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Volume 11
Issue 7 RWA® Chapter 108
August, 2003
FCRW’s 2003 Board of Directors
President: Kat McMahon (407) 857-8644
Vice-President: Pamela Cross (904) 824-4333
Secretary: Shannon Juliao (904) 321-0419
Treasurer: Donna Owens (904) 215-6036
PAL: Vickie King (904) 260-6401
Membership: Cheri Anne Brodeur (352) 384-0790
Newsletter: Cheri Clark (386) 758-7935
Historian: Tara Greenbaum (904) 220-7664
From The
Editor
FCRW goes cyber.
By Cheri Clark
Just a reminder that our
newsletter is now electronic.
For the day to day updates, get
looped. Join our FCRW@yahoogroups.com by sending an e mailto:FCRW-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your editor needs original
articles. Surely you’ve benefited from researching your current
work-in-progress and can share a piece of unique knowledge with the membership.
Remember, I’m an editor. I can tidy up your articles for publication. You’ll
get national exposure, too, because I share all FCRW original articles with EditorLink, the Yahoo!
Groups devoted to RWA® newsletter editors worldwide.
Thanks!
Cheri
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM FCRW!
August birthdays:
1 Janie Dean
5 Shannon Juliano
2 Susan Layman
HUGS to Donna Owens and Cheri
Clark, who each has out-of-town family illness. Safe travels, ladies. Also,
HUGS to Ruth Weidig, whose husband has been ill. HUGS to all other
members who are ill or facing surgery.
KISSES to new member Merillee
Wren, whose inspirational romance won the Golden Heart!
KISSES to Judy Gilbert who is a finalist in the Maggie! Good luck, Judy.
KISSES to Heather Waters, whose MoonSpell won third place in the Fire and Ice contest--historical category.
KISSES to Sue Sweet, whose Adrift will be released next month by Wings.
KISSES to Vicki Hinze for Lady Liberty’s Honorable Mention in the 2003 Daphne duMaurier contest held each year by the Kiss of Death Chapter.
KISSES to Cheryl Norman, who was voted featured
author of the month of July at The Romance Studio.
Please send your HUGS &
KISSES and other member news to Cheri Clark by August 20, 2003 for the
September issue of the newsletter.
GRAMMAR GURU
By Cheryl Norman
You aren’t likely to find metaphor
or simile in your grammar text book, but they’re a part of the
mechanics of writing fiction. Where would our stories be without metaphors and
similes? In fact, how would we talk if we couldn’t say “hotter than a pepper sprout” or
“like a rolling stone?”
Both are comparison words.
One obvious, one implied.
A simile is a word or phrase
comparing the subject to something else. The words “like” and “as if” clue you
in to a simile. He was so hungry he felt
as if his throat had been cut. So many clichés are just similes: The
boss would jump on me like white on rice. She was running around like a chicken
with its head chopped off. He sat like a bump on a log. And the list goes
on.
The danger in using similes
is clichéd writing. How many times have you read that a hero’s reaction was
“like a punch in the gut?” If you’re going to use a simile, make it peculiar to
your character or story. If, for instance, your character is an avid poker
player, he’s more likely to suffer “a busted flush” or feel like “he bet it all
and lost.” A pilot may feel as if she’s “lost all her engines with no place to
land.” Don’t say “she felt as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders”
unless she’s Secretary of the United Nations. But I digress, since these are
style issues, not grammar issues.
The grammar question is, when
do you use “like” and when do you use “as if?” A rule of thumb: If it’s
possible in the physical world, use “as if.” If the simile is impossible or
unrealistic, use “like.” A hungry man could have his throat cut. It’s possible.
But a woman couldn’t run around with her head cut off. Again, no rule is
absolute, but use this one as a guide.
Metaphors are more direct.
There’s no qualifying “as if” or “like” to announce the comparison. A metaphor
suggests that his whiskers are like a grimy mask by saying “His whiskers
were a grimy mask.”
Simile: The sidewalk was
like a long, gray ribbon spread over the grass.
Metaphor: The sidewalk was
a long, gray ribbon spread over the grass.
Metaphors, because they imply
comparison, often carry more emotional punch. For other figurative writing,
such as hyperbole and personification, I refer you to Word Painting: A Guide
to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan (Writer’s Digest Books,
Cincinnati, Ohio).
I’ll close for this month
because I have a deadline and need to write as if the house were on
fire<g>!
MESSAGE FROM THE PREZ: Kat McMahon
Dear FCRW Members,
I hope you've all enjoyed the summer so far. This month’s meeting will feature a workshop on writing love scenes by our favorite mystery and erotica author Cheryl Norman/Vanessa Hart. Please come to what will be a dynamic crafting workshop.
Don't forget to bring your pens and paper or a love scene your having trouble with. As you may have noticed, we are trying to make the workshops a little more "work" for the members.
I regret to inform you that our vote to amend the bylaws and raise dues failed as a quorum of the membership was not reached. Since we are a corporation, we are required to follow the laws governing non-profit corporations in the State of Florida, as well as the Bylaws as set forth by RWA which require a two/thirds majority. We can always try again next year.
I have a list of members who paid $20. Those members will receive a refund.
Reminder notices for those who have yet to pay their dues are in the mail. If you receive a notice in error please contact me.
Please welcome Inspirational Golden Heart Winner for 2003 - Merrillee Whren to the chapter.
Kat
Kathleen McMahon
Online
Workshops!
Each month, FCRW will be presenting a free, online
workshop for our members. Our first two (June 2003/ Authors Voice by Vickie
Hinze and July 2003 / Q&A session with Kathie DeNosky) were
wonderful, but attendance was low. With these women donating their time and
energy, we really need to see more participants. They are to be held every 3rd
Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm, but please show up a few minutes early to
hear the protocol, or at least email Heather Waters (Dianah2o@aol.com) to let her know to expect
you. The August SEXUAL TENSION workshop will be held on July 20 by Kristi
Gold. Come one, come all and support these volunteers. We’ll benefit from
these experienced authors and have fun, too.
BREAKING IN, OUT or UP!
Part 1
©2003 Vicki Hinze (from Aids4Writers)
Today's post focuses on Breaking in to publishing:
Everyone these days suffers from information overload, so what I'd like to do
on this subject is jump straight to the "Straight Skinny" on
Fact-or-Fiction
Challenges and leave out all the stuff you skip reading when you're skimming
for pertinent facts.
Fact-or-Fiction #1: It's a Tight market. There are fewer publishing
slots
now than five years ago. Publishers' "bottom-line" mentality
negates building
an author slowly. She has to come out of the gate running.
Straight Skinny: The odds against publishing have always been
daunting.
Authors take on the odds because they're driven to write. If you're not
driven,
seek another career. And I don't mean that snidely, I mean it in the
nicest,
most protective to you kind of way. There are so much easier ways to earn
a
living. Ways that don't take everything you've got and then some.
If you love
it, you'll be driven, and you'll choose to write in spite of the odds.
Don't let the state of the market dictate if or what you write. Following
trends is unrealistic due to production lag time. Your passion and
enthusiasm
and desire to write what you're writing sells your work. Put those things
in
the driver's seat and write anyway.
There is a bottom-line mentality in any business and publishing is no
exception. Thank your lucky stars for that. No one wants to write
for publisher who
isn't fiscally sound. Yet give publishers credit. They do have
realistic
book marketing expectations. Like everyone else, on occasion they're
wrong, but
generally they do well and build authors.
Author's tend to gauge success by a high print run. But the best
indicator
is the sell-through. If 100,000 copies of a book are shipped and only
10,000
sell, how many of your next book do you think booksellers will put in their
store? Shoot for a high sell-through.
But before you worry about that, worry about writing the best, strongest book
you're capable of writing. You want a "clean" manuscript,
meaning one with
as few mechanical errors and the most compelling characters and plot line
possible.
According to a recent reader survey (RT Book Club), 53% buy 6-20 new books
per month. Another 36% buy less than 6. But 69% buy from a
list they've made
before they enter the store. Due to high cost of books, most
readers buy
only their favorite authors "new." They "try" new
authors in used books first.
Straight Skinny: Accept it. When you break in, odds are it will be
in a
small way and not with a giant splash. Have realistic expectations. The
good
news is without that giant splash your risks are smaller of hearing a big
thud.
Fiscally responsible publishers are prudent. Publishers who are not
fiscally
responsible often are bankrupt.
Fact or Fiction #2: It's easier to break in writing genre than
mainstream.
Easier writing category than single title.
Straight Skinny: This is a fact. A respected editor once told me
the only
thing more dangerous than publishing a new author was supplying O-Rings for the
space shuttle. (That's what brought down Challenger.)
In category, there are more slots. Readers know what kind of book to
expect,
which is why "line branding" is such a valuable tool to the publisher
and to
the author and the reader. It's easier for publishers to take the
financial
risks that come with a new author.
In genre, a reader knows if the book is a romance, she's going to get a
romance or a mystery. Readers are more willing to take a chance on an
author new
to them because they know the kind of story they'll be getting.
In mainstream, anything could be between those covers. Very challenging
to
market a new author in mainstream. Does it happen? Yes, but it's an
astronomical risk for a publisher.
ONLY if your heart is in it and you can, write category. If you can't--it
is
much more difficult than it seems--write in a genre. If you can't, write
mainstream, knowing the risks--and the odds against you--increase accordingly.
If you don't love the book--regardless of its type--don't bother writing
it.
It is not going to sell because the best it can be is lackluster. No one
gets out of a book what an author doesn't first put into a book.
Read and follow publisher guidelines BUT understand that nothing will prepare
you to write a marketable book for a publisher as much as reading the books
published by that company.
Fact or Fiction #3: Publishers want the same books they already have,
only
different.
Straight Skinny: Publishers do not want or need what they have.
(Why
compete with themselves and all other publishers?) They want something
similar but
unique. They want an author with a strong story and a unique voice.
If you haven't found your voice, or you aren't aware of what it is and why
it's important, go to my website and read the articles on Voice in the Writers'
Aids section. Voice is what a publisher buys.
If you're a new writer without a track record or a writer with a long track
record who is writing a "different-for-you" kind of book, then write
the book
before marketing it--not just a proposal. Too many editors have been
burned
buying proposals by authors who have won a gazillion contests and had a
gazillion critiques on those proposals. Then comes time to do the book
and the
quality of the work takes a nose-dive.
You might have fifty books out, but if they're all historicals and this is a
contemporary, you've got to prove you can write a contemporary. The
editors
know you can write a book, but can you write this kind of book? That,
they
don't know and you must prove. The best way to do that is to write the
book and
let it speak for you and itself.
Fact or Fiction #4: You can't get an agent without an editor, or an
editor
without an agent.
Straight Skinny: Of course you can. None of us were born with an
editor or
an agent contract. We all got them at a point and time after birth.
That
proves it can (and has been) done repeatedly. If it can happen to others,
it can
happen to you.
It's not easy, but you can up your odds by entering contests where your
targeted agent or editor is judging. By meeting with editors and agents
at
conferences. By following guidelines and writing works that fit their
lists. By
seeking writing-associate referrals, and by writing terrific query letters.
Remember than an alliance with an agent or an editor is a lot like a
marriage. You don't want just anyone, you want the best one for you at
this time.
Volunteer to work on committees, at conferences, on newsletters, in your
chapters. Get to know people and work at helping them get to know
you. The
majority of books I've sold have been through personal contacts.
An aside that's an important one regarding Breaking In: To sell, you must
submit the book.
Sounds simple, but it's more complex than it appears. I'm steadily amazed
at
how many writers do all the work and then refuse to submit it. Face your
fear--whether it's of acceptance or rejection--and mail the book.
Understand
everyone fears failure and success. (If you need it, take a look at the
article
on Keys to Success in the Writers' Aids section to help you get a grip on
both.)
BREAKING IN BOTTOM LINE: Everyone published has done it and you can,
too.
Write the best book you can write, develop contacts, and submit.
Next month, we'll continue with Breaking Out in Part 2.
I hope this helps!
Blessings,
Vicki
FIRST COAST ROMANCE WRITERS, INC.
PO BOX 32465
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32237
THE COASTAL CONNECTION
Published nine times per year by the First Coast Romance Writers, Inc.
Other RWA® chapters may reprint articles if proper credit is given to the
chapter and the author. Article contribution is welcome and may be edited for
length. Copy deadline is the 20th of the month preceding
publication. Mail or e-mail: Cheri Clark, Editor, The Coastal Connection, PO BOX 847, Wellborn, FL 32094-0847 clark_n@bellsouth.net . Publication herein of market news, etc. does not imply
endorsement, recommendation, or warranty.
FCRW is a nonprofit organization that meets the second Saturday of each
month (or as noted in the newsletter) to exchange writing tips, marketing news,
and to provide support and encouragement to members. Yearly membership dues of
$15.00 will be pro-rated, payable each July. FCRW members must be in good
standing of Romance Writers of America, Inc. The chapter’s focus is, and will
remain, on writing romance fiction. Both published and unpublished writers are
welcome.