The Pitch that got me the call back ~ a journey

Lets face it as a modern South African writer / aspiring novelist we face many challenges in landing that book deal we all dream about.  The role as a writer has many complicated layers and holds such beautiful promise. It's a compulsion driven by a need to inspire, make a difference and heal through words and stories. Every writer has a message to deliver, an urge to be heard and to connect through expression, but at the same time stand out as an individual. 

When I started writing my first novel, I believed in my creation. In my dream to heal through words. Once my manuscript was done, revised and edited it was time to find an agent/publisher to deliver my story to the world. But I soon discovered how isolated and alone I was in the South African publishing world. Resources, agents and tools for a SA writer of Young Adult Science- fiction was a rarity. For me as a SA writer there was no support. Without landing an Agent there was no getting published. 

Four years later, through countless hours, and money wasted on a Vanity publisher,  I  eventually started making a name for myself in the international market. But paying in USD currency for an editor, a cover artist and a publicist started to take its toll on me. I couldn't understand why I had to fight so hard for my dream to come true.  I quickly found that it was so easy and extremely welcoming to adhere to international trends, and pretty soon I had a huge fan base in America. 

In 2014 my ultimate dream came true when I attended a USA book signing and writers con in Nashville. I did extremely well and established myself as a force to be reckoned with as my editor would say. What I gained and learnt in those few days was a revelation compared to the three years of online research. I learned about honing the perfect pitch hoping it would give me the confidence to pitch my projects one more time. I leaned so much at the con I couldnt wait to apply it -= And then the booboo! (yup I said booboo) While at the con I got an off chance to do live pitch and even though it wasn't to an agent I totally froze up and BLEW IT! 

UNTIL... 

a few months later and hours after sulking I found ROSAcon2014 and this was my chance to show myself I have to get up and do it again. I learned so much how can I not use it??

What won me over to attend the event is that I would have the once in a life time opportunity to pitch my voice to very important players in the publishing industry - and editor from Harper Impulse and a bigshot US agent. I had to grab this opportunity as they don't come often. 

 When I registered to ROSAcon 2014 I was extremely, extremely excited by the fact that there was actually a happening, gathering of SA writers with the opportunity to learn about the growing market of SA writers and know that there were SA writers that have been extremely successful in the industry despite the extreme challenges we as SA authors face.

Building up to the pitch that could ignite my writing career to such an extent that I could possibly become a full time writer.

Once I registered with with ROSA I took out all my notes I learned in the US and studied them, did the worksheets. A day or so later I got a wonderful email from Romy Sommer (host of ROSA) and published author with Harper Impulse. 

Tips on what to add in your pitch... I posted some of it here.

As expected, even after all my preparation, it didn't guarantee they would like my work -  I had a very sleepless night. 

Minutes before the pitch, actually waiting in line with a few other authors, was killing me slowly. 

I chewed up all my nail polish!

On realizing everyone in the room felt the same I started to feel a bit better that I had others sharing the same kind of torture. Romy Sommer made us all feel a bit more relaxed and she was totally right there was nothing to be worried about.  And she was right!

It was love at first sight!!!

First pitch 

The gorgeous Charlotte Ledger from Harper Implulse.

Charlotte was great from the word hello! 

On doing research on Charlotte, I soon realized I love this woman's passion and beauty -  I don't have anything that would sweep her away - So I started writing something that would peek her interest and sway mine... Well turns out she freaking loved my first chapter and wanted to see more. Immediately my guard was down and all the prepping just soaked in and delivered everything I was taught. 

The important thing was to ask questions - and I did and going back to my story I'm freaking in love with I cannot wait to send her more. ~ although this does not mean I will get the YES PLEASE WE WANT YOU - the fact that I got the call for more proved to me that I can hook like no ones business.

Second Pitch 

To the esteemed lit agent Laurie McLean 

This too was huge deal for me, as Agents are non existent in our parts and landing one would mean I can spend more time on writing and my agent would become my best friend and help me grow in areas where I suck. Once again I wanted to write something inspired by Laurie's taste, because having something an agent actually likes is a wonderful start.

Laurie was wonderful, I didn't feel intimdated at all. In my opinion I thought we got on really well. She was so easy to talk to and I could see the passion for stories with each blink of the eye. I fed off her energy and got us much from Laurie as I could. I'm not sure who asked more questions me or Laurie? Yup I got the call for more!!

I am still on a high from this event that could possible change my life, and like I said before even if I don't fully close the deal, I know how to create a good hook and feel confident enough to pitch to other agents and editors now. What a wonderful opportunity it has been!! 

You can follow my journey @CarlyleL

www.carlylelabuschagne.com

GO GET EM!!!!

"dont be crippled by fear, let love give you wings"

~ Carlyle Labuschagne 

Next up: reports on Rebecca Crowley's talk on 'How to stand out from the slush pile'.

Conference Report: Joss Wood's talk on Harlequin

Thank you very much to Tanya de Ponte and Pamela Kauffman for their feedback on Joss' talk at #ROSACon2014.


Report by Tanya de Ponte

An enlightening presentation about Joss' journey in to the fascinating world of publishing and the big step that she took to enter the arena of full time writing.  I especially liked her use of powerpoint pictures.  I also valued her encouragement on pitching to editors.  I enjoyed Joss's gift of several books and look forward to reading them. I feel really privileged to know her real name, and to have met her in person!


Report by Pamela Kauffman

Prolific writer Joss Wood, who is represented by Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agents, was the second Saturday presenter at the recent Romance Writers Organisation of South Africa writers’ conference. Joss kept the participants laughing with her quirky sense of humour and the inspirational graphics that seasoned her Power Point presentation.

Mouths were agape when Joss confessed that she had written 11 books between January 2012 and May 2014 – a breath-taking feat of keeping bum stuck to chair and fingers glued to keyboard. Unfortunately, the HQN imprint that Joss was writing for – Kiss – went boom this year. For now, she has one title under the HQN Desire imprint.

Participants sat enthralled as Joss provided the reasons she writes for HQN and offered heads up on advances, foreign rights, and editorial support. She advised participants to think about their category as each HQN imprint publishes for a particular audience – each of which has its own expectations. Although South African settings for North American or European readers are considered exotic, a writer could be too South African, meaning tone down the South African specific detail and don’t use language that is specifically South African.

She emphasised that resilience, an ability to take criticism and endure emotional conflicts are critical characteristics of a writer - not to mention expert storytelling, a unique voice, an accessible style, and promotion savvy. She said that HQN writers must be collaborative team players, aware of trends and the market, and willing to learn.

Some participants might have been shocked to find that HQN wants an average of a book every three to four months from their writers. Aside from being prolific, an HQN writer must meet deadlines and be someone they want to work with. Read that co-operative, rather than perpetually confrontational about every change to the manuscript.

“Take it on the chin,” she said, “if the editor concedes to the copy-editor rather than you.”

As if all that weren’t enough, an HQN writer must be accessible to his or her fans.

Joss said that writers with HQN contracts are put on the HQN author.net, where the writer can check sales, royalties, etc. She pointed out that HQN is part of a global community and the company has offices worldwide. Novels are translated into many different languages, adding to the bottom line for the company and for writers.

Cherish, Modern, Medical and Historical are all HQN imprints and the company offers retail, digital and direct-to-consumer sales, via subscription. The company is visible on Facebook, Twitter, and its website. Contact them via harlequin.submittable.com.

An informative and entertaining presenter, Joss generously provided copies of four of her books for each participant. Look for Joss Wood Books on Facebook.


Next up: tomorrow Carlyle Labuschagne will share her pitch experiences with us.

Conference Report: Hester Carstens' talk

Since I haven't yet received all the report backs on Joss Wood's presentation on Harlequin, I'm jumping on to the next talk in the #ROSACon2014 Schedule: the talk by Hester Carstens, publisher from Queillerie.

Hester was an engaging speaker who covered a huge amount of important editorial advice in one hour. Here is Elsa Winckler's report on the talk.

Picture courtesy of Elsa Winckler

Rosa-konferensie - 25 Oktober 2014

Hester Carstens 

Hester het begin deur vir ons ’n oorsig te gee oor Tafelberg se se liefdesverhaal-reekse en afsetpunte:

Queillerie → Tafelberg, Hartklop (Vir romantiese harte, die regte medisyne), Melodie (Vir jonk, vir oud, vir altyd), Satyn (Want die hart het ook begeertes), Jasmyn (meestal omnibusse, bv Ena Murray).

Vervolgens het sy gewys op dinge waarna voornemende skrywers behoort op te let alvorens ’n manuskrip ingestuur word vir oorweging:

1. Hou jou eerste poging eenvoudig en fokus op die liefdesverhaal tussen die held en heldin.
2. Die storie begin reeds op die eerste bladsy, moenie bladsye spandeer aan bykomende feite wat nie betrekking het op die ontwikkeling van die romanse nie. 
3. Let op jou fokalisasie. In die liefdesverhaal word die storie hoofsaaklik in die derdepersoon vertel vanuit die heldin se perspektief, soms ook deur die held s’n. Oppas vir ‘headhopping’.
4. Vermy onnatuurlike troetelname.
5. Vermy sogenaamde ‘wrokwoorde’ – woorde wat al te veel gebruik is en dus nie meer dieselfde impak het nie, byvoorbeeld: skor, wrokkig, minsaam, mymer, haal/trek skouers op/flussies.
6. Vermy heks-heldinne – onthou, die leser wil deur die heldin lewe. Sy moet dus iemand wees met wie die leser kan assosieër, sy moet kan voel soos ’n vriendin. Die held moet iemand wees op wie die leser saam met die heldin kan verlief raak. Hy kan dalk aan die begin buffelagtig optree, maar iets behoort deur te straal wat die leser aanraak.
7. Wees bedag op slotverrassing wat nie gemotiveerd is nie.
8. Let op ongeloofwaardighede – byvoorbeeld, jou heldin het nog nooit van Twitter gehoor nie, sy gee nie om dat die held haar ‘pop’ noem nie, ’n kind wat soos ’n grootmens praat, ens.
9. Kontunuïteitsblapse – op een bladsy praat jy van die heldin se kort hare en ’n paar bladsye later, waai haar hare oor haar gesig.
10. Let op die dialoog – wie sê wat? Dis nie nodig om heeltyd sy sê, hy sê te gebruik nie, maar maak seker die leser weet wie aan die woord is veral waar die dialoog lank is en oor meer as een bladsy strek. Vermy woorde soos ‘mymer’ of ‘wyfel’ – jou dialoog self moet aan die leser die spreker se gevoel oordra.
11. Let op onnadenkende woordkeuses, elke woord moet met ’n rede daar wees, byvoorbeeld in ’n sin soos ‘Sy knik haar kop instemmend’ is ‘knik’ en ‘instemmend’ onnodige woorde. 
12. Oppas vir die sogenaamde ‘info-dump’. Wees subtiel wanneer jy inligting wat die leser nie weet nie, oordra.
13. Oppas vir aksente.

Next up: look for the Conference Report on the talk given by author Joss Woods on Harlequin Mills & Boon.

Conference Report: Romy Sommer's talk on The New Paradigm

This was the opening talk of the conference, an overview of publishing in general and the options currently available to South African romance authors.


Report by Tanya de Ponte (edited)

I much appreciated the copy of Romy's book in the goodie bag and enjoyed the dramatic first page. She did a very interesting presentation on publishers. The topic raised several questions, doubts and fears about which is the best option for you - when there are so many out there. It was nicely covered - to provide solutions about whether to self-publish or get and agent? I enjoyed the advice and tips and would appreciate a copy of the presentation to peruse.


Report by Erich Viedge

Romy Sommer, Chair and founder of ROSA (Romance Writer’s Organisation of South Africa) kick started the inaugural 2014 conference with her talk on the New Publishing Paradigm. With three novels published already and more on the way, Sommer is well placed to unpack the different options that authors in general — and Romance authors in particular — have when it comes to seeing their books on the shelves and their royalties in the bank.

Sommer started by sharing with the audience how the Traditional publishing industry has consolidated over the last few years. She is well-informed and up to date with the latest developments in the industry.

She then unpacked the options that authors have, one by one. How to get published with a traditional publisher; how that process differs from the e-book market, and then finally the difference between self-publishing and vanity publishing.

She shared valuable tips about the kinds of contracts that publishers have, and what to look out for. In particular she mentioned a well-established e-publisher that seems to be in financial trouble — and she unpacked what that might mean in terms of an author’s future royalties and even the author’s ability to re-claim ownership of the work they created!

Sommer asked the audience to hold questions to the end, but every now and then another author would interject with their experience. This made for a very rich session.

I thought I knew about the publishing industry, but Sommer’s session updated my view and exposed me to cutting-edge information about how the model is changing. For example, she mentioned e-book subscriptions, which at the time of the 2014 conference was a new development.

As an opening session for the conference, I felt it helped me contextualise my own ambitions to be a Romance writer. As Sommer said: are you in it for the fame, or are you in it for the money?

Because of the grounding Sommer gave us, I felt by the end of the conference I could make an informed decision about which Imprint to approach or whether to self-publish — or indeed use a variety of approaches.

I would recommend this talk to anybody who is interested in being an author. The information was skewed to a Romance Writers' audience but the information is applicable to anybody, from text-book writers to writers of Erotica.


Next up: look out for the Conference Report on Hester Carstens' talk at #ROSACon2014.

Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the two contests that were held exclusively for #ROSACon delegates.

The winner of the Gina Rossi Scene Contest, on the theme of 'The first time ever I saw your face', was Kirsty Macfie, with honourable mentions to Alissa Baxter and Kristien Wolmarans.

The winner of the Sharon Pickrel editor mentorship, chosen randomly out of a bag of entries by my competely impartial eldest daughter, was Tanya de Ponte.

Congratulations to all these ladies!

#ROSACon2014

ROSA's first ever conference was held in Johannesburg this past weekend and everyone who attended agreed it was a fantastic weekend! We had guest speakers, pitches to an agent and editors, a gala dinner, and (best of all) a chance to talk books and writing with like-minded people all weekend.

Thank you so much to our fabulous speakers. Every single talk was interesting, informative and inspiring!

Over the next few weeks we'll be posting feedback on #ROSACon2014 here on the blog, with pictures and reports on the various sessions. If you attended and would like to share, please get in touch.

If you didn't attend and are now green with envy, keep watching this blog for updates on ROSA events and look out for next year's conference which we plan to hold in the Cape Winelands.

The packed conference room at #ROSACon2014

The new ROSA logo

No roses, as might have been expected, but a lotus flower. As Clare explained at the opening of #ROSACon2014, we chose a lotus flower as it symbolises enlightenment, purity and fortune. The shape is similar too to the rising sun, a lovely positive image. (Plus, it looks prettier as a logo than a closed-up rose!)

So what do you think?