A Polishing Till It Shines Checklist from Mia Marlowe

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Mia Marlowe to talk to us about polishing your manuscript. For all of you doing NaNoWriMo, this checklist of things to look for after you've finished your draft is going to be especially indispensable.

And if that wasn't enough, Mia is giving away an ARC of SINS OF THE HIGHLANDER to a lucky commenter! (open internationally) So be sure to leave your email address in the comments.


Now, over to Mia...

    Polishing Till it Shines

The manuscript is finished. Now what? Time to revise andpolish. And let me encourage you to be brutal. This is your last chance to makethe story as good as it possibly can be before you start submitting it. Youonly get one chance to impress an agent or editor. Make it count.

Start with the beginning. Does your opening sentence raise aquestion in the reader's mind, something to hook them into reading on? If not,work on it until it does.

Is your first chapter bogged down with back-story? Slash itnow. Hit the ground running and don't look back. You need to know what's comebefore. Your readers only need the barest hint. Don’t include more backstorythan is necessary for readers to understand well enough to continue. Keepingyour reader slightly off balance, wondering why something is happening or why acharacter is reacting in an unusual manner is a good way to keep the pagesturning. And that is your goal.

I often tell my husband he married a hooker. No, this isn’t TrueConfessions! ;-) I'm talking about writing hooks. These are tiny tantalizingbits of information that create a path for your readers. If you work it right,you can literally pull your reader forward through your story.  This is what keeps readers up nights.

Check your prose. Are you using passive voice? Hope not.Lots of helping verbs? Weak. Circle every word ending in "ly" and cutthem till there's no more than one or two per page. Use descriptive verbs andnouns instead of adjectives and adverbs.

Read your story aloud. You'll hear the echoes of over-usedwords your eyes may miss. Any sentence you have to take a breath to finish istoo long. Cut it in half.

Look at your pages. How much white space is there? Are you tooheavy on narrative and too light on dialogue? Do you need the tags on yourdialogue or can you tell who's talking based on their speech patterns? Do allyour characters sound alike?

Can you smell your scenes? Have you engaged all the senses orare you relying merely on visual? Your reader wants to walk in the heroine'sshoes. Give her enough to know where she is and how to feel about it.

Are you sticking with one point of view per scene or are youpopping in and out of your character's heads so much you'll give your readerswhiplash?

Do your characters have similar sounding names? Tolkien mayhave gotten away with Eowen and Eomer, but most readers prefer not to have towork that hard. Do your character's names start with the same letter? For thesake of clarity, change one of them now.

Use the spell checker. I mistrust the grammar checker, butthe spell check is my friend.

  

When your story is polished till you're sick of it, turn it overto someone whose judgment you trust--generally not a relative or someone whowants to continue to sleep with you. Don't be defensive. Prepare yourself forrequests for revisions. If you don't develop the hide of a rhinoceros, yourstay in Writerland will be painful and brief. Accept their comments andconsider them carefully. You didn't come down the mountain with the storycarved in stone. Revise if you find you agree with them.

Once you're satisfied your manuscript sparkles, do yourhomework. Don't send it to an editor or agent who doesn't handle your brand ofromance. Choose your targets carefully. Why set yourself up for a 'no?'

Print it up. Say a prayer. Submit and start working on thenext one. Don't even think about contacting them for a response before threemonths. Good luck and Happy Writing!

What special trick do you use tomake sure your final manuscript is the best version of the story of yourheart?

Mia Marlowe writes historical romance for Kensingtonand Sourcebooks. A classically trained soprano, she calls her adventurous,sensual stories a cross between Grand Opera and Gilbert & Sullivan…withsex!  Her Touch of a Thief(May 2011) received a rare starred review fromPublishers Weekly and January 2012 will see the release of her firstcollaborative novel with New York Times bestseller Connie Mason,Sins of theHighlander. Check out her blog at MiaMarlowe.com for RedPencil Thursday. Mia does an online critique of the first 500 words for anintrepid volunteer each week. She loves to connect with other writers andreaders and hopes you’ll join her on Facebookand Twitter.

Remember to leave a comment and your email if you want to be entered to win the ARC!

Thanks, Mia, for stopping by!

Tweet

---

“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order! Read an excerpt here.

---

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

Voice Matters: Does Yours Fit Your Genre? by Ashley March

Hello, all! It's genre Monday and today I have the lovely and talented Ashley March, historical romance author extraordinaire, to talk with us about the ever-important voice.

Take it away, Ashley...

Voice Matters by Ashley March

I recently decided to try to write my first contemporary romance. I had great characters, a great storyline, and I figured it would be as easy to write as my usual Victorian romances. However, I realized very quickly that I had a big problem I never expected: I couldn’t find my contemporary romance voice.

We’ve all heard that each author has their own voice, but I believe that each author also has their own genre/sub-genre voice. Authors who write both romance and YA aren’t going to have the same voice, and the same is true for authors who write both historical and contemporary romance. As I struggled with finding my voice for contemporary romance, I realized that this is something I don’t often hear writers talking about. But the truth is this: voice matters not only as a means of making you stand out from among the crowd, but also as a means of putting you in the right crowd.

I’m a writer who believes in giving back to other writers and the writing community, and one of the ways I do this is by sometimes critiquing partials or fulls of pre-published writers. Often one of the comments that I have to make time and time again is that the writer’s voice sounds anachronistic. They’re using words that wouldn’t have been used in a certain period, or sometimes, even if those words were used, the phrasing simply sounds modern. As someone who pays a lot of attention to words—not only which words are chosen, but the rhythm of words, or how they sound when read—I know there’s a difference that can be seen in the voice of historical romance authors versus the voice of other romance sub-genres, and this difference is important. Not only can the right voice for a genre/sub-genre help the story feel more authentic, it can also help draw your reader more quickly into your story.

I thought this point would best be made through examples.

Here is a contemporary excerpt  (from Teresa Medeiros’ GOODNIGHT, TWEETHEART):

According to the page that popped up, Abby was now Abby_Donovan and she already had seventeen Followers. Having "Followers" made her feel like some sort of kooky religious cult leader. An empty box invited her to answer one simple question—"What's happening?"

Her fingers hovered over the keys, torn between typing, "None of your business" and "I'm sipping Cristal on the beach at St. Tropez with Brad Pitt."

Sighing, she finally settled on the truth: "I'm feeling sorry for myself." She hit the Update button and waited.

Here is a historical excerpt (from Teresa Medeiros’ THE DEVIL WEARS PLAID):

For the first time since he'd muscled his way into the abbey, the stranger's mocking gaze flicked toward her. Even that brief glance was enough to bring a flush stinging to Emma's fair cheeks. Especially since his words held the undeniable and damning ring of truth.

This time it was almost a relief when Ian Hepburn once again sought to impose himself between them. "You may mock us and pretend to be avenging your ancestors as you always do," he said, a sneer curling his upper lip, "but everyone on this mountain knows that the Sinclairs have never been anything more than common cutthroats and thieves. If you and your ruffians have come to divest my uncle's guests of their jewels and purses, then why don't you bloody well get on with it and stop wasting your breath and our time?"

*** 

            I specifically chose one author who writes different sub-genres because I don’t believe showing excerpts from two authors writing different sub-genres would be fair for our analysis. We need a real-world example of how an author uses voice to draw a reader into the specific genre/sub-genre she’s writing.

            As you can see above, Teresa Medeiros’ contemporary voice is far different from her historical voice. If I were going to describe her contemporary voice, I would call it light-hearted in comparison to her historical voice. The change can be seen in the way the sentences are structured as well as the words chosen and, I would also say, the way the author engages the reader. The contemporary makes me feel as if the heroine could be my best friend, while the historical invites me to be the heroine that could make such a hero fall deeply in love. One is light and flirtatious; the other denser and more dramatic. If we were comparing movies, I would say that it’s the difference between You’ve Got Mail and Jane Eyre. This doesn’t mean that all contemporaries are light—because they’re not—and it doesn’t mean that all historicals are comparatively darker—because they’re not.

            What it does mean, however, is that writing a historical isn’t as simple as researching a certain place during a certain time and writing the story that goes along with it. You must find your historical voice, and you must know your readers’ expectations for what a historical voice sounds like.

            The following are recommendations for several historical romance authors with very strong voices. You’re not supposed to try to model your voice after theirs, but you should read them. Analyze what is different about their voices and what is the same. Reading in your genre/sub-genre is always important to know your market, but with the historical romance sub-genre in particular, part of the escape into the historical world is having a historical voice. If you want to write historical romance, I would say that developing a historical voice is equally as important as doing research in terms of bringing a feeling of authenticity to your writing. Don’t be fooled into thinking you don’t need one.

Recommendations for historical authors with strong voices:

Sherry Thomas (tryPrivate Arrangements or Not Quite a Husband)

Julie Anne Long (try What I Did for a Duke or The Perils of Pleasure)

Anne Mallory (try Three Nights of Sin or Seven Secrets of Seduction)

Lisa Kleypas (try Dreaming of You or Devil in Winter)

Meredith Duran (try Wicked Becomes You or A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal)

Julia Quinn (try The Duke and I or Romancing Mr. Bridgerton)

This month’s must-read recommendation for both strong voice and for being a nearly perfect historical romance is Joanna Bourne’s

THE FORBIDDEN ROSE

A glittering French aristocrat is on the run, disguised as a British governess. England's top spy has a score to settle with her family. But as they're drawn inexorably into the intrigue and madness of Revolutionary Paris, they gamble on a love to which neither of them will admit.

How important is voice to you as a reader and as a writer? If you’ve written in different genres/sub-genres, what tips and tricks do you use for changing your voice appropriately?

Ashley March is a baby-induced sleep-deprived romance author who lives in Colorado with her husband and two young daughters. Her newest Victorian historical romance, ROMANCING THE COUNTESS, is a love story about an earl and his best friend’s wife who are drawn together after their spouses—who were having an affair—die in a carriage accident. Her approach to the romance genre and the books she writes can be seen in the tagline on her website:

Choose love. Hope in love. Believe in love

www.ashleymarch.com

And Ashley has a new book out this month--

Romancing the Countess (Signet Eclipse)

! Go let her know how thankful we are for her sharing her insight with us by buying her super fabulous books!

Tweet

“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!"

–Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

Standing Out in A Crowded Publishing Market by Jenn LeBlanc

Today I have a special treat for you guys--Author Jenn LeBlanc. We're all told that we're supposed to stand out, to think outside the box, and to provide the "same but different" in order to make it in the world of publishing. And Jenn has taken that advice and has run with it. I can't wait for you to read about what she's doing. And don't forget to leave a comment on today's post with your email because Jenn is generously offering up a copy of THE RAKE AND THE RECLUSE as a prize!

Take it away, Jenn...

When I started writing The Rake And The Recluse, I never thought to finish it. When I did, I never really thought to publish it. When I started working on that, I realized I really needed a good hook to get people to pay attention. I thought it was a great story, as did my editors and beta readers, but convincing a stranger of that was pretty important. 

Romance is the number one selling genre last time I checked. That means there are a lot of books, and a lot of readers, and as a new author I really needed to stand out in order to survive. 

I decided to put together a package for my queries. Something that would set me apart from the crowd. I thought, as a photographer, shooting a great cover for my novel might do it. (What can I say, as a newb it sounded like a good idea.) Besides, I could always use it on my writers blog and try to get some buzz going. 

I started casting for a cover model, and found Derek Hutchins and we set up a photo shoot. It didn’t take long once we started shooting to realize there was something special happening. I called him in for a second shoot and started playing with some other scenes from the book. This was about a month before the release of the first iPad. As the shoot became more involved my brain kicked into overdrive and I wondered about shooting illustrations for the entire novel. I talked to Derek and he was game so I started doing page layouts and, well the rest is history. 

I queried my idea but most of what I got in response was ‘we love your voice, but we don’t know what to do with this.’ By then I already had the book, and the images. I was not turning back so I learned how to layout and export to ePub on my own. I designed five versions of the book so it could be read on any reader, and I self published it. 

It’s a fully illustrated romance novel. I suppose you could call it a cover on steroids. Romance covers are such an iconic 20th century thing, and it’s time to move on with the possibilities of the digital age of books. This book in print is expensive. The full color volume, of which there are exactly four copies so far, is about $140 retail. The trade paperback, with images, is $21.95. It’s beautiful, but if you want the true experience, it’s in the ebook. That is what it was made for. 

I have always tried to think outside the proverbial box, always wanted to have something different. That carried over into my book project. I wanted something new, something more, something eye-catching, an experience and not just a really good read. I wanted to utilize the new media to its fullest potential. 

My novel can be read on any reader--video and flash are not part of the book. The images are embedded in the text, so it flows properly and you don’t need special plugins or video to read it--that was important to me. I’ve seen the vooks and thought that the video might pull the reader from the story, particularly on readers where they would have to move to a computer or something else with video capability. 

I actually loved every minute of this project and as it gains momentum I’m having even more fun sharing it. I think it’s worth it just for the pictures or the story independently, but together you get a more lush and involved reading experience. 

I have done all my own marketing and promotion, and managed to catch the eye of the editors at Avon. We are still talking, but I’m not entirely sure I want to go that route now that I have done all the work myself. I truly appreciate the big publishers, and what they can offer to a writer, especially a first time author like myself, and weighing the benefits of a big publishing house, including their editors and experts and reach, against my own hard work and expectations has been monumentally difficult. It comes down to numbers and how much they would get from all of my hard work, considering it is complete, and would only need minor edits and modifications for them to publish it.

I think it’s fantastic, and it makes me feel great to be told the writing is on, and they would love to be involved, particularly since a year ago I couldn’t convince anyone to look at it. It’s a bit like my own personal Marilyn in the ice cream shop experience. 

In the meantime I’m working on restructuring the book to its original format, a six part serial novel. Something else nobody was interested in. I’m finishing edits on the second book, and preparing to shoot that in September or October for a February release. 

I’m also doing illustrations for other wonderful authors, and a few covers as well. I have found this great community that I love being a part of, and my own little niche to rest in- not that I get any rest. 

Standing out in the publishing market is difficult. There are very few people who can do what I have done. I happen to be a professional photographer, and that really helps. That is what gave my my niche, and what makes me who I am in the writing industry. You have to find yours as well. It isn’t easy. I did not plan this. I fell into it a bit backward, but here I am and I plan to keep going because this is quite honestly the most fun I have had in my entire life. Learning everything I can from other authors, both new and seasoned, has helped immensely. Now that I’ve done all the work the next one will be simple for me to get done.

Now it’s just a matter of staying on top of the new media curve. I have a few short stories coming out soon, and some free reads going on my website to help promote. Actually there is a hidden scene on my website, and you have to play around to find it. It’s pretty randy so fair warning. :) It’s an outtake from The Rake And The Recluse.

My book is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance eBooks and on iBooks from your iThingy. 

If you read it please track me down on Twitter, Facebook, or my blog to let me know what you think! I LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from readers, both the good and the bad. That way my next book will only get better.

Thanks, Jenn! So what do y'all think? An illustrated romance novel, sign me up. :) What ideas have you had that you were afraid were too outside the box? How do you think your book will stand out? 


CONTEST: And don't forget to leave a comment with your email addy to enter the contest to WIN a copy of THE RAKE AND THE RECLUSE!


Tweet

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

Why You Should Read Debut Authors

We all have our favorite authors, the ones we go back to again and again. The ones we buy no matter what the story may be about because we know they won't let us down. And this is a great thing. We want to support those authors who always manage to sweep up into their stories and leave us satisfied at the end. That's the kind of author we all strive to be.

However, sometimes that means we can get into a pattern of only reading those go-to authors and we miss out on all the new authors breaking in. It's hard sometimes to part with money and take a risk on a new author, but here's why I think we should:

1. Debut authors offer us a glimpse into stories that captured an editor's (and usually agent's) attention. These are breakthrough books. These stories were so good, they beat all the odds and got the book deal. We can learn from that.

2. Debut authors were "one of us" (the unpubbed/pre-pubbed) not that long ago. We know how hard it was for them to get to the point they're at, so don't we want to support them and  help them be successful?

3. Because these stories got to this point, you're probably going to end up with a really great read and maybe a new author to add to your favorites list!

And if you're looking for suggestions for a debut author...

My agency-mate, Ashley March's Seducing the Duchess was released this week. I'm 2/3 of the way through reading it and it is fabulous.  So much fun.

Here's the blurb (from Amazon):

Love and marriage don't have to be strangers... 

Gambling. Carousing. Flirting. Charlotte, Duchess of Rutherford, will do anything to escape her painful marriage and force her husband to divorce her. But when Phillip, Duke of Rutherford, promises a divorce if Charlotte will help him become a better husband for another woman, she wonders if she really wants to lose him...

Now how can you resist that hook? :)


So what debut author have you read lately that you'd recommend? Do you tend to stick to your favorite authors or do you venture out and try new ones?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Break Out" - Foo Fighters

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Outlander: A Review (finally!)

Title: Outlander

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Historical Romance/Time Travel

Rating: ★★★★

Back Cover (from Amazon):

The year is 1945 and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a former British combat nurse, is on holiday in Scotland with her husband, looking forward to becoming reacquainted after the war's long separation. Like most practical women, Claire hardly expects her curiosity to get the better of her. But an ancient stone circle near her lodgings holds an eerie fascination, and when she innocently touches one of the giant boulders, she's hurtled backward in time more than two hundred years, to 1743.

Alone where no lady should be alone, and far from the familiar comforts of her other life, Claire's usual resourcefulness is tested to the limit. The merciless garrison captain so feared by others bears an uncanny resemblance to the husband she has just left behind. Her own odd circumstances expose her to accusations of witchcraft. And the strands of a political intrigue she doesn't understand threaten to ensnare her at every turn.

But of all the perils her new life holds, none is more disquieting than her growing feelings for James Fraser, the gallant young Scot she is forced to marry for her own protection. Sworn by his wedding vows to keep her from harm, Jamie's passion for Claire goes beyond duty. As she struggles with the memories of another lifetime, she is forced to make an agonizing and fateful choice, and learns ultimately that a man's instinct to protect the woman he loves is as old as time.

REVIEW:

Okay, so I'm sure you guys have noticed Outlander sitting in my "Reading Right Now" window of my sidebar for what seems like forever. This book is LONG--650 pages. I am not one that has a problem with a long book. (One of my favorite books ever, It by Stephen King, is 1000 pages if I remember right.) However, this is the first book I read on my new Kindle and not being able to see the dent in pages as I read made it seem longer.

If I'm completely honest, there were points in this book that I wanted to stop. I would be right there, ready to quit, then the action would pick up and I would stick with it again. I am one of those people that hates to not finish a book. It pains me. This book has a huge following and I have heard so many people recommend it, so I felt like I needed to push through.

So was it worth it? Totally. The characters are wonderful and the love (and banter) between Claire and Jamie is epic, for lack of a better word. After staying in their story so long, I feel like they are family members. I told my husband to not be surprised if I started answering questions with "Aye" and calling my son a "bairn" or "wee laddie" because I felt like I had been living in the Scottish highlands for weeks, lol.

Things that made me happy:

--The male protagonist, Jamie, is such a great character. He's not a bad boy. He's tough, stoic, and fiercely loyal. But also very sweet (and innocent in many ways). It makes him beyond endearing, not to mention sexy.

--Claire is a tough chick is can go toe to toe with the tough highlanders. The banter between her and Jamie made me laugh out loud at times.

--Even though this is a series, it did not end on a huge cliffhanger. Some things were untied, but the end was very satisfying. If after 700 pages, I landed on some major unfinished business, I would have been more than a little peeved.

--I felt like I visited another place in time. This was my very first historical romance, so I didn't know what to expect. But in the end, it was if I had taken a journey.

Things I didn't love:

--This book did not need to be this long. Many things could have been cut. Descriptions could go on a little long. I skimmed a lot of those pages.

--The beginning was slow, then there were a number of points in the book that dragged.

--Keeping up with all the different plots, historical references, and political intrigue was a bit difficult at times

--Sometimes the fact that the two got caught in so many bad situations was a bit unbelievable. It's like the first season of the show 24 when Keifer Sutherland's daughter kept getting herself in trouble--"what terrorist is Kim going to get captured by this week?"

Favorite Quotes:

"No wonder he was so good with horses, I thought blearily, feeling his fingers rubbing gently behind my ears, listening to the soothing, incomprehensible speech. If I were a horse, I’d let him ride me anywhere." --Claire

"Murtagh was right about women. Sassenach, I risked my life for ye, committing theft, arson, assault, and murder into the bargain. In return for which ye call me names, insult my manhood, kick me in the ballocks and claw my face. Then I beat you half to death and tell ye all the most humiliating things that have ever happened to me, and ye say ye love me." He laid his head on his knees and laughed some more. Finally he rose and held out a hand to me, wiping his eyes with the other. "You're no verra sensible, Sassenach, but I like ye fine." --Jamie

Overall: Do I recommend this? Aye. (Sorry couldn't resist.) I think this is a winner. I fell in love with the characters and am tempted to go on to the next in the series (which I think is 880 pages, whew). Although, I will need a break. This book has convinced me that I need to open up my mind to historical romance, something I never gravitated toward before.

Have any of you read this? If so, what are your thoughts? What's your favorite historical romance?