E is for:

EBOOKS and EPUBLISHING

Files of digital versions of books are produced in different formats designed to be read by different devices or programs. At time of writing there were twelve main ones which can be identified by the suffix at the end of the file name: eg eReader [-er.PDB] ; Adobe [.PDF] ; Microsoft [.LIT] ; Palm Doc [.PDB]

Ebooks purchased in one format cannot be read on another device. This Digital Rights Management (DRM) is ostensibly designed to ensure books are not altered, copied or on-sold. It may also be seen as an attempt by the hardware manufacturers to “lock in” their customer base.

The number of platforms each ebook is available in is determined by the publisher.

Some trade publishers only release books as secured (encrypted) versions so they can only be downloaded to be read on one device to prevent unauthorized copying.

Currently the unecrypted versions are still bound by copyright law which means they are for your own personal use and you are not supposed to alter them or distribute them to other people.

There is a good information on how to get software and how to download them at Fictionwise.

While some need dedicated readers, others can be read on your PC or Mac by downloading the reading programs (often free).

Geographical Limitations may also apply which limits their sale to specific countries (usually identified by the place of origin of the credit card buying them).

There is usually no or only a nominal advance involved in ebooks, however the royalty percentage per sale is higher eg currently Ellora’s Cave offer 37.5% digital / 7.5% print.

Digital rights are important as  Angela James explains.

Contracts for ebooks need to look carefully at the term “out of print” as it could take on a whole new meaning, especially when it comes to reversion of rights. Is your book out of print when it’s not in paper copy any longer, or is it still in print as long as a digital copy is available. What kinds of future rights are you giving away?

As the industry is still in its early days epublishing with small companies can be a risky business especially if the company folds and they are the only outlet. Some publishers onsell to ebook stores which at least allows the book to be available afterwards, however the author’s return diminishes markedly.

Prolific author Piers Anthony has a page which gives the lowdown on epublishers as at this date.

This site has some interesting statistics on reported average sales from the different epublishers also at this date

EDITING and EDITORS

Editing is the alteration of text to improve it by adjusting content or grammar. Definitions of roles may vary from country to country and publisher to publisher.

This university curriculum description lists the different types of editor.

Content editor’s role is usually to read submissions or actively pursue product for their publisher. They may make suggestions as to whether it fits their market and ways you can change your story to meet their expectations.

A copy editor ensures your publication has a logical, easy-to-follow structure, corrects your grammar, spelling and punctuation, makes sure your facts are correct and consistent, helps stylise your language.

Proofreaders or line editors look at grammar, spelling and punctuation, but not content.

Note the different roles of editors have changed since the advent of epublishing, now they’re somewhat blurred. In fact in some cases you are expected to submit copy that doesn't need editing. The Editorial Ass blog had some input on that subject.

Editing can be done by the author themselves ie self editing, or by others eg critique partners.

It is possible to pay a person to edit your book or take it to a “story doctor”.

Many books have been written on the subject eg James Scott Bell’s “Revision and Self-Editing”

There are also great blog sites full of hints and tricks. Edit Torrent and Blood Red Pencil often have good articles. This one gives specific advice on the different roles editors play and this one on how to choose an editor.

ENNEAGRAMS

Most commonly, an Enneagram is an application of the Fourth Way Enneagram Figure to indicate nine distinct personality types and their interrelationships.

The Enneagram Institute  has a free test to identify which type you belong to.

For example, type 1, the Reformer:

… are conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake.

With its accompanying classification of a type’s fear, desire and motivation, these can be used to determine each character's GMC (goal, motivation and conflict).

As each type also has a healthy and unhealthy aspect, the type descriptions can help create believable emotional arcs for a character as they progress through the story.

While you can purchase software programs that do the work for you. Careful reading of the free information posted on the Enneagram Institute site will cover most of the aspects.

EPILOGUES

The epilogue is a piece of writing at the end of a work specifically designed to bring closure.

To quote Wikipedia:

An epilogue is a final chapter at the end of a story that often serves to reveal the fates of the characters. Some epilogues may feature scenes only tangentially related to the subject of the story. They can be used to hint at a sequel or wrap up all the loose ends. They can occur at a significant period of time after the main plot has ended. In some cases, the epilogue has been used to allow the main character a chance to 'speak freely'. An epilogue can continue in the same narrative style and perspective as the preceding story, although the form of an epilogue can occasionally be drastically different from the overall story.

EROTICA

Publishers and readers expect something labeled erotica will contain graphic sex.

Strictly speaking, erotica is fiction where sex drives the plot. If all the dramatic tension comes from somewhere other than the sex, then the sex isn’t necessary to tell the story. If the sex isn’t necessary to tell the story, it’s not erotica.

In publishing terms, the term erotica is applied loosely to encompass stories where the sex is either traditional heterosexual sex at a higher level of heat than usually found or contains elements that are considered different eg BDSM, homosexual pairings, ménage, fetishes, kinks etc.

Here’s how Morgan Hawke sums it up in “The Cheater’s Guide to Writing Erotic Romance For Publication and Profit”

If a vampire has sex, the plot is erotic.

If the vampire has to have sex to drink the blood he needs, then the story becomes Erotica.

If the vampire finds a lover willing to give him the sex and the blood he needs, and they go on a wild adventure together to defeat the bad guys— the story becomes Erotic Romance.

The boundaries are also becoming blurred. While NY publishers are including longer and more graphic sex scenes in their romances, it’s still not erotica or even erotic romance unless the sex is driving the plot.

EROTIC ROMANCE

Who better to describe it than Morgan Hawke again:

An Erotic Romance is a true cross-genre of Romance and Adventure and Sex. However, you can’t just heat up a romance, or pop a few sex scenes into an adventure tale, or add Romance to an Erotica story, and make an Erotic Romance. To do an Erotic Romance right, you have to make everything work together— a romantic, sexually active relationship that goes on an Adventure.

EROTIC LANGUAGE

There are two camps of thought. One maintains graphic language is expected in erotica and the other says it turns the reader off.

Two interesting blogs in Alien Romance dealt with this. First, Margaret Carter in Erotic Language Blog maintains most formerly “unprintable” words are anti-aphrodisiacs and maintains they’re not needed. However, she notes some publishers classify their erotica into different levels depending on the nature of the explicit language or the graphic nature of the scene.

Rowena Cherry argues for the use of explicit language. As she puts it:

Almost any word, used with skill and precision, can accomplish the author’s purpose. I've read uses of the f-word where I could not imagine a more effective or arousing word for the context.

So the language can vary greatly from what I like to term the 4C’s (clitoris, cock, cum, cunt) to the euphemistic terms listed here.

ETHICS

Ethics may seem a strange term to include, however it applies to a few aspects of a writer’s life.

This webpage on Fiction and the Ethics of Writing has thoughts on ensuring what you write does no harm:

Here is a forum which has a number of threads discussing issues such as plagiarism, attribution, quotes, etc.

There are also behavioural ethics eg the way you critique another’s work. Here is a good blog by Marilynn Brierley as she sees it.

EVENTS

Or more commonly known as Book Events are promotional events usually attended by the author in person. They may involve sessions where author will read a portion of their work and sign purchased copies of the book for their fans.

Interview with Denise Rossetti Part 3

Here is the third and final installment of the interview I had recently with author Denise Rossetti. In Part 1 and Part 2 she described how she got into writing and gave us some mouth watering teasers about her current and future projects.

In this part, she talks about the process of writing and shares some hints on what it’s actually like being a published writer.

Enjoy.

Amber:  Do you use a Critique Group or a few CP's for your writing? What sort of feedback do you look for from them?

Denise:  Yes. I have two people who critique my work. One is Joey W. Hill, an American author of lyrical, intense erotic and BDSM romances. She helps me a lot by pointing out where I need to crank up the emotional angst – not always my best thing.

The other is my dear friend, the delightful Christine Wells. She writes sparkling sexy Regency romances with terrific emotional depth. She’s very good at not only pointing out what needs improvement but also what I’ve done right. This is an essential part of critiquing, to my mind. Knowing what to keep because it works.

I also enjoy critiquing their work. So it’s all mutual. Another important aspect.

I should add that my original critique group was the incomparable Hellsbelles and better friends and slave drivers no woman could have had. I owe them a tremendous debt.

Amber:  Do you find "Showing" comes naturally when writing or is it something you have to consciously do?

Denise:  It’s never been much of a problem. In Myers Briggs personality type testing, I’m an “S” (Sensate) and yep, that’s pretty accurate.

I have a real thing about deep POV, so I make a deliberate effort to think my way inside my characters’ heads. What are they touching, smelling, feeling? And so on. So I guess that part of the craft is conscious, after all..

Amber:  How easy do you find writing dialogue, particularly male dialogue - do you write it differently?

Denise:  Again, not much of a problem. I hate that “girl in a man-suit” thing where a male character says and does things that, emotionally, are really feminine.

I do write it differently in that I’m always conscious this is a MAN and a man is not me. A man may be gay, but he’s still male, with more testosterone than I’ll ever have.

One thing I try to do is work out what curse words characters use and what that reveals about them. In Strongman, I deliberately made Fort and Griff thoroughly masculine. Feminised men do nothing for me as lust objects.

Amber:  You write using a pseudonym – do you keep the two parts of your life totally separate?

Denise:  Not really, things tend to spill over. My colleagues know what I do. Some of them are interested, others not at all. That’s fine.

However, when I can, I like to keep my writing self separate from my personal and family self.

Amber:  How did you choose your name?

Denise:  I’ve always thought I’d better keep my own first name, my memory not always being the best!

It’s also a good idea to Google it before deciding. One writer I know inadvertently chose a pseudonym that already belonged to a porn star!

You also want to ensure whatever name you choose has a degree of individuality. I chose Rossetti as I wanted a name with the word “Rose” in it, but there are lots of writers with that surname already. Rossetti had a pre-Raphaelite association and an exotic ring. The spelling is a concern, as people often get it wrong, hence I had to log in all variations of spelling into the metadata on my website to ensure they would still find me.

Amber:  Would you advise authors to have a pseudonym?

Denise:  Yes, I would. Loss of privacy is always a concern. Also using your real name could expose your family to something they didn’t sign up for.

Amber:  Have you had any problems because you write erotica?

Denise:  No, though I had some difficulty telling my mother! I guess I’m too old and cantankerous to really care about what anyone else thinks. On the other hand, I never push. Never. Ever.

The people I work with are pretty cool with it.

Amber:  Has your life changed since becoming a published writer?

Denise:  It has, in that I have different things to worry about now. *sigh* Promotion, reviews, sales. New proposals.

Genre fiction is Big Business these days and what to you is the Book of Your Heart, is just another product to the marketing department.

Also, on a rational level, we all know reviews are subjective, but I still find criticism stressful, especially when it’s ill-informed and snide. But I don’t respond. Ever.

Amber: Are you still enjoying your writing or has it become a job?

Denise:  Yes I do. I try to keep it interesting. Each book has some sort of “in joke” somewhere, just for me. The less constrained by expectations I feel, the better I write and the more I enjoy the process. It’s a fine line. Seriously, fanmail helps. I keep it all.

Amber:  Is there much disadvantage in living in Australia ie not attending conventions and book signings in the US?

Denise:  This can be a problem. There are two main conventions in the US, Romantic Times (RT) and Nationals, RWA. It’s advantageous to attend both, but it’s expensive, so which? SF and Fantasy conventions look interesting too and then there’s book signings. It’s very helpful to meet readers face to face. Ah well…

Amber:  Did you get a separate agent for the US?

Denise:  I only have as American agent. She handles my Berkley books. I don’t have an agent with Ellora’s Cave. Electronic publishers’ contracts are usually pretty boiler-plate.

Amber:  What’s the comparison between your earnings from Berkley and Ellora’s Cave?

Denise:  My first advance from Berkley was worth more than all my earnings from Ellora’s Cave put together. I have my doubts as to when - or if - I’ll see any royalties!

That said, you can make a living from epublishers if you produce in the order of four books or more a year.

Amber:  Thank you so much for taking time away from writing and joining me for lunch. I’m sure everyone’s loved hearing from you. Now go back to your writing desk and tap, tap, tap please. We want more books like “Strongman” and “The Flame and the Shadow” and more adventures of people like Rackety Kate.

A reminder that Denise’s next book “Thief of Light” will be released on the 3^rd November 2009. You can read an excerpt here.

We Have A Winner

There was a competition run in conjunction with the second part of Denise's interview. Denise kindly offered to present a copy of "The Flame and the Shadow" to one of the people who posted a comment.

So congratulations go to Stephanie and many, many thanks to Denise for her kind donation.

Thanks also to everyone who dropped in and said hello.

Denise is a wonderfully warm, intelligent and feisty lady. Exactly like the way she writes. It was a pleasure to meet with her face to face and hear her story first hand. I hope you enjoyed the interview as much as I did.

D is for:

DARK MOMENT

The dark moment is the time when the protagonist reaches rock bottom. All seems lost. This will usually precede the climax (where the major plot problem is resolved), and thus take place near the beginning of the final part of the book.

Not all books need dark moments, but properly used, this point of crisis can intensify the conflict and at the same time, initiate its resolution.

Alicia Rasley sums it up well.

DESCRIPTION

On its most basic level this tells the reader more about the character and the environment they ‘re in. Note the word “tell”. Used correctly it should also “show” the reader more about the character as well.

Unless the POV is omniscient third, the description should always relate to the person whose viewpoint it is. It should only show what is important to that character. Morgan Hawke gives a good example:

Oscar the Grouch is not going to see - or describe - a field of roses the same way as Big Bird. Darth Vader's opinion (and description,) of Yoda is not going to resemble Luke Skywalker's. The Heroine is NOT going to describe the Villain the same way she would her Hero.

In fact, Morgan’s done two great blogs on the subject: Is Description Really Needed and Tricks to Tight "sneaky" Description.

DIALOGUE

Dialogue is what people say and is delineated by quotation marks.

Here is a good article on Punctuating Dialogue. 

Strunk & White's Elements of Style recommends:

In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a paragraph by itself; that is, a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker.

A character's dialogue belongs in the same paragraph as their actions because when the character speaks they are still acting.

Dialogue always happens after actions. People act faster than they think, unless the action is as an after effect of what has been said or thought.

There is also inner dialogue, the POV’s characters thoughts. Currently publishers vary as to how they treat this. Some put it into italics, others don’t. Together the two types of dialogue make up the character’s “voice”.

Weaving internal thought along with external dialogue is a great way to show a person’s character. A character could be self-censoring their speech, thinking one thing but saying something else. For example a male character may swear a lot in company with other men, but only in internal dialogue in the company of women. Impetuous people tend to speak first then think.

What someone doesn’t say in dialogue can be just as important as what they say. For the POV character, what they don’t say is usually shown as an inner thought. For the observed character, a lie, evasion may be up to the reader to determine from what has already happened in the story or from the POV’s character observation of the speaker’s body language. This may or may not be correctly interpreted depending on the circumstances.

Writing good dialogue is at the heart of all fiction writing. Entire books have been devoted to the subject. There are also online workshops. Here’s a list of some web articles on the subject:

Dialogue has to match the tone and genre of the book. Jennifer Crusie’s witty modern dialogue would not suit a regency romance for example. It should also match the character ie the word choice, style, and cadence should be as distinct as possible. 

Robert Sawyer has some good tips on writing realistic dialogue.

Read dialogue aloud and listen to the cadence. The way the words flow.

Watch that dialogue doesn’t become a rant. Break it up with reactions from the listener.

DIALOGUE CUE

 Dialogue cues describe the voice – the tone, quality, pitch, volume and rate of speech.

This becomes non verbal characterization. How they say something gives as much if not more information than what they say.

Margie Lawson runs a great workshop on the subject and her notes can be purchased. 

DIALOGUE RUNS

Short lines of dialogue ping-ponging back and forth between characters. Often there are no dialogue tags or dialogue cues.

DIALOGUE TAGS

Basic dialogue tags inform the reader who delivered the line of dialogue, ie he said, she said

Dialogue tags are only needed when you don’t have any other way of identifying the speaker.

Instead of using basic dialogue tags, dialogue can also be identified by tying the dialogue to an action or an internalization, body language, a visceral response or a dialogue cue. These lift the words off the page into a visual image.

“Sit back,” I said.

“Sit.” I pointed at the empty seat.

DISTRIBUTORS

I am indebted to the great SciFiRomance author Linnea Sinclair for explaining this to me in an email:

All bookstores receive their “inventory” (ie: books) usually on a sale or return basis from one of several major distributors. Book publishers themselves do not ship directly to stores. Publishers (or the publisher’s printer) ships to a distributor’s warehouse and the distributor takes orders from bookstores, be they Borders or Barnes & Noble, or Mom And Pop Books R Us. Some of the more well known distributors are Ingram’s (likely the largest), Baker & Taylor and Levy Entertainment. The distributors send out catalogs to bookstores (or in the case of large chains, to the chain’s HQ) and then the store decides who/what to order from that. 

Large publishers—like Bantam—have “reps” who visit the top executives and buyers of the large chain stores, like Borders, and they try to get the buyers/execs excited about whatever is coming up next. But the stores still must order through a distributor

Interview with Denise Rossetti Part 2

I have great pleasure in posting the second installment of the interview I did recently with Brisbane author Denise Rossetti. The first part of the interview can be found here.

Denise, your next book in the Four Sided Pentacle series "Thief of Light" is coming out soon, could we speak about that for a while.

Amber:  Music is obviously going to be an important part of this book, what role does it play in your life?

Denise: I’ve been a regular attendee for the opera season for twenty years. I adore Verdi and Puccini. Wagner in small doses.

I love music. It’s a huge part of my life. For example, I use it deliberately to influence my moods, to the point where I bop around doing housework to Ricky Martin. *grin* I play opera when I’m writing the angsty parts and Gypsy Kings and Franz Ferdinand for action scenes. It makes me sad that I can’t play an instrument.

Amber:  Was Teddy Tahu Rhodes an inspiration for Eric?

Denise: Not really. I’ve seen Teddy in concert and loved him to death, but Erik is an amalgam of all the most amazing male voices you’ve ever heard. His voice is enchanting – literally. He can sing anything, from rock to folk to opera. Anything at all.

Amber:   Have you ever been affected by music as deeply as people are effected by Erik's voice? If so by which artists?

Denise: Alan Rickman could sit by my bed, read me the phone book and I’d be ecstatic. I truly adore the baritone voice, more even than a lyrical tenor. Bryn Terfel is beyond wonderful. An incredibly gifted and intelligent artist.

Amber:   I gather the heroine in “Thief of Light” is a mother as was the heroine of “Flame and the Shadow” do Mothers or women with children interest you as a writer? If so why?

Denise: No, it’s more of a coincidence really. I prefer to write about mature women and most women over the age of 35 have had children. Having a child is one important part of what it means to be human.

Personally, I don’t think of myself as particularly “maternal” – at least not in the traditional sense. Being a mother is one among a number of roles that constitute “me” even though I love my children with every particle of my being.

Amber:   What comes after “Thief of Light?”

Denise: I am already well into the third book of the Four-Sided Pentacle series which centres around earth as an element. The heroine is a truly unusual character. I’ve never written anyone like her before and I’m enjoying the challenge. The hero is all broody and dangerous and world-weary and gorgeous.

After that will come the “water” book and the conclusion to the series. I’m still mulling that one around in my head.

Amber:   Now I'd like to congratulate you on your recent Passionate Plume win for “Strongman” and follow up with a couple of questions relating to that. Firstly, can you see yourself writing more M/M romance? If so why?

Denise: I am definitely interested in it, would love to, in fact. However, it would probably be for Ellora’s Cave rather than Berkley.

There’s something less complicated about the male/male relationship. No, on second thoughts that’s not right. It can be very complicated, but somehow it’s simpler to write, the emotions are more straightforward. Plus, it pushes all my buttons. *grin*

Amber:  When asked about possible story lines, author Josh Lanyon suggests at one point re-hashing old Harlequin/Mills and Boon plot lines into an M/M slant – could you see yourself doing that?

Denise: No. I doubt I’d need to. On the other hand, I know they say there are only eight possible plot lines in the whole of Storyworld, so I’m not silly enough to rule it out completely. *smile*

In any case, I like to explore different ideas otherwise I become bored. Not all of my “out-there” motifs work, of course. Though I must admit though the concept of the sentient shadow in The Flame and the Shadow did succeed in doing what I wanted it to do.

Amber:  What’s coming next? Do you ever have trouble coming up with ideas for your books?

Denise: Not so far, but I tend not to think farther ahead than the book that’s kicking its heels in the wings and driving me crazy!

Amber:  Do you think of themes when you are writing?

Denise: Overtly no, but I was reading a comment of Jenny Crusie’s the other day to the effect that all writers have a central story that they tell again and again, in different ways. Something so personal to them that they may not see it at first.

On reflection, I think mine is about self-actualisation - understanding and accepting and loving yourself. It seems to be a consistent character arc in my books.

When I was writing The Flame and the Shadow, I knew the central thread was reconciliation. With others and with self. Thief of Light is about how the way absolute power can corrupt absolutely. My next book in the series (the “earth” book) is about emotion, how we recognize and deal with it.

Amber:  Will there be any more books in the Phoenix Rising Series?

Denise: Yes. I’m working on one now. *beams* It’s a ménage which involves Liseriel the Gray, an Aetherii we’ve already met in Tailspin, Michael, a human Master Thief and Miri’s cousin Daxariel the Burnished, a huge mountain of an Aetherii.

This book will be different in that Dax is a genuinely good person. Be interesting to see if I can make him an intriguing hero. Michael has enough flaws for all three of them. Heh heh

Amber:  Your novels so far are fantasy based, you've done short story contemporary in the anthologies, do you ever see yourself branching out into full size books in that genre like Joey Hill's?

Denise: My major problem in writing contemporary is the location. I feel more comfortable writing about something I know and I can’t imagine setting a contemporary book in Brisbane. I know that’s silly. Authors like Keri Arthur have been incredibly successful in using Melbourne as a setting, but somehow Brisbane doesn’t feel quite the same. Perhaps because I grew up here?

Fantasy provides a wonderful escape and it also means I don’t have to do a lot of research. It’s awful, but I’m bone lazy like that, even though I know how to do it perfectly well. I had at one stage thought of doing historical but doing the research? Nah!

That said, I have a whole plot for a romantic suspense set in Washington. Oh dear, might have to watch The West Wing all over again! *snork*

Then there’s the Kaminski Family story set in the Kimberly in WA. So much to write, so little time… *sigh*

I’d like to write romantic suspense. Also comedy. Maybe the two together?

Amber:  Would you ever consider writing non-erotica books?

Denise: Of course, especially as all romances are getting “hotter” in tone anyway. In fact, The Flame and the Shadow was marketed as fantasy not erotic romance. There’s only one really rude word in it (for a particular and very good reason) and none in Thief of Light. But they’re still erotic! (I hope!)

Amber:  Would you use a different name if you did?

Denise: Probably not. Just make sure readers know exactly what to expect.

Interview with Denise Rossetti

Recently I was extremely lucky to meet the multi award winning author and RWA member Denise Rossetti Denise's Web Page. Her series "Phoenix Rising" has been published by Ellora's Cave. So far, this comprises "Gift of the Goddess", "Tailspin" and "Strongman" . The last two have won consecutive (2008, 2009) RWA (America) Passionate Plume Awards for erotic romance writing in the Futuristic/Fantasy/Sci-fi genre.
She also has a series, The Four-Sided Pentacle, published by Berkley. The first book, "The Flame and the Shadow" was released in November 2008. The next one "Thief of Light" will be released on November 3 2009.
I caught up with Denise on a recent visit to Brisbane when she kindly consented to answer a few questions about how she began writing. She also passed on some tantalising information about her upcoming book and provided a few glimpses of what is yet to come.
The interview is too long to post all at once, so I'll split it into sections.

Amber: When and what started you writing? 
Denise: I’ve always loved genre reading because of the escape factor books provide, especially Fantasy such as Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold and the “Wheel of Time” series by Robert Jordan. When I started writing seven years ago, I discovered setting myself a goal and achieving it was a form of therapy at a time of life when I needed that distraction.
Amber: How did you start?
Denise: I took an online TAFE (Tertiary and Further Education) course in “Romance Writing”. This included exercises like being presented with lines of dialogue with no dialogue tags and having to turn it into two totally different scenarios. As part of the course, I began my first WIP “Swash and Buckle”.
It was designed as a category romance for Harlequin, but I didn’t follow the guidelines, so it didn’t fit anywhere. I am not a fan of “How to Write” books or even workshops as I find they interfere with my muse. I’m an “organic” writer, whatever that actually means. ;-)
Amber: What made you believe you could be a writer?
Denise: I entered “Swash and Buckle” in the Clendon Competition, for completed Romance manuscripts which is sponsored and organised by Barbara's Books  in conjunction with Romance Writers of New Zealand Inc. Initial evaluation is done by selected readers from Barbara's Books customer base. I had a gratifying response ranging from quite liked it to wildly enthusiastic and placed third.
Amber: Where is it now?
Denise: At the bottom of a drawer and certain to stay there!
Amber: I heard you were recommended to your agent by another writer. What happened?
Denise: Yes, after that initial contact, I sent two paragraphs about the concept that became The Flame and the Shadow, together with the first few chapters of Tailspin to Nancy Yost (who is now my agent) and Wendy McCurdy, a senior editor at Berkley. I followed that up with a proper proposal for a four book series, which included synopses for the series arc and first two books, short synopses of Books 3 and 4 and the first three chapters of Book 1. It nearly killed me!In retrospect, I was in the right place at the right time. That was sheer luck, but I also had something to offer.
Amber: How did you get started with Ellora’s Cave?
Denise: I’d entered a competition with Gift of the Goddess, which got me started. (You had to write three chapters – the first, the last and any other.) Then I did a pitch for an Ellora’s Cave editor at RWA’s 2005 conference in Melbourne.
Amber: Did the ending change much?
Denise: Not really. I always knew what their emotional conflict was going to be and as it turned out I didn’t have to change much. It was more a question of how we were going to get there!
Amber: Do you enjoy writing alpha male heroes?
Denise: I find alphas interesting and often difficult. If they’re too alpha, I want to hit them over the head with a lump of four by two!
Brin from Gift of the Goddess was my first real alpha male. I can’t help it, I’m an evil woman, so my alphas are always as vulnerable as they are strong - hence the fact he is rescued by Anje and Trey. I have a real soft spot for beta heroes like Trey.
Amber: How do you structure your writing day – or do you wait until your muse whispers in your ear?*
Denise: What structure? *grin*
Amber: Has your approach to writing (structure of day, goal-setting, word-count) shifted over the years? If so, how?
Denise: No, but I wish it had. *sigh* I’m trying to set a goal of 1,000 words a day, but life tends to get in the way…
Amber: Have you experienced times when you struggled with writing? If so, was it before you were published, after, or both? Do you know what contributed to those difficult times? How did you overcome those psychological hurdles?
Denise: Often. I don’t have problems with writer’s block, but my self-confidence can be affected by interactions with editors, reviewers and readers. For example, I keep a folder of comments from readers, so I can refer to them later. It’s especially helpful to hear what works for them, so I know when I’m on the right path.
Amber: A high percentage of writers identify procrastination, perfectionism, time management, and self-doubt as their top self-defeating behaviors. Which self-defeating behaviors plague you?
Denise: I must admit those four are huge problems for me. I don’t have any fool-proof solutions. Unfortunately, I’ve never been particularly organized, though I do love ticking things off on lists.
As far as self-doubt is concerned, I remind myself that it’s all subjective. Then I try to give myself to the Muse and immerse myself in the joy of storytelling. It works quite often.
One of the things I have found beneficial of late has been a visit to a massage therapist every two weeks. My immediate family has been incredibly supportive.
Amber: Any recommendations for writers who are working hard to defeat their self-defeating behaviors?
Denise: Other writers understand. Talk to them, go to conferences, join your local Romance Writers organisation and find yourself critique partners you can trust.
(To be continued next month.)
** Thanks to Margie Lawson's "Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors" for some of the questions.

C is for: (continued)

COMP TITLES

Comparative or comparable titles are the books your book is compared to. Trade people use them to gain an estimate for likely sales figures. You can read more at Pimp My Novel Comp Titles

CONCEPT

The idea behind a book is the concept. What agents and editors love is High Concept, a fascinating idea that can easily be explained in a short sentence which is different, has a terrific hook, and takes something everyone knows and puts a new twist on it.

CONFERENCES

Run annually by organizations such as Romance Writers of America, Australia or New Zealand. They usually incorporate speeches and workshops in their programs designed to encourage and help other authors write. Agents, editors and publishers’ representatives sometimes attend, allowing you to meet them and sometimes present a pitch of your latest project. They are a great way to meet other authors, learn your craft and become known.

Conferences cost money. Here’s advice from Rachelle Gardner on whether you should go to them. Should you go to a Writer's Conference?

CONTESTS

Many writing organizations run writing contests. Quite a few new writers have broken into publishing on the strength of their results in these competitions. Yu can also gain valuable feedback from comments in the process.

Don’t forget to look at other country’s organizations and contests. Some are open to writers from anywhere others require membership of that organisation to enter.

The drawback is cost. Entry fees and the cost of printing, packing, posting and providing return postage can become significant if you’re entering a lot. Take care to ensure your work matches their criteria for entry and follow the rules.

CONTRACTS

Contracts set out the terms between you and your publisher in a sequence of clauses. Usually these are negotiated by agents on your behalf, however if you don’t have an agent because you are epublishing you will need to research this thoroughly or get someone with expertise to do it for you. Genreality has some good advice.Jenny Bent Blog on Contracts

Here’s a great list at Genreality by Joe Nassise of Must Have Contract Clauses

Also some great advice from Angela James, formerly of Samhain Publishing now with Quartet Press. “be aware of the terms of your contract. Understand not just the print side of your contract, but the digital side as well. Now that we have digital books, the term “out of print” could take on a whole new meaning, especially when it comes to reversion of rights. Is your book out of print when it’s not in paper copy any longer, or is it still in print as long as a digital copy is available?

CONVENTIONS

 RT, the US Romantic Times Convention and ARRC the Australian Romance Readers Convention are the most obvious examples but there are also ones for different genres such as Worldcon the World Science Fiction Convention.

Conventions are geared more for the fans i.e. the readers. They have a few panels covering the craft of writing plus they are a great way to meet other authors and pimp your novel at book signings. They may also be the inspiration to become a writer yourself (as ARRC was for me!).

COPYRIGHT

First off you cannot copyright an idea.

Jessica Faust at BookEnds Literary agency has this to say on the subject of Idea Theft

In Australia, copyright protection is granted automatically from the time an original work is created. See the Attorney General’s site for details: Copyright

The duration of copyright protection is dependent on a number of factors, including the nature of the work, the time when it was made and whether it has been published. The duration of protection for copyright works that have been published (or otherwise made available to the public) generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator. There are some exceptions to this general rule.
Copyright subsists indefinitely in a literary work that has not been published during the life of the author. If the work is posthumously published, the copyright will terminate at the end of 70 years after that event.
Copyright laws vary from country to country and from time to time, so check what is relevant to you.

COVER LETTER

These are the letters addressed to the recipient of the synopsis, partial or whatever you are sending to an agent , editor or publisher.

Here’s a good list of do’s and don’ts from Raelene Gorlinsky at Redlines and Deadlines. How NOT to write a cover letter

CRAFT

Craft is the science of writing, the grammar, structure, characterization etc. The nuts and bolts used to ensure an effective story hangs together. There are great How To books out there and countless blogs devoted to them, such as this one!

CRITIQUE PARTNERS

The main word here is partners. Instead of paying someone to correct your typos and grammar and suggest improvements, you swap your work with another author and do it at no cost.

Ideally you should have partners whose advice you value and know you can likewise contribute to their writing. Some may help your sentence construction, others may be great at working where your writing needs strengthening. Both types should be encouraging and where possible say what works as well as what doesn’t.

Behler Blog's advice on Critique Partners

Carol Burnside at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales had a good blog on the subject too: Share Your Work 

Critiquing can be a valuable learning experience. Most importantly, it should be a positive experience. If it’s not, you may be matched with the wrong partner.

CROSS GENRE

Genre fiction is broken down into sub sections such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, science fiction. Cross genre is where a book combines elements of more than one type eg science fiction romance. The problem then is how the book is promoted and sold. Is it shelved in the shop in the science fiction section or the romance section?

Author and writing teacher Marilynn Brierley sums it up this way:

If a novel is cross-genre, one of the genres must be the strongest and its genre tropes and plot must drive the novel throughout.
A werewolf novel that is driven forward by the worldbuilding and various werewolf political/pack struggles is urban fantasy or horror.  A werewolf novel where boy wolf meets girl vampire, and they fall in love during various werewolf and vampire struggles is a paranormal romance.
You must understand what the central genre of your novel is so your novel doesn't fail by genre standards, and you will know where to market it.