Kate Hardy - One Thing I've Learnt

One thing I’ve Learnt…

…is to be resilient.

Being an author is just like any other job in that it has ups and downs. New contracts, awards shortlistings, glowing reviews, bestseller listings – they’re all wonderful to celebrate. But you also have to deal with changes in editor, changes in the direction of an imprint that don’t work for your voice, publishers closing and snarky reviews. And things can happen in your non-writing life that take up all your time and creative energy, affecting your work more than if you had a job in a different field.

Being resilient is what will keep you writing, meeting your deadlines and staying ready to take new opportunities.

How do you keep going through the tough times? That’s when your support group comes in. Usually fellow writers, who can understand because they’ve been there or seen it before. Friends who’ll sympathise, let you vent for just a little while, feed you chocolate, and then encourage you to overcome the obstacles and get on with it instead of letting you wallow in misery.

I’m immensely grateful for my writer friends. (You know who you are. And thank you.)

Kate Hardy

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Conference Musing - An Overview of The RNA Conference 2010

I’m back in Dubai with so many things bubbling in my head – in a good way. The conference this year was amazing – location, speakers, food. The only downside was the accommodation (university digs which it always is but this time the heat and non opening windows were the worst culprit) and none of us go on conference for the food or the accommodation...

This year I wanted to write up my thoughts first as an over view as so many of the sessions seemed to link together – well at least in my head and where I am in my writing journey.(will try and post more session specific notes - I promise)

The industry day was filled with challenging information from the small budget for marketing and PR to a publishers take on romance (it’s big but call it anything but romance) to the agent’s perspective of how important it is to maximize your sales world-wide and that luck is still a key ingredient.

On Saturday’s sessions I heard the same things albeit in a different way – your USP(unique selling point) for the ‘X Factor’ session, ‘fauxromance’ from the MIRA editors, Sarah Duncan in her talk on ‘Mind the Gap’ exhorted us to find pzazz on every page and every paragraph (in other words leave no stone unturned to keep your reader with you for every page to the end), and Kate Hardy encouraged us even if we are not planners to use some to be more effective – even if it’s just time management...

What tied everything together for me was the somewhat controversial talk by, in Katie Fforde’s words our ‘Koh-i-Noor’,  Joanna Trollope because for her too ‘romance’ is a problem. To get around it she gave us a history of the word romance and then moved onto to its origins in literature...where we come from as romantic novelists. (Note: she separated herself from us at the end by saying that we wrote about romantic relationships whereas she wrote about relationships – which made me smile because I was then left with the impression that she too had fallen foul of the pink fluffy jackets she complained about and not had not read many of the writers sitting in front of her)

No one over the weekend including the JT denied that romance sells, but the clear message was that everybody even those writing it are afraid of the implications of romance. It has been downgraded by society in general – possibly over loaded by images of superficial sides of romance. JT spoke of the cartoon covers put on books that degraded not only the contents but most importantly the reader. My brain immediately jumped to David Shelley’s comment about how books which as essential romantic novels are been rebranded as inspirational lifestyle books (I heart Paris for example) or vampires (The Twilight series). This then led me to the session with the Mira editors who were talking about their new young adult line and the need to bring these readers to romance but please let’s not call it romance... but cover it with paranormal or whatever works.

Then JT spoke of the snobbery and a fear of emotional display which in effect dismisses a whole genre that has something to say to us all - I wanted to stand up and cheer.  I have read romance all my life from Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer (yes it is an adventure story but I loved Becky’s part), Harlequin/Mills & Boon, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austin, Anya Seton....to my favourites of today. They have carried me through my worst days and continue to do so. My life would have been so much less without them. I would dreamed less and aspired to less without these romantic books.

She spoke of how ground breaking Brigid Jones Diary and Sex in The City had been and how in an overcrowded market the consistent cloning had brought romance down and lost the important message in the hearts of woman.

So JT’s talk and the industry have fired me up. I’m not yet facing deadlines, editorial demands, and pink fluffy covers so I have time. At this stage I can still write the book of my heart which is my unique selling point and that can’t be found anywhere else...in JT’s words roughly – offer something that can’t be found anywhere else...the quality of hope...engage with the complexities of the heart...write with your voice...think of your reader(which came from every speaker)...lift the imagination out of the habitual and reboot the soul to the possibility....your readers know that this is fantasy but need to believe in the possibility...

So the conference’s industry day and JT’s bracing talk gave me the courage to continue to write the books of my heart and not chase publication at any cost (ie the latest trend in publishing ie paranormal if that is not me) and through the craft sessions the conference gave me the tools to lift my writing to the level that will make my readers believe in the possibility of the world I have created. I simply could not have asked for more.

Romantic Novelists' Association Conference Day Three

Let's just say that day three began with a head that reminded me that I am not young any more. Breakfast was a fairly subdued affair and as I sat opposite Julie Cohen we were both grateful that we both knew each other well enough that words were not required.

The first session of the morning was a PR round up by chairwoman Catherine Jones. The RNA is all about raising the profile of Romantic Fiction in all its many forms. This includes the two main prizes - The Romantic Novel of Year (this year Freya North's Pillow Talk) and the Romance Prize for category romance (this year Kate Hardy's Breakfast at Giovani's). Liz Bailey who has been doing a sterling job with the PR asked us all to vote on who we thought was the sexist thing on two legs. Well in my hungover state there was only one name that came to mind - Richard Armitage - later I thought of a few more. We then had an update on the preparations for the RNA 50th Anniversary in 2010.

Then just what every writer needs on those feeling less than wonderful mornings - laughter in the form of Jane Wenham-Jones. I began to take notes but I was laughing too hard to keep going. So will apologize that I can not even sum up her talk but if you haven't picked up a copy of her book Wanna Be A Writer then do..........

The next session of the morning for me was on the RNA's New Writers Scheme led by Melanie Hilton aka Louise Allen. She reminded us that agents and editors give you two minutes as they 'speed buy' so make it easy for them with polished work. I realized this year will be my fourth year in the NWS but as Giselle Green whose debut novel Pandora's Box came out in June was in NWS for nine years so it's worth it to keep at it.

Next Up was agent Caroline Sheldonwho began with the not so good news about the publishing world:-

-publishers are focusing on best sellers
-shelf life is shorter than yogurt but longer than milk
-the full effects of the Net Book Agreement are now fully visible
- numbers of publishers is condensing (now 9 major houses here) so it is tougher to place books
-they want to publish fewer titles
-minimum sales are 4000/5000 hardback and 15,000 paperback
-250,000 is a big seller
-mid lid have been cut from 12 to 6

However they still say the are:

- looking for fresh, new, different voices
- new directions in romantic comedy, chick lit, mum lit, Gothic (think The Thirteenth Tale), weepy (think Bridges of Madison County), sagas, sweeping stories (think Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher), and quality historicals (think Philippa Gregory)

For submission her tips were:

-material needs to be tip top
-title must evoke what the book is about
-great first line
-research agents carefully - there are more of them now which is good for the writer

An agent should:
-be enthusiastic
-share your vision
-have drive, professionalism and flare
-be in it for the long term

The most important thing she can do for you is find you a powerful editor who will fight for your book.

So with a break for lunch and a nap I was ready for Julie Cohen's workshop on Pacing (which isn't just what you do in your Jimmy Choos while waiting for the of your dreams to ring).

Julie began with the fact that pacing works on two levels:
-the whole book
-sentence and paragraph

She said that as a writer we are a time lord (here we all glazed over thinking of David Tennant) as you manipulate time for your reader. You control the novel time, the reader's time, her experience of time (that she spends reading the book and how quickly or slowly this feels). This leads to an intimate relationship with your reader.

She then moved onto length of book and how this effects pacing. A shorter books is fast (obvious) and a bigger one has more time for subplots, introspection, world building, history and reader digestion. The two example she threw up on the screen were Green Eggs and Ham vs. War and Peace.

She suggested doing a calendar after the first draft to visually see how the story is moving through time. A periodic event can help pace book. The example she used was Carole Matthewsbook the Chocolate Lovers' Club. The four main characters meet on a regular basis.

Conflict:

Golden Rule Number One: reading time is subjective (real time has gone quickly yet they have spend a longer time with the character)

Golden Rule Number Two: a book with a lot of well handled conflict will seem to go more quickly no matter how many pages (here she noted Penny Vincenzi's books and Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl - big issues but reads so fast)

Function:

-a pacy book is efficient in it's story telling (no wasted time or repetitions)
-each scene should whenever possible have two or more purposes

Some General Functions:
-more the plot forward
-move the subplot forward
-character development
-create emotion
-create atmosphere
-create conflict
-impart information

Julie prints out the manuscript and then goes through it to make sure each scene serves more than one function and to be sure that she doesn't have scene that do the same thing in the same way.

Hooks:

-start each scene with a hook to grab your reader
-end each scene with a hook to keep your reader from putting the book down
-use the biggest hooks for chapter endings

Julie then had us analyse a short scene for The Other Boleyn Girl. In a small space P. Gregory had packed in conflict, dialogue, atmosphere and irony.

Variety:

Give your reader variety in:
-mood
-topic
-theme
-style

Julie sited Marian Keyes' This Charming Man as a good example.

Keeping a Secret:

Readers are nosey - keep your secrets back.. Ask yourself how long can I keep it back from the reader or the other characters. Delay as long as possible. Here she sited Giselle Green's Pandora's Box (not a spoiler as it is on the back cover - the daughter has a terminal disease and plans to kill herself but her mother doesn't know - as reader you keep turning the pages to find out what happens when the mother finds out).

Slowing Down and Speeding Up:

You need to slow down for:
-dramatic events
-important points
-emotional high points
-sudden happenings

Short scenes can speed up but can also slow down by distraction and the white space around it can make it feel like more time.

Speed Up or Skip
-coffee scenes
-description for the sake of it
-things that are necessary in real life but not in fiction (going to the loo, washing hands....)
-naturalistic but unneeded dialogue
-the bits at the beginning and ends of scenes that are not hooks

R.U.E

Resist the Urge to Explain

Getting Out the Chainsaw (and loving it)
-embrace it
-revise for pace
-do a chapter list with title and what happens or function after first draft to make sure the novel is balanced

Her final thoughts were that pacing is as important in Romance as in any other genre and it must be invisible to the reader. With that in mind she said to remember that:

Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did only backwards and in high heals.

I think that is enough of a post for today.......tomorrow I will fill you in on Kate Harrison's Botox for Writers. However check out the following blogs for more reports on the conference:
Kate Hardy
Imogen Howson
Ray-Anne's next installments

Romantic Novelists' Association Conference 2008

Wow. Me thinks I might still be brain dead from all the thinking, talking and dare I say drinking but what a fabulous conference again this year. It is just the boost I needed to set me back into my writing life and remind me that this is exactly where I belong. Upon arrival it was like being greeted by a massive group hug. So many friends to see and chat to but by the end of the weekend I still had missed people or only briefly said hello.

The opening session was a panel of authors who cover the broad spectrum of Romantic Fiction which went to show just what a broad church it is ( yes for those attending it is an intentional pun - all the plenary sessions were held in the chapel). So looking at the photo above you have Anna Jacobs who writes just about everything including Sagas and Contemporary Women's Fictions, Pam Brooks who writes for Harlequin Mills and Boon as Kate Hardy for both the medical line and Modern Heat, the moderator Anne Ashurst who writes as Sara Craven for HMB, Kate Harrisonwho writes Chick Lit, Nicola Cornick who writes Historical Fiction for HMB and HQN Books, and not in the photo was Kate Johnson who writes Paranormal as Cat Marsters.

It was a fantastic start to the conference to see how each of these authors felt about Romantic fiction and how passionate they are about what they write. There was a thread that carried through all their answers about romantic fiction- a journey. This is journey of growth to love and to greater self understanding.

As is appropriate shortly after the opening we adjourned to the bar and there I spotted these fabulous shoes on a HMB editor, Joanne Carr.

I will post more about the conference tomorrow - the natives are rising here and it's time to leave the writing world behind and be mum again.