Websites, tag lines, and titles, oh my!

PJ Sharon here today, and I’m asking for your help with some of my more immediately pressing concerns. First off, prioritizing my duties as an indie-published author and entrepreneur is challenging to say the least. There are many moving parts to this job and I wear more hats than guests at a royal wedding. While I await my second round of edits for WESTERN DESERT, I have time to work on my marketing strategy for the release next month. Priorities include scheduling a short blog tour, setting up an advertising budget for paid ads, a possible launch party of some sort, sending out press releases, and finishing my back cover copy and art. The list goes on, but sometimes, I just need to let my instincts take over and tell me what is most important for the day.

Of course, writing this blog is always on my Sunday to-do list—though it often falls over to Monday night at midnight—but today I was talking to my DH about a new website. Those of you who know me, know that I have talked about switching over to a WordPress site for my website and blog for at least the past year. Currently, I have a blog on Blogger and I have a website that I love, but it has some significant limitations. My Circle Pad site, which I pay the requisite $8.95 a month for hosting, has some quirks that make it not compatible with Apple products for one. Search engine optimization is lacking, and the interface, as user friendly as it is to work with, is antiquated and doesn’t stand up to today’s market equivalents. Even with all of that, I have resisted switching to WordPress because,

a.) I’m tech-phobic and,

b.) I can’t seem to make decisions about details such as colors, design, theme, or whether to go with .org or .com?

In a come-to-Jesus moment, I have decided to just suck it up and do it! No matter how overwhelmed I feel, the website change is a must-do. In forcing the issue, I have come to realize that part of what holds me back is that I still haven’t clearly identified my brand. I’ve gotten as far as to say, “I write romance fiction for teens and beyond,” but other than that I don’t really know what defines me as a writer these days.

This brings me to my second dilemma of the day:

Should I change my tag-line, and what should I change it to? My first three books, being contemporary YA romance with hopefully ever after endings fit fine with my “Extraordinary Stories of an Average Teenage Life” tag line. But now that I have added dystopian to my repertoire, “average” doesn’t seem suitable—not for genetically altered teens in a futuristic setting. There is still a romance, but the story clearly fits in the YA category of dystopian fiction rather than upper YA/NA stories. Romance readers are not necessarily sci-fi readers and vice versa, so I feel like maybe I need to change my image a bit to reach out to a broader audience. It occurs to me that maybe I’m having trouble pinpointing my target readership because I haven’t truly discovered my “hook”—that message in our style and voice that makes us unique and offers readers the promise of something different.

Once I understand what makes my stories extraordinary, and have narrowed down my tagline to who I am and what I write, then the web design should be easier. I also just finished taking an online web-design course to get me over my tech-fear, and DH has vowed to help me get set up on a WordPress site by the end of June when I launch Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, WESTERN DESERT.

This takes us to my third issue of the day, month, year…a title for the third book in the trilogy. Here are the parameters:

1) Title must be in adjective/noun format (Waning Moon, Western Desert)

2) It would be nice to keep with the “W” alliteration, but I’m not attached to that.

3) The title should reflect that Lily and Will are embarking on the final stage of their journey across a post-apocalyptic US. This time they are leaving Las Vegas and heading east along the southern route, which will take them through the Southern Swamps. (I already thought of that as a title but I think that would only work if there were a fourth book since this one will culminate in the final battle with the Industry and will take place in Chicago and then Vegas again. I do wish I had made it a series and not a trilogy…another lesson learned.)

4) Basically, I want a title that sounds catchy alongside the other two, is different enough to not be competing with a dozen other books by the same title, and one that metaphorically shows the shift to a hopeful ending rather than a title that focuses on gloom and doom.

These are a few of my ideas. I’d love to hear yours!

CHANGING/SHIFTING/RISING TIDES (you get the drift)
SHIFTING/RISING WINDS
STORM SURGE
HEALING WINDS

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or suggestions!

In fiction as in life …?

Thea today, writing from the grandbaby’s house where I’m caretaking him for the next few weeks, and I’m still crazy in love — even after 15 months. Which feeds into the next momentous month in which John and I celebrate our 47th anniversary. It’s kind of staggering to think it’s been that many years. But even more so, how we met, about two years before that, just after he’d just graduated college and we separately both attended to a party at the home of my friend Sharon in Newark, NJ.

I like to think ours was a grand love story, but maybe, because we were an interfaith couple (no small thing back then), it was more about rebellion. Or our just being together and figuring all of it out as we went.

Cut to ten years later. We were living in Brooklyn. I was pregnant out to the there with my eldest son. We were at a performance of Trelawny of the Wells at Lincoln Center. In the break between the first and second act, we were milling in the lobby, and a woman approached me. “Is your name Thea?”

I said yes. She told me her name and asked if I remembered her. I did. She was a friend Sharon’s and we’d hung out several times, no more than that, back in the days after that party at Sharon’s house. But I hadn’t seen her in more than ten years, and I’d not been in contact with Sharon either after John and I married.

She said, “Sharon is dead.”

Last thing I expected to hear. The words exploded like a bomb, chilling me to the bone. Sharon had died of complications of Type 1 diabetes. She couldn’t have been more than 35 years old.

“I thought you should know,” she said And then she was gone, leaving me devastated. And I couldn’t find her in the audience or after, and I never saw her again.

I still get chills thinking about it. How did she recognize me after all that time, AND that pregnant?
How did it happen this one night she and I were separately in the audience and she saw me, she knew me — and felt confident enough that I was who she thought I was to approach me? And how could she just disappear, never to be seen again?

I’ve often thought that incident would make a terrific scene in a book. Except for the fact she vanished. In a book, she’d have to return at some point because otherwise the reader would be questioning where she went and what her purpose was. It’s not enough just to have a character deliver bad news and exit right. There has to be some reason, some driving motivation, everything interconnected, all ends tied up.

Fiction is not life. Life is random. That moment at Lincoln Center was random — but was it? It haunts me even after all these years because it all seemed so coincidental — and yet it wasn’t. Still, I wonder … was she an angel sent perhaps by Sharon to tell me I was being watched over? I only recently even considered that. And if so, what signs have I missed all these years not contemplating that possibility? Or was it just a really intriguing idea to springboard a plot for a novel I have yet to write?

Of course that would be my first thought. Wouldn’t it be yours?

Or is there more to it than that?

Still and all, at this anniversary time of the year, I remember Sharon. I can close my eyes and see her just as she was, a pretty red-headed twenty year old, bedeviled but never beaten down by the disease that would take her life. But back then, at that party that night, without knowing it, by inviting John Devine, she gave me my future and my life.

What do you think? Was it a coincidence? Meant to be? An angel? A figment of my imagination? Have you ever had a moment like that?

Thea Devine is the author of 27 erotic historical and contemporary romances, five of which have just been reissued in Kindle editions. and nearly a dozen novellas. She’s been named a Romance Pioneer by Romantic Times, and is currently working on a new erotic contemporary novel.

But wait …!

This is the TVholic’s strategy for sagging middles

Hi everyone. Thea here today, but really, as you read this, I’ll be in KC at the RT Booklovers’ Convention and not in my usual position, rooted at the end of the couch, with tv on and WIP at the ready. So forgive me if I’m not posting an immediate response. (Full report on the conference to come, of course.)

So I want to talk about sagging middles — the kind you delete with a key stroke (oh, if only — ). I’ve said during workshops that “what if” is your single most powerful writing tool. Anything can happen in “what if.” It’s no-commitment plotting. It frees your mind. You can let go, make lists, let them take you to the most improbable plot places.

But wait …! It would be even more productive if at the moment when the plot seems to be chugging along, you stop yourself with those words. But wait …! The juicy incentive used by telemarketers to make you buy (can you tell I watch too much tv?). But wait — maybe your reader isn’t buying a smooth, unfurrowed plotline. Maybe your reader is waiting for something juicy to happen.

But wait …! What if your characters are afraid of losing something? (Love, fame, fortune, respect, family secrets, inheritance, friendship …) Make them lose it. Ask what lengths they’ll go to to get it back. What they’re willing to risk.

Because the more they risk, the more that stands in their way, the more conflict, the greater desire they’ll have (at greater cost) to reach their goal, and so, the richer the plot.

In the simplest terms: Get them in trouble and keep them in trouble. Keep throwing in obstacles, complications, repercussions and don’t let up.

But wait …! What if you don’t know exactly where the plot is going?

Write the NYTimes log-line. That hones it down nicely to two or three lines: Danny Jones has everything he wants, until a secret from his past threatens everything.

Or write the cover copy. That will focus you on the set-up, conflict, and what drives the plot.

But wait …! What if it’s still not working?

Make the problem personal and current. Someone is out to destroy Danny Jones and make sure he never is elected to anything.

Give the protagonist two villains and a moral choice. A childhood friend and his own brother are separately threatening Danny Jones. No matter what decision he makes, he will lose everything, including his friend and his brother.

Up the ante. Not only does a secret from his past
threaten Danny Jones personally, but also his burgeoning political career, his marriage, and his inheritance from a famous relative which comes along with a list of moral stipulations he may not be able to meet.

Add suspense by turning “what if” into “if only.” What could his enemy have against him? If only, all those years ago, he hadn’t — but then there was this other moment when — But nobody knew about that, did they?

Give your protagonist a moral dilemma that forces her to compromise either her beliefs or her values. If Danny Jones is up front about his past, then he will never ever be able to run for office, he’ll lose the love of his life, the inheritance from his famous relative, and he’ll never be able to see his children again.

Try reversing things. Make the hero the heroine and vice versa. Danny is Danielle, a powerful CEO who is courting politics and who has a secret she thought was buried deep in the past. Lovers? Liars? Friends? Family? Who is plotting to betray her?

Keep the reader guessing. For Danielle any of those people associated with her could be her enemy; any one of them can say or do something that would lead her to believe she is on the verge of losing everything. She has too much at stake. She has to be careful not to rock the boat. What is she going to do? (I love this; I think it works even better!)

But wait …!

But I can’t. I have to go. But you can. What juicy incentives would you add to the list to entice your readers to keep reading?

Thea Devine is currently working on a new erotic contemporary romance, and enjoying the release of five of her backlist titles, Reckless Desire, Ecstasy’s Hostage, Relentless Passion, Montana Mistress and Angel Eyes in Kindle editions.

The Final Countdown (A Book Launch Story)

Hi there, Sugar here. And I have got a twitchy eye. Why? Because I’m stressed out. Forget about the multiple deadlines and the difficult day job, I’ve got a book coming out in a little over four months. And while I am over the moon excited, am I ready? Absolutely not. 

Saturday I spent the day with my CTRWA peeps and listened to Kristan Higgins give a great talk about how to prepare for a book launch. I listened to every word which is hard for me because I have severe case of self diagnosed ADD but I had trouble absorbing everything because the entire time I kept thinking oh S#@t I’m not ready. I’m never going to be ready. Book seller letters, and authors assistants and giveaways and swag and book signings and public speaking and workshops and blog tours and Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads and websites and newsletters and put me out of my misery.

I went home that night sobbing with all of that stuff swimming in my head. I think I feel the way all writers feel. If I can just get my book into the public’s hand they’ll like it, some will hate it, but a lot will like it. But how can I do that? I know realistically I can’t do it all. I don’t have money to hire an author’s assistant or to buy really cute swag.  There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to put together and manage a street team. I have no back list to give away, no legion of fans that I can ask to spread the word about me.

But instead of thinking about all the things I can’t do I started to think about the things I can do.

I can continue to write good books. Before anything else I will focus on this. I write because  I feel compelled to not because I need or want to.

I can update my Facebook fan page and Twitter daily. I sometimes have trouble with this. I can’t talk about my day job, or bitch about my mother. I don’t have any kids to tell cute stories about. I don’t have a cute boxing trainer that I can pant over. Hell, I don’t even have a pet, so I sometimes wonder if what I have to say is good enough. (I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I think I’m pretty damn engaging.) Check me out here.

I can spend my limited advertising money wisely. In DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD my heroine is a wicked funny, ultra curvy fashion blogger/designer/shop owner. And if she were a real person she would be all over Full Figured Fashion week which is taking place in NYC June 17-21st.( PS I’m looking for some women to hit the sample sale with, if anybody is interested.) I’m researching taking out an ad in their program. Even if it doesn’t reflect in direct sales, I can get my name out there and let girls like me know I write books about girls like them. I can also take out targeted ads on Facebook and GoodReads without having to spend much of my hard earned cash.

I can look like the super sexy successful author I want to be. I’m shedding some of this extra coat of winter fat. (9 pounds and counting). This also includes buying new outfits which is no real hardship for me.

I can attend conferences. Look out Atlanta here I come!

I can take care of myself. I can eat healthier. Sleep better. Drink more water and try to not let the stress take anymore of my hair out. Because without me there are no books to launch. We ALL need to take care of ourselves!

So what do you do? What do you think I should do to help with this book launch? Any and all comments are welcome. 

Why Don’t I Like This Book?

I haven’t been reading much lately. With multiple deadlines breathing down my neck I just don’t have the time to lose myself in a book. But a couple of weeks ago I picked up one of my favorite authors’ latest book. It was the second book in a series. I really liked the first. So when I found out the this second book had been release I was so excited. I glanced at the reviews on Amazon. I saw all the 5 stars it was given on Goodreads. When I dived in I was expecting a really great read. But the greatness never came. Page after page I read and while the voice of the writer kept me interested I never lost myself in the book. I never fell in love with the characters. It was taking me days and days to get through it when I usually read a book in a single day or two at the most.But I kept thinking back to all those glowing reviews and those 5 star ratings. The good part must be coming, I thought. There must be something that is going to make this book stay with me. But it never came.

And then I did something that I had never done. I stopped reading it. I got to the last chapter and I stopped reading. It was a romance novel. I knew how it was going to end. I stopped reading because the author annoyed me. The heroine had gone out of her way to spectacularly save the hero and the hero still let her go. I just didn’t see the point of it. They had their dark moment, said their I LOVE YOUS, why extend the book? It sure as hell didn’t make it any better. When I told my friend this she gasped. “How could you stop reading so close to the end? How could you not finish?”

I was mad. That’s how. I felt let down. Confused too. Why didn’t I like this book? What was everybody seeing that I didn’t? I couldn’t get through Fifty Shades of Grey either. Couldn’t get past the third page of that. I not saying that the writing of this book was anywhere near that one, but somehow I found myself in the minority then too.

Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood or maybe I had higher expectations because my reading time is so precious. I don’t know. I just didn’t feel the same way as everybody else.

Has that happened to you? Want to tell me about it?

Interview With A Gigolo

Hi, Scribesters! Suze here, with a special guest today. Somebody must have turned up the temperature, because it suddenly got very hot around here. Please welcome Hottie-for-Hire, Victor. He’s the star of Joy Smith’s new book Green Fire, available now. Let’s hear what Victor has to say …

How do you keep in shape?

I have had no choice. The women don’t want flabby men. Here, feel my muscle (pumps his arm).

Ooh. Nice.

Mrs. Gallagher had a fitness center in her house. I used to go there and try out all the equipment. I was 13. Before long, I had muscles and later, at Lawrence academy, I was able to make the wrestling team {smiles} I won a lot.}

And just who’s this Mrs Gallagher. Your mother?

My lover and benefactor, for a while until… (Bows his head) my mother got sick.

Wait. Your lover? How old was she?

Older than dirt.

What do you mean?

A skinny thing with boobs dropping down to her waist. Her husband died and left her very rich. My mother was one of the maids on her staff. Mrs. Gallagher took good care of me as long as I took care of her.

So, like a Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate?

Yes, but not as pretty and sexy as Anne Bancroft was in the movie.

This must have affected you, then.

Of course. But you might say it also started me on a career.

So, what…

After mom lost her job there–cancer–She smoked like a steam ship, we managed to find a small apartment. I went to the public school, she made me, but we had trouble paying the bills. So I did what I knew, I dressed up in the nice clothes Mrs. Gallagher had bought for me, hitched a ride to the wealthy part of town, and smiled at all the older woman until one of them invited me home.

That’s sad.

Not really, it was a living. Mom got the right medical care, and before long, the upper crust matrons were talking. I had more business than I could handle.

But now…

I don’t want to be that man anymore. I want to be more than a piece of meat. I want to be respected for me, the person inside. By the way, Suze, you’re pretty cute. Perhaps I can be of service to you…no charge for friends.

(Sound of Suze sucking in a breath)

Victor, you naughty thing, you! Readers, Victor and his creator, Joy Smith, are ready to answer your questions, so ask away.

 

Joy Smith is the author of Oh, No, They’re Engaged!, The Empty Nest Cookbook, The Perfect First Mate, Kitchen Afloat, and romantic suspense, Green Fire. www.joysmith.net or www.joysmithromance.com

Books to learn from and enjoy…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkktkHkQ6vA

 

You can buy Green Fire at

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Fire-ebook/dp/B00BJ83C8Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361619135&sr=1-1&keywords=green+fire+by+joy+smith

 

Why Don’t You Cooperate?

Hi, all. Suze here. Welcome!

A couple of weeks ago, I learned a new word! And I’m about to use it in a sentence.

If you want to succeed in the writing business, don’t be afraid of cooperatition.

What’s cooperatition, you ask? Well, clearly it’s an amalgam of cooperation and competition. I’m crossing the border into Jennifer Fusco/Market or Die territory, here. The theory is that if two individuals/businesses are providing the same or substantially similar services, if they work together both will benefit–even if they are in competition with each other for the same customers. Ever hear the expression A rising tide lifts all ships? Same principle. Need a movie reference to understand it better? How about Miracle on 34th Street, when Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimbel send customers to each other’s store if their own doesn’t carry a requested item? Good will abounds and sales go through the roof. As Charlie Sheen might say: Winning!

Make no mistake: Writers are in competition with each other. But it’s much more subtle than, say, the rivalry between Pepsi and Coke or Microsoft and Apple. Writers compete with each other for spots on a publisher’s roster, for the attention of an agent, and for readers who have only so much time and so much money to spend on books.

But readers are the most wonderful kind of repeat consumers. They don’t buy/read just one book a year. And if readers see that an author promotes other authors and behaves professionally and enthusiastically toward them, they will think better of the writer for being a decent person who loves her craft. Theoretically, that translates into sales. As a consumer, I don’t buy products from jerks if I can possibly help it. And that goes for books and authors too!

Here are some ideas for practicing cooperatition with other authors with whom you share a readership (or potential readership):

1. Partner with someone. Example: Kristan Higgins and Jill Shalvis and their Facebook Man Wars. If you’re not familiar with Man Wars, check out these two authors on Facebook–once a week or so they choose a theme (men in uniform, Australian guys), post pictures of the hottest possible guys, and write funny, sexy captions. And they’re usually zinging each other in a friendly way. This technique promotes their brand (romance and hot guys) and engages readers with new content all day long–with nary a sales promotion in sight.
2. Promote other authors–especially those with products similar to yours.  Offer congratulations on Facebook and Twitter when a colleague hits a bestseller list or releases a new book. Leave positive reviews on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads. Hopefully, they’ll do the same for you. Even if they don’t, you’ve still put a lot of Macy’s/Gimbel’s-style goodwill out into the universe–and the universe tends to notice things like that.
3. Assemble a group of authors into a partnership that is about more than sales. Example: Jungle Red Writers bills itself as “The View. With bodies.” These mystery/crime fiction authors often talk about timely topics in a panel-type format. I think it’s brilliant! Yes, their books are mentioned, and links abound, but there is plenty of non-sales content as well. Another example: Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. These writers of culinary mysteries post new recipes every day–again, promoting their brand and providing new content for readers. And if readers like one author’s books, they’ll probably like–and buy–the others.

What do you think about cooperatition? Do you have any ideas to add to the list above? We’d love to hear about it!

Themes and Memes

Thea Devine today, watching as the snow stops, the sun comes out, and ready to jump-start some new ideas. I created this list for a workshop I gave at several Chapters (including CTRWA), and I’ve had a few new thoughts since I distributed the handouts.

Maybe you’re looking for a theme, an idea, a spine, some motivating mojo. Maybe you need a break from the WIP and want to write something just for the change (like, in my case, Not Sex). Maybe you want to play around with some bigger ideas and plot points. Maybe this list will help.

Family, faith, community: I think these themes the most important today
Anything goes vs old time values
Hedonism vs. religious stricture
Good vs evil
Something profound – like failure – shapes and changes a protagonist’s life
Loss of friends, community, job: after adversity, struggling to make a new life
Impact of separation, divorce, death
The love that could not be
Rebellion and where that leads the protagonist
Old boyfriend returns and upends everything
Consequences of sexual attack (Steubenville)
Repercussions of cavalier sex
Rags to riches: heroine spirals down and out and climbs back to a better life
An unseen lurking threat
Haunting — by ghosts real or imagined, conscience compels actions
Objects of desire: the key to a crisis in the present is in the mystery code located somewhere exotic that will save the country, the world, the planet (I love this theme)
The government is out to get us
The government is out to save us
Child in jeopardy
Impact of random violence (wrong place wrong time)
Controlled threat (stalker, serial killer)
Apocalyptic event changes life as we know it
Hero/ine against all powerful cabals that seek to dominate everything

And then …
Peripheral characters tell hitherto unknown story of a historical figure of real person –
The Other Boleyn Sister, the Tsarina’s Daughter, The Paris Wife
Ongoing characters reader falls in love with: Stephanie Plum, eg.
Exotic locations in exotic times: Wilbur Smith and Barbara Michaels, ca 1920’s Egypt; Daisy Dalrymple mysteries (1930s)
Wounded hero (like Jesse Stone) solves small town mysteries
Impact of major historical event (9/11, Columbine, Newtown)
Beloved fictional characters — like Mr & Mrs Darcy solving crimes; Jane Austen parsing out mysteries etc.
Boomer characters — the Covington novels
“clubs” — book, knitting, quilt. Jane Austen etc.
Historical mysteries — Alienist, Dante Club, Anatomy of Deception

Need some motive power? characters could be searching for family, a murderer, a lost sibling, assets, heirs, vengeance, treasure, lost love, an abandoned child, a new life, another chance.

Or they could be running from a murder charge, an ex-spouse, a stalker, toxic relationships, their childhoods, the past, responsibility, secrets (see below).

Or they could vanish. People leave for any number of reasons: they committed an opportunistic crime, were in an accident, were kidnapped, just took off, eloped, escaped an abusive situation, were running from the law, were seeking to start over, committed suicide

Maybe someone’s hiding something: someone’s secretly …

An alcoholic
An Exhibitionist
A pill addict/drug addict
A gambler
A shoplifter
An extortionist
An embezzler
Bulimic
Covets her sister’s husband
Endures physical or emotional abuse in a loveless marriage
Did bad things out of jealousy and never got caught
Got pregnant by seducing a man who resembled her husband who couldn’t have children and passed it off as his
Has an irresistible impulse to kill
Is really a bad girl when family and friends think is so good
Did something bad just to see if she could get away with it
Had a secret baby she gave away
Thought she was adopted; finds she was her mother’s natural illegitimate child

That’s it, guys. What do you think? Any ideas to add to the mix? I’d love to hear them.

Thea Devine is working on her next erotic contemporary romance — and pondering a handful of other ideas.

How to Choose a Writer’s Conference

PJ here, happy to be on the East coast and back in my own bed…ahhhh. After doing this writing thing for a while, I’ve been to quite a few writer’s conferences, and I wanted to share my experience on how to choose the “right” conference for you. If you belong to RWA or a similar writer’s organization, you probably get inundated with lots of options. Here are a few things to think about.

Location/Accommodations: Check out the hotel venue and make sure the location is some place you’d like to stay for a few days. A bad night’s sleep, disappointing food, or poor quality hospitality can really put a damper on your stay. It’s worth visiting the hotel’s website and checking out their reviews. Make plans for car rental and recreational activities ahead of time so you don’t get there with hopes of visiting a locale on your “down time” only to find that you can’t get a car rental on short notice or the place you want to visit is closed. Although you are going for business, one of the perks of traveling is enjoying the sights along the way. Also, check to see what is around your hotel. Are there local restaurants and shopping within walking distance? Is there a gym? An indoor pool? Are you next to a train yard, airport, or in a bad section of the city? Some of these things may not be important to you, but if they are, make sure you know what you are paying for ahead of time. Scope out your hotel and surrounding area on Google maps.

Price: Is it affordable and worth the money for what you are getting? Are meals included? Are the speakers well known and knowledgeable? Is it worth your time, money, and effort? Remember to consider your loss of income while you’re away from your day job, and factor in any accrued costs such as wardrobe, entertainment, and additional travel fees (taxis, trains, buses etc.). Remember to save all receipts for tax purposes.

Focus of conference: Does the conference offer workshops that will help you further your career goals? If you are a newer writer, make sure there are craft workshops geared to what you’d like to learn. If you are seeking publication, are there opportunities to meet with agents and editors to pitch your story? Agent and editor panels offer a great opportunity to ask questions, find out what they are looking for, and hear the latest about the industry from publishing professionals. If you are a published author, do they offer promotion, marketing, and business oriented workshops? Interested in self-pubbing? Do they offer the most updated information available in this rapidly growing and changing aspect of the industry? If you are participating in a book signing, how successful have previous years been and how many readers can you expect to see? Shipping books is expensive, so ask for clear answers about realistic expectations. My experience is that print books don’t sell all that well at conferences and I rarely recoup the cost of shipping. I can see e-books being the way to go for future signings.

Networking: Conferences are a wonderful place to meet like-minded individuals and make professional contacts that you might never have the chance to meet otherwise. Don’t stalk the agents and editors but research them and know who you’d like to make a connection with. Make the effort to sit next to them at lunch or dinner (or in the bar). Be ready to talk intelligently about your work. Be prepared with a SHORT pitch of your WIP. Create a one or two sentence summary (log line) of what your story is about. The most common question asked at conferences is “What do you write?” The second most common question is “What is your story about?” Have an answer memorized and ready, and confidently smile as you give them your brief spiel. Don’t monopolize their time, but use the time wisely. If you get tongue tied and start rambling or their eyes begin to glaze over, stop talking and ask them a question about something unrelated. Where are you from? Are you a writer, too? Do you love baseball, zumba, pole dancing? Something that will put you at ease and take the heat off of you until you can collect yourself and get comfortable enough not to sound like an idiot. These are just people, but they are professionals and are there to FIND YOU! Respect their time, but don’t let your fear stop you from putting yourself out there.

Quality Speakers: I cannot stress this enough. Do some research on the speakers. What are their publishing/professional credentials? Just because they are there, doesn’t mean they are interesting, entertaining, or an expert in their field. Have they done this workshop before? How many times? Ask around to other writers and check out the websites of your presenters. If they don’t have a professional website that is engaging and informative, it might be an indicator that they aren’t all that well organized.

Organization: If you’ve ever participated in organizing a conference, you know about the gazillion moving parts and the army of people it takes to put on a seamless production. Of course there are always things that go wrong or details that get missed, but overall, organizers want it to be a good experience for everyone and they want attendees to return year after year to support the effort. If they don’t return e-mails, or answer your questions clearly up front, chances are the conference won’t be much better organized than the individuals running it. Conferences are generally a way for organizations to make money to support writers and their endeavors, so organizers (who are all volunteers, so be patient and kind to these people) are invested in making your conference experience successful. If there are suggestions you have for improvements, be sure to share them with conference organizers.

Image courtesy of Petr Kratochvil http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=3421&picture=apples-and-pears

And last but not least, Food: You might have to contact the conference organizers for this information, but it’s worth asking about the menu ahead of time. If you have dietary restrictions or just want to make sure that some healthy selections are available, it’s worth the added effort to ensure that your needs are known ahead of time. You also have the option of doing a bit of shopping when you get settled in and stocking your hotel room refrigerator (make sure one is available in your room when you book your reservation) with fruit, yogurt, water, etc. so you can avoid the breakfast buffets that offer all those yummy bagels, pastries, muffins, and such. Will there be adequate chocolate selection at breaks? Just sayin’.

Unlocked Secret: Do your research, guys. There are enough choices for quality conferences around the country and your educational dollars are valuable, so make them count and get the most of your experience.

I hope to see you all at the RWA National convention in Atlanta this summer. It’s shaping up to be a fabulous time!

Any other tips for our readers to help them find a quality conference? What has been your favorite conference experience? Any funny experiences you’d like to share from the “trenches”?

Welcome Author Gerri Brousseau

Please welcome, Gerri Brousseau, a friend and fellow member of the CTRWA, author of A PIRATE’S RANSOM and the newly released ACCORDING TO LEGEND. Take it away, Gerri!

Thank you, Paula, for inviting me to the Scribes today. I’m thrilled to be here and to meet your readers.

PJ: Please tell us about your current release.

Gerri: ACCORDING TO LEGEND is a time-travel story with a prophecy, a quest, a love triangle and a quirky wolf. The premise of the story is according to legend, when the spirit of the tribal princess is born again and she holds the enchanted stone in her hands, the lovers will be reunited … even through time.

PJ: It sounds like a great read! What inspired you to write this book?

Gerri: ACCORDING TO LEGEND came to me one night in a very vivid dream. When I woke up I started to write madly so as not to forget a single detail. The more I wrote, the more the story seemed to pour out of me. Don’t you love it when that happens?

PJ: I do! I had the same experience with HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES. What kind of research did you have to do for LEGEND?

Gerri: ACCORDING TO LEGEND takes place up at Kent Falls. Of course, I changed the name of the area and falls in the book. I researched the local tribe and actually spent a lovely afternoon whittling at the central fire pit at the reservation talking to the real Tribal Princess. It was quite a journey and I’m glad I took the time to make it.

PJ: That sounds awesome. I love the research part of being a writer. How do you combat the doubt monster?

Gerri: I must confess that I have had my fair share of bouts with that evil fellow, but I find the best thing to do is to keep writing. I wonder if he will ever leave me alone. Somehow I doubt it, but much to his credit, all his constant complaining causes me to edit and in the long run he makes me a better writer. Still, he’s not my favorite individual.

PJ: Mine either! What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Gerri: I don’t know if it’s all that interesting or that much of a quirk, but I like to read my work aloud. You would be surprised at how quickly you hear your errors when you do this.

PJ: That is so true! I sometimes forget to do that during the revision stage. Thanks for the reminder. If you had to be something other than a writer, what would you be?

Gerri: A chef. Cooking is my second passion in life and I really enjoy creating a meal that gets rave reviews from my family.

PJ: You sound like my husband. He would definitely be a chef in another life. Is there anything you’d like to share with readers that they might not know about you?

Gerri: Let’s see … they already know I’m a retired skydiver, that I’m a new grandmother, and that I have two pugs. But, I wonder if they know that I have played piano since I was 7 years old. It’s been a while now, but they say it’s like riding a bike … you never forget.

PJ: I had no idea! That is so cool. I bet you’d pick it right back up! Thanks so much for being here and sharing your time with us. If anyone has any questions for Gerri, or comments about her books, her writing tips or her pugs, please feel free to do so.

Here’s a short excerpt from ACCORDING TO LEGEND:
“According to the legend, the enchantment of the stone was originally activated by the depth of their love. It is said that their love created a very powerful magic. According to legend, the power of the stone would be set in motion once more when the spirit of the Indian Princess was born again and she held the stone in her hand. Then, the spirit of the lovers would awaken and they would be reunited, even through time.” She sighed. “It is believed that only the true Tribal Princess would have the ability to seek out and find the other half of this stone and access its full enchantment.”

For more information on Gerri and her writing, please visit her website at www.gerribrousseau.com and if you would like to read ACCORDING TO LEGEND, it’s available at Amazon for Kindle.