Or better know as Book-In-A-Month.

Have you tried this? There are online ways to participate–one that starts in a few short days.  Essentially, you write as much, as fast as you can in one month, pretty simple formula, really. Or actual books to follow (several varieties).

I have participated in the online version 4 years in a row. Once, I wrote a book full-out beginning to end. Once, I picked something up a couple of chapters into it and got huge chunk done. The other two times… it just wasn’t flowing for me. The books, I purchased a couple recently and have been thumbing through them–you know how it is excuses and life getting in the way.

The other day, I saw a workshop (I am in RWA, as I may have mentioned before, and various chapters hold online and in-person workshops to raise money). This workshop was to help refine you BIAM before submitting because (it said) of the influx of slush the editors get in November. Okay sometimes I can pick up on tiny minuscule clues and whatnot, but it never occured to me that folks did the BIAM in October and sent their stuff out IMMEDIATELY in November.

Sure, I have submitted my BIAM books, but um, many MANY months later. After really pouring through it and tweaking, editing and revising. There was no way, even in December of edits was the book ready to go out. I can’t imagine writng non-stop for a month to meet the 50K goal of the online BIAM and it having clear concise flow or focus.

Things like this confound me. And don’t (always) consider myself a simpleton, but just because it’s done doesn’t mean it’s ready.

I am curious as what y’alls thoughts to BIAM… and the subsequent slush pill rising.

tell me, tell me, tell me  

CONGRATULATIONS TO MELISSA BLUE. YOU’VE WON A COPY OF MAKE U SWEAT!

Sidenote: Amazing how we can procrastinate when we have something that just absolutely, POSITIVELY MUST be done. The grand total sticky note count was around 80. I faced my worst fear: I turned in a book with an unfinished scene. This is something I’ve been positively PARANOID about and I did it. Not only did I do it…I did it in the middle of a sentence. Not sure what I was smoking when I was finishing up the book but it must have been some good sh*t!

(SIDENOTE TWO: If I say “YOU” I mean you in the general sense)

JANE ASKED: What kind of rules should be broken?
I’m not sure about any other genre, and this is where writing in a vacuum can be your friend, but Romance Writers *seem* to cling to rules like a life raft after the boat’s exploded. Not only do they cling to them, they share them, like a cold. (And I”m speaking in the most GENERAL sense). Once upon a time, I was a rules girl, then I started writing/querying. Being a *nice* girl won’t get you noticed. So don’t do things like send one query letter at a time, because again, the law of averages dictates that the more you send out, the better your chances are of getting noticed.

BERNARD ASKED: One thing, Amy, I read on more than a few blogs an opening like: ‘FORBIDDEN, is a futuristic erotic romance in the vein of X-Men meets Bladerunner’ gets you a direct pass to the slush. When you were doing a lot of query letters, did you always do a comparative sentence?

My apologies Bernard! I didn’t see this. Funny enough, I normally don’t do this — though I did say that The Big Girl’s Guide was a “Southern style You’ve Got Mail” — I think this is one of those ‘rules’ things you have make a judgment call on and just take a chance. That said, I do HIGHLY Recommend reading “Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder who advocates NOT using a comparative sentence like I used for Forbidden. And for what it’s worth, Forbidden is probably one of the most difficult manuscript concepts I’ve ever had to try and nail down. With that particular manuscript, which actually ISN’T erotic romance, but futuristic/urban fantasy, it worked out okay. I had a rec. to my agent, she requested a partial, then twenty-four hours later, requested to see all of what I had written.

And speaking of rules, AFTER I queried Holly, I read an interview where I found out she didn’t like multiple first person POV’s. If I’d known that beforehand I might not have queried her and found an agent who loved my book as much as I did! I’m not saying do whatever you want willy-nilly but I think sometimes you have to gamble smart. Decide if it’s worth the risk.

Now, a little on setting tone in your query letter–this also ties into writing a hooky blurb.
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Gentle reader, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Eva Rutland. 

I read the bio of this remarkable lady when I first started taking my writing seriously, and found it very inspiring.  It has stayed with me all this time, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Eva Rutland is the author of more than 20 novels, has had skits and plays produced on radio and television, and written a musical comedy.  She sold her first romance novel in 1985, and still writes for Harlequin/Silhouette.

She is also ninety years old.
And blind.

Born in 1917 to a large, extended family, she was raised in a house her ex-slave grandfather built a few years after the Civil War, and proceeded to graduate from Spelman College.

Eva Rutland went on to marry, and has not only been with her husband for over sixty years, but has successfully raised four successful children.  Her eldest daughter is a social worker, her son is a lobbyist.  She also has two twin daughters.  One of them is a lawyer, and the other writes for a Sacramento newspaper.

Eva Rutland began losing her sight due to macular degeneration, ironically, around the time she began writing.
 
She says that at first she wrote longhand, then progressed to using a typewriter and tape recorder, often not realizing she’d run out of paper as she worked.  She moved on to a critique group that would offer comments for her to tape, from which she would make revisions—which would mean typing everything all over again.  She now uses a computer and voice synthesizer to write what she calls stories “filled with love and laughter and the good guy always wins.”

Eva Rutland has penned over a dozen romances for Harlequin, and in 2000 won the Golden Pen Award for Lifetime Achievement.  And yes—she is still writing.

I think she’s an incredible woman, and I have an unabashed admiration for her.

And oh, by the way…what was that excuse you had for not doing any writing the other day?

Does your WIP Title have Bestseller potential? Click on THIS link, type in the title of your WIP, fill out the specs then come back and share your results.

Here are mine:

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Kimberly Killion, author of Sexy Medieval Romance. Her debut book, HER ONE DESIRE,  came out in July from Kensington/Zebra books.  

Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than a strong and sexy man—and make him a spy…. OoH {fans self} and you have yourself a read in HER ONE DESIRE. (It is soooooo worth making those kids eat cereal for dinner ‘cause mommy is too engrossed in a book to turn on a burner and actually cook….)

So of course I had to ask Kim to come over to the Chicas for a day. We plugged her book on  plug a friend’s book  day but that was not enough. I wanted her to blog with us too. And despite her uber-busy schedule—she has been working hard on her writing (unlike some of us {moi}) and has her next book slated to come out in 2009—she said yes and is here to blog with us today!

Have you read HER ONE DESIRE yet? Hmmm? You know, it is the story of a Scottish spy and his quest to protect the executioner’s daughter.

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WHAT IF……

Chello, chicas and thanks for having me on the blog today.

Those last two words in Denise’s intro were the only words I needed to sell that book: Executioner’s Daughter. Where did I get the idea, you ask?…

While in the midst of brainstorming ideas for my next book, I found myself searching for inspiration. I looked in the mirror and thought if I keep staring I would be able to find something in my brain to trigger an idea. Unfortunately, my reflection hollered, “What the hell are you looking at?”

I didn’t find what I was looking for there so I went outside and looked at the fields of corn, the gravel driveway, a blade of grass. Nothin’. So I looked up and said, “Give me an idea, pleeeeease.”

Yes, I was asking for the supreme being of all creation to take time out of His busy day and give me an idea for my next book. That was selfish when you think about it. I mean, He has more important things to do, right? So, I thought long and hard and what did I come up with? Lunch. Yep. Lunch. So I fixed myself a little southern fried something and flipped on the TV. A documentary was on about the lives and families of the executioner. It was really quite fascinating. So then I started playing that game…you know the one…the ‘What if?’ game.

What if I wrote a story about the executioner? Oh, he started out as my villain, then I mixed it up a little and he became the hero. It still wasn’t right, so I said the word’s that practically wrote HER ONE DESIRE for itself…What if the heroine was the executioner’s daughter. And there is was. An idea was born.

You know how long it takes the Road Runner to sneak up on Wile E. Coyote? Well, that’s how long it took me to google a few keywords: executioner, occupation, medieval, torture … This went on and on, and before I knew it I had educated myself on every form of torture between hung, drawn, and quartered to peine forte et dure (Pressing to death)

Curiosity leads me to ask, ‘What if?’ So, as I sit here trying to develop my next story idea, I’m also curious to know how other writers develop ideas. Do you play the ‘What if?’ game? Do you get on your knees and pray for inspiration? Does whiskey help? Please, do tell…

We’ve all talked over the woes of a writer’s life–the things that pause us, things that stop us cold in our tracks. But let’s get past that for a moment and think about what you need once you’re on the up-swing. I’m not talking about your muse and her wiles or inspiration from an art form to jumpstart the creative side of you. What do you use to revive the very soul, the person that is the writer?

Chocolates have long been touted as the cure-all. I am in no dispute there. But what other devices lift your waning spirit? Here are a few of mine . . .

~ A Starbucks Saturday (always hits the spot)

~ Lunch at Chili’s or Cheddars (everything is better with food!)

~ Whining phones calls to girlfriends (hopefully these are few and far between–the whining, not the girlfriends)

~ SHOPPING (especially if it is for something you don’t NEED!)

~ Something with alcohol (’Nuff said!)

~ Good toe-stomping music (’specially if the singer is wearing tight tight jeans–WAHOO!)
  My crooner of preference:

(Personally, I tend to take to my sewing machine, too!)
 

These are the ways I recharge, revive and relax.

How do you renew?

The beauty of being an agented writer is that I don’t have to write query letters. That doesn’t mean I totally get off scott free. Sometimes I’m asked to write book blurbs for my editor, and I still have to come up with some sort of cohesive “pitch” for my agent–for me, this falls somewhere between a blurb and a synopsis.

You can read about Joshual Palmatier’s Query Letter project here–it includes links to 14 other authors also participating.

I STILL remember how hard it was to nail down that first query letter, angsting over every word, what information to include, what to exclude, then the sick feeling of dread as I clicked ’send’ or handed it over to the mailman (FYI I quit counting after my first agent but I ended up with right around 100 rejections before I landed her. I’m on my third. Do the math *g*). All this angsting because we’re told how important a professional query letter is. And then you have folks like Betsy Mitchell at Del Rey who totally blow that out of the water. (this could be a whole blog post on it’s own)–Go figure. I do wonder if any of those letters garnered requests.

Anyway, here’s a few things I learned while agent-hunting:

Next Monday I’ll post some more tips but for now, I’m going to share with you the query letter that landed me my current agent. Feel free to play along and post some of your own…and ask questions. For what it’s worth, I think this is one of my least favorite, poorest done query letters, but my agent even used it to craft her pitch letters to editors:

FORBIDDEN, is a futuristic erotic romance in the vein of X-Men meets Bladerunner.

Rafe Walker isn’t your ordinary prostitute. As a mutant, he has the ability to look like anyone at will, and is one of the most sought after “escorts” in New Helena, Montana.

Ameda Haviem hires Rafe to help her chase away her demons, but fails miserably. The lovely young widow of a high-ranking government official, she blames the mutant rebels for the death of her husband.

In this alternate future where the untouched live among the clouds and mutants are kept as slaves, Rafe is recruited by the rebels to impersonate a Senator. He crosses paths with Ameda, and in his new guise, he woos her, only to learn of her hatred for the rebels. While working to stop a bill that could mean the eventual extinction of all mutants, Rafe also searches for the truth, and the real murderer so that he can have the happy ending with Ameda he longs for.

And then there’s some stuff about my publishing credits……

Leave a comment, ask a question, whatever. I’m giving away a copy of MAKE U SWEAT–if I don’t forget

I have met Miss Kim in person a few times, we belong to one or two online chapters so it’s more of internet connection than anything. But I have to say in person or online she is a hoot and always makes me smile/laugh!

I did get to talk about her new release a few months ago during “Plug your friend’s book“  and she has a smoking hot cover (you don’t see enough chest hair on covers! mmmmmmmmm).

 Here’s a little Bio on her:

Kimberly Killion  writes Sexy Medieval Romances for Kensington Publishing/Zebra. She found her love for all things tragic, passionate, and historic after taking a mythology course in college.  The book wasn’t Romeo and Juliet, as you might suspect, but Dante’s Inferno, Oedipus, The Iliad, and a few other Greek tragedies. An artist by profession, Kimberly traded her paintbrush for a pen and began to explore the realm of romance. Sharing her passion for words by teaching college, Kimberly lives in

Illinois with her husband, two children, a dog, three cats, and two dozen chickens.

I can’t wait for y’all to meet her again on Wednesday ~ Denise ~

I’ve always thought of chapter breaks as something like the intermission in the course of a movie or play, or a commercial on television.  The story winds down or comes to a halt.  The viewers generally get up.  Stretch their legs.  Wander off to the bathroom, hit the fridge, or mull listlessly around as a crowd in the lobby to see who’s wearing what, who’s with who, and flash a bit of bling or a little cleavage before returning to the show.

This down-time has become natural to us, even expected (never mind whether the point is to sell refreshments).

But while I was gritting my teeth fleshing out the latest wip, I became increasingly dissatisfied with my “Intermissions”, and started wondering…
Is a chapter ending the best place to make an ending?

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The other day I started thinking about the people I’ve met during my writer’s journey, those I had the privilege (and sometimes, the misfortune) of working with.  I’m talking a decade here.  Many of their names are still in the forefront of my mind, while others I can’t even remember, but they all fall into basic “archetypes.”

So here they are.  The good, the bad and the certifiable:

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