Guest Blogger - Diane O'Brien Kelly

I first met Diane when I attended a fabulous workshop about writers and taxes she presented at the RWA national conference. Then she graciously agreed to let us use some of her tax articles on the Playground website. When I got her newsletter last week and found out... well, I'll let her tell you what I found out. Please welcome Diane O'Brien Kelly to the Writing Playground blog!


Sneaking in the Back Door

I did it. I beat the odds. I sold to a major New York publisher and I did it without an agent. Maybe you can, too!

After winning or placing in two dozen RWA chapter contests and taking home the Golden Heart in 2009 for my manuscript “Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure,” I felt confident. Not only did the contest wins prove that my manuscripts had broad appeal, but I’d had two requests for fulls from editors who’d judged my work in contests. I was sure agents would engage in hand-to-hand combat for the right to represent me.

That’s not quite what happened.

Several agents I queried asked for fulls and one even approached me unsolicited with a request to see my Golden Heart manuscript. One of the agents worked with me for several months on revisions. Unfortunately, even after the revisions, she still wasn’t convinced I had a marketable project and didn’t offer representation.

There were no takers.

Was I devastated? Of course! I thought that, without an agent, the chances of being taken seriously by a big house were about the same as the odds of winning the Powerball. After all, the submissions guidelines for many houses state that only agented submissions will be considered.

Since the contest requests had given me an “in” through the back door, I sent the manuscript directly to the editors who’d requested it. And I kept hustling. I attended yet another conference and pitched my work directly to an editor at St. Martin’s, who requested a full.

Months later, with yet another round of requested submissions sitting in agents’ in-boxes, I got the call. In fact, I got two calls. The first was a two-book deal based on two completed manuscripts the editor had judged in a contest. The other deal, which was the one I decided to take, would be a three-book series beginning with my Golden Heart book. The editor who made the offer was the one I’d pitched to in person at the conference.

Yep, I’d snuck in the back door and got a deal on my own.

What did I learn from this experience? To take advantage of any and all opportunities to get your work in front of editors. Agents are not the only way. Enter contests. A lot of contests! Attend conferences. Lots of conferences! And, above all else, believe in yourself and your work.



For right now, you can see more about Diane at her website, which will soon be changing. And because her book won't be out until next year, she's graciously agreed to give one lucky commenter copies of her critique partners' books, "Operation Afterlife" by Angela Cavener and "Do Over" by Celya Bowers

The View from the Pitcher's Mound

(1) Pitcher, a playing position in the game of baseball or softball. See also:
Starting pitcher, the pitcher who pitches the first pitch
Relief pitcher, a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher has been removed
Middle relief pitcher, relief pitchers who commonly pitch in the 6th or 7th innings
Setup pitcher, a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer
Closing pitcher, a relief pitcher who tries to get the final outs in a game to secure victory for his team
Power pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches
Control pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the accuracy of his pitches
Groundball pitcher, a pitcher that relies on getting hitters to hit into ground outs











(2) Pitcher, a container with a spout used for pouring its contents.





(3) Pitcher, a very nervous writer who had less than seventy-two hours between being named as a finalist and having to answer questions from a New York editor.



Last week I announced in my blog that I'd been picked as one of eleven writers to pitch a novel to the editor of Silhouette Special Edition. I got the word on Monday afternoon and then learned the day before the pitches that I was second in the line-up. That meant I had to be ready to go into the eHarlequin chat room at about noon Central time.



I emailed everyone I knew who'd ever done an online pitch and got some great advice (thanks to the Brainstorming Desireables!). I also emailed a couple other friends who are multi-published and got even more good advice. I was advised to be able to hone in on the characters' conflict, to be able to verbalize what made my book perfect for Special Edition and to be able to rattle off the hooks used in the story.


Someone told me they'd been asked what authors they read and what Harlequin/Silhouette lines they liked. "Tell them what else you've written," one person said. "And let them know about all the stories you've sold to the confessions magazines." "If she asks, let her know you're involved in RWA," another suggested.

Smarty Pants read the first three chapters for me in case I got asked to send a partial. Lynn Raye Harris read them too and even met with me at the coffee shop to drill down the conflict to its core. And one of my RWA chapter mates read the entire book for me and offered some very constructive criticism that will make the story stronger.



Because there were so many of us, we each had ten minutes with the editor. "Let her take the lead and ask questions," we were told. So that's what I did. I also took all the other advice and I made a cheat sheet -- a Word document open in another window so I could cut and paste if applicable.



After telling me she had a giggle over the title (and adding she hoped I wasn't offended by that -- and I definitely wasn't) the editor said she loved the premise and it was "classic SSE."



Score one for the home team. I'd studied the line just like I'd been told to do.



"Can you tell me a bit more about the characters and conflicts?" she asked next.



Score two. I had that on the cheat sheet and was able to cut and paste. Thank you again, Lynn.



She then asked me to clarify a bit of the external conflict and I answered that one off the cuff.



Score three when she said it made sense.



Next she asked about a turning point in the book and I answered that one off the cuff too because it's one of my favorite parts of the book. "They seemed to have such an intense emotional connection I wondered if this was about the sex or the relationship, but I see you just answered that! :) His plan adds an interesting subtext."



Score four despite not knowing I had interesting subtext. Sometimes you just get lucky.



After she asked me what the hero did for a living and I explained, she said, "Well, I would definitely like to see the full ms for this, since it's got so many classic elements which do well for SSE. Can you send it to me at the New York office?"






Uh... well... mmm... er...



Sure!


Score five!


And if they buy it and let me design the cover, it'll look something like this. Don't you just love my hero? ;-)

I'm editing and polishing and working to make this the best story I can send her. So if I'm a little bit absent for the next week or so, don't worry that I've fallen off the edge of the earth. I'm just busy and nervous and anxious and still completely gobsmacked that I got this far. The Playfriends have been a big part of this -- explaining things I didn't quite understand, brainstorming, helping me with the story board I put together, reading some sample chapters and just being all-round terrific cheerleaders. I'm buying them all new pom-poms for Christmas because they wore theirs out rooting for me and holding my hand.

I also felt all those good vibes I asked you to send last week. I had a whole army behind me, and I thank all of you. I could tell you believed in me, and that helped me believe in myself.

Now I'm going to put y'all on the pitcher's mound and ask the question I didn't get asked: What are your favorite Harlequin/Silhouette lines and why?

Guest blogger: Susan Gable

I met today's guest blogger a lotta years ago when I was just beginning to read romance and was reviewing romance for a website. One day I inadvertently sent a piece of my writing to the wrong email loop and Susan read it. I'm not sure if she remembers, but she was one of my first encouragers, and for that I'm eternally grateful. So please scoot over and make room on the Playground bench for Susan Gable.


Fight for What You Love


"Never Give up, Never Surrender!"

That's a quote from one of my favorite movies, Galaxy Quest. (I'm a Star Trek fan from way back, so I find Galaxy Quest to be hysterical.)

But it's sound advice for any writer. This is a crazy business we're in. The road is not just long and winding, but it goes up and down like a roller coaster.
Everybody pays their dues at some point. And just because you're selling today doesn't mean you'll be selling tomorrow.

I sold pretty quickly. The second manuscript I wrote, the first submission I made to Superromance, sold. People hate you for stuff like that. I was also one of those rare few who enter the Golden Heart in the fall, sell their first book, and then discover that their Golden Heart manuscript finaled in the Golden Heart. (That book was bought by Superromance as my second published book, just two days before the actual Golden Heart award ceremony.) Then my first book ended up as a Rita finalist for Best First Book.

People hate you for that kind of stuff, too. (Okay, maybe hate is too strong a word. But they aren't very happy with you. Hoping to see you fall on your face, you know?)

But, we all find our speedbumps. Our walls. Our stop signs. We all do fall on our face at some point.

I had some issues selling my fourth book, but after I sold my fourth book, I hit that wall. We had some editor changes at the line. And I could not sell another book to save my life.

Talk about disheartening. Discouraging. Talk about completely losing faith in my own abilities as a writer. We writers all struggle with doubt demons, but getting into a situation like that – or like not managing to sell your first book, for that matter – will bring those demons out in force.
I reached a point where I told people that I'd had way more faith in myself before I'd sold my first book than I did then. I actually wrestle with the doubt demons to this day.

This business is so subjective. That's what I want you to understand. That's what *I* need to remember and understand. What one person (reader, agent, editor) hates, another loves. Proof of this point is my new book that's coming out this month, A Kid to the Rescue.

You see, this book was rejected back when I was in my "can't sell to save my life" ditch. This very same book. After it was rejected, we had another change of staff at my line. Friends asked me if I was going to submit something to the new senior. Well...I was in a ditch. I thought I had given up writing for good, to tell you the truth. (Waving the white flag of surrender! ) But my friends twisted my arm. I agreed that if the eds would let me resubmit something, I'd give it a shot. I couldn't stand the idea of pouring my heart and soul into yet another proposal just to have it shot down. Plus I felt strongly about this book. So I spoke to the new senior editor and asked her if she would be willing to take a look at this proposal again. I discussed what I saw as the strengths of the proposal. She agreed to take another look at it.

And in the end, she bought it. Same author, same EXACT proposal, for the same exact line, that had been previously rejected.

Subjective.

It seems fitting that the hero's motto in this new book is "Fight for what you love," and that's the lesson the heroine had to learn. And so did I. In this business, you have to fight for what you love. That doesn't mean being obnoxious when you get a rejection. You have to be professional at all times. But it does mean never giving up. It means going on even when you think the battle is lost. Giving up because we're afraid we're going to get hurt again is the easy way out.

Never give up. Never surrender. Fight the good fight. Or as another of my characters, the heroine from my Golden Heart ms was fond of saying, "Lace up your boots tighter and carry on." If you fall on your face, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in it.

Believe in yourself. In your talent. In your ability to tell a story.

Because the next one, the next (agent, editor, story) could be "The One."

Have you ever hit that wall? How do you keep going? Do you have any stories about the subjectivity of the business? Share them! How about questions? I used to be an elementary teacher, so I love questions. I'm going to give away a copy of my last book, The Pregnancy Test, which won the National Readers' Choice Award, to one lucky participant from today's comments!
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Susan Gable has sold five books to Harlequin's Superromance line. Her books have been Rita and Golden Heart Finalists, she's been a Waldenbooks Bestseller, been twice nominated for Romantic Time's Best Superromance of the Year, and she's won numerous other awards, including the National Readers' Choice Award. Her next book, A Kid to the Rescue, got 4.5 Stars and a Top Pick from RT. It hits shelves on Feb. 10th, and is the story of a heroine who assumes custody of her nephew after the little boy witnesses his father murder his mother. The hero, a comic book artist who's also an art therapist, brings hope and laughter to their lives, along with love. And he teaches both aunt and child to fight for what they love. Visit Susan's website: http://www.susangable.com/