RWA National - Atlanta

Susan Gable · Jul 24, 2006

Well, gang, tomorrow morning I'm off for the RWA National conference in Atlanta. I will take notes and bring back some information for you.

Remember, you'll be able to order the workshop CDs. Those are usually an excellent way to learn. I usually order the CDs because there's no way to get to all the workshops I'd like to.

I'll catch you all next week, when I get back.

Susan G.

Cathy C · Jul 24, 2006

Have fun, Susan! Please do let us know if anything interesting happens at the National Meeting (if they even get a quorum this year... heh. )

Good luck too! :Hug2:

Susan Gable · Jul 24, 2006

Cathy C said:
Have fun, Susan! Please do let us know if anything interesting happens at the National Meeting (if they even get a quorum this year... heh. )

Good luck too!

Thanks, Cath. Cross your fingers for me!

And I guess I'd better go to the meeting so I can help make a quorum. I didn't give my proxy in, so I gotta go.

I didn't see a big call for proxies. That will make it harder to make a quorum. Especially since the membership rolls just keep getting bigger.

Susan G.

Susan Gable · Jul 30, 2006

I'm back! And exhausted, as usual when returning home from RWA National.

Overall, it was a great conference. The hotel was great. (Well, except for the fact that it's completely open in the center, and I'm afraid of heights. Fortunately I asked for a low-level room and ended up on the third floor. But I had to go up to the 28th floor a couple times, and that was downright terrifying for me. But I did it. <G>) The staff was extremely polite and responsive.

I managed to attend some of the workshops. I also ordered a set of the complete workshops (taped onto MP3 CDs.) They won't come in for 6 weeks, though. I'll try to post ordering information later or tomorrow.

My personal good news from the conference is that my last book, The Pregnancy Test, won the National Readers' CHoice Award for Best Long Contemporary. Very cool!

I have other specific information to share, but I'm kind of wiped right now. But I'll be back with more stuff.

If you've got any questions about it, just give a shout.

Susan G.

Susan Gable · Jul 30, 2006

Oh, wait, one thing I wanted to say - the editors from Tor/Forge plugged Cathy's books in both of their workshops. <G> They mentioned that she and her writing partner are great examples of how to create/write 3-D secondary characters that make the readers care about them.

So, that's cool, Cath!

(And so anyone looking for those good examples should take a read through her books!)

Susan G.

Cathy C · Jul 30, 2006

Awww...

That's really cool! Thanks for telling me!

But wait! :hooray:

How did your appointment go? Good news?

Susan Gable · Jul 30, 2006

Cathy C said:
Awww... That's really cool! Thanks for telling me!

But wait! How did your appointment go? Good news?

My meetings all went well. Things were very positive all around. But we won't know if there's any good news for a while yet. Still, I'm cautiously optimistic about a number of opportunities that seem to be presenting themselves.

Susan G.

JulesJones · Jul 30, 2006

Which reminds me - Tor editor Anna Genoese posted some handouts from the secondary characters panel on her website - links in her LiveJournal post here:
http://alg.livejournal.com/93139.html

HaleyDaulton · Jul 30, 2006

Susan Gable said:
My personal good news from the conference is that my last book, The Pregnancy Test, won the National Readers' CHoice Award for Best Long Contemporary. Very cool!

Congratulations! I saw your book in someone else's hands at the library last week and didn't have the gumption to snatch it from her.
:roll:

I'm waiting for her to check it back in so I can have my turn.

Haley

Susan Gable · Jul 30, 2006

HaleyDaulton said:
Congratulations! I saw your book in someone else's hands at the library last week and didn't have the gumption to snatch it from her.

I'm waiting for her to check it back in so I can have my turn.

Haley

LOL! Awwww, thank you, Haley. I hope you enjoy it when you get your turn!

Susan G.

Sonarbabe · Jul 30, 2006

Susan Gable said:
My personal good news from the conference is that my last book, The Pregnancy Test, won the National Readers' CHoice Award for Best Long Contemporary. Very cool!

Awesome! This deserves a snoopy dance... :snoopy:

Of course Susan knows I enjoyed her book even before I knew she was a member of AW. LOL.

Susan Gable said:
Oh, wait, one thing I wanted to say - the editors from Tor/Forge plugged Cathy's books in both of their workshops. <G> They mentioned that she and her writing partner are great examples of how to create/write 3-D secondary characters that make the readers care about them.

You go, Cathy! Snoopy dance for you too! :snoopy:

One day...one day I will have a book published and perhaps I, too, shall receive the coveted snoopy dance. LOL.

Sounds like it was a good time. I plan to order the cds. Let us know the info on how to order when you have it, Susan.

IHeartWriting · Jul 30, 2006

Congrats on your win Susan!

Cathy C · Jul 30, 2006

I missed seeing your win! AWESOME, SUSAN!

:Hug2:

dragonjax · Jul 30, 2006

HUZZAH, SUSAN AND CATHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

clara bow · Jul 30, 2006

RWA coverage

Here's a link to a gateway blog on RWA bloggers:

http://bloggingnational.blogspot.com/

I've been reading them all last week.

Congrats on the win, Susan!

By the way, does anyone have any info on the Southern Fiction workshop (it ran Friday 2-3)? How it went, what was said, etc.? Post it here or PM me if ya have time, much appreciated!

Robin Bayne · Jul 31, 2006

Congrats Susan!!!!

Susan Gable · Jul 31, 2006

Spotlight on Harlequin Report

These are notes taken by another author from the Spotlight on Harlequin session. (That session is usually taped, so you'll be able to order it. More information on that to follow.)

Brief Notes from the Spotlight on Harlequin Session --

Basically, each Senior Editor spoke about her line.
This is what Victoria (substituting for Laura Shin, the Senior Ed of the line) said about Supers:
• character driven
• reality
• Compelling central romance
• includes all aspects of character’s life: family, careers…
• variety of styles and tones from light to suspenseful to emotional family
drama
• different levels of sensuality
• write fresh-no clichés
• Again, strong focus on central relationship with legitimate and actively
sustained conflict
• Acquired 13 new authors since January 2005.

Except for Bombshell, every line is acquiring manuscripts. Bombshell is "re-evaluating" the program. (Doesn’t look good for them.)

Silhouette Intimate Moments is being renamed Silhouette Romantic Suspense.
However, the suspense is driven by the love story. (It’s not a 50/50 emphasis on both—it’s focused on the love story).

Harlequin American: Kathleen Scheibling emphasized "setting and community."

Desire: changing content to the Hero’s world. Alpha male, wealthy – either born or self-made. Heroine, average woman, spirited, a match for Hero.
(More like Presents)

Everlasting: "Every great love has a story to tell." They’ve got 35 contracts about a life long love but anchored in the present so there are really two love stories. Any POV. Flashbacks with clear transitions. Use of letters, diaries, journals – you can use lots of approaches.

Mills & Boon Modern Extra: it’s really Temptation transferred to the London office and will be sold mostly in Europe, but they will bring them to North America. Actively acquiring. 60K words.

Nocturne – dark paranormal only

The other lines remained the same. Check eHarlequin’s guidelines if you want more info.

******
Susan G.

Susan Gable · Jul 31, 2006

Ordering CDs of Workshops

To order copies of the workshop CD (which is a complete set of all the taped workshops - some workshops were NOT taped, but most were.) you can go here:

https://www.billspro.com/rwa/rw06.html

The price is listed as $129, but sometimes they run a special for the first week or so after conference, and they sell them for $100. At conference, the price was $100. I ordered a set, and it will be about 6 weeks before they arrive, so be aware of that.

Consider going in on a set with a friend and sharing, or even suggest that your chapter purchase a set for the members to use as a library. My chapter does that.

There's also a pdf list of the taped workshops on the website.

Susan G.

Kasey Mackenzie · Jul 31, 2006

Congratulations on the win, Susan! =)

nevada · Jul 31, 2006

Congratulations, Susan. What a thrill that must be.

I'm bummed about Bombshell re-evaluating. Not that I think they're so good, lately they've sucked with all the paranormal stuff. Not that I hate paranormal but to me it never fit with what I think of when I think of Bombshell. NOt to mention that they all read like Alias and were about as believable too. I'm bummed because I'm sort of writing one. ALthough with revisions and rewrites it's rapidly growing beyond the Bombshell requirements, but it was my fall-back option. And now they're re-evaluating. Does it look like they'll fold the line?

NCwriter · Jul 31, 2006

clara bow said:
By the way, does anyone have any info on the Southern Fiction workshop (it ran Friday 2-3)? How it went, what was said, etc.? Post it here or PM me if ya have time, much appreciated!

I attended this workshop.

“Frankly, we do give a damn!”—Agent Kimberly Whalen and authors Mary Alice Monroe, Mary Kay Andrews and Patti Callahan Henry.

It was well done and very interesting.

My notes are a huge, sloppy mess, but here’s what I can decipher from them…with a few of my own comments included J:

The agent said that editors right now are looking for strong southern fiction. She said that people’s lives now are busy and hectic, and they enjoy visiting places where the pace of life is slower. They like stories that remind them of what’s really important in life (family, for example).

The authors stated that geography alone does not make a novel southern. It takes more that just the story being set in the south. Southern books have a strong sense of place, and the character’s identity is rooted to that sense of place and home. They have a love for the south. Family connections and community are important. Relatives--even the crazy ones--are relished and embraced. The characters have a reverence of the past, not just the significant events but also the traditions. The characters have a unique language and dialect. The dialogue must be authentic and speech patterns vary over the south (for example, it’s different in the low country than the mountains). Editors and readers find a certain amount of dialect charming if well-done and not over-done. Much of the humor is self-deprecating. Southerners will poke fun at their own southernness. {MY COMMENT—I just wanted to add one thing here...I’ve often poked fun at my own southernness, and other southerners can poke fun at my southernness, but if a non-southerner does it, then I don’t find it at all amusing, unless it’s someone that I know very well and I’m CERTAIN that it’s just good-natured teasing} They also talked about the fact that the south is changing and many southern people almost view this as a threat. {MY COMMENT—I think that’s true. The south is changing, and while some changes were and are truly NEEDED, I often think that the south is losing its southernness in the process, and that makes me sad.}

Someone asked how important it is for the author to actually be a southerner. The answer was that it’s not important, but they have to get it right. {MY COMMENT—that’s very true. I don’t care if the author isn’t from the south, but I can tell when an author doesn’t know anything about the south beyond the stereotypical.}

Someone else asked if it was too soon to write about Katrina issues, and the agent stated that she didn’t think it was, because by the time the book was purchased and hit the shelves (a year or longer) enough time will have gone by.

I’m sure there’s lots of stuff that I’m forgetting and/or that I just couldn’t decipher from my notes, so maybe there will be others who attended the workshop that will have more information to add.

Stacia Kane · Jul 31, 2006

Congrats, Susan & Cathy! That's great news!

Josie · Jul 31, 2006

Congratulations Susan and Cathy!!!!

Cheers

clara bow · Jul 31, 2006

NCwriter said:
I attended this workshop.

.

Oh. My. God. You are SO awesome! Thank you! (I PM'd you a note!).

NCwriter · Aug 1, 2006

Susan Gable said:
My personal good news from the conference is that my last book, The Pregnancy Test, won the National Readers' CHoice Award for Best Long Contemporary. Very cool!

Actually I was at this ceremony. I received the very first award, but it wasn't a Reader’s Choice

It was an award for the Finally a Bride contest. I had no clue I was expected to ‘speak’ so said, ‘oh, no’ when they asked if I’d like to say a few words. Geez, the least I could have done was thank the judges. I’m still kicking myself in the butt over it.

But, at any rate, I did see you there. BIG CONGRATS!

Thanks for the spotlight on Harlequin report. I did workshops and didn’t make it to any of the spotlights

RWA National - Atlanta

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

This Space for Rent

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Working In A Coal Mine...

Lurking in the shadows

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

I write stuff and break boards.

Li'l Rug Bug

~writes for Him~

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

One Hit Wonder?

Girl Detective

Li'l Rug Bug