I'm confused. What's the difference between a Harlequin Mills & Boon Sexy and Harlequin Presents?
What is a character-driven novel?
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Q: I'm an unpublished author and have just finished writing a novel. Which publisher should I send it to?
A: Boy, start with a tough one, why don't you! Okay, firstly, congratulations on finishing the book! But as any published author will tell you, the most important part has only just begun. Mainly - letting it sit. Yes, stick that baby in a bottom drawer and get on with writing something else. You see, the point of letting a book stagnate for a while (a month, two months, a year) is coming back to read it with fresh eyes. You can pick up scenes, characters or even whole chapters that need editing, reworking and sometimes cutting altogether.
Assuming you've already done the first part, now you should start to think about getting some feedback. By this I mean entering a contest, getting a critique partner and/or group. Make use of your membership benefits by joining an RWA-affiliated writers group. Check our members-only section at www.romanceaustralia.com for our contest schedule and group locations around Australia.
The next step is to invest in some heavy research. Here's where I strongly suggest making use of the Internet. Before you groan and say “I don't have a computer at home!” or “I spend the whole day in front of a screen as it is!”, let me ask you this - how badly do you want to be published? The world is full of unpublished writers who don't go that extra mile to get their work in front of an editor. And editors desks are full of unsuitably targeted manuscripts. You don't have to buy a computer - most local libraries are Internet connected and you can book on-line time in one-hour blocks, and libraries and community colleges run basic courses on how to use the Internet. Ask a connected friend to print out a website or editorial guidelines. And if you're lucky enough to have Internet access at work, think about working late or during your lunch break (provided your employer is okay with that!)
What are you looking for? Publishers and their guidelines. It makes sense to target those open to your type of story, so you'll have to pinpoint your sub-genre/line. Have you written a Regency? A sexy category romance? A sweeping futuristic saga? The Romance Writers of America have a list of author-friendly publishers on their website. You can also check out the “Getting to Know the Publishers” article on our website.
Once you've decided which publisher to aim for, you will need to submit a query letter and synopsis at the minimum. Some publishers also require the first three chapters, but this varies from house to house. Hearts Talk ran Lisa Gardner's synopsis writing workshop from November 2002 to February 2003, “Escaping the Slush Pile” by MaryJanice Davidson in November 2001 and “Writing Your Synopsis Using Cue Cards” by Karen Harbaugh in August 2002. Some other good resources are WRITING THE FICTION SYNOPSIS by Pam McCutcheon ISBN 0-9654371-1-4 and THE DREADED SYNOPSIS by Elizabeth Sinclair (ISBN 1-892718-25-1). Websites include:
Writing a selling synopsis (SpacecoasT Authors of Romance)
Anne Gracie's ‘That Dreaded Synopsis'
Charlotte Dillon's query letters and synopses -
(From December 2003 Hearts Talk)
Q: What's the difference between a “Regency” and a “Regency historical” novel? Aren't they both the same?
A: Anne Gracie, author with Harlequin Historicals explains. “Basically in the UK (and therefore with Harlequin Mills &Boon), a “Regency” simply means a historical story set in the English regency era (1811-1820).
However, in the US, Regencies are divided into traditional Regencies and Regency historicals. A traditional Regency in the US is usually a “sweet” (i.e. no sex) romance, a light-hearted comedy of manners, or sometimes a mannered comedy. They have a style all their own and some are (in my humble opinion) rather artificial and stagey. They tend to be short (80K words) although some, like Julia Quinn's books, are longer (100K+).
A Regency Historical is generally a longer book, set in the Regency period, which will generally include sex and in which the themes may be stronger and darker. People in the US got very confused and some were downright indignant that my GALLANT WAIF (no sex) was published as an historical and TALLIE'S KNIGHT (with its many sex scenes) was published as a Regency. I took no responsibility and blamed the publisher for any confusion.
Stephanie Laurens writes Regency historicals. Carla Kelly and Diane Farr write Regencies. Mary Balogh's earlier books were published by Signet as traditional regencies, but really, they are Regency Historicals, as they are both emotionally intense and sometimes rather dark, and also sex features strongly in her books. She's also one of my favourite authors, if you like historicals.
It's important to know the difference, as most publishers won't want you if you say you write Regencies. I sent off query letters to Avon and all sorts of single title publishers before I was published, but in my ignorance, I didn't realise I was writing a regency historical. They thought I was writing the comedy of manners thing and so they said they weren't interested. So I chopped more than 40,000 words off my manuscript and sold GALLANT WAIF to HM&B. Later I discovered Avon and Bantam and other publishers were very definitely interested in Regency historicals. So what you call it matters.”
(January 2004 Hearts Talk)
Q: What does ‘single title', ‘mainstream', ‘category' and ‘series' mean? I've heard writers talk about them but I'm not sure of the definitions.
A: Let's tackle category first. In the US, they are called ‘series' romance - books released in order and by month, with a number on the spine and with a series title on the cover e.g. Harlequin Temptation. They have a limited shelf life, there are a number of titles in each line published every month and they have specific word counts ranging from 50,000 (Mills & Boon Sweet and Sexy) up to 100,000 (Harlequin Historical). Harlequin, Silhouette and Mills & Boon are all category publishers.
By definition, a single title is a title (or book) that is not a category novel., i.e. they stand by themselves and have a one-man-one-woman relationship in the forefront e.g. Sara Bennett, Lynne Wilding and Holly Cook are all single title authors. The term ‘single title' and ‘mainstream' can mean pretty much the same thing in Australia, but in the US, ‘mainstream' is used as a definition for women's fiction, which can have romantic elements or not. A lot of the time, mainstream is more about the woman's story than 'the man and woman falling in love' story. In the Romantic Times, the mainstream fiction reviews consist of chick/lad lit, women's fiction, contemporary and young adult, with authors such as Barbara Samuel and Deborah Smith. They also have a “Mainstream Romance” section which reviews single title books with that ‘one-man-one-woman' thread - romantic comedy, fantasy, suspense, including authors such as JD Robb, Jennifer Crusie and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Single title is all about one man-one woman- just like category. But the voice is usually different, and STs have a longer word count, can include more subplots, more secondary characters and profanity. Whereas category novels have strict guidelines regarding word count, time periods and (sometimes) settings, the requirements for ST depends what you're writing, what publisher you're aiming for, your voice etc. Word counts begin at 80,000, and can go up to 150,000. Generally, they're around 90-110,000. Again, publishers guidelines should be a guide. The market are houses like Avon, Berkley/Jove/Ivy, St. Martin's Press, Harper Monogram, Leisure, Kensington and others. MIRA is Harlequin's foray into the ST world, as is HQN.
(February 2004 HT)
Q: Does the fiction editor for magazines send out guidelines? Is there a need to include a synopsis? Any other useful information you have would be gratefully received.
A: Published author and short story writer Janet Woods says “I've found that very few magazines offer guidelines to potential fiction subscribers now. The best set of guidelines available to writers is the magazine itself. If you buy a magazine and read the fiction on a regular basis, you'll soon get a feel for what's being accepted.
The main advice any magazine editor would offer a writer is to study the magazine you intend to write for, analyse it for content, tone, story length, age of readership etc, and try to write a story you think would suit the magazine. It might be necessary to analyse the magazine content over a number of issues, because there is a surprising diversity of stories published today, crime and murder, humour, romance, intrigue and twist in the tail stories.
One of the techniques you should look for when analysing published stories is the beginning. Usually, no preamble takes place and the beginning takes the reader straight into the story by various methods, such as dialogue, action or description. A short story should be centred in a fairly simple plot. The writing should be uncomplicated and clear, details of description, thought and dialogue woven together like a piece of embroidery. The ending should be resolved satisfactorily.
Because of its short length, a synopsis will not be needed. Your story will usually speak for itself. The usual careful manuscript preparation should be applied. Good readable type, double-spacing and proper indentation and paragraphs should be used. Attach a cover sheet with story title, and your name and details for contact. Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you want the story returned.”
(March 2004 HT)
Q: The Advance Review Copy (ARC) format recommended in the Emma Darcy Award was very easy to work with and the finished ms much more manageable. Is there any publisher who would accept a manuscript printed out in ARC?
A: In short, no. The joys of working with an ARC (which simulates the look of an open-paged book) come after you are accepted for publication. RWA introduced the ARC format in our Opening Chapter, Single Title and Emma Darcy contests to cut down on the mailing costs, both for the entrant and the contest manager (and with over 70 entries in the EDA this year, the postage can get expensive!).
When submitting to a publisher, their standard manuscript format (usually found in publisher's guidelines) is 1” (or 3cm) margins, double spaced, and with a readable 12 point font. If you want to save on postage - especially if mailing overseas - use a non-proportional font like Courier or Courier New to determine the word count (each page will approximate 250 words), THEN change the font to Times New Roman. This will cut down your page count by as much as 30 pages in a 57,000 word manuscript.
(April 2004 HT)
Q: I'm confused. What's the difference between a Harlequin Mills & Boon Sexy and Harlequin Presents?
A: Nothing. Ha! Now you're even more confused, right? Don't be! Basically, all Harlequin, Silhouette and Mills & Boon category lines are marketed in Australia under “Harlequin Mills & Boon” and then the line e.g. Temptation. Australia doesn't get all the lines: many Silhouette Romance, for example, are released here as HM&B Sweet. In the US, HM&B Sexy are called “Harlequin Presents” (M&B Modern in the UK) and Sweet are “Harlequin Romance” (Tender in the UK). The now-defunct Duets line were first released locally as Temptation with the “romantic comedy” flash on the cover, then changed to the comic US covers, then (because marketing indicated the comic covers didn't sell as well), went back to the classic man-woman Temptation cover.
Stuart MacDonald, Sales and Marketing Director of Harlequin's Sydney office, says “These days the trend is very much towards maintaining the integrity of each of our series by drawing content from just one source [i.e. line] if we can, and by replicating the original North American (or UK) series name unless there's a strong marketing reason not to. But because precedents have been set in the past, there are exceptions to this – Australia's ‘Sexy' and ‘Sweet' are what I'd call “happy hybrids”. They are trailblazing series for us, in that they are highly successful, profitable series which bring in more new readers to Harlequin Mills & Boon than any other series, so we're entirely happy with what they contribute to our overall portfolio, although each of them does draw content from two or three different sources."
Stuart also says there are a few new overseas series in different stages of development (with Bombshell the first to see our shores) but there are no plans to change their names for the Australian market. But, he admits, words and names do have different connotations in different parts of the globe (e.g. Desire are marketed in the UK as M&B Sensual, and Intimate Moments as M&B Sensation) and if the original name isn't going to give maximum benefit in Australia and New Zealand, then they'd be prepared to come up with a better one.
(May 2004 HT)
Q: When you decide on a pseudonym, how do you know that it isn't already in use? Is there a Registry of some kind, as there is for actors, that writers can contact to ascertain that a chosen name is free to be used and to register a claim to the public use of that name?
A: Not as such. Authors who write for Harlequin, Silhouette and Mills & Boon are ‘originals' and the editors keep a database of names already used. Recently acquired M&B Medicals author Alison Ahearn says “I put forward a bunch of first and last names to my editors and they gave me a yes/no to those.” ‘Amy Andrews' was the final choice.
Interestingly, there are a few names that cross-over sub-genres - we have our own Anna Jacobs who writes contemporary and historical fiction, and Ann Jacobs writes romantica for Ellora's Cave. I would suggest doing a search on Google www.google.com for the name you decide on, as well as www.amazon.com (by far the largest book store in the world) and the Fiction Database www.fictiondb.com If these searches come up with nothing, your best bet is that name hasn't been taken by another writer.
In Australia you can register your name as a business and obtain an ABN for it, but to find more about the use of pen names and what legal rights you have to one, contact .the Arts Law Centre of Australia at www.artslaw.com.au or call 1800 221 457.
(August 2004 HT)
Q: I don't understand how to calculate word count in a manuscript. I mean, can't you just click on that little ‘word count' button in MS Word?
A: In short, no. After much debate on RWA's e-list, Presents author Helen Bianchin did some top-level sleuthing to find an answer. “I queried editorial in the London office about their word count method (I'd been using the 3cm margins, true double-spacing, 25 lines per page way for years) when Samantha Bell's assistant queried my word count and said I was 5-6000 words short. Sam's response was their method was archaic... they took 30 random pages in a manuscript, added every word and divided by 30 to get an average word count per page, then simply multiplied by the number of manuscript pages. Leslie Wainger of Silhouette goes on record as stating New York editorial take three random manuscript pages, count the word total, divide by three, and multiply by the number of manuscript pages. Both the London and New York method gave me an average of 240 words per page, not 250. Which made a difference to the overall manuscript total.”
The bottom line is word count is an averaging system to work out how many pages the publisher must produce. Pages cost money, regardless of how much text is printed on it. So the actual word count is based on standard page, margin and font sizes. The general rule of thumb is if you have 3cm margins, use a 12 point non-proportional font and have double spacing, then on average you page will have 25 lines of text which equates to around 250 words per page. So unless the publisher specifically asks you to use your word count button, we suggest you use this industry standard.
(September 2004 HT)
Q: What is a character-driven novel?
A: Sandra Wales (w/a Haley Elizabeth Garwood) of the Music City Romance Writers had this to say in their October issue of Love Notes : "The phrase typically means that the plot develops from actions driven by the characters' personalities. I'd like to present a different definition - a rather atypical one.
Fiction writers are a strange breed. We create worlds, events and people. Or do we? The first time my characters came to life alarmed me. They jerked me out of bed in the dark of night and threw me in front of the computer. I no longer told them what to do - they told me what to write. I thought I was crazy. These people (yes, they're real to me) kept me up for hours at a time. I slept little, wrote a lot. Eventually I learned that other fiction writers experience this phenomenon. If I were crazy, I was in good company.
Sherrilyn Kenyon is a best-selling author of several novels under her own name, one of which is KISS OF THE NIGHT. A DARK COMPANION, a historical romance penned as Kinley MacGregor, is from her Brotherhood of the Sword series.
Dr. Kenyon believes that "characters exist in an alternate universe somewhere. To me, they are living, breathing people with living, breathing problems. I don't write so much as I channel them. They are in complete control of the story from beginning to end, and I'm just along for the ride."
Lest you think Kenyon is some flighty wild thing, I assure you that she is a talented writer who, like the rest of us, works hard at her craft. Her characters drive her - right to the New York Times bestseller list as well as the bestseller lists of Publishers Weekly and USA Today. Her websites are www.sherrilynkenyon.com and www.kinleymacgregor.com
An excellent writer, Annie Solomon, author of LIKE A KNIFE, DEAD RINGER and TELL ME NO LIES, all romantic suspense, also has characters who talk to her. Solomon, a 15-year overnight wonder, as she puts it, admits that her characters take on a life of their own. "People often ask, 'Where do your characters come from?' And I've got to say that sometimes I don't know. They're like a gift from the beyond. If you speak in the language of religion, you could say they come from God. Others might be more comfortable saying, 'The Force was with me.' Whatever language one uses, it's a great mystery, but, as Tom Stoppard wrote in Shakespeare in Love, 'It all works out in the end.' You don't always know how or why, you just know that it does."
Solomon, a native New Yorker and a former advertising executive and head writer, has dreamed up stories since she was 10. She gave up the advertising career with its regular paycheque for the life of a writer and no regular paycheque.
Her fourth romantic suspense, BLIND CURVE, is due February 2005. It's a treat to read well done suspenseful novels that are character driven and exciting. Is it because the characters know more than the author? A visit to Solomon's website at www.anniesolomon.com gives the reader a peek at these skillfully written books.
The mother-daughter writing team of Cheryl Zach, a former high school English teacher, and Michelle Place concentrate on historical romance and write as Nicole Byrd. Place is lucky enough to have finished college with an English degree and stepped right into the writer's life while she cares for her family.
Do their characters bother them? Talk to them and harass them? Zach says, "I set up the situation and get to know my characters, and when they go into action, they often do unexpected things or tell me information I didn't expect, which turns the story in exciting new directions." Zach continues with the explanation that "knowing the characters' backgrounds is also important, as it helps you understand who they are."
Place's reaction to character invasion of her life is to welcome them with open arms or, rather, pen and paper in hand. "To really get to a character's core, it's sometimes helpful to conduct a written question and answer session between yourself and the character. Answer your questions in the character's voice; what you learn may surprise you."
If you prefer historicals with a sense of intrigue, humor and great characters, check the books written by this team at www.nicolebyrd.com. You'll find excerpts from all their novels including their latest, BEAUTY IN BLACK, which Publishers Weekly calls "a charming character-driven novel." I'm certain this magazine meant character-driven in the traditional mode.
For those of you whose characters bother you, never fear. This craziness helps get the job done."
(December 2004 HT)
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