The HEA Cafe

My baby came two weeks early. She measured eight and a half inches long and weighed fourteen and a half ounces. Completely caught off guard by her early arrival, I was nonetheless totally in love the moment I saw her face.

I’d just gotten home from an errand when the brown stork, commonly referred to as UPS, pulled up outside. My husband answered the door, took the delivery, and handed it off to me. “What’d'ya order?”

The package was book size but I hadn’t ordered anything recently. I shrugged and tore the cardboard open.

And there she was. My first print novel. Operation Sheba, in the flesh. Or in the paper, as the case may be.

I wrote the first version of Sheba after the towers fell. It was my way of coping with a world gone mad. Creating a fictional world where good guys won and brought justice to the world gave me back a sense of control and from then on I was hooked. Spies took over my imagination, invaded my dreams and monopolized every free moment I had.

In the past eight years, I raised twins, rewrote Sheba twice, hired an agent, fired an agent, moved my family to another town and lost a dear pet. A couple friends departed and a bunch more showed up. While Sheba was making the rounds to agents and editors, I completed several more full length novels and a couple of novellas.

And then, last year, I sold.

Sheba came out first in eformat last September. It was a thrilling moment for me to see my baby with a cover and ISBN number, which was sort of like an ultrasound. I could see it, see the sales and good reviews, but I still couldn’t actually put my hands on it.

Nothing can compare to holding your print book in your hands. Just like you count the fingers and toes of a real baby, you flip through the pages, reread the reviews and pause for long moments at the title page, soaking it in. You put it on a special shelf and stare at it with a goofy smile on your face. You talk to it, smooth its cover. and hug it to your chest.

I wonder if the next book will get such special treatment. Will these feelings ever get old? Or will subsequent books be special in their own ways, just like kids?

I don’t have those answers yet, but I sure look forward to finding out.

Harlequin Romance Author Betty Neels, My Example

Have you ever read a Betty Neels’ Harlequin Romance? I challenge anyone to read a Betty Neels Harlequin Romance and not find it entertaining and uplifting. One of my favorite books of hers is Waiting for Deborah, a book in which she stretched her writing in many new ways.
http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Deborah-Betty-Readers-Choice/dp/0373512570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244502508&sr=1-1

Other titles that demonstrate Betty’s kind of romance: A Good Wife, An Innocent Bride, Heaven is Gentle and Discovering Daisy. Drop by www.eharlequin.com and enter her name in the Search window and you’ll find that her romances are still selling out!

The funny part is that Betty Neels never set out to be a novelist. A retired nurse,  Betty overheard someone in her local library bemoan the lack of good romance novels. So she wrote one, her first Harlequin romance Sister Peters in Amsterdam in 1969.

An Innocent Bride

Betty wrote charming stories about heroines who were honest and quietly self-assured without being showy. Betty’s heroes are always the Strong Silent Type, masterful men usually with ties to Holland. Betty herself was married to a Dutch doctor if my memory serves me.

In June of 2001, Betty passed away in her nineties  after writing for Harlequin continuously from 1969– penning a total of 134 Harlequin Romances. Harlequin and the world lost a good solid novelist.

Fortunately her romances remain. I hope that at the end of my career, I will leave the legacy that Betty Neels did–good stories about real people that lift readers’ spirits in a genuine way.

I like writing in the winter.  There’s something about the crispness in the air that galvanizes my muse.  That, and the lack of humidity.  In the winter I can take my laptop out onto my Florida porch and look at all my flowers in bloom, and gloat over how my colleagues up North are buried under snow.  In the summer, I’m out for brief periods in the morning and at sunset, because in between it’s just too, too oppressive.

But you still have to write, no matter what the weather.  I meet people all the time who tell me they want to write a book, and every time I have to bite my tongue.  My automatic response is, “Well, why don’t you?”  I’ve learned though that sometimes folks just don’t get it.  The only way to be a writer is to sit down and write.  The only way to get published is to finish the manuscript.  The only way to finish the manuscript is to keep plunking it out, one word after the other.

That’s all I’ve got today.  But even though I didn’t feel like writing, I sat down this morning and plunked it out, one word after the other.  It’s not perfect, and it’s not finished, but eventually it’s going to be a novel.  Then I’ll be able to lie out in the hammock (at least for an hour or two) and enjoy summertime the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Barak Obama’s battle cry, ‘Yes, we can,’ has touched the world in many ways. I hear people adding it to their campaigns whether personal or political.  For instance, Ben & Jerry’s newest ice cream? Yes Pecan. (from http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/05/02/yes-he-can-borrow/)

So I thought I would jump on the band wagon.

Yes, I can.

I can learn all the ins and outs of my new computer and it’s programs. I can figure out how to get back my lost programs (with the help of someone much smarter about computers than I but it will get done.) I can learn how to download pictures from my camera and then send them on email or post on  a blog using my new software.

Yes, I can… enjoy summer while coping with all the extra work it brings–garden, travel, company. etc.

I can figure out my current story. Someone asked me this week if I had a formula. Don’t I wish I could just follow a formula, do A, B, C and then D follows automatically. However,  I find every story comes to me differently and develops differently so I can’t write a story based on what worked last time. Each story presents its own challenges and problems. Knowing that, I have to work through the process of creating a story, discovering characters, blending a whole lot of ideas into a structure. Sometimes I have to bleed from the ears to make it work. It doesn’t always come together. I have to accept that part of the process is failure. But when it does come together in a satisfying story, I am glad I persevered.

Yes, I can.

Today is my day to blog, and I didn’t have a topic until I learned that Angela James of Samhain Publishing had her workshop on digital publishing rejected by RWA for the 2010 National conference set in Washington, DC this coming July. According to Romancing the Blog ( Read here) and the Galaxy Express ( Read here) there aren’t any digital publishing workshops on the ticket. This topic’s not yet hit the pages of Dear Author or Smart Bitches, but I imagine it will in the next couple of days.

RWA’s decision really confuses me. The mission statement of RWA is (and I quote straight from the website) “…to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. RWA works to support the efforts of its members to earn a living, to make a full-time career out of writing romance—or a part-time one that generously supplements his/her main income.”

If the mission is to support members in their effort to earn a living via a full-time or part-time career, why would you refuse to put out as much information as possible for your members? Information that might prove valuable for all members, including those who state that the eBook royalties on their statements are a miniscule piece not to consider. If you hear rumbles that there might be layoff at your workplace, do you ignore them or do you work a little harder to ensure you keep your job. Simply because eBooks are a sliver on your statements doesn’t mean it’s good business sense to ignore them. You need to learn all you can about this small piece of the pie so you’re prepared for what comes when the pie slice grows.

When a workshop is submitted by a highly respected editor in the ePublishing world, you DO NOT just throw it out the door simply because the submitting editor works for an ePublisher. It’s also important to note that Angela James is not an editor at some fly-by-night ePublisher. Since Samhain opened its doors in November 2005, it’s become a force to be reckoned with in the ePublishing industry. So why reject a workshop that offers insight into the digital world? It’s most illogical as Spock would say (either reality you want to cite from).

Digital publishing has been around for quite some time, and in the past six years, it’s boomed. Is it about to take over the print medium? No, but its growth continues by leaps and bounds, whereas the print industry’s growth has been seen as lackluster. RWA says that the numbers from digital press only makes up a small slice of the pie. But whose pie are we talking about? The pie of RWA members or the pie of writers who do not feel the need to belong to RWA, or both sectors of writers. Either way, they’re only looking at data, and they’re clearly NOT looking too far down the road. So I’d like to offer up a real-world business example of how ignoring something new can bite you in the a$$.

Once upon a time, there was this WONDERFUL software called WordPerfect. It was customizable and there were templates for legal, writers, administrative workers, etc. People loved WordPerfect (including me). Then suddenly there was an underdog on the scene. Microsoft Windows for the PC and a word processing program called Word. At first Word wasn’t much to speak of, and in fact, it couldn’t even compare to WordPerfect in the customization or flexibility department. But it did have one thing that WordPerfect didn’t. It was mouse driven and on a pretty screen, which was easier to read than the blue WordPerfect screen.

But WordPerfect saw Microsoft and their word processing software as a fad. Something new that would die out and never really grow. So what did WordPerfect do? They ignored Microsoft Word. But Microsoft’s Word’s share of the market grew and grew until WordPerfect finally said, whoa! We need to put out a version of WordPerfect for Windows interface. Problem was, WordPerfect waited too long. The balance shifted and now Microsoft Word owns the world, and WordPerfect while still around is pretty much a piece of hair in world-wide soup called Microsoft.

While I agree that RWA cannot be everything to every writer, to ignore digital publishing in any way is not only short-sighted, it lacks vision. It also shows RWA isn’t putting the needs of its membership at the forefront. It seems to be kow-towing to a small portion of its 10K+ membership.

I am not advocating RWA should charge ahead and throw in every workshop out there simply because it’s about digital publishing. What I do advocate is that RWA provide as much information to the membership as possible. Even if it means providing information on a publishing segment that doesn’t pay an advance. RWA Board President, Diane Pershing herself said in the June 2009 RWR that “RWA is set to do its part, to be more and more proactive in offering better and more complete education to the membership.” And in fairness to Ms. Pershing, the workshop committee is responsible for selecting workshops. Not Ms. Pershing. However, one has to wonder why the message isn’t getting down the food chain. And while RWA insists they are concerned with members and their advances, fine. But at the same time, if you believe ePublishing isn’t good enough for your members because there’s no advance, why not educate them on that issue and let the member decide if its for them.

I easily see the day will come when a growing number of RWA’s members write for NY print and ePub simultaneously. Oh but wait! That’s already happening. Angela Knight, Jaci Burton, Lora Leigh, Lucy Monroe, Deidre Knight and many more are writing for NY and for ePub. Why put one’s eggs all in one basket. Good business models in so many instances are about diversification. To not offer up information to the membership sends the message that RWA doesn’t think the member has to worry about this segment of the market. All I can say to that is…I’m glad RWA isn’t writing my personal business plan. I want long-range planning and vision in my plan, not dismissal of a medium simply because it’s only a small piece of the pie at the moment. I don’t like playing catch-up. I’d rather be leading the charge.

Monica

Monica Burns - http://www.monicaburns.com
Mirage, Now In Print 4.5 Stars, RT Top Pick RT BOOKreviews
2008 Reviewers Choice Award Nominee| 2009 EPPIE Best Historical Erotic Romance
Kismet, Berkley, 01/10 | Untitled, Berkley, 05/10