Publishing money flows in one direction only

Sarah Duncan's latest post might seem incredibly obvious to writers who've been knocking around for a while, but if you're still a newbie, you really need to read this:
http://sarahduncansblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/publishing-money-flows-in-one-direction.html 

Self publishing is a different story. This is where you knowingly spend your own money to publish your own work. And when you self publish, you the author, should be the one receiving the earnings, not some middle man.

External Conflict vs Internal Conflict

For romance writers, this is a biggie.

You need to know the line you want to write for and whether the emphasis is on internal or external conflict. So if you're writing single title, external might predominate, but if you're writing category romance aimed at Mills & Boon your focus should be on internal conflict, and if you're targeting a romantic suspense line, you'll need to find a fine balance between the two.

But do you understand the difference?

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" provides the perfect example.
* Spoiler alert below *

Pretty Belle is a dreamer, a hopeless romantic. Gaston, the town's most eligible - and most self-centred - bachelor, decides that he wants Belle as his wife. Meanwhile, living alone in a nearby castle, is the Beast, a prince transfigured by an enchantress because of his selfishness and his inability to love. The spell will only be broken when he learns to love and is loved in return. But as the years pass and no-one can see past his hideousness, the Beast grows more angry and more reclusive.

Belle and the Beast are thrown together (watch the movie for the details I'm skipping over). Slowly, despite the obvious obstacles, they become friends and attraction grows between them. She learns to see past his hideous face to the man within and he learns to control his anger and find hope and joy once again.

Just as it seems they are going to come together, Belle looks in a magic mirror and sees that her father is ill and needs help. The Beast lets her go, even though he knows it means giving up his only chance to break the spell and transform back into a prince.

In trying to help her father, Belle tells the townsfolk about the Beast. Led by the jealous Gaston, the townsfolk storm the Beast's castle. The Beast is injured in the fight and Belle finds him. She reveals her love for him in his dying moments and so he is saved and transformed back into a handsome prince. Happy Ever After.

Now the external conflict is clear: the enchantress' spell, her father's illness, Gaston's jealousy, the excited mob. A certain amount of external conflict is always necessary, but it is the less obvious internal conflicts that add depth to any story and which keep the reader hooked.

Internal conflict stems from who they are as people, their beliefs, their experiences. In Belle's case, this is her romantic idealism. She dreams of living the fantasy she reads about, and yearns for a hero like those in her books. She knows she doesn't want Gaston, but she still has to learn to look beneath the Beast's hideous features to love the man within.

In the Beast's case, he needs to learn to love and to put someone else's needs above his own.

Even when all the external conflicts have been resolved, and the battle with the townsfolk has been won, Belle and her Beast cannot find their Happy Ever After without overcoming their own prejudices and issues. And it is important that they are the only ones who can help each other overcome these issues. No-one else but Belle can draw the Beast out of the anger he has withdrawn into and bring him to the point where he is able to put her needs before his own. No-one but the Beast is able to show Belle that true beauty is within.

Having a clear idea of what your characters' conflicts are and how they're going to overcome them is the basis of your character arcs. In resolving their internal conflicts, your characters learn and grow. This gives them depth, makes them real people as opposed to two-dimensional characters, and makes your reader care about them.

Can you see how you can apply this in your own writing? Do you have any questions regarding internal and eternal conflict? Please feel free to leave a comment ...

Great Beginnings

For the Presents contest you only have one chapter in which to woo the editors so you need to make that chapter the best it can be.

This means that it needs to be full of action, introduce the characters and their conflicts, dribble in the barest minimum of back story, grab the reader's attention and end with enough of a cliffhanger to make the reader want more. 'Is that all?' you ask, banging your head on the keyboard.

Don't be disheartened. There are some great resources availble on the net to help you perfect that opening chapter. Check these out to start:

eHarlequin Writing Articles

iheartpresents Competition Tips

Now don't spend all day surfing the net! You have a prize-winning chapter to write.

Just remember the golden rule of scriptwriting and you can't go wrong: enter the scene as late as possible and leave as quickly as possible.

How to prepare for NaNo

Right, so you've decided to give NaNo a try and you're feeling motivated. How do you begin?
Well that depends entirely whether you're a pantser or a plotter.

A pantser writes by the seat of the pants. A true pantser will sit down on 1st November, open a new Word document and simply start to write, letting the characters emerge and the just enjoying the ride to see where the story takes them.

A plotter will spend the entire month of October getting to know the characters, interviewing them, creating a detailed synopsis, perhaps even detailing what will happen in each chapter, and when Day One rolls around will simply start filling in the novel with actual words.

Most of us fall somewhere in between. You have an idea before you start where you want to set the novel, who your main characters are, and what's going to happen to them. If you're writing romance you'll have a rough idea what conflicts are going to keep the hero and heroine apart, and how they're finally going to resolve those conflicts and get their Happy Ever After. The rest will slowly unfurl as you write.

Me, I started as a plotter. I had little tables indicating what would happen in each chapter. Then as I wrote everything would change and I'd spend half my time revising my beautiful tables. I discovered that change is a good thing. Now, I start with the characters and their conflicts, and let them lead the way - often they know what works better than I do! I've learned to trust my characters, but I still have to start with a frame-work.

So how about you - are you a plotter or a pantser?

How Publishing Works - Finale

The Call. This is the moment we all dream of. And it's just as wonderful a moment for your editor. This is the type of call they like to make in person, just so they can share the excitement.

After you've had the happy news, you'll be given a contract to read through and sign. Don't be afraid to ask questions or take advice. It's a legal contract, so no-one is going to mind that you make sure you're happy with what you're signing.

By now it's probably at least a year since you first submitted this manuscript and you probably (hopefully!) have another completed manuscripts ready and waiting to send off. But take a deep breath, because first you'll probably have to do yet more revisions before this manuscript is finally ready to hand over to the copy editors. The writer's involvement doesn't end here, though. You'll be expected to check the line edits and galleys. At each stage there will be more revisions and more checks.

Meanwhile, the publisher will have decided a release date, based on their schedules. If you've sold to Harlequin, the release date is likely to be at least a year away. Scheduling has to take into consideration a great many factors: novels already contracted, holiday and seasonal books, other titles with similar content already on the schedule etc. The same applies to the naming of your novel. It's a complicated process and the writer doesn't get much say. Harlequin writers are asked to fill in an Art Fact sheet which the design team will use to design the cover, which is more input than many writers get to make at this stage.

As soon as a release date has been agreed, the marketing team will roll into action. Promotion is a huge part of publishing a novel and will vary for every book. Harlequin has the advantage of a huge marketing machine, but every writer is still expected to do as much marketing as they can. If you don't already have a blog or a website, now is a good time to start. Think about how you can help launch your own book, be prepared to do interviews and put yourself out there.

Many publishers, especially mainstream publishers, are spending less and less on promoting books, so you need to do as much as you can to help them. They'll also be a lot more willing to spend on you if they see you're willing to meet them half way. Tips on how to market yourself and your novel abound on the internet. Plan a launch party. Take time out from your next book to celebrate how far you've come.

By the time your big day rolls around and your book hits the shelves, make sure you're ready with the next manuscript. Publishers (and especially romance publishers) do not want One Hit Wonders. They want consistent writers who will grow a following and publish yet more books.

Are you ready to be that person? Then go back to the first post of this series and start at the beginning. Butt in chair, hands on keyboard.

How Publishing Works - Part Two

Okay, so this is a little later than 'tomorrow' but here goes ...

Your partial manuscript arrives at the publishing house (or in the submissions email inbox). You should hopefully receive an acknowledgement of receipt. If you've submitted to Harlequin / Mills & Boon, you'll receive a snail mail confirmation with a reference number, possibly in addition to an email confirmation if you've subbed to one of the lines that accepts email subs. Your submission will be handed to whichever editor is 'on duty' that day. If you've submitted to an epublisher you should receive an acknowledgement via email and your submission will be handed to the relevant editor. No matter what publisher you submit to, the average wait time on a response is 3-4 months!

If the response is a rejection, allow yourself a short period to mourn (24 hours is good) then put it behind you and move on to the next project. If you're like me, by the time you receive your first rejection you will already have learned so much during your wait that you'll have a good idea how you can make the next one better. At a later date, we'll post about the different types of rejection letters and what you can learn from them.

However, if you've received a request to see your full manuscript, dance up and down for joy and break open the champagne. You are now officially out of the slush pile! Before you send off your complete manuscript, take note of any suggestions you may have received in your request letter. This is the start of your working relationship with an editor and you want to show that you can work with them and learn from them.

Again, expect the editor to take anywhere from 3-9 months to respond to your full manuscript submission. All editors are busy people, especially in these days of budget and staff cut-backs, so be patient. At this stage, you could receive a rejection, a request for a different manuscript, or a request for revisions. All of these are invaluable, because by this stage you'll be getting feedback on your writing.

A revision request, while it is exciting and worth celebrating, is also likely to be very scary. As with a rejection, allow yourself a couple of days to get over it. Your initial reaction may be "but that's a huge re-write! How am I ever going to do this?". Take a day or two, then re-read the letter. Break it down into manageable bits, starting with the big stuff and working down to the smaller stuff. Take your time and do it right. It'll be worth it.

Unfortunately, revision requests can still lead to rejection ... or to yet more revision requests. There are enough bruised writers out there who can tell you that they've been rejected after multiple revisions. It's heart-breaking, but you're so close. Don't give up. With every story you write, you're learning and growing. In publishing, perseverance pays off. There are many successful published writers out there who wrote 10 or more manuscripts before they finally sold.

One day, you'll hopefully get The Call from your editor and you'll make a sale. By that time, your manuscript will have passed up the chain of command within the publishing house and will have been approved at the highest editorial level. But this is still just the very beginning ....

For what happens after The Call, watch out for our next post.

How Publishing Works - Part One

You've completed your manuscript. What comes next?

Firstly, congratulate yourself on an amazing achievement. Most people who say they'll write a book, or who start writing one, never finish. You're already ahead.

Next, no matter how great you and your friends think your book is, find someone (or a couple of someones) who know your genre and ask them to crit your work. Do not expect them to pat you on the back. A crit partner's job is to find the holes in your work and to help you make your writing stronger. That inevitably means some criticism in with the praise. But this is a whole topic on its own, which I'll address in a future blog post. Alternately, you can pay a professional to edit or critique your manuscript.

When you finally think your manuscript is as strong as you can possibly get it, you need to submit it. This is an important step. You cannot believe how many people complete novels and then never send them out into the world. Yes, you should be writing because you love writing, but you are also denying yourself the incredible opportunity to be published.

Now you are ready to hit send - but where do you send it? Research the options available for your kind of novel. Who publishes that genre? Do they accept unsolicited submissions, or do they only accept submissions via agents? Then check out the submission guidelines for the publishers or agents you've chosen to target. Many agents or editors (the people at the publishing houses who read the submissions) want a query letter, a synopsis and the first 3 chapters. But they all differ in what they want and how they want it. Make sure you give them what they want or you will be sabotaging your own submission.

Once you've hit 'send' on the email or handed the envelope across the post office counter, be prepared for a very long wait. Publishing is probably the slowest business in existence. The best thing you can do now is start work on your next project and try to forget that your little baby has left home.

What happens next?
Well this post is already long enough, so check in tomorrow for Part Two.

Masterclass 101

As we at South African Romance Writers are yet to be published, we don't claim to have all the answers. But in our journey so far we've learned a great deal and we'd like to share what we've learned with those who are starting out on the path to publication.

Tomorrow we'll start with a post on the basics of How Publishing Works.

To kick off, I'd like to ask any blog readers out there if they have any questions they'd like answered. Have you ever wondered how long it'll take to get published, or how much you'll earn, or whether you should wing it as you write or plot carefully before you start? Ask away ...