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Q: I’m an
unpublished author and have just finished writing a novel. Which publisher
should I send it to?
A: Boy, start with a tough one,
why don’t you! Okay, firstly, congratulations on finishing the book! But as
any published author will tell you, the most important part has only just
begun. Mainly - letting it sit. Yes, stick that baby in a bottom drawer and
get on with writing something else. You see, the point of letting a book
stagnate for a while (a month, two months, a year) is coming back to read it
with fresh eyes. You can pick up scenes, characters or even whole chapters that
need editing, reworking and sometimes cutting altogether.
Assuming you’ve already done the
first part, now you should start to think about getting some feedback. By this
I mean entering a contest, getting a critique partner and/or group. Make use of
your membership benefits by joining an RWA-affiliated writers group. Check our
members-only section at www.romanceaustralia.com for our contest schedule and
group locations around Australia.
The next step is to invest in
some heavy research. Here’s where I strongly suggest making use of the
Internet. Before you groan and say “I don’t have a computer at home!” or “I
spend the whole day in front of a screen as it is!”, let me ask you this - how
badly do you want to be published? The world is full of unpublished writers
who don’t go that extra mile to get their work in front of an editor. And
editors desks are full of unsuitably targeted manuscripts. You don’t have to
buy a computer - most local libraries are Internet connected and you can book
on-line time in one-hour blocks, and libraries and community colleges run basic
courses on how to use the Internet. Ask a connected friend to print out a
website or editorial guidelines. And if you’re lucky enough to have Internet
access at work, think about working late or during your lunch break (provided
your employer is okay with that!)
What are you looking for?
Publishers and their guidelines. It makes sense to target those open to your
type of story, so you’ll have to pinpoint your sub-genre/line. Have you written
a Regency? A sexy category romance? A sweeping futuristic saga? The Romance
Writers of America have a list of author-friendly publishers
on their
website.
You can also check out the
“Getting to Know the Publishers” article on our website.
Once you’ve decided which
publisher to aim for, you will need to submit a query letter and synopsis at the
minimum. Some publishers also require the first three chapters, but this varies
from house to house. Hearts Talk ran Lisa Gardner’s synopsis writing workshop
from November 2002 to February 2003, “Escaping the Slush Pile” by MaryJanice
Davidson in November 2001 and “Writing Your Synopsis Using Cue Cards” by Karen
Harbaugh in August 2002. Some other good resources are WRITING THE FICTION
SYNOPSIS by Pam McCutcheon ISBN 0-9654371-1-4 and THE DREADED SYNOPSIS by
Elizabeth Sinclair (ISBN 1-892718-25-1). Websites include:
Writing a
selling synopsis (SpacecoasT Authors of Romance)
Lynn Turner’s
writing the
synopsis
Synopsis tips
How
to write a synopsis
Anne Gracie’s ‘That
Dratted Synopsis’
Lori Foster’s article on
Query Letters
Charlotte Dillon’s
query letters and
synopses -
(From
December 2003 Hearts Talk)
Q: What’s the
difference between a “Regency” and a “Regency historical” novel? Aren’t they
both the same?
A:
Anne Gracie, author with Harlequin Historicals explains. “Basically in the UK
(and therefore with Harlequin Mills &Boon), a “Regency” simply means a
historical story set in the English regency era (1811-1820).
However, in the US, Regencies
are divided into traditional Regencies and Regency historicals. A traditional
Regency in the US is usually a “sweet” (i.e. no sex) romance, a light-hearted
comedy of manners, or sometimes a mannered comedy. They have a style all their
own and some are (in my humble opinion) rather artificial and stagey. They tend
to be short (80K words) although some, like Julia Quinn’s books, are longer
(100K+).
A Regency Historical is
generally a longer book, set in the Regency period, which will generally include
sex and in which the themes may be stronger and darker. People in the US got
very confused and some were downright indignant that my GALLANT WAIF (no sex)
was published as an historical and TALLIE’S KNIGHT (with its many sex scenes)
was published as a Regency. I took no responsibility and blamed the publisher
for any confusion. J
Stephanie Laurens writes Regency
historicals. Carla Kelly and Diane Farr write Regencies. Mary Balogh’s earlier
books were published by Signet as traditional regencies, but really, they are
Regency Historicals, as they are both emotionally intense and sometimes rather
dark, and also sex features strongly in her books. She’s also one of my
favourite authors, if you like historicals.
It's important to know the
difference, as most publishers won't want you if you say you write Regencies. I
sent off query letters to Avon and all sorts of single title publishers before I
was published, but in my ignorance, I didn't realise I was writing a regency
historical. They thought I was writing the comedy of manners thing and so they
said they weren’t interested. So I chopped more than 40,000 words off my
manuscript and sold GALLANT WAIF to HM&B. Later I discovered Avon and Bantam
and other publishers were very definitely interested in Regency historicals. So
what you call it matters.”
(From
January 2004 Hearts Talk)
Q: What does
‘single title’, ‘mainstream’, ‘category’ and ‘series’ mean? I’ve heard writers
talk about them but I’m not sure of the definitions.
A: Let’s tackle category first.
In the US, they are called ‘series’ romance - books released in order and by
month, with a number on the spine and with a series title on the cover e.g.
Harlequin Temptation. They have a limited shelf life, there are a number of
titles in each line published every month and they have specific word counts
ranging from 50,000 (Mills & Boon Sweet and Sexy) up to 100,000 (Harlequin
Historical). Harlequin, Silhouette and Mills & Boon are all category
publishers.
By definition, a single title is
a title (or book) that is not a category novel., i.e. they stand by themselves
and have a one-man-one-woman relationship in the forefront e.g. Sara Bennett,
Lynne Wilding and Holly Cook are all single title authors. The term ‘single
title’ and ‘mainstream’ can mean pretty much the same thing in Australia, but in
the US, ‘mainstream’ is used as a definition for women’s fiction, which can have
romantic elements or not. A lot of the time, mainstream is more about the
woman's story than 'the man and woman falling in love' story. In the Romantic
Times, the mainstream fiction reviews consist of chick/lad lit, women’s
fiction, contemporary and young adult, with authors such as Barbara Samuel and
Deborah Smith. They also have a “Mainstream Romance” section which reviews
single title books with that ‘one-man-one-woman’ thread - romantic comedy,
fantasy, suspense, including authors such as JD Robb, Jennifer Crusie and Susan
Elizabeth Phillips.
Single title is all about one
man-one woman- just like category. But the voice is usually different, and STs
have a longer word count, can include more subplots, more secondary characters
and profanity. Whereas category novels have strict guidelines regarding word
count, time periods and (sometimes) settings, the requirements for ST depends
what you're writing, what publisher you're aiming for, your voice etc. Word
counts begin at 80,000, and can go up to 150,000. Generally, they're around
90-110,000. Again, publishers guidelines should be a guide. The market are
houses like Avon, Berkley/Jove/Ivy, St. Martin's Press, Harper Monogram,
Leisure, Kensington and others. MIRA is Harlequin's foray into the ST world, as
is HQN.
(from
February
2004 HT)
Q: Does the
fiction editor for magazines send out guidelines? Is there a need to include a
synopsis? Any other useful information you have would be gratefully received.
A:
Published author and short story writer Janet Woods says “I've found that very
few magazines offer guidelines to potential fiction subscribers now. The best
set of guidelines available to writers is the magazine itself. If you buy a
magazine and read the fiction on a regular basis, you'll soon get a feel for
what's being accepted.
The main advice any magazine
editor would offer a writer is to study the magazine you intend to write for,
analyse it for content, tone, story length, age of readership etc, and try to
write a story you think would suit the magazine. It might be necessary to
analyse the magazine content over a number of issues, because there is a
surprising diversity of stories published today, crime and murder, humour,
romance, intrigue and twist in the tail stories.
One of the techniques you should
look for when analysing published stories is the beginning. Usually, no preamble
takes place and the beginning takes the reader straight into the story by
various methods, such as dialogue, action or description. A short story should
be centred in a fairly simple plot. The writing should be uncomplicated and
clear, details of description, thought and dialogue woven together like a piece
of embroidery. The ending should be resolved satisfactorily.
Because of its short length, a
synopsis will not be needed. Your story will usually speak for itself. The usual
careful manuscript preparation should be applied. Good readable type,
double-spacing and proper indentation and paragraphs should be used. Attach a
cover sheet with story title, and your name and details for contact. Send a
stamped, self-addressed envelope if you want the story returned.”
(March
2004 HT)
Q: The Advance
Review Copy (ARC) format recommended in the Emma Darcy Award was very easy to
work with and the finished ms much more manageable. Is there any publisher who
would accept a manuscript printed out in ARC?
A: In short, no. The joys of
working with an ARC (which simulates the look of an open-paged book) come after
you are accepted for publication. RWA introduced the ARC format in our Opening
Chapter, Single Title and Emma Darcy contests to cut down on the mailing costs,
both for the entrant and the contest manager (and with over 70 entries in the
EDA this year, the postage can get expensive!).
When submitting to a publisher,
their standard manuscript format (usually found in publisher’s guidelines) is 1”
(or 3cm) margins, double spaced, and with a readable 12 point font. If you want
to save on postage - especially if mailing overseas - use a non-proportional
font like Courier or Courier New to determine the word count (each page will
approximate 250 words), THEN change the font to Times New Roman. This will cut
down your page count by as much as 30 pages in a 57,000 word manuscript.
(April
2004 HT)
Q: I’m
confused. What’s the difference between a Harlequin Mills & Boon Sexy and
Harlequin Presents?
A: Nothing. Ha! Now you’re
even more confused, right? Don’t be! Basically, all Harlequin, Silhouette and
Mills & Boon category lines are marketed in Australia under “Harlequin Mills &
Boon” and then the line e.g. Temptation. Australia doesn’t get all the lines:
many Silhouette Romance, for example, are released here as HM&B Sweet. In the
US, HM&B Sexy are called “Harlequin Presents” (M&B Modern in the UK) and Sweet
are “Harlequin Romance” (Tender in the UK). The now-defunct Duets line were
first released locally as Temptation with the “romantic comedy” flash on the
cover, then changed to the comic US covers, then (because marketing indicated
the comic covers didn’t sell as well), went back to the classic man-woman
Temptation cover.
Stuart MacDonald, Sales and
Marketing Director of Harlequin’s Sydney office, says “These days the trend is
very much towards maintaining the integrity of each of our series by drawing
content from just one source [i.e. line] if we can, and by replicating the
original North American (or UK) series name unless there’s a strong marketing
reason
not to. But because precedents
have been set in the past, there are exceptions to this – Australia’s ‘Sexy’ and
‘Sweet’ are what I’d call “happy hybrids”. They are trailblazing series for us,
in that they are highly successful, profitable series which bring in more new
readers to Harlequin Mills & Boon than any other series, so we’re entirely happy
with what they contribute to our overall portfolio, although each of them does
draw content from two or three different sources."
Stuart also says there are a few
new overseas series in different stages of development (with Bombshell the first
to see our shores) but there are no plans to change their names for the
Australian market. But, he admits, words and names do have different
connotations in different parts of the globe (e.g. Desire are marketed in the UK
as M&B Sensual, and Intimate Moments as M&B Sensation) and if the original name
isn't going to give maximum benefit in Australia and New Zealand, then they'd be
prepared to come up with a better one.
(May
2004 HT)
Q:
When
you decide on a pseudonym, how do you know that it isn’t already in use? Is
there a Registry of some kind, as there is for actors, that writers can contact
to ascertain that a chosen name is free to be used and to register a claim to
the public use of that name?
A: Not as such. Authors who
write for Harlequin, Silhouette and Mills & Boon are ‘originals’ and the editors
keep a database of names already used. Recently acquired M&B Medicals author
Alison Ahearn says “I put forward a bunch of first and last names to my editors
and they gave me a yes/no to those.” ‘Amy Andrews’ was the final choice.
Interestingly, there are a few
names that cross-over sub-genres - we have our own Anna Jacobs who writes
contemporary and historical fiction, and Ann Jacobs writes romantica for
Ellora’s Cave. I would suggest doing a search on Google www.google.com for the
name you decide on, as well as www.amazon.com (by far the largest book store in
the world) and the Fiction Database www.fictiondb.com If these searches come
up with nothing, your best bet is that name hasn’t been taken by another writer.
In Australia you can register
your name as a business and obtain an ABN for it, but to find more about the use
of pen names and what legal rights you have to one, contact .the Arts Law Centre
of Australia at www.artslaw.com.au or call 1800 221 457.
(August
2004 HT)
Q: I don’t
understand how to calculate word count in a manuscript. I mean, can’t you just
click on that little ‘word count’ button in MS Word?
A: In short, no. After much
debate on RWA’s e-list, Presents author Helen Bianchin did some top-level
sleuthing to find an answer. “I queried editorial in the London office about
their word count method (I'd been using the 3cm margins, true double-spacing, 25
lines per page way for years) when Samantha Bell's assistant queried my word
count and said I was 5-6000 words short. Sam's response was their method was
archaic... they took 30 random pages in a manuscript, added every word and
divided by 30 to get an average word count per page, then simply multiplied by
the number of manuscript pages. Leslie Wainger of Silhouette goes on record as
stating New York editorial take three random manuscript pages, count the word
total, divide by three, and multiply by the number of manuscript pages. Both
the London and New York method gave me an average of 240 words per page, not
250. Which made a difference to the overall manuscript total.”
The bottom line is word count is
an averaging system to work out how many pages the publisher must produce.
Pages cost money, regardless of how much text is printed on it. So the actual
word count is based on standard page, margin and font sizes. The general rule
of thumb is if you have 3cm margins, use a 12 point non-proportional font and
have double spacing, then on average you page will have 25 lines of text which
equates to around 250 words per page. So unless the publisher specifically asks
you to use your word count button, we suggest you use this industry standard.
(September
2004 HT)
Q: What is a
character-driven novel?
A: Sandra Wales (w/a Haley
Elizabeth Garwood) of the Music City Romance Writers had this to say in their
October issue of Love Notes : "The phrase typically means that the plot develops
from actions driven by the characters' personalities. I'd like to present a
different definition - a rather atypical one.
Fiction writers are a strange
breed. We create worlds, events and people. Or do we? The first time my
characters came to life alarmed me. They jerked me out of bed in the dark of
night and threw me in front of the computer. I no longer told them what to do -
they told me what to write. I thought I was crazy. These people (yes, they're
real to me) kept me up for hours at a time. I slept little, wrote a lot.
Eventually I learned that other fiction writers experience this phenomenon. If I
were crazy, I was in good company.
Sherrilyn Kenyon is a
best-selling author of several novels under her own name, one of which is KISS
OF THE NIGHT. A DARK COMPANION, a historical romance penned as Kinley MacGregor,
is from her Brotherhood of the Sword series.
Dr. Kenyon believes that
"characters exist in an alternate universe somewhere. To me, they are living,
breathing people with living, breathing problems. I don't write so much as I
channel them. They are in complete control of the story from beginning to end,
and I'm just along for the ride."
Lest you think Kenyon is some
flighty wild thing, I assure you that she is a talented writer who, like the
rest of us, works hard at her craft. Her characters drive her - right to the New
York Times bestseller list as well as the bestseller lists of Publishers Weekly
and USA Today. Her websites are www.sherrilynkenyon.com and
www.kinleymacgregor.com
An excellent writer, Annie
Solomon, author of LIKE A KNIFE, DEAD RINGER and TELL ME NO LIES, all romantic
suspense, also has characters who talk to her. Solomon, a 15-year overnight
wonder, as she puts it, admits that her characters take on a life of their own.
"People often ask, 'Where do your characters come from?' And I've got to say
that sometimes I don't know. They're like a gift from the beyond. If you speak
in the language of religion, you could say they come from God. Others might be
more comfortable saying, 'The Force was with me.' Whatever language one uses,
it's a great mystery, but, as Tom Stoppard wrote in Shakespeare in Love, 'It all
works out in the end.' You don't always know how or why, you just know that it
does."
Solomon, a native New Yorker and
a former advertising executive and head writer, has dreamed up stories since she
was 10. She gave up the advertising career with its regular paycheque for the
life of a writer and no regular paycheque.
Her fourth romantic suspense,
BLIND CURVE, is due February 2005. It's a treat to read well done suspenseful
novels that are character driven and exciting. Is it because the characters know
more than the author? A visit to Solomon's website at www.anniesolomon.com gives
the reader a peek at these skillfully written books.
The mother-daughter writing team
of Cheryl Zach, a former high school English teacher, and Michelle Place
concentrate on historical romance and write as Nicole Byrd. Place is lucky
enough to have finished college with an English degree and stepped right into
the writer's life while she cares for her family.
Do their characters bother them?
Talk to them and harass them? Zach says, "I set up the situation and get to know
my characters, and when they go into action, they often do unexpected things or
tell me information I didn't expect, which turns the story in exciting new
directions." Zach continues with the explanation that "knowing the characters'
backgrounds is also important, as it helps you understand who they are."
Place's reaction to character
invasion of her life is to welcome them with open arms or, rather, pen and paper
in hand. "To really get to a character's core, it's sometimes helpful to conduct
a written question and answer session between yourself and the character. Answer
your questions in the character's voice; what you learn may surprise you."
If you prefer historicals with a
sense of intrigue, humor and great characters, check the books written by this
team at www.nicolebyrd.com. You'll find excerpts from all their novels
including their latest, BEAUTY IN BLACK, which Publishers Weekly calls "a
charming character-driven novel." I'm certain this magazine meant
character-driven in the traditional mode.
For those of you whose
characters bother you, never fear. This craziness helps get the job done."
(December
2004 HT)
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