A word or two about ROSA’s 2017 guest speaker, Jane Porter

Thank you to ROSA committee member and Strelitzia 2018 mentor Suzanne Jefferies for today's post on her experience at #ROSACon2017, and what she learned from our keynote speaker, Jane Porter.

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I’ll fess up – I had no idea who Jane Porter was. I’d never read her romances, watched any movies based on her romances, or dipped into the advice she serves up in her ‘how to’s. I had heard of Tule, but was damned if I knew how to pronounce it (rhymes with Julie, who knew?). Yes, she’s an international bestselling author, and a publisher - that you can get from a quick Google trawl. But, stats tell you nothing about the person, Jane Porter. What I didn’t expect was to find someone who stripped me straight to my emotional bones in her frankness, her willingness to share her story, and her reassuring quiet strength; aye, she may be small but she is mighty.

Laying your guts out to the public is probably why writers are such ‘crazy cats’ (to use Jane’s expression). But it’s not often that a writer stands up and says it – no hiding under the covers - to a room full of strangers. Raw, unadulterated, 100% honesty. Is it easy to hear? No. But, for this writer here, it was a turning point. If I can’t be honest about who I am, where I’m from, and the experiences that have shaped me, my stories are probably going to lack authenticity. They won’t reflect ‘me’. For that alone, I’d pay over the odds a million times, to hear Jane speak again.

In both her talks, and in conversation with her, she offered priceless insights into romance writing as a career. A career option, that, let’s face it, is not offered by guidance counsellors. And why shouldn’t we be thinking of writing as a career? How many other careers let you research hot men on the Internet? Not accounting, that’s for sure.

These were some of the biggies:

1. Grit. Hanging tough. Getting knocked down and getting back up again. These are the things that make a writer. Not talent. Or fancy degrees. Honest to goodness perseverance. How many books till Jane got a ‘yes’? Fifteen? How many of us would give up after one? Two? The publishing world is dark and full of terrors; houses closing down, editors disappearing mid-revisions, unrenewed contracts, books that don’t sell. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and head out there again – that’s how writing careers are forged. Blood, sweat and tears.
2. Why write a standalone, if you can write a series? Think in threes, in fives, in sevens. Find a theme, a family, a geography, a ‘something’ that can link your stories together. Publishers love this. Heck, as a reader, I love this. I’m still excited at the prospect of another Black Dagger Brotherhood novel – and she’s on what?, book twelve or something? Ditto Gena Showalter.
3. A publisher would prefer to get more buck for their bang…so maybe stretch those words counts to the forties and fifties. They (the publisher) can charge more. Happiness and beams all round. It also means you might get a few more dollars too. So, if you can write to 25,000 words, extend extend extend.
4. Pick a genre. Contemporary, paranormal, historical, whatever floats your boat. Don’t start up in contemporary, then drift over to historical, and then maybe a scifi. Romance readers don’t drift – you shouldn’t either. Maybe two at the maximum. 

Every now and then, I’ll remember something else she said, and I’ll write it down; things like how to engage on Facebook and start conversations with fans, or how to recognise alpha men. And then I’ll think how lucky I was that of all the places Jane exchanged to as teen, it was here, South Africa. Sometimes these things aren’t accidents. Thank you, Jane.

What can our ROSA community do for you?

I belong to a lot of author groups on Facebook (probably way more than is healthy!). Some are super helpful, some degenerate into places where authors just advertise their books to other authors, and some are echo chambers. We strive at ROSA to keep our Facebook group in the first category - a place where we can share publishing news, articles on publishing, and writing advice - and occasionally our members post about their successes so we can all share the joy.

You might think my biggest fear is that the group gets hijacked by authors who pop in to post adverts then disappear again, but actually my biggest fear is that the group becomes an echo chamber.
What do I mean by that?

Echo chambers are places where eveyone agrees with everyone else. Where everyone pats each other on the back and says "congratulations - because you did it OUR way."

From the very beginning, when we founded ROSA, we wanted it to be a place where all writers feel welcome. Irrespective of whether you choose to submit to traditional publishers or whether you want to self-publish, irrespective of whether you're a complete newbie or a multi-published author, you're welcome in ROSA. But I am actually going to add one condition to membership (there had to be a catch, right?)

In order to be a member of the ROSA community, you need to be open to learning and to constructive, calm debate. ROSA isn't just about tolerating those whose paths are different from our own, it is about constantly striving to improve our writing and to up our game.

Even our most established writers tell me that they give back to this community because through giving back they learn. As I've discovered through working as a writing coach, mentors learn as much as those they mentor. No matter where we're at in our journeys, we are open to learning.

This is why it horrifies me to discover just how many writers out there have no interest in learning. They just want to be told how talented, how clever and how right they are. They don't want constructive feedback, they want a pat on the back.

Example: recently, in one of those many Facebook groups I belong to, someone posted that they really struggle with writing synopses, so do they really have to do them? The answers flooded in: "No, of course you don't", and "don't do anything you're not comfortable with", and "how can you possibly sum up your novel in one page?", and "don't query - just self-publish."
The original poster them commented saying: "Thank you all. The last group I was in, they told me if I wanted to get my book published I really needed to write a synopsis, so I left that group."
Um, no.

That seems to be the number one answer in many of these groups: if you don't want to do things the established way, then self publish. And if they tell you something you don't want to hear, leave the group.

An editor asked you to revise your baby? "They just don't understand you. Self pubish!"
A critique group said your female characters are too hard and unlovable (a criticism I often get!), then "who needs that kind of negativity? Leave that group!"
An agent didn't love your book? "What do they know anyway? Self publish!"

I have self-published. I love being a self-published author. I love the amount of decision making control it gives me over my own career, but it is not the answer to all problems. The books I self publish are the equal of the books I've had published by HarperCollins. The only difference is that I chose to self publish them. They still follow all the rules of good writing that I learned over many years of working with editors at traditional publishing houses.

If the quality of your writing is not yet equal to that of your favourite authors, then self-publishing will not save you. It will crucify you. Readers don't care if this is your first book or your 90th (unless they're your friends and family, but are they the only audience you want to reach?)

The readers leaving reviews on your books probably also read Tessa Dare, Alisha Rai and Debbie Macomber, and if your books don't match up to their level of quality, the readers will point it out to you in ways that will make you want to curl up in a little ball and cry.

I promise you, it is way, way better to receive advice and criticism from a small and supportive group of authors who want to see you grow and succeed, than to receive that feedback from the feral reviewers on Goodreads.

So the advice I'd like you all to take forward into this new year is this: stay open to advice. Even if you disagree with that advice, or decide not to take it, at least listen and give it some thought without bashing the person giving it.

If a more experienced writer tells you "you need to learn to write a synopsis", or "romances need happy endings", or "books should have a beginning, middle and end", or if an editor says "you need to make your heroine softer and less aggressive" or "your characters need to be more pro-active; things shouldn't just happen to them," they are not telling you this to be negative. They are not trying to box in your creativity with rules or make your writing formulaic. There might just be a reason they are giving you this advice. If you're not sure what that reason is, ask!

If you are at the beginning of your writing journey and open to learning, and if you are looking for a safe space in which to discuss writing and publishing, please consider joining ROSA. We have a lot of established writers who are willing and eager to pass on what they know - because they're looking to learn from you too!

In our next post, we'll be sharng tips on how to write an effective synopsis, so watch this space!

Feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia Contest: Part Three

In this first post of 2018, we continue our series offering feedback from the 2017 Strelitzia (and Imbali) contests. To read the prevous posts in the series, click here.

The main feedback we had for entrants was to read the instructions!

In this final part of the series of feedback posts from the Strelitzia contest, I'd like to look at something that was more of an issue in the 2016 Imbali Awards than in the 2017 Strelitzias, however since we are changing the length requirements in 2018, I am including this advice here: manuscript length.

In 2018, Strelitzia entries will be limited to the first three chapters, not to exceed 15,000 words.

It is essential that you check the word counts / number of pages / number of chapters requested for the submission. The reason is simple: our judges (for both the Strelitzia and Imbali awards) are all volunteers. They are giving their own (often very limited) time to read the entries. It is very difficult for us to attract a sufficient number of judges if we have to say to them up front “you may have to read five 120,000 word epic novels.” And if we do not have enough judges signed up to ensure that each entry gets at least three separate reads, then we have to limit the number of entries we can accept.

Why do we want every entry to receive at least three reads? Ideally, we'd like each entry read by at least 4-5 judges! Reading preferences are so incredibly subjective. If one reader hates your hero, for example, but another has no problem with him, your score will be pulled right down. But if one reader hates your hero and two others like him, the negative score has less impact. Of course, if three readers all hate your hero, you may need to take the judges’ advice on board and do some further editing!

My final piece of advice has nothing to do with reading instructions or following the rules, but should just be basic, common sense: ensure that the work you submit is the highest quality possible.

• Study the craft of writing and ensure you understand the basic requirements of a romance novel.
• Read your submission through thoroughly before you submit.
• Edit it to the best of your ability - and then edit it again.
• Get a beta reader to read through it to catch any typos, grammatical errors, misspelt or misused words, before you submit.

This is an award for excellence. In the event that the entries do not achieve excellence, the trophy will not be awarded. ROSA’s own reputation is on the line, and if we were to award the trophy to entries that are riddled with errors, contain plot holes, under-developed characters and conflicts, and are not yet ready to submit to an agent or editor, the entire organisation's credibility will suffer.

We know you can do it. We know you can follow the guidelines, write a synopsis and submit great work. We know you have excellence within you. We just need a little help from you to ensure that the judges see it and reward it

And as we move into 2018, we'll be giving you a little help to get there too!