Pub Rants

Linnea & Kristin toast the RITA

STATUS: Still on the Moon from the weekend in Atlanta!

What song is playing on the iPod right now? I KEEP FORGETTIN’ by Michael McDonald (But seriously, as much as I love Michael McDonald, I can’t help but think of the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin and the whole sales floor episode.)

HUGE, HUGE NEWS!

The dark horse comes out of nowhere to win the RITA for Best Paranormal Romance.

(For those of you not tuned in to the world of Romance writers and readers, the RITA is the top award in the field—like a Hugo or Nebula for SF & F—it’s on par with that. It’s a big deal.)

Linnea and I are still surprised, stunned, and ecstatically happy!

In fact, Linnea was so convinced that she wasn’t going to win, she didn’t even prepare an acceptance speech. She had to go up on stage and tell it from the heart extemporaneously.

After all, we were finalists with some major heavies in the genre such as Catherine Asaro, Heather Graham, and Teresa Medeiros.

Not to mention Jen Holling, Pamela Labud, and Marjorie Liu.

Then add up-and-comers like J.R. Ward—well, we honestly were just pleased to have finaled in such great company. That in itself was an honor.

Then to win with nary a witch, vampire, werewolf, or a ghost in the traditional sense in sight was truly unexpected. (If you read Linnea’s novel, you’ll discover the real meaning of Gabriel’s Ghost—which isn’t a spirit by any means).

And don’t get me wrong, I love all the above paranormal elements but I figured our entry was so different (and not what’s currently the hot trend), that we were the young upstart.

Besides, who wins on their first RITA nomination?

Linnea Sinclair does and if you love paranormal romance and you haven’t given GG a try, I really encourage you to do so. You won’t be disappointed.

More RWA pictures and fun tips to come this week so stay tuned.

STATUS: I’m getting ready for my workshop on Jane Austen and Chick Lit with Shanna Swendson that will be happening in 45 minutes! Why am I blogging?

What song is playing on the iPod right now? Radio isn’t on! That would require a dash across the room to make it happen.

I’m constantly amazed at synchronicity in the world.

Here we are. Shanna and Kristin in Atlanta getting ready to talk about classic themes in Jane Austen and how you can use these guiding principles to really break into the market of chick lit today—to create a more complex story, timeless in nature, that women would want to read.

And here is Bookseller Chick talking about chick lit books on her blog, at what happened to the readers, and where is the future.

Three smart chicks I’m thinking.

So here’s a little snippet (or preview if you will) of what Shanna and I will be talking about at our workshop.

You can take any Jane Austen movie, pick your favorite, and analyze the main heroine’s place in her society, her expectations, and what she needs to be or do to create independence and by doing so, you’ll start seeing the timeless threads that can then be incorporated to a contemporary story.

For example, in Jane Austen’s stories, her heroines need to get married to find financial safety.

Well, some ladies are still pursuing that route but what is a more contemporary spin on that? Doesn’t that just get the wheels turning!

Jane Austen tackles the dilemma of how to stay happily single (and wedded to one’s principles) when your friend gets married (P&P—Plain friend Charlotte marries the very respectable—on paper anyway—Mr. Collins.)

Jane Austen tackles women meddling in other women’s lives (Emma—Emma and her kindly but interfering ministrations to Harriet).

Jane Austen tackles the craziness and disparate personalities of families (P&P and S&S).

But ultimately, chick lit is the contemporary social observation with satiric wit. Completely timeless if you understand the depth of that voice to really carry out a social critique.

Now I have to go say all these things, albeit more articulately, in front of hopefully a large group of writers.

Happy Friday All!

STATUS: RWA is like watching TV on fast forward. A consistent, frenetic pace! Off to meet an author and her editor.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? Well, it’s the clock radio. Not great reception but it’s LIGHTNING CRASHES by Live

I was at a conference this year and moderated an agent panel. A member of the audience asked if agents felt like they were in competition with each other.

Obviously, if there are a finite number of good projects out there to represent, by the nature of our job we are, to some extent, in competition with each other.

But I must say I never FEEL that way.

So I was really surprised when three of the four agents on the panel declared that yes, we are in direct competition with each other and we must be aggressive to win the author and the work.

Hum…

This might be silly but I actually believe in karma, that certain projects are meant for certain agents (not that I won’t go after it heartily if more than one agent is interested etc.) but in general, there is enough good projects to go around.

Maybe I’m the naïve one!

But on Saturday, if you are here at RWA, you’ll know I’m about to moderate a 2-hour panel entitled The Literary Agent Cartel: A Powerhouse of Caring, Knowledge, & Expertise that May Possibly Change Your Publishing Career.

We are a group of independent agents who formed a Yahoo chat loop so as to share information, support each other, and in many ways, share knowledge so it benefits all our clients.

I have to say that this is the kind of agenting I subscribe to. Healthy too. And yes, when I’m vying against 4 other agents for the project, I don’t ask who is involved (because it just might be my fellow Cartel member and let the best gal win!) so there’s no lack of competition but there is definitely a different perspective in terms of agenting.

I never think of my fellow agent as my enemy.

STATUS: Greetings from Downtown Atlanta! Yes, I’m here for RWA (and for those of you who don’t know the acronym, it means Romance Writers of America). The national conference is this week.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? I promise to turn on the radio or something for this trip.

Today I had a great reminder of why I’m always polite in my query rejection letters—especially for partials.

I walked up to the airport taxi queue to grab a cab to my hotel (The Marriott Marquis) and I noticed four lovely ladies with large suitcases—a certain sign of arriving RWA members. I took a chance and introduced myself so as to share the cab and the fare. One lady enthusiastically shook my hand and mentioned that I had rejected her son’s partial just a month or so ago and she wanted to thank me.

Well, people don’t usually thank me for rejecting them so I was a little nervous at first.

She was completely sincere and even more fun? I remembered the partial because I had held on to it for several weeks and did two reads on it. Sharp writing but I felt that it leaned toward horror—and more so for what I do.

Ends up I actually mentioned that in the response letter I sent and consequently, her son had been targeting more horror agents and getting a positive response.

So even though I didn’t take on the project, I made a difference in a writer’s life and that made me feel kind of good.

And no, I won’t be providing comments on all partials received and read. That would be an overwhelming amount of work. Just the occasional partial that catches my eye but isn’t quite right for me.

Off to the fabulous 10th Anniversary party of The Knight Agency. Deidre is my best agent pal and I wanted to be here to support this wonderful occasion.

I can’t wait to celebrate my own—in 2012. Sheesh that sounds an eon away.

STATUS: One frantic day in the office before I leave for RWA in Atlanta tomorrow morning. Rather like sticking one finger in a hole in the dam as an attempt to keep it from breaking.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? TRUE FAITH by New Order

I got a huge kick out of reading several other blogs this weekend. POD Girl literally had me helpless with laughter on POD Books where she didn’t make it past the first line or paragraph. And Jason Pinter did some Agent/Editor speak translations that were incredibly hilarious too.

One of these days, I’m going to have to negotiate with him and we will barely be able to hold a conversation. We’ll have to email the deal points.

Today Sara was in the office screening queries. Suddenly, she gasps aloud and says, “you won’t believe this. Some guy just wrote us a query saying that he’s not really Joe Smith but a guy who lived 1,000 years ago and was name XYZ.”

She was genuinely startled and was ready to hit the REPLY button to zip that NO out into the cyber world.

“Wait,” I said. “Are you sure he’s not just writing to you as the character in his book? I don’t recommend this technique but I’ve seen it before.”

“Aha!” she said and decided to give it a longer read.

Needless to say, the query didn’t get any better (and she had to read a while to figure out that the “character” of the book was indeed “writing” the query), which rather defeated the query’s purpose.

You literally could be considered as a believer in reincarnation or even schizophrenic if there are too many voices going on in the letter. I remember a query that was the writer and the character in the book having a conversation about the query.

Strange and unique–and not in a good way.

What makes a query letter stand out and what makes it tip into the realm of the bizarre? Well, it’s a fine line so I caution you to be careful if you are employing what most agents would consider as a gimmicky approach.

We receive a lot of strange letters and some of them are literal—as in the writer who is writing it considers it to be true.

No joke. Not sure you want to be confused with that company.

If your character is writing the query letter, at least make that clear in the opening paragraph. And you know my advice, I’d avoid that altogether. A short and professional letter with a pitch paragraph blurb has won the day more times than I can count.

STATUS: It’s Friday night. 11 p.m. Eastern time. Is Kristin out partying in the fabulous NYC? No, she’s at her hotel room writing her blog…

What song is playing on the iPod right now? I’d really dig some music right now.

The biggest thrill I get is when people accuse me of being Miss Snark. Alas, I’m not nearly so witty and fun.

I just plod along with my little blog.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was at the Backspace Conference today (and I’ll be there tomorrow) but at the banquet dinner, J.A. Konrath won the Bob Kellogg Award (and for those of you who are none bksp members, Bob was an original member who was on the verge of publishing and really gave back to all the members before unexpectedly passing away—and hence an award in his memory). But Konrath won and often people will say something inane when accepting an award but he didn’t.

He said (and this is a loose paraphrase because I didn’t have a recording device or anything) that writers are not in competition for the elusive reader. If a reader is a fan of a certain type of book (in his case thrillers), they’ll pick up his book, a Barry Eisler book, and a Lee Child book (all folks who are in attendance at the conference) so there is no reason not to share information with other writers and there is no reason not to support each other. In fact, we should pay it forward to beginning writers if, as a writer, you’ve already found a measure of success.

Darn Straight I think. And they were words worth repeating so here they are.

Out.

STATUS: Work week is semi-over. Backspace Conference starts tomorrow and although conferences are technically work, I always find them to be a lot of fun.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? I’m missing my iPod. You guys will just have to sing or hum quietly on your own.

I’ve got a great story to share.

My new author Sherry Thomas (whose lovely deal with Bantam for her debut historical romance was announced on deal lunch today) discovered me, my agency, and my blog because of reading Miss Snark.

Wow! That’s the power of the blog.

THANK YOU MISS SNARK.

May the gin forever flow and may Mr. Clooney be holding the bottomless gin pail.

STATUS: Had a fabulous day because I accepted a pre-empt for a project that went out on submission last Monday. Watch deal lunch for an announcement.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? I’m too tired to think let alone listen to TV (or anything else for that matter). My head is longing for the pillow but alas, must blog.

Had lunch with Rose Hilliard from St. Martin’s yesterday. It was kind of fun to hear that editors are still open to chick lit—albeit for more mature topics and characters. Shopping and man or job searching ain’t going to cut it.

Not like that’s really a newsflash but it’s nice to know that if the voice is right and the story original enough, editors are open.

Also, what fun to hear a romance editor talking about wanting to see historical romance again. Let me tell you. It’s been a while since an editor has asked, “what do you have going on for historicals?”

Could it be a turning trend? Too soon to tell.

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Chatted with the publisher of Dutton Children’s—Stephanie Lurie Owens—and I think we might have coined a new YA phrase for what Dutton is looking for:

The 80s John Cusack Syndrome

I just have to smile. You know how an 80s John Cusack film just has a certain heart-warming level of honesty, sentiment, and reality? There is such an emotional connectivity to his character despite foibles and mistakes. Well, that’s what they like for their list.

Gossip Girls—not for them. Too mean.

Not that edgy won’t work it just needs that certain level of compassion.

****
And I got a chance to meet a new editor (to me anyway). Lovely, lovely person by the name of Ali Bothwell Mancini at Viking/Plume.

Not that it’s any big surprise but historicals are hot and editors are actively looking for original voices—both for big women’s fiction historicals but also for what I call “straight” historicals (especially if they have some sort of intrigue or mystery bent).

Think a more commercial Umberto Eco.

Must sleep now….

STATUS: It’s really late here in New York and I have to say I’m a little tired so I’ll make this short.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? Poor little iPod is lonely in Denver

And yes, I’ll get back to Agenting 101—hopefully tomorrow—but right now my brain is too tired to concentrate on explaining option clauses.

I did, however, go to a lovely dinner with St. Martin’s editor Nichole Argyres at Ocean Grill on Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side.

Of course we got to talking about women’s fiction (as we are wont to do).

Needless to say, we are both big Jodi Picoult lovers and if I could find a new writer that had the same level of mastery in terms of characters and emotional intensity, I would snatch that person up (as would Nichole if I sent her such a submission).

We both agreed that what we’d been seeing way too much of is this tired storyline: woman in her early 40s gets a divorce (and her husband invariably has found a younger woman—as if 43 is old or something) and then must discover who she really is. Usually two kids are involved.

I know this is an important event that women in their 40s often face but darn if I have trouble suppressing a yawn when I read queries for this plot scenario or even if I see sample pages.

Rarely is the material handled in a fresh or engaging way. The tone is usually serious and full of angst (and basically overly dramatic).

I want a women’s fiction novel that grabs a hold, forces me to keep reading, and won’t let go until I finish. It has that level of emotional realism and intensity. I feel that way about every Jodi Picoult book I’ve read.

When I find a debut from a new writer that does the same, I’d sign that person tomorrow.

STATUS: Crazy day. I sent out a project on Monday and got an offer today. Love that.

What song is playing on the iPod right now? VOLCANO by Jimmy Buffett

I’m really sorry. I literally have to be somewhere in 10 minutes and there’s not quite enough time to blog.

I know you are dying to hear about the option clause.

A little teaser.

The publisher wants the option clause to be as broad as possible.

An agent and author want the option clause to be as narrow as possible.

Of course!

Until tomorrow.