I turned the big 4-0 today

No, not my age, but the number of books I’ve sold.  It is such a milestone feeling.  I remember when I sold my first book back in 1993 and I was terrified that I’d become a one book Sally.  Happily that hasn’t happened.  So I thought about why . . .

Like most writers, I’ve always got a story percolating in my brain.  I’m the queen of what-ifs.  Most writers I meet are the same way.  They have more ideas than time to get them down on the page.

I got some terrific advice from two people early on in my career.  First, a critique partner told me I needed to write romantic suspense because my strengths were dialogue and action and the rest of what I wrote sucked.  Sounds harsh but those words changed my focus and I sold the first romantic suspense I ever wrote.  So I am grateful for her blunt and astute observations.

The second person who gave me sage advice was Mary Jo Putney.  She said if I wanted to have a career as a working writer, I needed to be prompt, professional and prolific.  She really guided me through that second sale, reminding me to write and finish a manuscript while the first one was going through the publication process.  That’s how I was able to write 3-5 books a year for so many years.  I always treated writing like my profession (which it is) and I try never to be late with a manuscript.

I did suffer a touch of burnout and didn’t write for 3 years.  Burnout is an occupational hazard and at the time, I was dealing with the loss of my child, so I wasn’t feeling too happily ever after.

One of the other reasons I think I made it to 40 is because I changed my writing focus.  It was hard to go from third person series romance to first person mystery but it was time.  Time for new challenges and a few failures along the way.  Stepping out of my comfort zone was scary.  But I kept telling myself that the worst thing that could happen was no sale.  Luckily that didn’t happen.  Sometimes you’ve just got to shake it up a little.

So what would I tell a newbie?  The same thing I was told.  Treat your career like a career.  Work hard.  Prepare for failure.  Set goals.  Learn how to meet deadlines even before you’ve sold your first manuscript.  Learn patience, publishing is annoyingly slow.  Don’t work on something so long that you begin to hate it; it will show up in your writing.  Or put another way – know when to throw in the towel and start with a fresh idea/concept.  Learn your strengths and weaknesses.  Write to those strengths and strive to overcome those weaknesses.

And lastly . . . enjoy what you’re doing.

How to make the most of your research trip

First and foremost - try to pick a city where you have a friend or acquaintance who is willing to play tour guide.  It saves you from wandering aimlessly around town.

Second – try to do your research on the net/magazines, etc. before you arrive so you can have a plan of attack.  When I was in Savannah I knew I needed a house and an office for my character and I wanted them within walking distance.  I needed to see and smell (Yes, it was springtime) the city.  i.e. they have horse-drawn carriages and with horse comes horse smells.

Third – Give yourself permission to be a tourist.  I went into a quaint little bookshop and the sales person recommended a great book on Savannah complete with pictures.

Fourth – go to the visitor’s center.  They have the best grid maps and they’re always helpful when it comes to distances.  i.e. I needed to know how long it would take to go from downtown Savannah to Bonaventure cemetery.

Fifth – go hungry.  Taste the foods to get a feel for what it’s like – Leopold’s was the greatest ice cream parlor and restaurant and the owner happens to have been a movie producer, so they have lots of movie memorabilia in the store from films like The Big Chill to Mission Impossible III.

Sixth – get a good street map and mark points of interest.  I had to find the hooker hangout, so we drove that street.  I’d have to consult my notes, but I think North of Gaston is the seedy part of town.

Seventh – take a gazillion pictures.  I always photograph the cross streets, then take pictures so I know where the shots were taken.  And while I’m at it, invest in a good camera.  I have a DSLR, so I can snap non-blurry shots with ease.  But if you don’t have a decent camera, get out of the car and snap away.

Eighth – If possible, get many angles.  We went out on Amy’s boat so I got to see the harbor and the waterfront with all the antebellum houses from the water.  I also learned that those houses face backward from the road, with the majestic fronts only viewable by sea.

Ninth – Find something unique about the setting.  In Savannah I found the steep steps down to the cobblestone walkway along the Riverwalk to be a real challenge.  Hat’s off to Bob Fetzer for finding the elevator back up to street level.  The other thing I noticed?  People are really friendly.  They say hello or good afternoon/morning to everyone they pass.  I also learned that parking is a real bitch.  And that you need a permit in most of the areas around Forsythe Park.

Tenth – take some time off just to let it all soak in.  I was lucky enough to have fab author Amy J. Fetzer as my hostess and my tour guide, so I was all set.  We even snuck in a brainstorming session for my value-added Finley short.

If you’re traveling to another city, make sure go prepared, have a plan, and use the voice notes feature on your phone – so much easier than a pad and paper.

I want to move

I've been in Savannah for 6 days and I already want to move here.  The city is amazing - everything you could want or need in a very tight radius.  My dear friend Amy Fetzer and her wonderful hubby Bob (who acted as our driver and tour guide) spent a day exploring the city.

One of my favorite finds . . . Leopold's ice cream shop.  Yes, they have ice cream to die for but they also serve soups and sandwiches.  Had the shrimp salad and it was yummy.  Tasted the coffee ice cream and wanted to bathe in it.  The added fun of this landmark eatery is the fact that the owner shut it down for a few years to concentrate on being a movie producer.  He worked on everything from the Big Chill to Mission Impossible 3.  They have all sorts of fun props and clappers and other items on display for all to see.

The architecture is amazing as well.  The stately town/row homes with their carriage houses and porches harken back to earlier days.  For a south Florida girl where nothing is older than about 1929, seeing all the history was a real treat.  Forsythe Park may be one of the lovliest pieces of public land I've ever scene.

We had to make a side trip to the Boneventure cemetery in a Midnight in the Garden of Evil shout out.  My favorite moment of that side trip was the headstone for a woman who died in 1864 that read"she did all she could."  Not exactly a ringing endorsement of her contributions.

I'm loving my research trip - and my pulled pork and my shrimp and grits.  And of course the plotting sessions are a huge help.

Happy writing,
Rhonda

My agent can't give that away

DO YOU WANT TO SELL ONE BOOK OR BUILD A CAREER?

Finding that perfect agent:

1.      Don't go agent hunting until you have a product to sell - or FINISH THE MANUSCRIPT!  Very rarely will a new author sell on proposal in this market.

2.      Do your homework.  Think about what you want from an agent.  Do you want someone hands-on or someone who just targets appropriate editors without offering edits?  Talk to friends, meet with potential agents at conferences, subscribe to PublishersMarketplace.com; check RWA for a list of editors and check AAR status;  and then visit Predators and Editors http://pred-ed.com/ or other informational sites.

3.      Think career and not just next sale.  Know where you would like to be in five years, ten years, etc.

4.      Know your own skill set and play to your strengths.  Never chase a market.

5.      Be realistic - an agent cannot sell what the market isn't buying.

6.      Listen to your agent's advice.  They have their ear to the ground and know more about the industry than you do.

7.      Be more realistic - be able to tell an agent when you can deliver a manuscript or a revision.

8.      Know an editor/agent's taste.  Submitting a humorous manuscript to someone who loves dark and angst-ridden (even if you are friends) is not a smart career move.

9.      Think very long and hard before insisting your agent market an unmarketable manuscript.

10.     Use your agent as a resource, not the enemy.

11.     Don't be afraid of change.  Your agent can fire you or vice versa.

12.     Be professional.  Your agent does not need to know your daily troubles.

13.     Keep your agent in the loop at all times.  Keep your editor in the loop only when necessary.  Otherwise, let your agent speak for you.

Value-added is the new bookmark

Someone once told me that it was important to have an affirming word or two on your office wall so you don’t forget why you’re writing.  In four-inch turquoise letters (they match my Lilly Pulitzer) mine says ‘It’s all About the Money.’  Now I know at first blush that may sound like writing a good book isn’t my goal, it is.  Always.  But I haven’t forgotten those ten years I wrote and wrote and couldn’t make a sale.  So being paid for my work became one of my definitions of achievement.  Oh, and it looks good too – the color is perfect. I am not.  I am pretty darned greedy.

I’ve written 40 books and I’ve never given any of them away.  In fact, almost all of them have been revived and reside happily on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.  My entire backlist is already online, so I haven’t been paying as much attention to the eBook world as I should.  My gut reaction was probably like most traditionally published authors – why should I do all the work, formatting, cover design, buying an ISBN, etc.?  I’m very good at downloading to my iPad or my Sony or my daughter’s nook, but I must admit, I mostly download eBook versions of traditionally published authors and friends.  And before you think me a slob, the last time I read for pleasure was in August, 2011.  Deadlines will do that to you.  Reading for pleasure is one of the first activities to go.  Right after keeping a spotlessly clean house.

So I had dinner with my editor last Saturday and she started talking to me about the advantages of doing a short (novella length) Finley Tanner Mystery for release between my April and October books.  Luckily I didn’t choke on my food.  “So what’s the benefit?”  I asked.  Well, with more and more people buying eVersions, the go-to promo tool of bookmarks is fading into obscurity.  Good to know since I just ordered 250.  (Opps).  I’ve always spent a few hundred dollars on bookmarks, they’re easy and now with online sites, they take less than 15 minutes to design and order.  Only they have no place to go.  The chain stores want point of purchase impulse items near the register.  The number of indie stores is dwindling, so there isn’t much of a market for bookmarks.  So I just got schooled on how pointless it is to pay for bookmarks.  No benefit there, apparently.

My editor explained that I should always think branding.  It doesn’t matter if people remember my name, just that they remember Finley Tanner mysteries?  What better way to keep the series fresh than to give readers a little value-added content.  I was drinking the Kool-Aid.  Instead of me spending money on useless, outdated forms of promotion,  I should pretend I’m paying myself for writing upload-only content for my current readers as well as possibly picking up a few more here and there so long as the book is free.

I put down the Kool-Aid.  Now I have several friends who have gotten their rights back, scanned their books, paid someone to format the book, buy an ISBN and design a cover.  Remembering the editor and agent panels at Sleuthfest I kept hearing the same thing – don’t put up a sucky cover, that’s what you should focus on along with quality, professional editing.  Ca-ching is going off in my brain as I try to add up how much this special value-added freebie is going to cost me.  Not only do I hate working for free, I really don’t want to dig a financial hole to jump in so I can write the freebie.

My editor refilled my glass of Kool-Aid.  No, no, she tells me.  Gallery (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) will design your cover and do all the formatting and the other stuff.  You just have to write the book.  Now I’m gulping Kool-Aid.  My thinking was wrong.  Instead of dropping money on chachkis or bookmarks or whatever, in this market it’s worth a shot doing the between books book.

So now all I need is an idea . . .

What the editors had to say

Okay, we've done agents, now here's what the editors said . . .

First – roll call

Deni Dietz-Five Star; Robert Gussin, Oceanview Publishing; Annette Rogers, Poisoned Pen Press; Abby Zidle, Senior editor Pocket/Galley books – imprints of Simon & Schuster

The first thing I noticed was that two of the editors wrote for their own lines.  Call me crazy but this bothers me.  I don’t want to have to compete with my editor for a slot.

1. Most of the editors were interested in acquiring eBook originals.
2. All of the editors stressed the importance of checking their guidelines because many publish only mysteries and some focused on anthologies and/or short stories.
3. Poisoned Pen Press is currently running a contest with a $1,000.00 prize – more info on their website.  But they don’t take thrillers – only mystery.  They are specifically looking for books set in Iraq and Afghanistan, thought they don’t want it to be about the political strife in those countries.  And no WWII.  They stressed really good villains and a unique voice.
4. Abby Zidle indicated that she acquired for many different imprints, so she was looking for everything from cozies to trade to hard cover.  She did want to make it clear that they’re looking more toward hard covers and trade than original mass market.  S&S uses the agency model, so the books are released in print and eBook format on the same day.  Most editors were looking for a unique voice and a memorable character.  They stressed that a reader should be able to read a snippet and recognize the author immediately.  They cited Lee Child as a good example.  You read a passage and know immediately it’s a Reacher book.
5. The biggest mistake they see is too much telling and not enough showing.  They advised authors to start in the middle of the conflict instead of writing the lead-up.  Just jump right in.
6. Play fair for the reader – give them character, voice and pacing, especially in mystery.
7. Your voice is why/how you put your words together.
8. Edgier stuff is seeing improvement in the marketplace.
9. If you have a niche book, go ePublishing or small press.  They are often more willing to buy and market those books.
10. Got the usual “write what you know” lecture.
11. Oceanview has now branched out into audiobooks as well as Hard Cover, trade, and eBook.

So see – I learned a lot from this group.  It’s tough out there right now, so these insights were really helpful.  Oh, and they also had nothing wonderful to say about Goodreads.  Focus on a Twitter and Facebook presence.