What I learned from judging the RITAs

By Maria Geraci

  

Our theme this cycle is marketing tips for writers and we’ve had such great advice that I can’t think of anything more to add. Except to emphasize the one thing we’ve been hearing over and over. The most powerful marketing tool is writing the best book possible. And writing the best book possible involves continually growing and learning as a writer. For me, that means writing every day, reading every day, and expanding my knowledge in any way possible.

Recently, I was a judge in this year’s RITA contest. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the contest, it’s Romance Writers ofAmerica’s most prestigious award recognizing romance fiction. This year the contest underwent a bit of an overhaul. Traditionally, books were scored on a 1-9 ranking, 9 being the highest number a book could obtain. Under the new scoring system, books are now judged on four criteria, with 50 being the highest total score: 20 points for the romance, 10 points for the plot, 10 points for the characters and 10 points for the writing.

When I received my bundle of books in early January, I have to admit to being a bit perplexed. As far as genre, they were all over the place—historical romance, romantic suspense, novellas, contemporary series… you get the point. The only genres I didn’t receive were the ones I opted out on—mainstream with strong romantic elements (the category my own book is under) and Inspirational. But being the good sport I am, I tackled those books with all the seriousness of a Nobel Prize at stake. Because let’s face it, although a Rita certainly doesn’t guarantee you any modicum of “success” in this business, it is in the immortal words of Sally Field a pretty good indicator that your peers really really like you. And yes, a good part of the contest depends on luck of the draw, because it only takes one judge to really really not like your book to probably knock you out of contention. But I digress.

So, I began reading “my” books. I have to admit to feeling a bit protective of the books I’m called upon to judge. It’s a serious thing to read a book, take it apart and then give it a score in a contest that you know (as a contestant yourself) can either throw an author into total elation or drive you to the pits of despair. Okay, a bit dramatic, but bear with me. In other words, I take this stuff seriously. As my pal, and fellow author, Roxanne St. Claire says (roughly) she approaches the RITA using the Melanie approach from Gone With The Wind. She treats every RITA book she judges the way she’d like her own books to be read and judged. Which means reading every book cover to cover with an open mind and a positive attitude. In other words, every book starts out with a perfect score.

I know I’ve heard a few moans regarding the new scoring system, but I have to say that as someone who has judged under the old system and now the new, I definitely like the new better. Under the old system I hated giving a book a blandish 6 or 7 without being able to pinpoint to either the author or myself why their book wasn’t a 9. It was judging from a “gut” feeling. The new scoring, I think, is much more objective (in a subjective sort of way), and surprisingly a lesson learner. I had to really think of why a book might earn the full 20 points in the romance area, but maybe a 7 for plot or a 6 for characters. It made me dissect my books in a way that I hadn’t before. And what I learned from that was invaluable. Yes, viscerally I knew all this stuff, but after judging the RITAS this go around, it’s really crept into my subconscious in a way that I think has benefited my writing.

So, what exactly did I relearn?

You have to read books that you would never think of reading. We all fall into the old pattern of reading the stuff we know we’ll like. But it’s like going to the same restaurants time and time again. You get the same good food but you don’t ever get surprised. It’s the surprises in life that make us grow and learn. Both as people and as writers.

Give your readers what they expect. Now, I don’t mean to make your book predictable and boring. But every genre has it’s own expectations. Respect that. Or you’ll lose readers.

Write a main character your readers will like and root for. Honestly, yes. It’s really that simple.

The last twenty five percent of the book has to deliver. In a big way. We all spend months polishing that first half of the book and it’s easy to let the last bits slip away from us (mostly because we’re so sick of the book by then!). Don’t fall into this trap. I judged one book that I dearly wanted to give near perfect marks to until the book fell apart in the last fifty pages.

If you have any influence over your cover and title, use it! The last book I judged was the best by far, yet I kept putting if off to the end simply because I didn’t think I’d like it based on the cover.

So there you have it. My 2013 RITA experience. A workshop on writing couldn’t have taught me more. I wish all the books I judged the best of luck in the contest and please know I did my best. I’m honored to have read you!

 Maria Geraci was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised on Florida’s Space Coast. Her love of books started with the classic, Little Women (a book she read so often growing up, she could probably quote). She writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction with a happy ending. Her fourth novel, A Girl Like You, was released last August by Berkley, Penguin, USA. You can connect with Maria by visiting her website, www.mariageraci.com

Out-of-the-Box Marketing by Melissa Clark

When I was trying to think of unconventional methods to get the word out about my first novel, The Playboy Mansion came to mind. 

You see, at the time, the reality show Girls Next Door was very popular and my dad, a writer himself, had lots of older friends who regularly attended the Mansion on movie night.  As luck would have it, calls were made and an invitation was extended to me, the glasses-wearing-uber-nerd-writer, to spend an evening at the Mansion. 

My aim was simple - I would deliver three signed copies of my book to the three girlfriends, and assuming they read, my hope was they might mention my unconvetional plot (girl gets pregnant from a lazy sperm) on air. 

The Mansion was not what I expected and the girls seemed so out of place among all the alter kockers there for movie night. I met Holly first, Hef's #1 girlfriend at the time. She smiled weakly and took the book saying she was about to go on a trip and would read it on the plane. Brigette was next - she was holding her dog in one hand and with the other hand reached out to take my book. She seemed a little confused, like why is this 30something girl with glasses handing me a book that she wrote? And then there was Kendra. She bounded in with all the energy of a 21-year-old. She was enthusiastic and full of questions. I loved her immediately. (She has since "written her own book"). 

After a mediocre dinner and a movie I'd already seen in the theater, I said my goodbyes and headed home, resolving to watch the reality show every week and hoping, praying, begging for a glimpse or mention of my novel. No such luck. 

A few months later, however, after an evening of Googling, I found that Bridgette, the least interested of the gals, had put my book up for auction in order to raise money for troops in Afganhastan. I was shocked. I spent the next few days watching the auction price rise - from fifteen dollars to a whopping $982.00! Who the hell paid 982 for my book? 

Well, the marketing scheme didn't exactly pan out as I'd hoped, but yay for the troops! 

In more mainstream marketing efforts I found postcards, book fairs and plain, old word-of-mouth to be the best bets. And as fellow Girlfriends have written in previous posts, just make sure you write the best book you can - the rest is truly icing on the cake.

Melissa Clark is the author of "Swimming Upstream, Slowly", "Imperfect," and the creator of the children's television show, "Braceface." She is too old to be a Playboy bunny, but a girl can dream... Follow her at Connections Clark!

The 5 Things I Know About Book Marketing

 by Maggie Marr

I've had a multitude of careers.  I am an attorney, an author, and an independent film producer.  I was a prosecutor, a public guardian, and a motion picture literary agent.  I've been pubbed by a major house with a ginormous marketing budget, and I've indie pubbed.  I've hired publicists, gone on book tours, and tried to publicize myself.  Yet even with this vast and eclectic mix in such varying and interesting forums I feel that I know next to nothing about how to successfully market a book.

But these 5 things I know for sure when it comes to marketing my books.

1.  WOM sells books.  Word of Mouth--this is the only thing that any publicist or marketing guru will admit to knowing beyond any doubt sells books.  I am much more likely to pick up a book that a friend of mine raves about than a book about which I've heard nothing.





2.  Write Great Books.  Seems so simple right?  It's not--at least not for me.  I am well into the double digits with the number of books I've written and I struggle each day to make this book--the book I am writing now--better than the last.  This is my ultimate goal--that each time a reader picks up one of my books they can say (a) this was worth my money (b) this was worth my time (c) I enjoyed this book!  I want the last book I wrote to be the greatest marketing tool it can possibly be for the next book I write.  






3.  Rely on your friends.  We writers are in this boat together.  I know who you are--my compadres, my compatriots, my soeurs de coeurs--and you know who I am too.  I am here to shout your successes from the rooftops as I know you will do mine.  I do this not for my own benefit, but because I adore you, and your talents, and I know how tough this business is and I need to feel I am in this with people I enjoy.








4.  Twitter/Facebook/Blog but DO NOT let social-media take over your life.  Social-media is meant to be a tool--social media is not writing and can in fact become a detriment to authors.  Our time is precious.  It takes loads of time to write a solid book--for me every minute is crucial because often I am scrounging for writing time around my career as an attorney and also the beloved (on a good day!) responsibilities that come with being a mom and a wife.









5.  Get a GREAT cover.  I may not buy a book based on a cover, but I will certainly not pick up a book to look at if I don't dig the cover.  I think this is particularly important when an author indie-pubs.  A professional looking cover helps the reader--even unconsciously--to believe that this is a well-written, professionally edited book.  You want the reader to start from that point--then, dear author, DO NOT disillusion them.    

Maggie Marr is an author, attorney, and independent film producer.  She began her hollywood career pushing the mail cart then became a motion picture literary agent.  She writes the popular Hollywood Girls Club series.  She wrote Can't Buy Me Love and Courting Trouble.  She is also legal counsel for the Women's Fiction Writers Association.  Hollywood Hit, the latest installment of the Hollywood Girls Club series publishes summer 2013.  You can follow Maggie on facebook, her blog, or twitter.  She is eternally grateful for each person who buys and reads her books. 

Cover designs by Kim Killion of The Killion Group. 

Time Is on Your Side

Today's to-do list
and Sunflower Priestess
Creed

To Do list:

1.  Unpack C's Room

2.  Finish collage

3.  Pack to mail bday pressies

4.  Laundry

5.  Groceries

6.  WRITE!  non-stop 3 hours

Finish part one

7.  Dishes

Time:  As a writer, it seems like when I am the busiest, I am the most inspired.  Of course, I don't seem to have time to write then.  Ugh.  The irony!  Life inspires us.  How do we make time for all of it?  

Just today, nearly everything on my to-do list, like laundry and cooking and unpacking my son's books (we just put a new floor down in his room), went undone.  There's always tomorrow... 

birthday collage

But the one thing that I did accomplish was rewriting/revising part one of my novel ms. and starting in on part two.  When I looked at my to-do list at six o'clock, trying to decide what I was going to make for dinner--as time had once again escaped me--I realized that I'd accomplished quite a bit and that we'd be eating something microwaved, but oh well, I can't do everything!  

Tomorrow, I'll get the laundry done.  Tomorrow, I'll unpack the books and make a nice dinner (or order pizza).  

manuscript and wrapping
paper

If I'm inspired and the words are coming, and my family is taken care of, I am going to write.  

Because I have trouble concentrating when I have too many things to do, I will frequently cop a squat at a coffee shop or library.  If I need to get a lot of writing done, I'll book an inexpensive hotel room and work overnight.  If I were closer to a writer's retreat, I'd go to one.  I had the opportunity to go to a lovely one when I lived in Virginia: The Porches.  I highly recommend it: beautiful, peaceful and inspiring.  Right now, my son is very young, and I don't like being away from him or my husband, so I fit things together.  Rather, things are piled on top of each other--as in the picture above.  Time is on your side!  If I can make time, you can make it!  Big Love to You and Yours.  

Michele Young-Stone, author of The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors.  Two novels forthcoming from Simon & Schuster.  Follow my blog if you can.    

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When You Don't Get What You Think You Want

By Marilyn Brant

You know that song by Garth Brooks,
"Unanswered Prayers"?
Or that famous one by the Rolling Stones, "You Can't Always Get What You Want"?

Yeah, me, too.

But I wonder how many times, when you heard one or the other of them on the radio, you thought about something in your life and said to yourself, "No, no! I really do want that particular thing ___(fill in the blank with your heart's deep desire). I don't wanna just get what I need -- I'm telling you* what I need, and it's the same thing that I want!"

[*"You," in this case, typically refers to one of the following: God, Mother Nature, the Unseen Forces of the Universe and/or your Magic 8 Ball.]

Publishing seems to inspire such moments more frequently than, say, almost any other less crazy-making occupation. And I'm not telling you that only because I've had some rather heated discussions with my Magic 8 Ball. But, if I'm being totally honest, I'll admit that in the nearly 13 years that I've been a fiction writer, my perspective on what's an actual blessing -- vs. what's a blessing in disguise -- has changed.

I remember finishing my first manuscript -- a women's fiction story that was (roughly) 625 handwritten pages long and (exactly) 509 typed pages in Times New Roman 12. I can now see countless flaws in it...but, back then, I thought it was a work of utter depth, brilliant pacing and staggeringly beautiful prose. Of course, at the time I wrote it, I hadn't yet actually read a single book on the craft of fiction or taken a class on the art of novel writing or, you know, even talked to a published author about...anything. So, my frame of reference for what constituted a "good" piece of fiction was rather limited and more than a little faulty.

This did not in any way stop me from desperately wanting a publishing contract with a NY house for that book. And Garth Brooks could croon on the radio all night long about how thankful he was for prayers that went unanswered, but I was convinced I was more perceptive than he was anyway and, seriously (!!), I knew what I wanted.

Turned out, I needed to dig a little deeper into that desire. Yes, I wanted to be a published author -- that part proved true -- but what I really wanted, more than almost anything at the time, was to have written a story that was a good solid piece of fiction. I kept wishing for a book contract for that first novel. But it was actually acquiring the novel-writing skills that would lead to a book contract that was my deep-down burning dream. (And I got the contract eventually, too, but only after I'd finished my fifth manuscript. No one, not even me, should ever have to suffer through that first one again... I remain ever grateful and relieved that it never got published.)

With the enormous changes going on in the publishing industry over these past few years, I've had conversations with dozens of writers about the books they've sold or haven't sold. About the dreams they'd once had for certain projects and how they thought it was the end of the line when those stories weren't picked up by a traditional house.
Many novelists put them away in a drawer or hid them on a flashdrive somewhere. They tried to forget about them, but there was always that lingering sense of disappointment.

And then digital publishing exploded onto the scene.

Authors who'd never found the right editor to embrace their work, suddenly had a platform to make thousands of sales, if they could reach their ideal audience. Books that didn't fit neatly into a publishing niche before, now had an honored place on the virtual bookshelves. I cannot begin to count the number of times I've heard in just the past twelve months, "Thank God my book didn't sell to ____ publisher!" Why? Because it gave the author the freedom to sell it to another house that did more for them marketing/distribution-wise or to publish it themselves and reap much greater royalties than they may have gotten under different circumstances.

In one instance, at least, that was true for me, too. I'd been very discouraged when Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match didn't sell to a traditional publisher several years ago. It had gotten so close! It made it as far as that final mystical roundtable of publishing people at a well-known house...and, at the last minute, they decided against buying it.

Honestly, though, that was the BEST thing that ever could have happened to that book! (And I'd hug Garth Brooks and Mick Jagger and sing their songs along with them both, if they were here, just to prove it.)

From a royalties standpoint, the story earned more in its first month after release than I would have made from that traditional publisher's small advance, plus, I got to keep all of my foreign/audio/etc. rights and I had complete control over selecting the cover design and choosing the release date. But, best of all, I got my deeper goal...which wasn't really to sell that novel to a NY house, but to connect that story with its right readership. I didn't have the online community network back then that I do now, and that's a large reason why I think I was able to help this book find its audience. Not selling this story too soon was, in fact, exactly what I needed...and, surprisingly, what I wanted as well. Even though I didn't know that until a few weeks ago. :)

What about you? Have you ever not gotten something that you thought you wanted, only to later discover that it was a blessing in disguise? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
_______

Marilyn Brant is the award-winning women's fiction author of According to Jane, Friday Mornings at Nine and A Summer in Europe, as well as a #1 Kindle bestseller who also writes digital romantic comedies. She likes to sing everything from pop-country to rock-n-roll (but only when she's alone in the house), and she's very attached to her Magic 8 Ball.

Zen and The Art of Marketing, a survival message for writers

by Samantha Wilde
My long-awaited second novel, I'll Take What She Has, hits the shelves today. I have spent the past two months eating, sleeping, drinking and making love to marketing. (Bad in bed, by the way.

If you are going to work at getting your book out into the world, into the hands of readers and reviewers and critics and bookstores and bloggers and radio stations and television stations and friends, no good marketing plan can be without this: DTIP.

Sounds like a vaccination, doesn't it? Actually, it is. It's the way to vaccinate ourselves so we don't, as writers, become sick with the effects of the responses to our marketing. If you get yourself and your book out there, you will undoubtedly come up against rejection, criticism, silence, and the worst of them--failure.

I don't mean that you'll fail at everything, but, honestly, even with the best efforts, we can feel as if we have failed. If you want Oprah and #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list and you don't get there, you feel like you've failed. If you get in touch with bloggers who don't reply or reviewers who give you two stars, then you're bound to feel some sense of rejection. And this applies to all, including the most brilliant and accomplished of novelists. No one can write a book everyone likes. No one can market without some rebuff or silence or insult.

That's why we all need DTIP: don't take it personally. This is my survival advice for writers. It's my survival advice for living.

One person loves your novel. One person can't stand it. One blogger wants you on their site, one blogger never responds. You get a hundred people to read a post, you get ten. You're still putting out your best. Your book doesn't change in the hands of the readers; the readers are different. I truly don't know how any writer could survive the challenges presented by the layers of rejection involved in publishing and promoting a creative work without the ability to see that, in the end, it's not personal. And I don't mean that a person isn't rejecting you when they reject your book, I mean more than that.

Once you surrender your work to the ferocity of the modern world, the uncensored judgement of the internet, and the fierce competition of the publishing industry, you have to hold close to Zen.

When my copies of I'll Take What She Has arrived at my doorstep, I dressed up and I lay down in those books and rolled around in ecstasy. I wrote a book that was scheduled for 2010, went through five changes of editor, almost didn't release, and finally came to me in 2013. I wasn't going to wait for People or Oprah or the NYTimes to feel inside that experience of success. And you don't need to wait either. The world will or will not validate your work, or it will do it in part and not in other parts. Don't take it personally. The world has its own troubles. In truth, some of the most successful, prominent and most celebrated writers still do not feel they have gotten there yet. Where we all want to get to, it isn't a place, it's a feeling--and you can go there all on your own. And that's the Zen of it.

Watch the book trailer for I'll Take What She Has here. Buy I'll Take What She Has today and give Sam some more Zen! The book, about envy, friendship and new motherhood was an RT Book Review Top Pick. Sam, the mother of three small children and the author of This Little Mommy Stayed Home, is an ordained minister (believe it or not!) and a yoga teacher. Read her blog, laugh at her outrageous videos on FB or follow her on twitter @whatshehas.

When EB White talks, I listen by Brenda Janowitz

One of the things I'm most often asked about the writer's life is my writing schedule.

I've heard all about this mystical "writing schedule."  In fact, I hear all the time about writers who have one-- they wake up every day at 5 am and write until 7.  Or they sit down and don't get up until they've written 1,000 words.  Or they go to writers colonies and hammer out entire books in the span of a month.

I envy those writers.  I really do.  I wish I could have such discipline.  But I don't.  Because the thing is, the thing that no one ever wants to hear, is that I don't have a writing schedule.  What I do is write whenever I can and as much as I can.  Simple as that.

My life is filled with little kids running underfoot, and carpools, and figuring out what to put on the table for dinner.  (Wow, I sound really glamorous, don't I!?)  I try to make the most of those times in between.  The few hours I have between dropping my son off and nursery school and pick up.  Whatever precious time I get if and when the kids nap.  A quiet evening here or there when the kids are in bed and my husband's stuck at work.

I wrote my entire first novel in the space in between.  When I got home from work early, when I had time on weekends, on lunch breaks.  I'd edit while riding the subway downtown, on the bus crosstown, on the Long Island Rail Road on trips to see my family.  And it worked.  Sure, it took longer than if I'd been writing every day until I hit the 1,000 word mark, but that wasn't my life.  So I fit the writing into the life I had then.  And I still do the same-- I fit the writing into the life I've got now.

EB White said "A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper."

Words to live by.



I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, will be published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.