Fill-Me-In Friday

 

It's that time of the week again to round-up my favorite links of the week! But first I want to direct you to a guest post I'm doing today over at the fabulous Writers in the Storm. I'd love if you could stop by and leave a comment! 

 

My Guest Post:

 

Okay, now on to the links...

On Writing:
Heartbreaking Borders Photo via GalleyCat -- This gave me the sads.
Twenty Obsolete Words That Should Make a Comeback by Matador Network. <--These are full of awesome.
When the Going Gets Tough at Writer Unboxed 
So How Am I Doing? (the difficulty of tracking your book sales and how Amazon rank doesn't mean much) by Books and Such Literary Agency
The New Facebook Subscribe Button at Mashable -- great explanation on who should use it and how
Happy Endings by Sierra Godfrey
What You May Have Missed 'Round These Here Parts:
(And even if you're not into the pics, the post is worth reading for my husband's comment and answer to this question at the bottom of the post.)
September 12 - 16, 2011



So those are my favorites of the week--what were some of your favorite links out there? It's your turn to fill me in. :) Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

 


“...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|

 

Speak Out With Your Geek Out: My Contribution

Today's post is not about writing, well not directly anyway. Today I'm participating in the campaign

Speak Out with Your Geek Out. When I first saw the info about this earlier in the week via Chuck Wendig's blog, I knew I had to participate. Definitely go here and learn what's it's all about. But to give you the gist, it's a week (Sept. 12-16) of celebrating why it's great to be different, to be you, and to be a geek. A week to show that we, the geeks of the world, can be positive role models. A week to share what hobbies and interests make you all giddy inside.

So I know it's going to come as a shock, but I wasn't in the popular crowd in school. I know, it's breaking news. *snort* I was, and still am, the quiet girl who would rather read a book than hang out at a party. I've always kept a very small group of friends (fellow geeks usually) who I can relax and be my dorky self around.  

In school, I kind of learned to hide the more "uncool" aspects of myself or my hobbies. I don't think I even told anyone that I was writing a book sophomore year even though that was all I thought about. My goal was to blend in. If you blended in, no one made fun of you, you just went unnoticed, which was fine by me. Well, except when it came to boys, I would've liked to have been noticed by them a little more, lol. But alas, I had no one to take me to junior prom, I didn't have my first date until 16--and even then it wasn't someone I met through school, and I tended to get caught in the "friend" zone with guys.

But even with all that, I never wanted to be someone else or be in the popular crowd. I didn't like what they liked, I didn't understand how they acted, and I knew if somehow I worked my way into that group, I'd be totally bored. So in a way, I've always been pretty damn comfortable with being a geek. 

And as I've grown older, I've learned to wear it more as a badge of honor than something to hide. The people I love and respect the most in my life are oddballs too. My parents, my husband, my closest friends.

And that may be part of the reason that when I found out my son may be diagnosed with high-functioning autism or Asperger's (he's still getting evaluated), I didn't totally freak out. Everything I read about Asperger's says things like--they have intense interest in certain subjects, they are often wildly smart, they don't understand or play the social games that others play, they can be brutally honest. And really, I don't wish this for him because if this is what he has, his life will be more difficult. But on the other hand, what's wrong with having passionate interests, with being honest, with not engaging in those social games we use to manipulate each other? It's sounds oddly similar to being a "geek".

So when people find out that he's being evaluated for this and say "Oh, I'm so sorry." I think to myself--don't be, it's going to be okay. He's amazing. My kid has been reading since two and a half, he knows the makes and models of every car that passes on the road at age 4, he has a photographic memory that absolutely stuns me. The fact that he hasn't yet figured out how to have a social conversation is okay. We'll get there.

So when I say I'm proud to be a geek and to know and love geeks, I mean it. Being "like everyone else" doesn't appeal to me at all. Who wants to be generic? *shudders*

Therefore, here is my contribution to Speaking Out with My Geek Out. These are things that I geek out over:

  • Books (duh)
  • Writing related things like conferences and craft books (also duh)
  • Cooking (Don't even ask me how many cookbooks I have. My favorite gift my husband gave me on our first Christmas was a fancy can opener. And a trip to the gourmet grocery store gets me giddy.)
  • 80s hair metal (Yes, I'm the girl who is still going to see Motley Crue, Poison, Def Lepard, etc. in concert on a regular basis.)
  • New Kids on the Block (yes, still.)
  • 80s movies (I'm highly nostalgic in general.)
  • Guitar Hero (me on Guitar, hubs on drums)
  • Office supplies (hours can be lost in a Staples)
  • Romantic movies and TV Shows (Things like pulling out my DVDs and watching all the seasons of Dawson's Creek or Friends over a multi-month marathon or watching Dirty Dancing for the bazillionth time.)
  • IKEA (do I have to explain this one?)
  • LSU Football (my friends used to want to go to the games to socialize, but I spent my time yelling at bad calls and acting like the boys)
  • Weather (totally fascinated by it)

The list could go on, but I won't bore you. : ) Hell, I'm surprised you've read this far. 

So if you consider yourself a geek, wave that flag proud. If I hadn't been such a nerd about reading and writing in high school, I never would've ended up with a career I absolutely totally adore. If all the boys had fallen at my feet, I wouldn't have had the need to conjure up romantic fictional stories in my head. My weirdness has served me well.

fishingboatproceeds:Gah it happened twice! This is coming to you directly from the tumblr of Wil Wheaton. 

Do you consider yourself a geek? What do you geek out about? What hobbies/interests did you/do you keep under wraps until you trust the person? And if you decide to join this campaign with a post, feel free to leave a link in the comments!

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"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!"

--Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

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!

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

–Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

 

Fill-Me-In Friday

 


This week was a short online week for me because of the holiday and the fact that I had company in town over the weekend. So my favorite links list is a bit short this week and I'm sure I missed some good ones out there. So hopefully you can fill me in with your favorites too.

 

But first I do want to let you know that I have been interviewed and am answering such saucy questions as What is you favorite non-digital writing tool?--a dangerous question to ask an erotic romance author! To see the answer and lots more Q & A about writing and social networking, stop by Amy Beth Inverness's site.

Alright, now for the links...

On Writing:

Who Wrote It? Author Franchises by Julie Glover

Social Media and Your Author Brand over at Writers in the Storm <--great list of hashtags for writers included

Why Are So Many Literary Writers Shifting Into Genre? at The Millions

How To Build a Loyal Twitter Following by James Killick

Agent Jenny Bent on Why Social Media Savvy Is So Important

25 Things You Should Know About Synopses, Queries, and Treatments by Chuck Wendig (R-rated language included)

Have You Given Yourself Permission? by Jami Gold

For Fun:

Spark Facts (in which Nicholas Sparks is roasted) over at Evil Wylie which includes such tidbits as: "Nicholas Sparks once delivered a woman's baby during a reading, then signed the baby."

What You Missed on my Author Blog:

 


What You May Have Missed Here:

 
(my guest post at Janice Hardy's blog)

 

 



And for those of you who are interested in following my Tumblr, here is my fave pic of the week from over there. *Remember this is an 18+ site and is sometimes NSFW unless you work from home like me ;) 

So there's my update, what are some of your favorite links this week? 


 

 

 


“...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|

Building a Following: The Four Types of Bloggers

Today I feel a bit like Casey Kasem--I'm blogging by request. : ) Shain Brown asked if I would mind blogging about how I found my niche as a blogger, which is a great topic idea. So Shain, (*said in my best Casey Kasem voice) here is your request and dedication...

There is a lot of information out there about building your social media presence and your author brand. You can hear from experts from every walk of life. And oftentimes, you hear conflicting points of view, which can leave you frustrated and unsure of what direction to go in.

I most often refer you guys to Kristen Lamb because I think she really focuses on what works best for writers. However, as I've noted before, I've broken many of her suggestions. My biggest one being that I created a blog for writers vs. something more broad that could attract both writers and readers.

I totally see her point about why blogging about writing exclusively kind of paints you into a corner. It's put me in the position to where I now have two blogs because I don't want to do a bait and switch with you guys and move away from the reason you signed up to follow this blog in the first place.

But here's the deal: This blog wouldn't have the following that it does if I hadn't made this a niche blog.

If you are trying to build a presence online, you are going to get a lot more traction by keeping a specific focus then you will being all over the place. People like to know what they're getting when they come to a blog. Consistency = following and Consistency + Great author voice = Magic

So hopefully you guys enjoy my voice and style and that's part of the reason you read my posts, but ultimately you probably come here to get writing and publishing info. If that weren't the case, then all of you would've hopped over to follow my author blog as well. But you haven't because you may not be interested in things like Boyfriend of the Week or Sappy Sunday. : ) And that's fine. 

But before you get all freaked out if you don't have a niche or clear focus, also give some thought to what you want from your blog and what you want your blog to be.

Four Types of Bloggers

 

1. Community Blogger

Purpose: If you are blogging mainly to connect with other writers who are on the same journey as you so that you can all provide mutual support and cheerleading for each other, then you may be a community blogger. You are blogging as part of a specific community. You each comment on each other's blogs.

Action Plan: You don't need to have such a tight focus or niche. You're hanging out with friends and any topic is fair game.

Benefits: You can build a very loyal, very supportive group that you feel totally connected with.

Drawbacks: You may have trouble building a massive following. Posts about your word count or how far you are in your goals probably are not going to get lots of retweets or traction.

2. Information/Niche Blogger

Purpose: You are providing information or service for your reader. Maybe that's writing tips like this blog or maybe it's giving book reviews or keeping people up to date on the latest movie releases.

Action Plan: This is where a niche is helpful. What types of information, advice, or tips are you going to give? Make sure you blog in a way that gives people a takeaway when they read your post. You give them some nugget they can deposit in their mental bank after they close your post.

Benefits: If you are giving good information, you can build a significant following because people know they are going to get something worthwhile most of the time when they visit you.

Drawbacks: It can restrict you in your topics and you may only be appealing to a specific group. If you go too far afield from your main niche, you will lose follower engagement.

3. Entertainment Blogger

Purpose: Most often, this blogger's purpose is to make you laugh--that's your takeaway.

Action Plan: You can have a niche (like Chuck Wendig) or you can be more broad in your topics while keeping humor the theme (like Tawna Fenske).

Benefits: People love to laugh, so you can get a lot of followers and interest in your posts. You're not limited to a tight niche on topic because humor and your voice are the binding element.

Drawbacks: Being funny all the time can be hard. And if you don't have a natural talent for it, it can come across as forced.

 

4. Established Author Blogger

Purpose: These bloggers already have their books out there and followers typically come to them BECAUSE of their books.

Action Plan: This is when niche can go out the window. YOU are now the niche. You can write about the tomatoes in your garden and fans will be interested in seeing a peek into your life. However, the authors who stand out in this group are the ones who aren't just writing about their tomatoes. They are the ones who can attract non-fans to their sites based on their blog and THEN get them to buy their book. Think John Green, Seth Godin, etc. This last group is what we all should strive to be once we're published.

Benefit: When done right, you can engage with your current fans and make new ones who may have never thought of buying your book.

Drawback: Easy to get complacent and just phone in your blog.

So there is no wrong or right type of blog to go with. You just have to know what your goal is and what you want your followers to get from your blog. And obviously, if you do any of these types and have a boring voice or don't engage in conversation with your readers, then you won't get traction regardless. Connecting with others is the first goal no matter how you go about doing it.

I could write a ton more about this, but I'm going to stop before I ramble on too long. : )

So what type of blogger are you? Which type do you hope to be? Which kind do you prefer to read? And do you think having a niche is important?

Save the Pantser! A Solution for Pantsers with Plotter Envy

Today I'm a guest over at Janice Hardy's awesome writing blog, The Other Side of the Story. I would love for y'all to stop by and say hi.

 



“...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|

 

YA Writers: Read It, Or Don't Bother Writing It by Julie Cross

Welcome back to genre Monday! My good friend Julie Cross has an awesome, impassioned post for you this lovely Labor day. And Julie knows of which she speaks. Not only is she debuting with her YA Thriller, TEMPEST, in January, but she really does devour YA books. She's always full of great recommendations for me. So over to you, Julie...

Direct Message To YA Writers: Read It, Or Don’t Bother Writing It

 

Oh boy, you guessed it. I’m not planning on being cute and fluffy today. I can already hear many of you forming your arguments just from reading the post title. Since I’m taking the direct approach today, I’m gonna say, “Save it” and hear me out. We can play debate team later in the comment section. Roni will love that.

I’m not going to go into what determines that a book be categorized as YA versus Middle grade, versus Adult. Agents and editors are the best people to answer those types of questions. Besides, you’ve already decided that you’re writing YA. And right now, it seems EVERYONE and their grandmother is writing YA.

WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS TOPIC?

I can’t even tell you how many unpublished writers I’ve chatted with, whether in person or through crit sessions, that have decided YA is for them and when I ask them, “Oh, have you read….”and I either get, “No, never heard of it, but I LOVED Twilight” or even, “No, but I hated Twilight so…” And then you get the rare few (and I say rare because most of these writers wouldn’t bother talking to someone like me who wastes time writing *gasp* commercial fiction), the intellectuals, the ones who are determined to create the next Catcher In The Rye and are so above anything non-literary and couldn’t possibly rot their mind on something like, Vampire Academy. But…in my most honest, uneducated, yet credible opinion…

If you plan to be successful at writing YA and possibly pursue publication, you had better make time to read current YA books. It’s just as important as writing that synopsis (yuck!) and finishing that last chapter. Books are cheaper than writing conferences and until you are very well read in the genre, you’re gonna learn more from reading than any workshop could teach you. Since I have a gymnastics coaching background, I’ll use this analogy: even the best trained dancer…someone who had years and years studying dance forms in every country and at every college…heck, even Mia Michaels and Adam Shankman, if asked to choreograph a gymnastics floor routine, will have to actually watch a gymnastics floor routine to do this well…probably a whole lot of floor routines. Yes, they are essential creating a dance routine, but it’s a unique area that a choreographer must become familiar with in order to:

1) Make it authentic and correct

2) Create something original that will stand out against hundreds or thousands of other routines. Remember how I said everybody and their grandmother is writing YA?

WHO ARE YOU WRITING FOR?

Please, please do not say, teens! And if you did, that’s okay, it’s what I’m here for. I was recently asked the question in a group debate situation, by a pre-published YA author if we (the group) thought it would be okay for her to use the F-bomb in her book…just once…the character was in a situation of serious distress and no other words fit. No, we’re not going to open the giant can of worms that is the great “YA Content” debate. But that is what stemmed from her question, people debating whether it was appropriate for a YA book in general. My first thoughts, however, had nothing to do with any moral obligations a writer may or may not have to the reader.

1)As a writer, you should know your character well enough to know whether that’s what they’d say in that moment. First and foremost—always be true to your characters. Wait…I can hear you debaters now…you’re ready for this one, aren’t you? And it’s gonna sound something like this:

Side A:

There’s too much violence, bad words and sex in teen books! Leave it out!

Side B:

Just say no to censorship!

This debate is not happening or important right now…which leads to my second thought when asked this question:

2) Who’s the audience? Saying it’s a teen book isn’t specific enough. Here’s why: Let’s say this author’s story is the sweet and syrupy novel equivalent of a Disney Channel Original Movie (which I’m a total sucker for). If she throws in an F-bomb, the book is now not appropriate for the 10-12 year olds that may have really enjoyed the High School Musical on a space ship story. And hand that book over to a group of 16-17 year olds and there will be nothing, but eye rolling.

Now, on the flip side, if this is an edgy story with some serious and mature issues and you are scared to let the character say the F word in a life or death moment and throw in something like, “Oh fiddlesticks”….uh, yeah, that’s not gonna fly. I’m sure there are other alternatives, but I just wanted to give you an idea of how large the audience span is within the YA genre and how you need to know who you’re writing for and make sure the story is consistent with that throughout. One way to help figure this out is to read a wide range of YA books, especially the ones geared toward a different audience than you might be aiming for.

As much as we all want to be completely original, editors and agents will need to directly compare your book to another currently published book... fans of John Green will appreciate this story ...or something along those lines.

Believe me, I realize every YA writer would love to create a story that 10-30 year olds would eat up, but the reality is, we can all probably count on our hands how many times that has happened in history *cough* Harry Potter. Writing in the adult genre is easier in a lot of ways because your audience can just be, “females who like romance, aged 20 and up.” For younger readers, they change so much between 10 and 13 years old and then again between 14 and 17 years old. You’ll have a much stronger story if you get more specific about your audience. Other wise you may end up writing a watered down version of something that might have been good for upper YA readers or “new to middle school kids.” 

If you are committed to becoming a better YA writer, than I’m going to challenge you right now and suggest you read at least one book from each list…remember this is educational. This is essential. Repeat that three more times, so you don’t feel guilty about taking time to read instead of revising draft 28 of your query letter. Now, I’m sure some of you are great about keeping up with the latest YA trends and reading plenty of books. But even I catch myself avoiding certain types of YA, thinking I might not like it and have to give myself that little nudge to expand my horizons. It’s all about growth. I would love to hear from any of you who take this leap and pick up some YA books. My very favorite past time is talking books with people. 

And even though this is a little harsh, I feel like I have to say it: if any of you read a BUNCH of these suggested books and find that you don’t like them because the characters are immature, over-dramatic and you can’t understand or relate to them, then there’s a good chance you might be writing in the wrong genre. There are exceptions, of course, but remember these books were picked up and loved by the same agents and editors you’ll be seeking out on your path to publication. As Shakespeare so wisely said, “To thine own self be true.” Write what you know and feel passionate about.

**just so you know, no one paid me to plug their books…it’s completely from my own personal favorites list.

YOUNGER YA

: Appropriate for ages 10-12 and older

**these are harder to find so please feel free to add to this list. I won’t specify ages on other lists

Paranormalacy by Kiersten White

Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins

Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series and also Heist Society series

CONTEMPORARY EDGY UPPER YA

(lots of “issue” books)

*FYI-this is my very favorite subgenre!

Story Of A Girl by Sara Zarr

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers (read how Courtney changed my writing here)

Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson, also Speak—her most widely known title

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris

Clean by Amy Reed

What-If-I-Don’t-Like-Twilight YA Paranormals

**if you are a fan of Twilight, you’ll probably like these too

Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Also Linger and Forever)

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

MALE POINT-OF-VIEW YA

(I'm so surprised with how many people are looking for these!)

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Break by Hannah Moskowitz

I Know It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin

Paper Towns by John Green, also Looking For Alaska (I haven’t read that one yet)

Where She Went by Gayle Forman (this is the 2nd book in a series, see “sob worthy” list below)

*cough*

Tempest by Julie Cross (sorry, just had to do it)

YA DYSTOPIAN FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT LIKE DYSTOPIAN

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

Bumped by Megan Mccafferty (hilarious!)

SOB INDUCING EMOTIONALLY BEAUTIFUL YA

*also a favorite of mine and reading these deep stories helped me add emotional layers to my sci-fi trilogy…so, even if tear-jerkers aren’t your thing, you can use it in other types of stories to create something that sticks with readers long after that final page. 

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (might even please the literary fans!)

Before I Die by Jenny Downham (This is British...and I LOVE a good English book)

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly

ROMANTIC, FUNNY, GIRLIE, COMING-OF-AGE YA

Along For The Ride

by Sarah Dessen

Anna And The French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins 

The Summer I Turned Pretty

by Jenny Han

Tangled

by Carolyn Mackler

The Boyfriend List

bye. lockhart

Any And Roger's Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson

Two-way Street

by Lauren Barnholdt

Nature Of Jade

by Deb Caletti

And Then Things Fall Apart

by Arlaina Tibensky

 

Julie Cross lives in central Illinois with her husband and three children. She never considered writing professionally until May of 2009. Since then, she hasn’t gone a day without writing.

TEMPEST, Julie's first novel in a YA trilogy about a nineteen year old time traveler will release January 3, 2012 (St. Martin's Press). Tempest has already sold in sixteen territories and has been optioned for film by Summit Entertainment (Of Twilight Fame). Follow her blog or twitter-@Juliecross1980. Also, check out the publisher's fanpage for The Tempest Series to read an excerpt, enter the sweepstakes and win one of 300 advanced copies of Tempest. There's also a Goodreads Giveaway of 200 copies through October 1, 2011

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Yay, it's Friday! And a holiday weekend, so double bonus. I have a busy weekend ahead. My parents are coming into town and we're all going to the LSU v. Oregon game in Cowboys stadium. Woo-hoo! Geaux tigers! And after the week I've had I need a weekend chock full of awesome. How has your week been? What are you doing this weekend? Let me know in the comments.
And now for the weekly round-up of my fave links of the week...
On Writing:
Is Fiction Good For You? by Keith Oatley at the Huffington Post
Amazon's New @Author Feature Launches via Nieman Journalism Lab - More proof that branding is becoming more and more about the author.
On the Author Blog:




What You May Have Missed Here:

 

 

(plus a really awful Dirty Dancing outtake included)


So what were some of your favorite links of the week? Your turn to fill me in. :) Have a great holiday weekend!

 

 


"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!" --Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

 

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|

 

Morning Pages and Blogging - Waking the Muse

If you happened to check out some of the links from last Friday's Fill-Me-In mash-up, you may have clicked over to Jenny Hansen's post about Is Your Blog Eating You Alive?. In that post, she mentioned something that was a bit of an Oprah-style light bulb moment for me. She said that one of the reasons she liked to blog was that it sort of acted like her Morning Pages.

Now, for those not familiar, Morning Pages is an exercise from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Her program calls for you to write three pages EVERY morning that are a complete stream of consciousness. Her rules are that it should be longhand and that no one reads them. This is supposed to be a way to clear out all the clutter in your head, shut off your inner editor, and open yourself up so that you can tap into your creativity.

I have never tried morning pages. However, recently I have been trying to adjust my blogging schedule so that I have more time to write in the mornings. And guess what I figured out? Even if I didn't blog in the morning, I still wasn't getting to the good part of my writing flow until about the same time I used to when I was blogging.

I couldn't figure out what the deal was. But when I read Jenny's post, it clicked. Blogging has acted as a version of my morning pages. Though I'm breaking the rules--people do read these "pages" (hopefully, lol) and it's not longhand, I do feel like it's a version of stream of consciousness for me. I don't plan out my blog posts. I wake up and talk about what's on my mind. It's clears my head and wakes up my writer brain. So cutting out blogging in the morning really wasn't the right thing for me. I was messing with my method without even realizing it. Who knew?

And on a completely different note, I found this video a few days ago, and my friend Jamie Wesley suggested I use it to show the importance of editing and how even the best of 'em have sh*tty first drafts.

Now, I'm curious to hear about your writing method? Do you do a version of morning pages? What kicks your brain into gear? What does blogging do for you?

Creating Strong Female Characters by Sierra Godfrey

 

 

Welcome again to genre Monday! Today I have the funny and talented Sierra Godfrey who will be sharing posts every 5th Monday of the month on topics related to women's fiction and/or marketing and promotion. Though today her post can definitely be helpful across all genres because none of us want to create a wimpy heroine. Ick.

So over to you Sierra...


Creating Strong Female Characters by Sierra Godfrey


In April, I had a baby boy. I also have a four year old son, which means I’ve become very much outnumbered by males in my house. Sometimes I have to work to understand them, I admit. My four year old is at the stage where he’s exploring and playing with his parts almost nonstop, and my infant son uncannily pees on me at diaper changing time with an arc of urine that boggles the mind in its reach. (In fact, right after I birthed him, he celebrated our post-utero bond by soaking me with pee. Kind of the same way you break a champagne bottle on a newly commissioned boat.)

 

Anyway, with all that male in my house, I found myself recently pondering strong female characters. Well, to be honest, I’ve always been interested in them. Some of the greats that come to mind:

  • Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

  • Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

  • Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice

  • Claire from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Because I write women’s fiction, creating a strong female character is of particular interest to me. Strong leading ladies are independent, smart, and plucky. But there are some other key elements to strong female characters:

 

She’s got it hard
Create sympathy with your character, but don’t overdo it. Put her harm’s way, trot her through hardship, or dump a heap of bad circumstances on her. She’ll come through it swimmingly and without feeling sorry for herself if she’s strong.

She’s relatable
Strong women are also normal ones--and we want to see that we can identify with her. Then when she doesn’t cave under pressure, or she takes high road, it’s particularly satisfying because we know that could be us, too.

She’s witty
Funny ladies are also usually smart ones. We like a sense of humor and a good attitude. There are notable exceptions to this rule--Scarlett O’Hara is one. She’s got a terrible attitude and is super selfish, but she also nails the sympathy vote.

She has great inner conflict
She’s fearless, she’s sure, and she takes action. Great! Strong character, right? Well, no. We want some inner conflict that shows she’s also human, that she struggles with the same doubts that we do, that she works her way through life figuring things out as she does, just like us. But she does these things with grace and with ultimate success. She doesn’t hurt people on the way toward solving her conflict, either. She’s a fighter--and we love her because we know she’ll fight her way to solve her conflict.

The above traits don’t just apply for strong female characters, but serve as a good blueprint for all characters.

What are some of your favorite strong female characters? What are some of the things you've done to make your ladies strong?

Sierra's recommended read for August:

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in  the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the  unlikely hero of Helen Simonson’s wondrous debut. Wry, courtly,  opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life  valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations:  honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his  brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali,  the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their  shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and  Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But  village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and  regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship  survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of  culture and tradition?

The character of Mrs. Jasmina Ali is a fantastic example of a strong woman. She has a wonderful dignity, she's resolved, she's smart and funny, and she has great inner conflict.

 

 

Sierra  has enjoyed crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She  especially likes stories that feature women who grow from the choices  they face—and get the guy at the end. She's a member of RWA and RWA-WF, the women's fiction special interest  chapter, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two  little boys, and two annoying cats. She is always working on a story. When she's not writing stories, she works as a freelance technical writer and designer.

Find Sierra at her blog or on Twitter.

 

Thanks, Sierra! And remember that all of our guest contributors have their own blogs, so if you like what they have to say here, be sure to check them out on their own blogs as well. :)

 

    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|

 

Fill-Me-In Friday

 


First, I want to say to those of you on the east coast, stay safe and our thoughts are with you. Growing up in Louisiana has left me with more than my fair share of hurricane experiences and evacuations, so I know it's a scary thing to go through.

 

All right, now on to my favorite links of the week.

On Writing:

7 Lessons I Learned by Starting Over Blogging by Jeff Goins via ProBlogger

Platform 101 for Regular (Not Famous) People Like Me by Erin MacPherson via WordServe Watercooler

Author Advances: Is There Such Thing As Too Much? by Rachelle Gardner

RIP the Author Book Tour--and why you shouldn't be sad to see it go by Anne R. Allen

The Screwy Evolution of Author Fears by Tawna Fenske

Is Your Blog Eating You Alive? by Jenny Hansen at More Cowbell

Organization For Creative People--Why You're Brain May Be Keeping You From Getting Things Done by Kirsten Simmons

The Writer's Life - On the Edge of the Cliff of Insanity by Beth K Vogt via WordServe Watercooler

The Myth of the Lone Creative Genius by Dr. Liz Alexander via Jane Friedman's blog

Top Ten Reasons to Become a Writer by Kristen Lamb

From my Author Blog:

What You Might Have Missed Here:

So what was your favorite link of the week? It's time to fill me in. : )  Hope everyone has a great (and safe) weekend!

 

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|

Five Tips On Being Naked In Front of an Audience

You know those dreams where you show up for your first day of school or to give a presentation at work and you look down and realize you're naked? Yeah, those suck. But guess what?

Welcome to being an author.

Writing can be a pretty solitary career. We sit in our little writing caves and type up the stories we can't get out of our minds any other way. We drag out all of our life experiences, our vulnerabilities, our fears, our quirks and pepper our pages with it--whether we realize what we're doing or not. Our voice is us. Even if the story is about someone who is nothing like us or about something we've never experienced. We are naked on those pages.

And unlike most other careers, our goal is to expose that nakedness to others and subject ourselves to public judgment and ridicule.

That's a pretty brutal position to put yourself in. We know we have to have tough skin. And we do have it. We've been through the gauntlet of critique partners, query rejections and editor feedback. We know how to take constructive criticism.

However, once your writing is OUT THERE. Like for the general public to read and comment on, it's a whole different kind of naked. And I don't think any writer can be completely impervious to others commenting negatively about his or her work. Agents, editors, crit partners--we can deal with their opinion because we know they are coming from an informed viewpoint.

But when your story is out in the world--ANYONE can share their opinion. I can't tell you how many times I've seen reviews on Amazon where people have rated an erotic romance one star because "this book had graphic sex in it." Hello. Their are half-naked people on the cover. It's called EROTIC romance. By definition, the sex scenes are fully described using all the fun words.

Or someone will give a bad rating because the bookseller didn't ship their book on time--like that should have any bearing on the book itself. And on Goodreads, people can rate a book before there are even ARCs printed. They can rate the book when the manuscript is still scattered on the author's floor! (You can learn more about that here on Adventures in Children's Publishing.)

And as authors, there isn't much we can do about it. People can do what they want. They can tear down your book in mean-spirited, completely non-constructive way. They can post spoilers that give away the twists of your book. They can give completely inaccurate information. They can basically tell you that you look awful naked and that you should never take your clothes off with the lights on again.

And you have no control over that.

All you have control over is how you react. That's where you need to put your focus. I know that's what I'm going to try to concentrate on once my book it out. I've already suffered a mini-anxiety attack just putting up the first chapter of CRASH INTO YOU on my website. The reactions have all been positive so far, but it still felt like I was stripping in front of everyone, lol. That's the longest piece of my writing I've ever made public.

But anyway, here are a few tips once you've taken off your clothes in front of the world...

Tips on Being Naked In Front of an Audience AKA Being Published:

 

1. NEVER respond to negative reviews. Ever.

Okay? Don't do it. It makes you look petty and oversensitive. Just don't say anything at all. Or if you have to say something, say thank you for reviewing my book, sorry it wasn't for you.

2. Do not let a bad review ruin your day.

Most of the big reviewers will tell you that a bad review often sells as many books as a good one because people think--ooh, that sounds awful! I must see how awful it is for myself. (Then hopefully you surprise them.) It's the "Eww, this stinks. Smell this!" mentality.

3. If you find yourself being distracted or personally wounded by bad reviews, stop reading them.

This will be the hardest for me because I'm one of those people who wants to know--even if it's bad news. But if I ever feel like I'm getting brought down by the negativity, I will step away. 

4. Repeat after me: You can't please everybody.

This is the one I constantly have to remind myself of. Someone will hate your book, probably many someones. But others are going to love it! Your story is going to be some person's favorite book of the year. Think about those Oscar winning movies--how many times has something won a buttload of awards but you totally thought it sucked? Every story is not meant for everyone.

5. There's no such thing as bad press.

Okay, that's not true 100% of the time. If you make a jackass out of yourself publicly, that's not going to be good. But, in general, you'd rather people be talking about your book than not. Think how many people tear down Twilight. I bet many, many of those Twi-haters are first in line when each new movie comes out, if nothing else but to go in and laugh. Buzz is buzz.

So what do you think? How do you react to negative reviews or how do you think you will react? Will you have to read them or will you avoid reading reviews? What other tips would you add to this list? 

And if you'd like to see me "naked", you can go here and read my Chapter 1. Feel free to tell me what you think. I'm pretty tough. Mostly. ;) (Over 18 only, por favor.)

Wait For It...Waaaait For It: The Nuance of Suspense by Joan Swan

Welcome to genre specialist Monday! :) Today I'm excited to introduce you to one of our new regular columnists--Joan Swan, who is a romantic suspense author who debuts in February 2012! Today she's going to talk to us about...

The Nuance of Suspense by Joan Swan

 

Wait for it... Waaaaait foooor it...

The whole point to suspense is drama development within a story. To have suspenseful drama, you must have:

  • Stakes--what will the character win or lose in the situation
  • Character--do I connect enough with this person to care whether they win or lose
  • Conflict--someone must want one thing while another (even if that is an natural force) wants another. 

And these elements must be utilized in a delicate balance.

Suspense is about proposing a story question, then making the reader wait for the answer. How long? It depends...usually on the question itself.  Some are big, some are small, but regardless of the size (or relative importance) every time an answer is revealed, another continues to linger. Like that childhood game leapfrog, some question that the reader needs answered is always in place, which creates a need-to-know atmosphere: hence, suspense.  When done well, the story skips along, with answers coming at intervals and new questions popping up.

Timing is everything, and it's a skill I believe develops on a gut level.  There are "rules of thumb" that can be applied, but in my opinion the development of your sixth sense is more valuable. If you're bored...the reader will be bored. If the scenario feels off to you...it will feel off to the reader. If your attention is scattered between three different story lines...the reader will also be distracted. And if you allow the suspense to linger, making the reader wait too long for answers, they will get exasperated and put the book down. 

There are different types of suspense a writer can employ to keep the pace moving in creative, thought-provoking ways:  the dark, slowly-twining-around-your-throat suspense, the emotional, life-altering-twisting-your-stomach suspense, and the well-known and loved physical-threat-to life-and-limb suspense.  And because I write romantic suspense, I'm also twining in the romantic conflict along the way. It's fun and challenging and when it all comes together, the result is priceless.

Joan's recommended read for August:

MARKED, by Elisabeth Naughton
THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld.
From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

 

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendant of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Pick up MARKED here:

AmazonBarnes & NobleChaptersIndieBoundPowell’s

Joan Swan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist. She writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist, and her debut novel, FEVER, with Kensington Brava releases February 28, 2012. A second in the series, BLAZE, releases October, 2012. You can find Joan at her blog, One Word At A Time, her website or Twitter.

What do you think creates a suspenseful read?

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Howdy, y'all! : ) I feel like I haven't talked to you guys all week with all the awesome guest posts. Hope you enjoyed them.
All right, now it's time for the weekly links round up where I fill you in on what you may have missed and you can feel free to fill me in via the comments on your favorite post of the week. 
A few of you have asked me how I find the posts that I put up here--i.e. when do I find time to go through my google reader when we all are suffering from blog overload. Well, to be honest, it's as simple as this--I pretty much only read blogs these days that I see links to via Twitter
I rarely have time to go through my reader lately, so I'm left with "bright, shiny link" method. Meaning, as I see post titles pop up on Twitter, I go--ooh, that sounds cool, and click over. Then when I come across ones that I want to share with you guys I use my Feedly toolbar to click "save for later". Then at the end of the week, I have this nice page I can go to that has a list of all the ones I've saved. If you're not using Feedly, I highly recommend it.

Anyway, on to the links!

 

On Writing: 


What Does Your Author Bio Say About You? by Jami Gold

10 Twitter Hashtags for Writers at Publishing Talk

Why Query Letters Matter by Tawna Fenske (I so agree with this)

Are You Wasting Your Time Trying to Get Published? by Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest

Why Every Author Needs to Know About Cover Design--Even If You're Not Self-Publishing at BubbleCow

Eve Berlin on Research and Writing Sex via Genreality

How To Get an MFA in Five Steps at Glass Cases (I don't totally agree with everything she says--particularly that you can't learn anything you don't know about writing from reading non-literary books. But there are some good tips in there otherwise.)

Building a Facebook Fan Page by Ebook Endeavors  (cool tip on how to create a welcome screen for your fan page)

On the Author Blog:

 

So those are some of my favorites of the week, what were some of yours? And how do you decide which blogs to read? Do you use a reader, email subscriptions, bright-and-shiny Twitter method? I'm curious to know.




Hope y'all have a great weekend!


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|

 

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!


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|

Deep Characters for Plot-First Writers by Suzanne Johnson

Welcome to the first week of our new feature--genre columnist Monday! :) Today we have the lovely and talented Suzanne Johnson talking to us about developing characters when plot is what comes easiest to you.

Already, this makes me happy that I'm bringing in others to post here because this is a post I could never write. Characters are what come easy to me and plot is my challenge, so I'm the opposite of Suzanne. That's why this is going to be so helpful. Different perspectives open up a whole new slew of topics to cover. 

Also, you'll notice at the bottom of the post that each Monday columnist is going to give you their monthly suggestion of a great read in their particular genre. This recommendation may or may not be related to the post, but I hope it gives everyone some great new books to check out! :) So now, over to Suzanne...

 

Deep Characters for Plot-First Writers

Writing craft is a process—we’re all learning as we go if we want to take this business seriously. Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m trying to excuse my penchant for taking online writing workshops or buying yet another book on technique and craft.

My latest read, bought to help coalesce my thoughts as I developed my own online workshop on plotting, is Jeff Gerke’s

Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction

. I haven’t gotten far enough along for it to impart some revolutionary new approach for me to try, but I was struck by something he hammers home early in the book, and which I believe to be true:

He writes: “I believe there are two types of novelists, i.e., two archetypes into which all fiction writers may be grouped. On the one hand you have those for whom plot ideas come naturally. On the other, you have those for whom characters arise wih ease. … Rarely do you see a novelist who is naturally good at both. I have never met one.”

Neither have I.

I’m a plot-first novelist. I come up with a big What-If idea, spin a story around it, and then go searching for characters to do my bidding. The result, as anyone who read a first draft of my first novel would agree, is a rambunctious story peopled by characters so cardboard they barely qualify as one-dimensional. Some books like this get published and widely read (clears throat and mumbles *da vinci code* mumbles), but not many, at least not outside the thriller genre.

One of the writers in my critique group is a character-first writer at the other extreme. His writing is lyrical and mouthwateringly rich. His characters are deep and I want to know them and learn more about them. But they don’t actually DO anything, and I worry that his book will never get written because he can’t wrap his head around the plot to sustain them for 300 pages or so.

The ideal, I think we’d all agree, is a book that combines the best of those two. It’s just that we have to work extra hard to make up the shortcomings on whichever side of the plot-first/character-first spectrum we fall on.

For my workshop “textbook,” I deconstructed the plot of J.R. Ward’s

Dark Lover, the first in her wildly successful paranormal romance series, the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I chose this not because it’s my favorite series (it is), and not because it’s the best book in that series (it isn’t, at least not to me), but because this book—this whole series—is such a perfect blend of plot and character.

In her Black Dagger Brotherhood Insider’s Guide, Ward talks about the series, and about her process. This whole empire, whose tenth book will be released next spring, came from a group of characters formed inside her head, who wanted out on paper. Wrath and his “brothers” came first, because Ward is a character-first novelist.

She’s also incredibly disciplined, and compensates for her character-first nature by serious plotting. Her “outline” for Dark Lover ran forty-four pages.

So, how do plot-first and character-first authors compensate for the part of their writing that don’t come easily to them?

As a plot-firster, here are some techniques I use to get to know my characters:

*The interview.

Ask them questions. Don’t filter their answers but type them out as they come into your head. It’s a great way to find a character’s voice. Don’t just ask deep, meaningful things like “What do you want most in life?” Ask them things like “What did you eat for breakfast this morning?” or “What kind of underwear are you wearing?”

*The character sheet

One of the best books I’ve found with character questionnaires is Noah Lukeman’s The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life.

*Visual cues.

Look in magazines or online to find people who look like the people in your head. Having a strong visual reference as you write can help with better descriptions not only of appearance but actions.

*Narrative shifts.

If you’re writing in third-person POV, shift to first-person for a while (it’s easy to shift it back). If you’re writing in first-person, shift to third for a chapter or two. If you’re writing from the POV of one character, rewrite a scene from another character’s POV. The change of perspective seems to plug into different parts of the writing brain and help you figure out how your character would respond to plot points.

*Find your character’s type.

I discovered Enneagrams about a year ago and never looked back. This is a great tool for finding which archetype your characters fits into, and how he or she will respond to different scenarios based on type. You can find online info at http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/ but I ended up buying a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Power of the Enneagram.

*Think like a Shrink.

In generic terms, this is just studying your character’s psychological makeup to look at past events that contribute to behavior. But there’s also a great book by this name by Dr. Harold Rosen.

Suzanne’s Recommended Read for August:

Dark Lover, first in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, by J.R. Ward

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood. The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed, leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate, Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Suzanne Johnson is an author of urban fantasy “with romantic elements.” Her first book, Royal Street, a magic-based fantasy set in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina, will be released by Tor Books on April 10, 2012. Two more in the series will be released in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. Find Suzanne online at her Preternatura blog, or read about her books at her website.

*Look for more from Suzanne here every 3rd Monday of the month!

So, are you a plot-first or a character-first author? If you’re character-first are you a pantser (usually character-first writers will be)? Or do you, like J.R. Ward, compensate by rigorous outlining?

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Hope everyone had a good week! 
Here are my favorite links of the week...
On writing:
Authors,It's Really Okay to Keep Your Money (on how to spend promotion money) by Lisa Schroeder
What You Missed on the Author Blog:


 
 
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! What was your favorite link of the week--your turn to fill me in?

 

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|

Writer Under Construction - 10 Things I'd Do Differently

I feel like over the last few months (and even now) I should have yellow and black construction tape wrapped around my head. Just like anything else in life this whole being a writer thing is a learning process. You do the best you can as you go along and do better when you know better.

And the hard part is that no one is really sure what the right way is anyhow. There's a lot of advice out there (including the stuff on this here blog). But for every post you find, you can find one contradicting it. It's both beautiful and terrifying that there is no definitive way to do things.

And this is most evident when looking at advice for building your platform and blogging.

Some things you'll hear out there...

Don't just write about writing because you're only reaching other writers. 

Write about writing because readers aren't visiting author blogs anyway, so you should hook into the network of writers.

Don't get a website until you have a book to sell.

Have a website when you start querying because agents will look you up.

Don't do group blogs because no one will know your name.

Do group blogs because it will free up more time for writing.

Social networking is the only way to be a successful authors these days.

Social networking doesn't matter, the only thing that counts is writing a good book.

You must have your blog on _______ (fill in the blank) --wordpress, blogger, your own domain, tumblr

And the people behind each of these views have totally valid points to back up their case. So I can't tell you who is right or wrong. But I will tell you what I've learned in my two years of blogging and along the journey of going from very pre-published to preparing for my debut.

How I'd Do Things Differently If I Did It All Over Again

1. Build your blog where you want to keep it.

This is the one that has caused be much grief these last few months. I built this blog on blogger. And I like blogger. I find it an easy, no-fuss blogging platform. I also like the community on blogger and love the people I've met over here. However, blogger isn't really set up to integrate with a real website once you have one. And moving your followers (and archives and permalinks) to a new place (unless you move to Wordpress) is pretty much impossible from what I can tell.
This doesn't feel like a big deal when you're just starting out and are happy to have fifty followers. But blogs can grow fast. I've pretty much locked myself into blogger now unless I want to start all over again. So that's why I've had to move to maintaining two blogs.

2. Don't limit yourself to one kind of topic like writing.

This is one Kristen Lamb has talked about recently. And I tend to agree. I made this a writing blog. I'm happy I did and I don't think I would have built the following I have if I had started up a blog without a unified focus. However, this approach does box you in a bit. When I wanted to start stretching so that my posts appealed not just to writers but to non-writing readers, I was left in a bit of a quandary. Some of you would be totally fine with me putting both romance-y posts (like my Boyfriends of the Week) mixed in with the writing stuff. And honestly, if I could've figured out a way to merge and move my blogs, I probably would've done that. But I also know many of you aren't really coming here for that type of posts and are only here for the writing stuff. It would've been a bit of a bait and switch. So that's why if I had to do it over again, I'd still blog about writing, but I'd mix in the other stuff as well from the very beginning so that everyone knew what to expect.

3. Only do the social networks you enjoy.

There is so much out there to connect with. I feel like sometimes it's like being in a bed strapped to all those machines and tubes in a hospital. Except all the wires are attached to our brain. It can become too much. So pick which social networks you like the best and focus on those. I like blogging, twitter, and tumblr. So that's where I put my effort. Yes, I'm also on facebook and google+ and goodreads, but anything I post at any of those is really just a feed from my other sites. If I totally dialed into all of them, I'd never get anything else done.

4. Think hard about the kind of books you want to write and what that author brand would look like.

This isn't always possible. I started out writing YA and ended up getting pubbed in erotic romance. o.0 Yeah, I know. Big leap. But this also meant my brand kind of shifted midway through. I'm always me, but I'm talking more about topics I covered and the "look" of my websites. I'm getting pubbed in dark, erotic romance and I had this bright, colorful Fiction Groupie blog. It didn't really jive. So that's why I eventually changed it to match the feel of my website. So if you know you're going to be writing dark horror, don't build your site with sparkles and puppies. You're not going to attract the people that are actually going to want to read your book.

5. Do hook into the community of writers.

I actually got this one right. Writing can be a very solitary act. I don't know if I'd have survived it through writing my books if I hadn't found lovely writer friends and crit partners. This is by far the best thing about blogging and social networking.

6. None of it matters if you're not writing and working on your craft.

Duh. I know. But it's SO easy to get so caught up in the social networking that you start sucking up your writing time. I have fallen into this trap because I love blogging and twitter. But writing has to come first. This is why I've been shifting around my blog schedule so often lately as I try to find the right balance.

7. Put your name on things and reserve your web domain early.

When I started I was just Fiction Groupie. I didn't want to put my name out there and *gasp* have people actually know that I was attempting to write something. What if I failed? But this was a mistake. You are your brand. Kristen Lamb says it best when she says, you can't go into the store and look for a book from Fiction Groupie. People need to know your name. Otherwise, what brand are you building? (And you'll notice I put the Fiction Groupie title back at the top this week. But I have my name on top. Now that I've decided to keep this a writing blog, I figured it needed it's name back to decipher it from my author blog.) 
As for web domain, go into this with the expectation that you will one day be published. You don't want to miss out on having yourname.com because you didn't spend the twenty bucks a year it costs to reserve it. So get thee to a service like Go Daddy and spend a few bucks to hold on to that name. 

8. If you plan to use a pen name pick one and use it early.

Made this mistake too. I used my real name for the first year that I blogged. Then when I decided to write erotic romance and wanted a pen name, I had to change EVERYTHING. Domains, email addresses, facebook, twitter, yadda yadda yadda. It was a major pain. Luckily, I kept my first name so everyone knew me as Roni and that didn't change. But on the logistic side, it was a bit of a nightmare.

9. Trust your gut and weed through advice.

Sometimes you (and by that I mean I) can get caught up in the "expert" opinions. Like I said at the beginning of this post. There is not RIGHT way to do things. Read the advice that's out there and then use what resonates with you. Different things work for different people. No one thing is going to work for everyone. So take things as guidance not gospel. (There is irony in me giving advice about not taking all advice. Hmm.)

10. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

I'm a control freak. That's not going to change. I tried a group blog on Tumblr and it quickly fell into feeling like I was back in high school working on a group project where I wanted to keep everyone on task. Not good. However, I knew when I decided that I was going to keep this blog on writing while maintaining an author blog as well that I was going to have to ask for help.

So this is where I get to the exciting news part of this post (if you've made it this far in this LONG post, lol). I am implementing a new feature here on Fiction Groupie. Every Monday we are going to have regularly occurring guests who are authors in genres other than mine. They are author friends who I know are great at posting about writing craft and publishing and I am SO excited to be bringing people with fresh and different perspectives to the blog.

So here's what the new schedule is going to look like starting next week:

Monday: Guest post from one of our Monthly Genre Columnists 

Wednesday: Writing/Publishing Post from me 
Friday: Fill-Me-In Friday -- best links of the week 
Tuesday and Thursday, I'll be posting on my author blog.

So join me in welcoming our five new stellar guest contributors!

♥ 

Julie Cross

 - YA Debut Author

(first Mondays)

♥ 

Ashley March

 - Historical Romance Author

(2nd Mondays)

♥ 

Suzanne Johnson

 - Debut Urban Fantasy Author

(3rd Mondays)

♥ 

Joan Swan

 -Suspense/Thrillers - Debut Romantic Suspense

(4th Mondays)

♥ 

Sierra Godfrey

 - Women's Fiction & Marketing

(5th Mondays)

See all their

bios and books here

!

I hope that you all are as excited as I am about the new re-re-re-revamping. :)  Thanks for sticking with me through all my changing as I continue to figure things out as I go along.

Now, I'd love to hear what you've learned since you started this whole writing thing. What would you do differently? Do any of the points on my list scare you? Oh, and if anyone knows any brilliant way to combine my blogs all onto my squarespace and still keep followers and archives, let me know--I'll love you forever.

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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|

Fill-Me-In Friday

 

Hope everyone has had a lovely week. Mine has been a bit stressful, so I'm happy the weekend is almost here. And to give you some reading material for the next few days, here are my favorite links of the week.
On writing:
The New Author Platform: What You Need to Know on The Book Deal - Really great information on how authors need approach their platform.
Just Your Average Crazy Writer: Writing For Writing's Sake--How I Missed This by Rhonda Stapleton -- great reminder of what we need to focus on
And if you've never heard them, check out Heinlein's Rules For Writing


What You Missed on the Author Blog:


Alright, that's it for now. Hope you all have a great weekend!  Are there any kickass links I missed that you'd like to fill me in on?

 

 

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|