in a pitch contest, and we’re asked to submit. Or we learn of a publisher “actively seeking manuscripts.†And we have just that – a manuscript ready to submit to a publisher for consideration. Maybe we’ve done this before with less than stellar results, until “we find your ideas interesting but your writing is not up to our standards†becomes worse than “it’s not you, it’s me, I need live more before I settle down.â€
This time, though, this time it just might be different. And we send our polished, pressed, primped child off to the prom with an introduction but without us to stand behind them when they fall. We get the automatic acknowledgment of receipt with a promise to get back to us, and an advisory to ask if we haven’t heard within a span of from one to three months. One to three months, can we hold our breath that long?
Conditioned by past disappointments, we put thoughts of the submission out of our minds and go about our every day lives. Houses still need to be cleaned, snow shoveled or sidewalks swept and the laundry never ends. We tell ourselves not to hope, not to think about it, and wait for the rejection so we can at least apply for our PRO status. When the e-mail comes back in a long weekend, we sit with fingers poised on the keys, hand dropped over the mouse, take a deep breath, and click. Such a fast response can’t be anything good, can it? The message opens on the screen, and you read:
“I am pleased to tell you that I enjoyed your Into the Woods very much. I found only minor editing problems as I read, mainly punctuation errors, as well as your tendency to shift POV in mid scene, sometimes in mid paragraph. But these are easy fixes. For the most part, Into the Woods is very well written.â€
She said WHAT??
“If you are interested in publishing Into the Woods with us, please let me know, and I will have our attorney prepare a contract for you.â€
Does that REALLY say what we think we’re reading? Better print it out, just in case. Yep, the words are the same on the page as they are on the screen. Gulp. A Sally Field moment, for sure. “For the most part Into the Woods is very well written.†Yep, that’s what she said.
Oh. My. God. It really happened. Someone who doesn’t know you likes your writing and wants to introduce your people to the world. You are a writer. For years you’ve been telling yourself and others the sheer act of putting words on the page makes you a writer. And it does. But now you are a Writer.
Yes, it happened to me. I sent off “Into the Woods†to Black Opal Books on February 17, and had an answer on February 22. I just finished the first round of edits, they want to change the name, and I’m looking at cover art. While doing this for “Into the Woods,†I’m grooming another book to send, this time with fewer dashes and ellipses and without a ping ponging Point of View.
All the years of wishing and hoping and helping out the chapters and taking notes at workshops has paid off. Could I have done it without the fantastic support system set up by and for Romance writers? Maybe, but I doubt it. This one’s for you, OCC. Thank you to everyone who has supported, critiqued, pushed, nagged and given out tough love.
This one’s for Michelle, who gave me OCC’s address. Love ya babe.
Why Enter the Orange Rose Costest?
March 18, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished, Shannon Donnellyby Shannon Donnelly
This question could be asked—why enter any writing contest? What can it do for you—and what won’t it do. And should you even think about entering? Let’s start with some basics, as in what can any contest do for you.
Contests can:
- Get you seen by editors, faster than through the slush pile
- Get you feedback so you can better identify your weaknesses and strengths
- Help you cut and polish your pages
- If you final, get you enough notice to land an agent
- If you win, give you a marketing advantage—a way to have your book stand out from others because your book has already won praise
What it can’t do for you:
- Cannot guarantee a sale
- Cannot guarantee a successful writing career
That’s a lot going for what a contest can give to you. But how do you know if you’re ready? And why enter the Orange Rose contest specifically?
Things to think about before you enter:
- Do you have the opening couple of chapters finished
- Do you know the ending of your book (helps you write a synopsis)?
- Do you have an issue with the first pages that you don’t know how to fix?
- Do you have trouble figuring out how to market your book?
- Do you need feedback beyond your immediate family (who loves everything you do, or who has never seen anything you’ve written)?
- Do you wonder if you’ve started the book in the right place?
- Do you put off getting your pages finished?
- Do you have a synopsis that is over ten pages?
- Do you wonder if your core conflict is weak or on target?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you might be ready for the Orange Rose contest. If you’ve answered yes to three or more of the questions, you should think about entering. If you’ve answered yes to more than seven of them, it’s definitely time to enter.
Contests aren’t just about winning—they are also a way to track your own progress as a writer. This actually used to be a lot more possible to do with submissions and rejections, but these days it’s too easy for good work to get rejections. Contests help fill that gap, give you better feedback, and they give you deadlines so you can start to see if you can actually make a writing career work.
But why the Orange Rose?
There are several excellent reasons. But let’s start with the best one—the feedback in the Orange Rose comes from published authors.
Now, all judging is subjective. That means some folks like oranges better than apples, and an opinion is an opinion. But a published author has learned what works—the hard way. There is an experience here that does help in that every published author knows one thing: flawed writing will sell. Every story has its strengths—and its weaknesses. But a published author has learned how to accent one and cover up the other. That’s knowledge those authors can pass along.
The next best reason is fifty-five pages—same as the Golden Heart. You may have a brilliant first couple of pages. Or your brilliance may shine at page thirty. But you won’t know which is which in the Golden Heart, which just gives you back a number. The Orange Rose is still one of the best contests around which can tell you if you’re ready for the Golden Heart, and gets you feedback in time to make revisions.
There’s also the excellent reason of money—cash awards! And while writing may not just be about the money for you, there’s nothing quite like stepping up into the category of a writer who is becoming a professional—you’re getting paid to write. That’s pretty heady stuff.
Finally, it’s your chapter contest. When I was still unpublished and struggling, the Orange Rose was a measure of my own success. It was also a contest I always wanted to win—I never managed a win, but I was a finalist several times, and I always got the best feedback. And recognition from my peers.
If you use it right, the Orange Rose can teach you how to set goals and reach them.
It can be another tool that you can use to help you become published—it’s not the only path there, but it is a path. More than 45 finalists—that’s finalists, not just winners—have gone on to become published authors. That’s quite a track record.
The Orange Rose can be a touchstone of progress. It can give you a big picture look at how you are doing in going up against lots of other writers–the same way that you have to go up against those writers in the slush pile.
And a vote of encouragement from other authors can be just the thing you need to hold onto and use in your darker days to light your path to writing your next book.
To enter the Orange Rose, visit occrwa.org or http://www.occrwa.org/orangerosecontest/ and enter before April 9, 2011.
Published in the March 2011 issue of the Orange Country RWA Orange Blossom newsletter.
Reflections from a Confirmed Twitter Freak
March 17, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Chris Brogan, Elizabeth S. Craig, Jenny Hansen, Kristen Lamb, OCC/RWA, Penny Sansevieri, Social Media, Twitter, Writers In the Stormby Jenny Hansen
A few months back my boss at the part-time job (that is really a full-time job) asked me to research Twitter. And oh, the rapture of getting paid for doing something that benefitted my writing career!
In the last 10 weeks, the traffic level at Writers In The Storm (my group blog site) has risen more than 500%, my exposure to amazing writing links has risen at least that much and I’ve met some fantastic people who have been more than generous with their knowledge (Elizabeth S. Craig and Kristen Lamb both come to mind).
Most important of all, my creativity is soaring. I’m thinking about writing and connecting to my fellow artists ALL THE TIME.
Writers need to interact with other people who write and are creative – to learn, to commiserate, to brainstorm, to vent. By the end of my first week on Twitter, it was clear to me that all of the new information available on Craft and writing tools is equivalent to attending a conference each month. Even if you are a multi-pubbed author and aren’t as into the Craft information, you need readers and exposure, don’t you? Facebook should not be the only social media tool in your author platform.
For those of you that get jazzed after this blog and want to get started, here are some tips that I sent my boss as well as some observations of my own.
• 7 steps to plan BEFORE starting your Twitter account: http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Tips-For-Starting-on-Twitter—The-Deceivingly-Simple-Social-Media-Platform&id=2501605
• Sign up for a Twitter account: http://www.twitip.com/how-to-set-up-a-twitter-account/
• Last of all, 10 Basic Rules of Twitter: http://www.influentialmarketingblog.com/weblog/2009/08/10-basic-rules-of-twitter-and-how-to-avoid-being-a-twanker.html
• Expert: Chris Brogan is thought well of in social media circles and has great things to say about business and writing – you might read him when you have time: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/category/socialmedia/
Here are some highlights of the 10 Basic Rules:
As you start Twittering, remember to focus on engaging in conversations with your followers rather than pushing or selling your own products and content. If followers feel they’re being sold to, they’ll unfollow and block you faster than they’ll hang up on your annoying IVR (and then Tweet about it). A few guidelines:
• Use @ replies to comment back to your followers’ Tweets
Note: You cannot send direct messages (DM’s) to people who don’t Follow you so the @ replies are often the only way to get info to someone you want to speak with.
• ReTweet liberally. To reTweet a user’s Tweet, simply write “RT @username” and cut and paste the content of the original Tweet. Or just use the RT button if your desktop or smartphone app has one.
• Post links to articles and content you think your users would find interesting. A good guide is Chris Brogan’s rule of promoting other people’s content eight times more often than you promote your own.
• Post links to your own content, but see above.
Last but not least, You might enjoy “Tweetie,†the iPhone app for Twitter: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8 (there is also Twitter for the Android).
What the experts say:
OCC was lucky enough to hear marketing guru Penny Sansevieri, the author of Red Hot Internet Publicity, speak several months back and I subscribed to her newsletter. Below are her Six Quick Tips for Twitter Success:
1. A bio is a must. A recent Harvard Business Review study showed that 82% of unsuccessful Twitter accounts have little or no bio information.
2. You should provide more than 3 links per 20 tweets and you should update more than once a day.
3. If you don’t provide links in your tweets, you should plan to post more often (studies suggest as much as six times a day). You should have no more than 15 updates a day.
4. Twitter names are becoming like URL’s were in the early years of the Internet. Make sure and grab all your branding and your name.
5. Don’t use underscores_ when you’re creating a user name. Not only does it look amateurish but a number of spammers have hacked into Twitter that way. You don’t want to look like a spammer.
6. Always engage and reply to the @reply responses on Twitter. Why? Well first off it’s important to engage your followers, but second, those @replies help with your Twitter ranking.
Happy Tweeting – I’d love to hear about the successes and pitfalls you stumble across in your own social media journey!
Jenny Hansen fills her nights with humor, writing memoir, women’s fiction, chick lit and short stories (and walking the floor with her new baby girl). By day, Jenny coordinates training for two accounting firms. After 15 years as a corporate software trainer, it’s nice for her to be able to sit down while she works.
Stay tuned every month on the 17th for Jenny’s blogs on software, computer how-tos, new parenthood and the latest works in progress. The rest of the time you can find her on Twitter at jhansenwrites or over on the Writers In The Storm blog.
FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC: A Terrifying Tale of Backlists
March 15, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as backlists, Digital only publishing, strategy, writing process
One of the strangest books ever written was Flowers in the Attic (V.C.Andrews). There is lots to talk about with this book (incest, misguided religiosity, family acceptance and love) but those are topics better left to a book group discussion.
What really terrified me was the premise of that book. A mother locks her kids in the attic and forgets about them. The children languish, nearly dying in that attic, until they rise up and confront her. They are no longer willing to be locked away. And that brings me to the topic of the day: books, backlists and half finished manuscripts locked in our creative attics.*
My friend and fellow author Brian Drake deals beautifully with the subject of discarded manuscripts and whether the are salvageable in his blog Bringing Back the Dead , so I would like to focus on the opportunities and challenges traditionally published authors face when dealing with their backlist.
My own career has been neatly split in two distinct genres: Romance/women’s fiction and legal thrillers/police procedurals. Over 26 years I had my rights reverted to all 23 of my novels as soon as I was contractually able. I had no idea then that rights reversion would turn out to be the smartest move I ever made. In control of my work, I was perfectly positioned to digitally publish, POD or self-publish my literary inventory. I chose to concentrate on digital publishing, taking advantage of the explosion of E-readers.It took a year to scan all my thrillers, create covers, edit for scanning errors, properly format and upload my 11 book backlist. The effort was worth it.
My faith in my thrillers has been rewarded by good sales, excellent reviews and a growing following. I realized, though, that I had the advantage of name recognition as my fan base moved from paper to IPads, Nooks and Kindles.Spurred on by this clear opportunity, it seemed logical to follow the same strategy with my early books (romance and single title contemporary women’s fiction). Yet when I went to my literary ‘attic’ and opened the door I didn’t exactly find my ‘flowers’ in full bloom.
The truth was that some of my work should not be resurrected. The very first book I wrote was creatively tentative, predictable and descriptively overwrought. This was a far cry from the intricately plotted books I penned later in my career. In short, it was clear I had learned a lot between the first book and the last. I tried to convince myself the craft didn’t matter. Books were books and someone would like these. But I also realized many more people would be put off by these early efforts. That would impact both my reputation and my sales. I might never be able to convince those readers to give me another chance. When I weighed the pros and cons it came down to this: would I be proud to have these first books in the hands of an avid reader? For three books, the answer was no.
I want to make it perfectly clear, I am not ashamed of anything I have written. All my books were published by respected New York publishers. Each represents my best effort at that stage of my career but some of those books are not representative of the author I have become. When a reader chooses to sample my early work, I want them to hear my unique voice (I had no POV in the three I will not re-publish). I want the reader to be engaged in a multi-layered story (my early work is linear). I want a reader to get to know well-drawn characters that live in a complete universe (my early characters were two dimensional and their universe limited).
In my memory, I believed my attic was full of fabulous books; in reality, I had stored away my building blocks. I am wise enough now to recognize that the reader’s experience is more important than my ego. Just because I wrote a book twenty years ago does not make the work viable today unless it clearly shows emerging strengths. If I republish my initial stumbling as I tried to find my literary feet, I run the risk of alienating a reader rather than piquing their curiosity. I want each book to show how I have grown as a writer. Bottom line, if any of my work might waste a reader’s time or money it should be set aside.
So, as much as it pains me to admit it, as hard as it is to close that door, there are some flowers that need to stay in my attic. I am ever so grateful that they are there to remind me of where I’ve been, how far I’ve come and that writing is hard work. I might visit them once in a while but, like V.C. Andrews has shown me, sometimes there are reasons you need to lock the door and walk away.
*These thoughts can be applied to any creative effort: painting to pottery, music to manufacturing.
IT’S A WRAP (DREW CAREY’S PARTIES)
March 13, 2011 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives, Eye on Hollywood by Bobbie Cimo tagged as Bobbie Cimo, Eye on Hollywood
When Bob Barker announced he would be leaving “The Price Is Rightâ€, I must admit I was a little pessimistic that the show would continue with the same success as it had in the past.
Well, it’s been over three years now and I’m happy to say the show is still on the air and a whole bunch of people are still employed because of it. Drew shows his appreciation to everyone associated with the show by throwing the best wrap party I’ve ever been to and pays for it out of his own pocket, too.
The first party he hosted was on a Saturday night in some hot spot in Hollywood. I wasn’t familiar with the name of the club, but I was told by my co-workers it was a popular place. But the thought of driving into Hollywood on my day off, after a long work week didn’t appeal to me, so I passed on the invite. A decision I regretted when I heard how fantastic the party was that I missed. Not only did he fly in food from New York and his home state of Ohio, but he gave all the employees who attended a gift. It was a video recorder you can play back on your computer. Not being computer savvy, I’m not sure what it’s called.
The next year when the invitations went out, I was the first one to RSVP. That year, the party was held at the Congo Room in downtown L.A. and Drew brought in entertainment. It was The Brian Setzer Orchestra, (formerly frontman of the “Stray Catsâ€). The food was delicious and as enjoyable as the music was, it was loud–good, but loud. And the gift was an iPod Nano (which I have yet learned to use).
This was also the year Drew lost over forty pounds and decided to become health conscious. So there were no signs of fried chicken, spare ribs, or macaroni and cheese dishes (some of the fattening food served the year before). This time it was all sensible eating inside the party except for the Lemon Drop Martinis and Cosmos that were flowing freely. And if you really wanted to be sinful, there was carnival type food outside the hangar, like hot dogs and cotton candy. I’m sure this was done to keep all temptation out of Drew’s vision.
All and all the party was a huge success and I can’t wait to be invited to this year’s shindig…only this time I’ve promised myself to go easy on the Lemon Drop Martinis.
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