Writers' Wednesday: Pitch Results & What's Being Requested

The results are in from Romance University's pitch session with Entangled Publishing last week, and I'm thrilled to say that one of their managing editors requested both novellas I pitched, SEX ON THE BEACH & TEQUILA SUNRISE! Very exciting :)

I think about half the pitches received requests from the Entangled editors, which is great news. I scanned the other posts to see which kind of works were requested (and which weren't). In a nutshell here are the results:

~Most commonly requested material: single-title full-length (above 75K) contemporaries, romantic suspense, a couple time travel romances, and a few historicals; category-length (50K-70K) contemporaries; and a few YA romances (Young Adult).

~Some reasons that material wasn't requested: Heroine was a teenager battling Lucifer (tough for her to win...); they had just acquired a story with a rock star heroine and didn't feel they could take another; they had just acquired a military romance series and didn't feel they could take another; pitch didn't follow the guidelines (longer than 3-5 sentences); heroine was sleeping around to try and get pregnant; the story started in the wrong place; too much telling and not enough showing; no editors were looking for a shape-shifter story; didn't want a story with the main character "waking up"; a 20-year age gap between H/H was too much; the person had already pitched the story before; writing "not strong enough."

Hope you find these results interesting - I know I did. If you're an author, definitely keep your eyes out for online pitch sessions. They are great ways to get past the email slush pile and get a fairly quick response to your query and sample pages. I'll mention one: Savvy Authors often has pitch sessions with both agents and editors - there are a few coming up this summer, and here's the link.

Good luck pitching, and keep on writing!

Monday Mentionables: A Great Way to Learn is to Pitch!

OK, time for another week of the Great Print Book Giveaway - remember, all you have to do to win FREE books is comment right here or on my Facebook Fan Page (what book would you like to win? what do you like to read?) or Tweet about the contest. Last week's winners have their books on the way right now!

I pitched my 2 novellas to Entangled Publishing over at Romance University last week. The managing editor will be posting feedback on all 120+ pitches (wowzer!!) as well as making requests too. And I'll tell you a secret: it was sooooo interesting to read over the various pitches and see what people are writing and how powerful some of the first 100 words of a manuscript can be. If you ever have a chance to participate in something like that, do so. Reading over others' work can be a great learning experience for your own writing.

My Goodreads Giveaway of Summer's Song runs through this Thursday and is already up to 330 requests (as of late Sunday night). Have you entered??

Saturday Update

Sorry I'm a little late in posting this week's Great Print Book Giveaway winners BUT.....they are

Mary Hay
Debby (debby236)

Congrats! They each have their pick of the books on my list :) Email me your choice at allieb@allieboniface.com The next round os giveaways starts again Monday...

Also, just an FYI: my Facebook Fan Page is going to be down for a few days while I make some changes/updates. Stay tuned and I'll let you know when it's back up and accessible!

Friday Fun Facts!

First week of the Great Print Book Giveaway! At 6 pm today (EST), I'll announce 2 winners from all those who have commented/posted/Tweeted about the contest - and those 2 winners can have their pick of any print book from my bookshelf. Want a chance? More info on how to enter right here.

My Goodreads Giveaway for Summer's Song is going strong, now through next week! Enter here to win an autographed print copy.

Summer's Song will also be releasing as an audio book later this summer. I'm expecting the proofs of the audio files next week sometime, which is always exciting. It's so cool to hear your own words spoken by a professional narrator!

And on a writing note, I've decided my next project will be a major reworking of my novella Tequila Sunrise, which needed loads more conflict driving the action. The good news is that I have a complete draft to work with. The bad news is that I'm planning on changing a whole lot of it. Ah, well. Back to the drawing board. School is almost over, and then I'll embrace my summer vacation and the extra writing time it brings, with open arms!

Here's the new blurb for Tequila Sunrise. What do you think?

When accountant Lou, newly-divorced and unable to have children, is given the chance to sign up for a free dating service, she decides to take a chance on Toby, a construction worker who has no interest in kids or commitment. But when both end up in the “second-choice speed dating room” because they don’t meet the criteria for Charming Hearts, Lou must decide whether she’ll confront the Charming Hearts owners by suing for discrimination, as well as deal with Toby’s surprise announcement that he has a son he never knew about, in spite of the fact that she has no legal experience and suspects Toby only wants a relationship so she’ll take care of his child. 

Writers' Wednesday: Something for Everyone

For readers: in addition to the print books I'm giving away all summer long (see Monday's post if you missed the news), I'm also giving away one signed print copy of my novel Summer's Song, over on Goodreads. Check it out if you're interested!

For writers: Entangled Publishing is taking pitches tomorrow, all genres, heat levels, and lengths. Click here for more information.

Happy Hump Day!

Monday Mentionables: The Great Print Book GIveaway

Announcing.......The Great Print Book Giveaway!

OK, here's the deal: my closet and several bookshelves are overflowing with books. Many I've read. A select few I'll keep. Most I would love to pass on to new readers. That's where you come in. Every week, until the list is exhausted, I'm going to give away 2 print books for free. Yes, totally free - I'll even pay for the shipping. Sorry, this one's for US readers only :(

(Notes: These books all come from a smoke-free home. Most are in good-to-excellent condition. A few are brand new.)

How can you get your hands on free books? Each week, do any of the following:

1. Post a comment on my blog.
2. Post a comment on my Facebook Fan Page.
3. Retweet the contest news.
4. Post an original Tweet about the contest.
5. Talk about the contest on your own blog or Facebook page (make sure to email me the link! Send it to allieb@allieboniface.com)

Earn up to 10 chances a week by doing any combination of these, and then every Friday I'll pick 2 names randomly to choose a book from the list below. No limit to the times you can win, either :) A new round will begin every Monday, with the updated book list, and will continue until there are no more books to give away. And that's it!

The Great Print Book Giveaway starts right now!

**********************

Books currently available:

The Accidental Tourist (Anne Tyler)
An Affair Before Christmas (Eloisa James)
Alison's Automotive Repair Manual (Brad Barkley)
Animal Husbandry (Laura Zigman)
Baby Proof (Emily Giffin)
Bungalow 2 (Danielle Steel)
The Carousel (Belva Plain)
A Child Called It (Dave Pelzer)
The Color of Water (James McBride)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells)
Emergence: Labeled Autistic (Temple Grandin)
Everything's Eventual (Stephen King)
Fireworks over Toccoa (Jeffrey Stepakoff)
Five Men Who Broke My Heart (Susan Shapiro)
A Good Dog (Jon Katz)
Her Father's House (Belva Plain)
How to Deal (Sarah Dessen)
Intimate Enemy (Marilyn Pappano)
Little Children (Tom Perrotta)
Mama Makes up her Mind (Bailey White)
McKettrick's Luck (Linda Lael Miller)
The Memory of Water (Karen White)
The Mommy Fund (Madeline K. Jacob)
On the Street Where You Live (Mary Higgins Clark)
One Child (Torey Hayden)
One Day (David Nichols)
The Poet (Michael Connelly)
Prep (Curtis Sittenfield)
The Prince of Tides (Pat Conroy)
Rachel's Holiday (Marian Keyes)
Secrecy (Belva Plain)
Sleeping at the Starlite Motel (Bailey White)
Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend (Robert James Waller)
Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson)
The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien)
Twilight Before Christmas (Christine Feehan)
Vinegar Hill (A. Manette Ansay)
The Wedding in White (Diana Palmer)
We Were Soldiers Once, and Young (Moore & Galloway)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Today is the beginning of Memorial Day in many regions of the country (acually, several schools around here had yesterday off as well), so it's a good time to remember and be thankful for all the men and women who have served and given their lives to protect this country. A moment of silence in honor of them.......

Writers' Wednesday: Business or Pleasure?

I've been following an interesting discussion on one of my author loops over the last couple of weeks. It started as a discussion of how to measure sales based on a novel's Amazon sales rank and morphed into a general discussion of marketing, sales, and reasons for writing.

And this is what I found most interesting: many more people than I realized write for money. That is to say, many of the people who chimed in on this discussion are very successful authors (in terms of sales and hitting various best-seller lists). Over and over again, the common thread was that these authors spend as much time marketing themselves and studying which promo efforts translate into the most sales as they do writing their actual books. The feeling among most of them was that this is a job, I'm making a living, and thus I have to study the business side of it just as much as (if not more) the creating side of it.

I found that soooo interesting, mostly because I and the writer friends I know personally do NOT make a living from their books. They write on the sidem at nignt, on weekends, whenever they can, because they love it. If they make money, great. If not, they're still creating something they love.

This is not to say that the authors mentioned above don't love to write, but they don't seem to get lost in the creative efforts and experiences because they can't afford to. At least two of the authors in this discussion confessed that they wrote in the genres they did because those were the genres that sell best, not the ones they love best. They have deadlines, so they don't agonize over finding the perfect word or creating the perfect scene. They write the book for the audience that's awaiting it. They know what sells, and that's what they write.

This whole discussion was somewhat eye-opening for me just because I've heard so often, "Write what you love" but let's face it: there are many successful authors out there who write what sells - and they know how to sell it. I envy those authors to a certain extent, and I start to wonder if I'm going about this all wrong. Certainly, I don't need to pay the bills with my books, but maybe I should be thinking more about the end result of sales than I am right now.

What do you think? Are you an author who spends a significant amount of time studying marketing and sales? Do you tailor your writing and your promo efforts to make the most $$? Have you shifted what you write to take advantage of market trends, even if you're not in love with the genre? I'd love to know...

Monday Mentionables: Reviews Come From the Strangest Places

Happy Monday!

Today, a couple of reviews worth mentioning. Not traditional reviews, though - one is written by a student of mine who chose to read Summer's Song for her "book of the month" reading assigned (I suppose you could say she was hoping for a good grade, though she's diplomatic in certain places, and I know her well enough now, that I think she's being honest). The other is a fan email from a woman in Russia. The first time she wrote to me, I thought it was a fluke (sorry Katerina, if you are reading this), so I emailed her back with a couple of specific questions. She answered them :)

So it's true: you never really know who will read your book, who will love it, who will hate it, and who will review it. Once your words are out there, they're fair game for the reading public, which can be both a blessing and a curse :) Today, I'm focusing on the blessings:

From a student's review: "I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone; I was hooked after the first page! The book's amazing plot never fails to keep the reader on edge as it includes the surprise of suspense novel, the heart-warming sentiment of a romance novel, and life philosophies all in one...Additionally, the story inspires one to forget the "ghosts" of the past and look toward a happier and brighter future. The novel provides you with the perfect happy ending, and a description of the ever enduring, life-changing, can't-live-without-it kind of love that women crave."

From a fan email: "I am very happy write the letter to you!! You help me survive when I was in trouble. You know the best romantic book I read by you was called "One Night in Napa". The heroes are for ever in my heart. When I feel bad I think about them and I feel good myself. It was very very exiting!!! But that would be beautiful to read in in your native language. Thank you very-very-very much for my the happiest houres with your book!!! I am a big fan of romantic book since I met your book!!! And now I study English for to read your book in English!!!  Your creativity made my life better. Thank you!!"

Friday Fun Facts!

Happy Friday! Some fun facts for today:

~I'll be sending out my bi-monthly newsletter at the end of this month, so if you haven't signed up to receive it, you can do so right now, over on the sidebar -->

~Do you belong to Goodreads? I'll be holding a book giveaway over there in June - keep an eye out for it!

~Project Gutenberg offers a collection of Free books for your Kindle - click here for more details!

~Check out the website ACX, where authors can connect with narrators and/or audio book companies interested in producing the work in audio. Big congrats to my writing friend Liz Matis for scoring a partnership there!

~OK, this one isn't a fact but a question: does anyone out there use TweetAdder? I bought the software a few weeks ago and have been having huge trouble with all of the automated features :( I have some tweets that are set to post every day, randomly, but for some reason sometimes they post and sometimes they don't. Any ideas?


Have a great weekend!

Monday Mentionables: A Link or Two for You

Just a couple of quick links to share today, since I'm buried under papers from the college English classes I teach. Ugh! One more day, and 230 papers will be in the books. Until then...

Mandy Roth shares a collection of posts on marketing right here

Savvy Authors Blogs About What to Keep in Mind When You're Editing

Don't forget to stop by the Brenda Novak Online Auction to check out the many, many items up for bid, including my very own Summer Fun Tote!

OK, that's it for now. Have a great day everyone! See you back here Wednesday :)

Writers' Wednesday: Soldiering Through the Negativity

The other day, a co-worker  at school asked me how I dealt with the negativity of others. I thought she was talking about either fellow teachers or students, but she said she actually meant friends who were questioning her desire to write a screenplay. She said, "I mean, I thought they were friends, but now I'm not so sure anymore."

Isn't it too bad that some people in your life can't encourage you when you have a dream, or even the inkling of doing something different? I'm not sure why others discourage pipe dreams...maybe it's jealousy? Maybe they think they're being "realists?" Anyway, my advice to her was the same advice I give to any new/aspiring writers. If you want to write (or ____ fill in the blank with any dream you have) then do it - just develop persistence and a thick skin. Know that the journey might be tough, but if it's something you love, it's always worth it.

At the end of our conversation, she said, "I figured I'd ask you because you always seem like such a positive person" and considering I don't always FEEL particularly positive, either at work or at points in my writing career, I thought that was pretty cool.

Oh, and if you're a new/aspiring writer looking for some support, try the forums over at AbsoluteWrite. Theyr'e terrific, full of info and frequented by people in all publishing genres and at all different stages of the writing journey.

Soldier on, fellow writers and dreamers!

Monday Mentionables: Mud Runs & Spartan Races

OK, has anyone heard of (or done) one of these "Mud Runs" or "Spartan Races" or whatever they're called? This seems to be the latest trend in fitness: a running race that's combined with crazy obstacles like mud, water, barbed wire, fire, hay, huge walls to climb, huge slides to descend...yes, and I'm sure the list goes on. My brother-in-law has done one (I'm pretty sure he ended up bleeding at the end of it), and I have a couple of friends who are planning them for this summer, and I'm just curious as to whether anyone out there has experienced and would recommend one. I don't know that it's my 'thing' - I mean, I do road races and I like working out and everything....I just don't know about subjecting myself to possible (probable) minor injury along the way.

Or maybe I'm just a baby.

I'm also thinking there must be a story in there somewhere (isn't there always?). Two contestants who meet at a Mud Run, maybe fierce competitors, who end up together at the end despite missing a limb or an eye or something...

It's fascinating to me where stories lie, because all you have to do is look around you, or read the news, for inspiration. Life is crazy! Actually, one recent news article has stuck with me, and I'm thinking I need to use it in an upcoming story. Apparently there is a dating website that weeds out its participants based on looks. That is, if you aren't attractive enough, you can't join. I guess "beautiful" people only want to date similarly-described " beautiful" people. This site also apparently ran some kind of "check" on its current members and decided some no longer made the cut, so they were booted from the site even though they'd originally belonged. Wow - seriously?!

Oh, yes, there has to be a story in there...

What about you? What crazy stories have you read in the news and thought, yup, there's a book just waiting to be written?

Writers' Wednesday: A Contest, A Front Page, and Knee-Deep in Revisions...

Hello writers!

Don't forget that my local romance writers' chapter, Hudson Valley RWA, is offering a 25-page critique of your manuscript, along with a free entry into our annual Hook, Line, & Sinker contest, at the Brenda Nocak Auction.The price is currently at a very reasonable $12.00, but the auction runs through May 30, so make sure to bookmark it if you're interested! (We have some awesome published authors who will be doing the critique...check out our page for more info).

Check out the front page over at Night Owl Reviews, which is featuring the covers from selected books from The Wild Rose Press , among which is my very own Lost in Paradise. I still love that cover (although the story I always tell is that when I showed it to my husband, he said, "Hey! Nice car!" and he was serious about that. Take a look and tell me what YOU see first!

And finally, an update on my own writing: I'm working on another revision of  my novella Sex on the Beach, working through and applying some of the strategies I picked up at the Michael Hague Workshop. Hoping to finish by this weekend, then send it off to beta readers.

Happy Writing!

Monday Mentionables: Tweeting About the Brenda Novak Auction!

OK, it's official: I'm on Twitter. Sigh. Yes, I'm trying it out for a few months to see (1) if I can get the hang of it; (2) if I actually enjoy it as another social media; and (3) if I can grow a following that will ultimately help promote my books. So....if you'd like to follow me there, my User Name is AllieBoniface1 (and I need to figure out how to add a button here on my blog that makes it one-click easy to find me).

ALSO, the Brenda Novak Online Auction starts tomorrow and runs all month long, and among many other goodies you can bid on are 3 I will shamelessly promote in the weeks to come:

~Hudson Valley RWA Vera Bradley Tote Filled with Books and Other Goodies
~Hudson Valley RWA 25-page Critique by 3 Published Members AND Entry to the Annual Hook, Line, & Sinker Contest
~Summer Fun Tote from Yours Truly Filled with Summer Goodies & a Signed Copy of Summer's Song

Head on over, register, and start browsing! All the proceeds go to help fund juvenile diabetes research. Win something and do good all at the same time :)

Writers' Wednesday: To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

OK, fellow writers (and readers!) out there: a question for you: do you Tweet? That is, if you're an author, do you use Twitter as a method of social media communication/sales and promotion ~ and if you're a reader, do you follow favorite authors?

I'm taking a month-long course over at Savvy Authors on Social Media for Writers, mostly to figure out how to use what I do have in place more effectively - but also to find out if I should be using Twitter and if so, how the heck to go about doing it.

So I'm interested...if you are an active Twitter member, what do you like about it? What do you most use it for? How often do you Tweet, and is there anything that really turns you off about how other people use it?

I'd love to know!

Monday Mentionables: A Rundown of Michael Hague's Presentation

"You can be safe and unfulfilled, or you can live your destiny but be scared shitless."

Had a great time at the Michael Hague Special Event this past Saturday! First off, a big thanks to the New Jersey RWA for sponsoring him. And now, the highlights:

1. One of the most valuable pieces of information for me was his Six Stage Plot Structure. Basically he outlined the Six Major Stages that every (successful) plot goes through, and the point in the story where each must occur (what percentage of the total pages). I'm not a huge fan of formulas, but I think this will help me to check and see if the major conflicts/meetings/breakups/etc in my story are happening in the "right"places.

2. Another crucial piece of info I found helpful: your protagonist must have a goal that's VISIBLE - which means every audience member or reader will envision the same idea. For example, a goal of seeking revenge after being fired from a company is not visible (what does "revenge" look like?). But a goal of killing the top 5 executives of a company after being fired is a visible goal - everyone will know, basically, what that involves.

3. He did a nice job defining Inner Journey for creating characters and talked about moving your characters from living their Identity (the emotional armor a character wears, based on past wounds and fears) to their Essence (a person's "truth" once you strip away the armor). The quote at the top of today's post basically refers to that idea :)

4. He used a lot of movie/TV clips for illustration, and since he's a screenwriter and has worked with many major actors/actresses/directors, he had a wealth of knowledge upon which to draw. That was a great addition to the day.

5. He's funny! During one of our exercises, he said, "Now, I wouldn't recommend you apply this to a project that's 5 drafts in and due to your editor in 2 weeks. I really don't want to f**k you up that way. Apply it to something you're still just in the early stages of."


The only thing I wasn't crazy about was his tendency to answer specific people's questions very specifically - which sounds like a good thing at first, and is if you're that person. But for the other 99 people in the room, to sit there for 20 minutes while he dissects one person's character arc was a little frustrating at times.

Other than that, it was a great day, and I definitely gained valuable information which I plan on using as I go back through Sex on the Beach for revisions...beginning this week!

Friday Fun Facts!

Fun Fact #1: I finished the first draft of my novella Sex on the Beach. Yay! It's 30K words, and the last chapter is pretty much a trainwreck, but at least's it's DONE. And I'm hoping that Fun Fact #2 will help me with revising it:

Fun Fact #2: I'm headed to the NJRWA's Special Event this weekend, a day-long conference with Hollywood script and story consultant Michael Hauge. Among the topics he'll be discussing:

The primary goal of all stories
The power of desire, need, longing and destiny
The essential conflict all characters must face
How to turn plot structure from a complicated concept into a simple, powerful tool you can easily apply to every story
The single key to creating character arc and theme
How to create unique, believable and fulfilling love stories
How to adapt a novel into film
The single biggest mistake writers make in pitching their work
The eight steps to a powerful pitch

Can't wait! I'll share the recap next week :)

Writers' Wednesday: A Note On Edits

I've been working on what Lyrical Press calls "pre-edits" the last week or so. These are a collection of things the editors there want authors to go through before getting to the content or the copy edits. They have a pretty comprehensive checklist of things for us to look through, and while some I don't (thanks goodness) do, many of them did apply to me. The biggies:

Repeated filler words - my big ones turned out to be just, very, pretty, already, okay, and again. If you do a "Find" function in your word processing program, it will pull up each time the specified word is used. You might be amazed at how many times you do use those kinds of words - and everyone has their favorites. For the most part, they can be deleted or replaced. Keeping only a few will add to their particular impact, when they do show up.

Repeated actions - interestingly enough, I found this one when I didn't limit the Find function to "again" - which meant that "against" also showed up. And guess how many times I had my characters "leaning against" something?? It's one of those things that's tough to see objectively as the author of a work. So needless to say, I found other actions for my characters to do.

Overuse of italics (for internal thought) and em dashes - I do use both of these A LOT. And while I cut out quite a few instances of them, I kept some too. I'll be interested to see what my editor says regarding these. I mean, my characters think to themselves! They're introspective!

The nice thing about going through this process on a contracted work is that when I switch gears and work on my other projects, I'm more tuned into NOT committing these offenses as often. I hope.


One Other Note On Edits:
It's fascinating to me that one of my narrators for my audio books coming out this summer had to be replaced because she came down with a bad cold and it put the production of the book behind schedule. You never think about that kind of illness affecting book production!

One of my narrators (a healthy one) also emailed to clarify the pronunciation of a name in one of my books - which tickles me as well, because as authors we naturally know how those names are pronounced. But out loud? By someone else? I love hearing my books read aloud, by the way - such a cool experience.

Can't wait 'til they release this summer!!!

P.S. - Congrats to Mae Clair, the winner of my Facebook Fan Page April Showers contest!!! Thanks to all who participated :)

Monday Mentionables: Fun in Salt Lake City

OK, today's post has nothing to do with writing, but it's a fun recap of our spring break travels last week. We traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah (home of Brigham Young & the Church of the Latter Day Saints) - so my husband could take place in a one-day race car driving school. We also did a little sight-seeing and met up with my sister for a girls' spa day, so everyone had a good time! Some pictures from the trip:

The view from above Salt Lake City - it really is a beautiful place!
Inside the museum at Miller Motorsports Park, which hosted the school - about $50 million worth of Ford racecars inside!!
Todd driving a BOSS 302 Mustang that is almost identical to the one he owns (same color, but not the same rollcage or 4-point seatbelt harness inside lol)

View of the racetrack - set in the middle of the snow-covered mountains. So beautiful!

Preparing for the day in his racing suit...
The fountain and gardens inside Temple Square, where the Church is located. It was gorgeous - we also had perfect weather for the 4 days we were there!

At the Great Salt Lake - it's massive and yes, smells an awful lot like the ocean :)