Welcome to Romance Writers of America’s Women’s Fiction Chapter!

I hope you take some time to wander around the website, and find the great information we’ve complied for you here. Then please take a moment to introduce yourself on our Yahoo loop. We hope you’ll find the chapter as inspiring and helpful as I have.

We owe a large debt of thanks to Therese Walsh, who envisioned a home for Women’s Fiction writers within RWA and set about creating it. Both Therese and her founding board left big shoes to fill.

We have many ideas for the coming year, and new projects on the drawing board. Our first order of business is our WF Mini Conference, which will be held Wednesday, July 25 at the Anaheim Marriott. Margie Lawson, psychologist and creator of the Deep Edits System will be our craft speaker. Social Networking Goddess, Kristen Lamb, will be our Keynote Speaker. We’ll also have two WF panels of Authors, Editors, and Agents, so mark the date, and make your plans . . . you won’t want to miss it!

Your Board can’t lead in a vacuum. Please let us know of any suggestions you may have to make our chapter even better. And consider volunteering in some way to the chapter – you may find you receive more than you give!

Here’s to a prolific, successful, and peaceful 2012.

Laura Drake
President

FEBRUARY CONTEST DEADLINES
Fire and Ice Contest
Chicago-North RWA
Entry cost: $25/$30 (non-RWA members)
E-Entry Deadline: Midnight of February 1, 2012
Prologue/first chapter (25 pages max)
http://www.chicagonorthrwa.org/

Willa Award (P)
Women Writing the West
Entry cost: $50
Entry Deadline is February 1, 2012
Copyright of 2011
http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/pdffiles/WILLA%20Guidelines%20and%20Application.pdf

Merritt Contest (EO – U – P/4)
San Antonio Romance Authors
Entry cost: #30/$35 (non-RWA members)
Deadline: Midnight, February 14, 2012
First twenty pages, plus up to five page synopsis.
http://sararwa.net/contest.html

The Sandy
Crested Butte Writers
Entry cost: $30/$35 (non-Crested Butte members)
Deadline: Midnight February 12, 2012
First 20 pages plus two page synopsis.
http://thesandy.org/sandy.php

PNWA Literary Contest
Received by February 17, 2012
Entry cost: $35/$50 (non-PNWA members)
Beginning and Synopsis (not to exceed 5 pages) total 28 page max.
http://www.pnwa.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=6

MARCH CONTEST DEADLINES

Fab 5 (EO – U – P/5)
WisRWA
Entry Cost: $18/$20 (non-WRWA members)
Received by March 1, 2012
Up to first 2,500 words.
http://www.wisrwa.org/

Great Beginnings
Utah Chapter RWA
Entry Cost: $10
Deadline: March 1, 2012
First five pages.
http://www.utahrwa.com/gbcontest.html

Inspirational Readers Choice (P)
Faith, Hope & Love
Entry Cost: $20/$25 (Non-FHL members)
Received by March 1, 2012
Copyright of 2011
http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/tbl.html

More Than Magic (P)
Romance Writers Ink
Entry Cost: $25 check, $27 Paypal
Entry Deadline: March 2, 2012
Copyright of 2011
http://rwimagiccontests.wordpress.com/

Genesis Award (EO – U – P/7)
ACFW – American Christian Fiction Writers
Entry Cost: $35/$95 (Non-NCFW members
Received by 3:00 PM CST March 2, 2012
First 15 pages plus optional one page synopsis
http://www.acfw.com/genesis/index.shtml

ACFW Book of the Year (P)
ACFW – American Christian Fiction Writers
Entry Cost: $40/$115 (Non ACFW members)
Postmark by March 10, 2012
Copyright of 2011 http://www.acfw.com/boty.shtml

CNW Contest
Postmarked by March 15, 2012
Entry Cost: $5/$10
First five thousand words.
http://www.writers-editors.com/Writers/Contests/Contest_Guidelines/contest_guidelines.htm

Daphne du Maurier Award for Published Authors
RWA Mystery/Suspense Chapter
Received by March 15, 2012
Entry Cost: $25
Copyright of 2009
http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/d_published.php

Daphne du Maurier Award for Unpublished Authors (U)
RWA Mystery/Suspense Chapter
Entry Cost: $25
Received by March 15, 2012
First five thousand words, plus synopsis of no more than 675 words.
http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/d_unpublished.php

Touch of Magic (EO – U – P/5)
Central Florida Romance Writers
Deadline: March 20, 2012
Entry Cost: $25/$30 (Non CFRWA members)
First twenty-five pages plus up to three page synopsis (unjudged).
http://www.cfrwa.com/?page_id=28

L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest (U)
Received by March 31, 2012
Entry Cost: $0
Up to 17,000 words
http://www.writersofthefuture.com/rules.htm#writers

Check out Contests and Contest Winners on: http://contestdivas.blogspot.com/
Check out the Award Winning Romance Books on: http://awardwinningromances.blogspot.com/
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Getting Respect

One of the things that always strikes me when talking to writers groups is the Rodney Dangerfield-ism of “I don’t get no respect.” The unpublished feel dissed by the published. E-writers feel dissed by print. Those in the romance genre think they’re looked down on by women’s fiction. Mystery authors argue they get eclipsed by romance. YA complain they’re not taken seriously. And picture book creators whine that some people act like they aren’t writers at all. Non-fiction yeomen and literary geniuses both rail against the masses who prefer to spend their book dollars on lesser lights. Even screenwriters, with their high pay and glamorous life, sigh that people see them as lesser, because what they do is not a book.

The writer, laboring in obscurity and disrespect, is almost a cultural stereotype. And all of us, at least on a bad day or two, have wallowed in it.

I consider myself an extremely lucky person. I grew up in fairly straightened working class circumstances, but I had an advantage that money can’t buy. I had a father who believed in me. He thought that I was brilliant and funny, hardworking and cute. I recall childhood afternoons sitting with him on the front steps. He would still be dressed in his grease-covered khakis, his hardhat “airing out” on the grass. He’d ask my opinion on politics, religion, history, hunting dogs or the neighbors. And he listened to my answers with the same attention and respect the he would have afforded any other human on the planet.

Of course, school and life quickly taught me that I was not particularly brilliant, funny, hardworking or cute. And the other folks on this planet occasionally treat me with a general lack of respect based on who I am, what I do, where I live or how much money I make.

This truth does not make me sigh at the unrealistic expectations that my father instilled in me. Because his lesson was not meant as an introduction to the big world. It was his method of teaching me how to respect myself, to have confidence in my own thoughts and abilities, and to inoculate me from the habit of measuring my accomplishments with other people’s yardsticks.

Authorship is a very competitive vocation. We have contests upon contests, trophies, medals, pendants and certificates. Every reader in the world is urged to publicly judge us, one to five stars. And those elements of the writing life don’t even touch the financial market realities of ever increasing reading options and chasing limited book buying dollars.

Like most in the entertainment business, you’re only as good as your last work. And the term “good” isn’t limited to the quality of the writing. Bad cover, bad reviews, bad luck and bad weather can all contribute to the lackluster performance of a novel. Any hiccup in an upward trajectory and a hundred talented people are scrambling to step into place. Even those at the very top have no place to go but down.

Is it any wonder that we are insecure?

The quote from Eleanor Roosevelt–“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent”–is a true one. But sometimes it’s hard for us to get our heads around it. We write something and immediately we ask someone nearby to read it.

“What do you think?”

There is, inherently, in the nature of criticism the task to find fault. It shows that the reader is paying attention, has discriminate tastes and is not afraid to tell you to your face that they don’t like something.

I really hate that.

But I digress from my point, which is, Does it really matter what someone else thinks?

I believe in the snowflake theory. Every writer comes to his or her work with a specific set of skills and strengths. They also bring their own unique perspective and life experience. For these reasons, it is rare that two writers will produce the same work, even if they are trying.

This fact was aptly demonstrated last year in a small historical anthology called It Happened One Season. Veteran authors, Balogh, Laurens, D’Alessandro and Hern were given exactly the same characters and premise for a novella. Without any coordination, each tale was different in tone, style, storyline and theme.

I mention this because I think it is vitally important to all of us to remember that our work, what we write, cannot now, nor ever, be written by somebody else. Our vision cannot be duplicated.

But what if our vision is one that no one has an interest in reading? What if my story sits on the self or in the cloud, only stirring the meager interest of a few supportive family members?

Ah yes, there is the rub.

We all want to be loved. To paraphrase Harry Truman, “then get a dog.”

And we all want to make a living, which has never been easy. I do believe that there is more opportunity in publishing venues, as least on some level, than there has been for a long while.

Adoring fans are wonderful. And the gleam of bright lights makes us feel even more fascinating than we are. However, making big money, small money, or any money changes nothing when it comes to respect. If you’re expecting commercial success to increase anything but your financial worth, you will be disappointed. People love to hate writers who make money. Just the fact that you’re making it runs counter to the sufferer stereotype, and guarantees that your work will be dismissed as unworthy and you will be almost universally proclaimed as a talentless hack.

Can’t you just give me my happily-ever-after?

Being a writer is such an unlikely privilege that whether we’re doing it in a Paris garret, a mini-mansion, or a mobile home, we should be incredibly proud. So many people want to be us. Even WE want to be us.

The buying and selling and bestselling, that’s all craziness that we can’t control. What we do have some say in is the quality of our own work and our own respect for the task that we do.

Or as my daddy once said in cautioning about the local hometown swains, “If you don’t respect yourself, none of those numbskulls are going to do it for you.”

I am so happy to be here among the members of the RWA-WF. I want our chapter to be one that oozes mutual respect. That we will be courageous and diligent and supportive of one another. And that we will write the books that we were meant to write. I believe that begins by taking the trouble to respect ourselves.

Show me the future, the data, and the money!

 This column may lack a crystal ball, access to Amazon’s algorithms, and a six-figure deal, but it has prognostications and opinions from industry insiders, outside observers, and those with a foot in each camp.

 You’ll also find advice on pitching, an interview with an RWA-WF member, and a dose of tough love from Kristen Lamb.  Hope something or many things pique your interest.

 Future, Data, Money

Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s profile of Larry Kirshbaum, vice-president and publisher of Amazon Publishing, portrays him as a New York publishing industry insider who lost the good will of his peers when he joined Amazon to head an imprint aimed at attracting bestselling authors. The profile makes it clear Kirshbaum was interested in innovation and in e-books long before Amazon turned publisher and hints at the future Amazon envisions for publishing. 

In related Kirshbaum/Amazon news, Galley Cat reports that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s new New Harvest imprint will publish all Amazon Publishing’s New York-based imprint’s adult titles in print and distribute them in North America.

Writers love stories and collect anecdotes, but hard data also tells a story, and publishing industry consultant Mike Shatzkin wants more of it. Here’s a tidbit from Shatzkin’s post: Forrester Research’s survey of publishing executives predicts the trade business will become 50% digital in 2014, rather than 2015 as previously thought.

Writer Bob Mayer isn’t too polite to discuss money and best-seller lists. “The key to success in digital publishing is not the immediate success and the bestseller list.  It’s the long tail, a broad base of titles, and consistent sales over the years.  Where bestseller lists really count is on Amazon if you get on that first page for your genre.  That’s called discoverability.”

At The Business Rusch, writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch also talks money and lists. In particular, she’s bothered by the proliferation of bestseller lists and the potential for influencing them. “At a certain point, all of this list goosing and bestseller discussion becomes moot. It’s like grade inflation in school. If no one gets lower than a C, what’s an A worth? If everyone can be a bestseller, even if it’s just in one bookstore in the sub-sub-sub-subgenre list: romance/contemporary/nosex/noswearwords/nokissing/catsanddogslivingtogether, then what does the phrase “bestselling book” mean?”

Not only does women’s fiction writer Heather Wardell talk money, she shares sales numbers earned during her first month in the Amazon Select KDP program via the Writer Beware blog.

Food for Thought

Editor Alan Rinzler suggests authors perfect the old soft sell and vary pitches to suit different audiences.

Stuck in place? Spinning your wheels? Writer Chuck Wendig offers a kick in the pants and a to-do list.

RWA-WF’s own Rosemary Battista goes off to speak to a group of would-be writers and returns with renewed enthusiasm for her WIP.

Writer’s Digest’s Chuck Sambuchino issues a new agent alert for Erin Harris of Skolnick Literary. Harris is looking for “literary novels with compelling plots and international settings; literary thrillers and mysteries (She’d love to find the next Tana French!); noirs (especially starring headstrong female protagonists); and YA and middle grade novels that transport her to magical places.” Sambuchino also calls our attention to new agent Carrie Pestritto of Prospect Agency who hopes to find literary fiction, historical fiction, and mature YA.

In a post entitled “Never a Bride,” Sarah LaPolla, a literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd. weighs in on a topic that recently proved popular on the RWA-WF loop: writer Jennifer Weiner’s refusal to accept gender bias among book reviewers. LaPolla admires Weiner’s opposition to male authors getting more coverage but offers the movie Bridesmaids as an example of female writers getting praise–for writing like men. “This week has shown that when it comes to women in media, whether book or film or otherwise, struggles to be considered equal are still very present. When are people going to learn that we want to praised for our talent, but not when that talent is “being equal to a man?”

Former bookseller Robert Gray considers books his friends, and he’s not alone.  In a Fresh Eyes Now essay, Gray quotes author Pico Ilyer, “The paradox of reading is that you draw closer to some other creature’s voice within you than to the people who surround you (with their surfaces) every day.”

If you’re reluctant to face a blank page or find yourself staring at one for a couple of hours, there’s something going on beyond a MIA muse. Writer and social-media expert Kristen Lamb advises writers to use our best tools—words–to name the emotion that freezes us and confess our real problem (Fear, anyone?) in order to free ourselves for the future we want.

May we use our words this week–and may our writing find friends.

 Linda Avellar …

It’s been all over the loop, so I don’t know if it’s really news any more …

but I placed first in the the mainstream category of the Golden Palm contest for my novel Walking Backward off a Cliff.

Graphic credit

Kristina McMorris …

Hi there!  Here are my latest updates:

Polish rights to LETTERS FROM HOME sold to
Ksiaznica.

My forthcoming novel, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES,
received an amazing review in Publishers Weekly:
“[Bridge of Scarlet Leaves] gracefully blossoms
through swift prose and rich characters…this
gripping story about two ‘brothers’ in arms and a
young woman caught in between them hits all the
right chords.”   — Publishers Weekly

Print credit

This installment of Industry News tackles the Year of the Dragon thanks to social-media expert Kristen Lamb and her Kung Fu Writing post and dragon-beating tips.

It’s never been easy to get a book published, but digital-book expert Mike Shatzkin argues that it used to be easier for publishers to turn a profit. Nowadays, more titles + fewer bookstores = publishers wary to acquire new books. (Cue fire shooting from the dragon’s mouth.) At the same time, backlists offer publishers income without acquisition costs. (Let camera pan over dragon’s shimmery, shiny scales.)  

Speaking of backlists, media professor Jane Friedman investigates whether an author holds e-rights to her traditionally published books.  

Hyperion CEO Ellen Archer says publishers’ business model is broken. Her fixes? She favors trimming advances and foresees a shift to e-books. “Don’t trap yourself in the ‘book’ book.’ It’s wonderful and it’s been wonderful for many years, but the years of printing too many books and taking them back…it’s not really a great business model and we have an opportunity to create a better business model.” Read the whole interview to learn her take on other publishing matters, including whether or not writers should blog.

Stephen Page, chief executive of Great Britain’s Faber & Faber publishers, doesn’t see the industry as broken but believes the current period in publishing and the move toward digital books will bring change as sweeping as that of the eighteenth century, when a monopoly on granting copyrights ended and laws and formats changed. Scroll down through the article to find the skills he believes publishers must have to excel in today’s environment.

E-book pricing is a trial-and-error game, reports author Ruth Harris.  She tries and errs for research purposes and interviews other writers about their pricing strategies. (Thanks to Gene Lempp for the link. )

Dear Author‘s Jane offers generally optimistic predictions for publishing in 2012. There be no dragons here. (Wait for the article to come up.)

Money appears to be flowing toward writers participating in Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Select program. Carolyn McCray, a writer of paranormal romance novels, historical thrillers and mysteries, reportedly earned $8,250 from the KDP Select fund in December.

Librarian Nancy Pearl, of Book Lust blog fame, has teamed with Amazon to resurrect some of Pearl’s favorite but now out-of-print books. Six titles a year will be offered in print, audio-book and e-book form.

Literary agent news:

Agent Rachelle Gardner has moved to Books & Such Literary Agency, where she’ll represent “fiction of interest to women” geared to either the general or Christian markets.

At Bookends Literary Agency, Lauren Ruth seeks literary-leaning women’s fiction and more.

Kristin Nelson, of Nelson Literary Agency, believes it’s important to specify in a contract the initial format of a book. That way, she ensures that her clients will be published in both hardcover and/or paperback and digital formats. 

May you vanquish all dragons foolish enough to block your path this week. Happy writing.

RWA Chapter Contests

The Washington Romance Writers 2012 Marlene Awards close January 15, 2012. Open to unpublished manuscripts. Categories and judges: Series Contemporary – Johanna Raisanen, Harlequin; Single Title – Megan Records, Kensington; Paranormal – Heather Osborn, Samhain Publishing; Historical – Esi Sogah, Avon; Romantic Elements – Latoya Smith, Grand Central; Young Adult – Holly Blanck, St. Martin’s. For more information

The Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Fabulous Five contest closes March 1, 2012. Open to writers unpublished in book-length romance fiction during the past five years. Categories and judges: Historical – Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks; Paranormal /Fantasy/ Futuristic /Time Travel – Angela James, Carina Press; Romantic Suspense – Katherine Pelz, Berkley; Series Contemporary – Megan Long, Harlequin Enterprises; Single Title – Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Associates; Women’s Fiction – Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary; Young Adult – Melissa Frain, Tor

The Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, sponsored by RWA chapter Southern Magic, awards excellence in published romance fiction. Entries must be received by January 15, 2012. Categories: Contemporary Single Title, Contemporary Series. Romantic Suspense Single Title, Romantic Suspense Series, Inspirational Single Title, Inspirational Series, Paranormal/ Fantasy/ Futuristic/Time Travel, Historical, Young Adult, Novella. For more details and entry form

The 2012 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award Contest is sponsored by the Faith Hope Love chapter of RWA. The contest is open to all published inspirational writers. Categories: Short Contemporary, Long Contemporary, Short Historical, Long Historical, Romantic Suspense, Women’s Fiction. Deadline: March 1, 2011. For more info

RWA Chapter Workshops

RWNZ presents Can This Manuscript Be Saved, taught by Susan Meier. Online Workshop – March 5-April 1, 2012 – this will be the only chance to do this workshop this year. Rejected? Can’t get an agent? Can’t sell, even though your critique partners LOVE your work? Susan Meier reviews the seven most common rejection catch phrases and explains why you and even your critique partners can’t spot them, then shows how determining whether your book’s trouble is a story, scene or word problem is the first step on the road to recovery. Participants will learn how to “skim-read” their manuscripts quickly, marking specific problems with post-its. Susan also demonstrates how to use a storyboard, a list of twenty and a one-paragraph blurb to create a plan of attack for fixing your book’s trouble. For more info

STARRWA presents Dirty Little Secrets of Character Development, February 2 – 29, 2012 – taught by Keena Lykins. An interactive online workshop that leads participants through fun, inventive exercises to help them root out their characters’ deep, dark secrets and desires, and shows them how to use these secrets to further plot, conflict, and of course the romance. For more information

Happy New Year!

I’ve organized this longer-than-usual post to optimize its usefulness. One section is dubbed “Last Year in Publishing,” another is “The Year Ahead,” and a third, in a shameless rip-off of Oprah, is “Your Best Writing Self.”  You’ll find information about traditional and  indie publishing, links to insiders and to those proud to call themselves outsiders, marketing tips, and new-agent news. In other words, there’s something for everyone.

 Last Year in Publishing

 At paidContent, Laura Hazard Owens summarizes 2011 with numbers. Did you know twenty percent of book sales at Random House and Hachette were digital? 

Here’s another number to crunch: Amazon announced it sold roughly one million Kindle devices per week in December.

Booksellers had a merrier-than-expected holiday season, reports Publishers Weekly. Anecdotal evidence suggests Borders’ closing and the “buy local” trend buoyed sales at brick-and-mortar stores.

This story sheds light on the preceding item. In Michigan, booksellers react to the end of Borders with tactics aimed to lure and hold customers.

 Writers Digest links to its eighteen most popular writing articles of 2011.

The Year Ahead

At The Shatzkin Files, digital-book expert Mike Shatzkin focuses on the important questions the publishing industry faces in 2012 and beyond. 

Author Bob Mayer, whose perspective is that of a writer traditionally published for twenty years and indie published for two, offers  ten predictions for 2012.

Joe Konrath tacks his 2012 writing/publishing resolutions to the bottom of resolution lists dating back to 2006. Scroll through the years to see the evolution in his thinking about traditional- versus self- publishing and other writing matters. 

We associate “friction” with politics and with rubbing two sticks together to make fire, but one publisher uses the word to explain why it won’t make its ebooks available to libraries for lending. “Selling one copy that could be lent out an infinite number of times with no friction is not a sustainable business model for us,” Maja Thomas, a senior vice president of the Hachettte Book Group, told Randall Stross of the New York Times.  

 Your Best Writer Self

Chuck Sambuchino alerts readers to two new literary agents, both of whom represent women’s fiction. Hannah Bowman joined Liza Dawson Associates and is looking for commercial fiction, especially science fiction and fantasy, women’s fiction, cozy mysteries, romance and young adult. Rachael Dugas signed with Talcott Notch Literary and seeks cookbooks and young adult, middle grade, and adult fiction in the contemporary, paranormal, women’s, and romance genres.

If writer Raymond Carver were alive today, would he tweet, blog, and post on Goodreads? Author Christopher Meeks asks the question and decides Carver would do what writers must do today: promote their books.

Writers Digest offers platform-building tips Raymond Carver would follow. Will you?

Some of us have sworn off New Year’s resolutions but acknowledge we have plenty of room for improvement. Author Chuck Wendig reminds us to help other writers.

Here’s another room-for-improvement link: make the most of your Facebook page. 

Media professor Jane Friedman links to the 2011 articles she believes offer the best advice for writers.

Thinking about indie publishing in 2012? Joanna Weiss, author of Milkshake, outlines her stage-by-stage journey. 

Critic and journalist-turned-consultant Porter Anderson, he of the distinctive voice and excellent connections, covers the publishing industry weekly via “Writing on the Ether.” (Uh oh, I may have linked myself out of a job.) 

May 2012 bring you success in writing and life. Big thanks to this chapter’s founders and the outgoing board.  Welcome to the new board.

Special thanks to the RWA-WF eleves who’ve been working behind the scenes on the chapter’s WordPress site.  I’m grateful for easy-to-embed hyperlinks.