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The Character Who Stole the Show
by Bev Oz©
I continually learn the craft of writing as I plow my way through my first novel. Unfortunately, one particularly noteworthy lesson was learned two-thirds into my book. My Eureka! moment happened at a critique session when one of my favorite critiquers pointed out something I'd suspected, but never really acknowledged. My story lost its focus on the main characters. I was spending so much time developing one of my new, secondary characters I was pulling away from my story line. Even worse, my secondary character had more CHARACTER than my leads. How did this happen? Upon much reflection, I discovered the truth. I saw this person - literally. My secondary character, Officer Clyde Stewart, was based on a salesperson I met who was hawking electronic equipment. Instead of paying attention to his presentation, I was busy writing down his physical characteristics and his mannerisms. He was such an interesting character, I couldn't resist him. As luck would have it, I was in need of a new character in my story. I transferred what I noted about the salesman onto Officer Clyde, then added other traits. After writing a bit, I started to enjoy this character. He was fun. So much fun, I wrote more about him than my leads. The next few paragraphs are actual pieces out of my novel. Notice how much description is put into Clyde Stewart. Also notice how little you learn about my story, my main characters, or my plot in these paragraphs. A chubby hand patted Brian's shoulder. He turned to see Clyde 'Long Tie' Stewart standing behind him. As usual, Clyde sported a very long tie to span the considerable distance from the collar of his shirt to the top of his belt. The long tie he wore this evening was an expensive silk with a striking design of red and black geometric shapes. The knot of the tie could barely be seen under his many chins, as Clyde simply had no neck. Instead, the flesh of his chin and cheeks had swelled and drooped to meet the collar of his buttoned-down shirt. Using both hands, Clyde leaned over and pulled up his pants in the front, then on the sides. He stood with his feet spread apart as though the stance made room for his thunderous thighs, or at least kept his center of gravity low. Not only did I describe this character and his mannerisms, I even gave the man a nickname and explained how he got the name. But that wasn't the end to 'Long Tie's' description. I went further. "Brian, lad. So glad to see you this evenin'." He stuck out a pudgy hand glistening with moisture. Each time the robust man moved, his tie slid from one side of his protruding stomach to the other. The long piece of silk moved back and forth over his belly like a wiper swishing over a very round windshield. Clyde's personality could not denied. As I wrote about him, I found I wanted to write more. I decided to make him a cocky, lecherous creep who didn't mind offending anyone he met. "If you do, give me the pleasure of your company." Clyde placed one of his cards in Darci's hand then slid his sausage fingers over her palm. His pudgy cheeks were pushed so high from his stupid grin, his bright eyes were barely visible. "I hate to be too much of a braggart, but I'm a powerful good cook, and I dearly enjoy guests." Brian's crossed arms stiffened, and his fingers pressed deep into his biceps. The son of a bitch was making a move on Darci right before his eyes. Had Clyde not been a police officer, an officer working on his parents' case no less, Brian's fist would have been planted right in the middle of Long Tie's fat face. The point to my lesson is this, try to develop your main characters to the point you can actually see them. You have to know everything about them, their likes and dislikes, their fears and their strengths, their physical characteristics and their mannerisms, then put those characteristics and more all over your story. Doing so will help make CHARACTERS out of your characters, and likely characters your readers won't soon forget. (reprinted with permission from www.rosescoloredglasses.com) |
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Beginning Writers: Primary and Secondary Characters
(reprinted from The Wild Rose Press Greenhouse of Articles)
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Beginning Writers: Adverbs
| Beginning Writers: Adverbs |
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Adverbs
Adverbs are often referred to as the
dreaded LY words. By definition, the adverb is the part of speech that
modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. You might be surprised how
many you use. It’s easy to dump them into your narrative, and so easy to
rely on them to do your work for you. Try the Find feature of your
word processor. Then type in LY and hit Find.
Try rewriting sentences that contains
LY words. Instead, use an action verb or physical movement to create an
image for the reader. I’m not suggesting you
Examples:
With a lowered head and eyes fixed in
front, she moved silently, swiftly and carefully, like a cat stalking its
prey. The dirt work edits way stubbornly into her fingernails. She
coughed softly and carefully continued on her way. Simply by removing the
six adverbs (silently, swiftly,carefully, stubbornly, softly,
carefully), the passage loses nothing of the meaning but the clutter:
With a lowered head and eyes fixed in front, she moved like a cat
stalking its prey. The dirt worked its way into her fingernails. She gave
a muffled cough and continued on her way.
• Her eyes closed tightly. This could read as: She squeezed her eyes shut.
• The teacher looked menacingly at the disruptive student.Could say: The teacher glared at the hooligan.
• She went quickly, try: She hurried, or, She sprinted.
• She spoke softly, try simply: She whispered.
• Mary prodded gingerly at the remains
of what had once been a chicken leg, wishing she had the nerve to feign a
headache, anything to avoid actually eating the charred meat. Try: Mary
poked the burnt remains with her fork. It used to be a chicken leg. No
way anyone could tell now. Where was the inevitable headache that reared up during one of these get-togethers? Did she dare fake one? Anything so she wouldn’t have to eat the charred meat.
General rule of thumb. Though adverbs
are a useful and necessary form of speech and there are times when no
other word or combination of words will suffice adverbs should be used only when necessary.
Suggested reading:
On Writing Well, 5th Edition - William Zinsser
Self Editing For Fiction Writers - Renni Browne and DaveKing
By Cindy Davis
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Monday, April 8, 2013
One Thing Leads To Another by Kinan Werdski
One Thing Leads To Another
I
bought a new desk.
The old one was so cramped,
cluttered and dusty that I hated to look at it. I finally bit the bullet and
ordered a new desk online. It arrived after a week or so with some rather
significant deficiencies--structural damage and quite a lot of cosmetic scars.
So I demanded a replacement. That one also arrived with deficiencies, but they
weren’t so bad. In fact, I spent an afternoon swapping parts back and forth and
ended up with a useable product. Hallelujah!
Bear
with me here. This does relate to writing.
Next
step was to integrate it into the space available. First I had to remove
irrelevant things from the office and stick them where they really belonged. That involved
making room amid my craft stuff, but that’s another story. Next, I cleared out
a file cabinet--did I really need all the critiques of a manuscript for a book
published eight years ago? I thought not--and rolled it aside. I cleaned the
rug, dusted things that hadn’t been dusted in years, undid cables, set up the
desk, plugged all the cables back in.
Honest, I’ll get to the writing.
I got rid of everything superfluous
and rearranged what was left to better advantage. I added better lighting,
washed the windows and touched up the paint. I cleaned, polished, sorted and
tidied.
The new desk was just a starting
point. My file cabinet has room for the stuff that used to pile up on the
floor. The entire room now breathes and shines. It’s no longer a
slap-dash conglomeration of bits and pieces; it has become a fluid, welcoming
place. Something I’m proud to share.
Okay, here’s the writing bit.
You’ve worked on a manuscript for so long you hate to look at it. It’s
cluttered, dusty and dull. You get cranky just thinking about it, yet you can’t
leave it alone. So buy a new desk—er, try something drastic. Rewrite from
another POV, toss in a nasty new character, throw stones at your heroine. Sure,
the first draft will be deficient, and probably the second one, too. Rewrite,
combine, celebrate. Repeat as necessary.
Now, follow through. A new chapter
all by itself won’t do a thing for you. Integrate it into the space available.
Some pages you love might have to go, but they can be part of another story.
You’ll end up throwing some things out, moving others, letting in light. Clean,
polish, sort and tidy.
It’s hard work, but creativity is
joyful hard work. In the end your work will flow and shine. It will welcome
readers. And you’ll be proud to share it.
Kinan Werdski, editor
The Wild Rose
Press
Monday, April 1, 2013
The Worry Factor
The Worry
Factor
OR
Hooks—Does Your
Story Have Them?
By Leanne
Morgena
No matter in
what sub-genre you write, your story must contain hooks. I’m using this word to
mean plot twists that speed the pace and hook the reader’s interest. Why, you
ask. Isn’t a compelling story with protagonists who are at odds compelling
enough? My answer is maybe.
Your goal as an author is to construct your scenes so that the ending of each one propels the reader to keep reading. Don’t end a scene or chapter with your hero or heroine in a state of peace (unless the story has ended or your intention is for the reader to stop reading).
Too many
times, I’ve read submissions where at the end of the chapter the heroine crawls
into bed and turns out the light. Yawn. Nothing in that scene ending compels me
to keeping reading. What if the heroine crawls into bed, reaches for the novel
at her bedside, anticipating her nightly two chapters of me-time, and the
lights go out? Then I have to turn the page to find out why. Did a fuse blow? Did
she forget to pay her bill? Is electricity out in the entire neighborhood? Has
someone cut the power to the house? Suspense has been added to the story. The
author has hooked me into reading the next page.
An event
like the above may not fit the tone of your story but don’t ignore my advice.
If readers aren’t worried about your characters, they won’t care. If they don’t
care, they won’t continue reading and you’ve lost a potential buyer for your
next story.
Look at your
current manuscript for the scene and chapter endings. Have you ended each with
the character in a state of uncertainty? If so, great. If not, you have a bit
of tweaking that needs doing.
Remember,
when in doubt, always include a worry factor.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Active writing vs passive writing
When I new submission comes to my
desk, I look for various elements in the story as I read. One of the more
important techniques is active writing.
So what’s the difference between
active writing and passive writing? Passive writing does not necessarily mean
using passive verbs, though overuse of passive verbs contributes to passive
writing. Active writing moves forward with strong, lively, energetic verbs and
eschews common, weak verbs.
For more discussion and examples
of strong verbs and active writing, check out the following blog posts.
Weak Verbs
http://edittorrent.blogspot.ca/2008/06/redlines-twelve-had-and-was.html
Weak Verbs
http://edittorrent.blogspot.ca/2008/04/bloggus-interruptus.html
Smothered Verbs—turn nouns into
verbs
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-ways-to-set-smothered-verbs-free/
Copulative Verbs—Not So Sexy
http://www.geist.com/articles/verbs-avoid-quiet-and-copulative
Expletive Pronouns it and there
Eilidh MacKenzie
Black Rose Editor
Monday, March 18, 2013
Twitter, Facebook, a Website, Oh My
How to get started.
You’ve sold a book and have been told your best tool for
selling digital books is a digital presence. But where to start.
Every author should have somewhere to call home on the
internet. Do you build a website? Start a blog? Or should you tap into social
media?
Or can you do all three?
Some key points to consider. Regardless of what you choose
to do, think of your efforts from the reader’s point of view. For instance, if
I wrote under the name Lisa Dawn, how will a reader find me on the internet if
my website is www.morningwriter.com?
I see this problem most on Twitter. If your author name is
not available, be sure to include your name on your Twitter header. In the
marketing department at The Wild Rose Press we make continued efforts to reach
readers through social media. However, many times when looking for an author to
link a tweet or Facebook post, the author isn’t found. Only to discover later,
the Twitter handle was nothing I could have ever guessed was the author of the
book being tweeted. As an author, you want readers to easily locate you on both
Twitter and Facebook.
If reading this post you realize you are hard to find on
Twitter or Facebook, be sure to make is easy to see you are the author being
searched for. Use your book cover as your avatar or wallpaper of your FB or
Twitter page.
There are many ways to generate a presence on the internet. Not
ready for the expense of a website? Or not sure how to get a website built. Try
blogger (or another blog service). It’s easy to create pages on a blog for your
books. The tools and options are limitless…and it’s free. It has public access
without having to be a member of blogger and it’s interactive.
Facebook and Twitter are easy to maintain a high level of
activity. Retweeting, sharing posts, finding and accepting friends and
followers. Network with other authors and build your reader base.
Regardless of where you decide to make your internet home,
be sure you’re easy to find for your readers. Always include your author name
and buy links to your books. Remember that an internet presence is to connect
with readers, network with other authors and to sell your books.
If you have questions, post them in a comment.
Lisa Dawn
Marketing Department
The Wild Rose Press
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
FREE on Amazon - New releases from The Wild Rose Press
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Rifle Approach to Story Writing
The
Rifle Approach to Story Writing
Kathy
Cottrell, Senior Editor,
Last
Rose of Summer, the Wild Rose Press
No
matter the length of your story, as you create it, the characters and setting,
keep the RIFLE approach in mind and you'll never go wrong.
Think
about what's on your keeper shelf/shelves. This is why we keep them and go back
to them, like old friends, or that old, comfortable pair of slippers, and that
worn, softest blankie.
R—always
make it realistic. If the reader can't make sense of things, they won't
finish the book.
I—make
it/them intriguing. Intrigue is what keeps those pages turning.
F—Make
it fun. If it's not fun to read [or write] why keep doing it?
L—is
it logical? It might be realistic but is the setting or are the
character[s]’ actions logical? Do they
make sense?
Monday, February 11, 2013
Long Live PDAs!
I was having the
hardest time writing a blog for today.
Seriously, it is three days before Valentine's Day, what's not to talk
about in this most romantic month of the year?
Stacy
And that is where I
got stuck.
You see, I feel bad
for all those men scrambling around for the perfect gift to show the extent of
their affections....and heaven forbid
if it isn't enough. That’s a lot of
pressure building up for a few weeks, pressure to live up to the dreams and fantasies in their
significant others' mind (of which said significant other probably hasn’t even shared to begin with.)
I think romance should
be a year-round affair (pun intended.)
Why not? If you feel so good
setting up a special date or buying the one you love a box of chocolates, why
do it only one day a year? Why not once
a month? Once a week?
LONG LIVE PDA!!
Genuine Public
Displays of Affection shouldn't be frowned upon--and I'm not talking exhibitionists
and extremists etc LOL--I'm talking holding hands, a kiss good night, mooning
stares over the dinner tabletop, grabbing an inexpensive bouquet of spring
flowers along with the milk and bread from your local grocers.
Romance is what you
make it. I admit, I get the groans from
my sister and other people because my husband and I still hold hands over a
restaurant table. We still say, “I love
you,” and send smiling little signals across a crowded room. I can probably
count on two hands how many times in our entire relationship he has used my
proper name because he still uses endearments when he addresses me. We are
still young and in love even after almost fifteen years of marriage and two
children. Who says you have to stop
showing it? Or only show it one day of
the year.
LONG LIVE PDA!!
Romance isn’t just
what I do for work….romance is who I am.
It’s how I choose to live and how I choose to express my appreciation
and love of those closest to me.
Romance isn’t just in
books people, it lives in each and every one of us. Dig deep, find where you put it and bring it
out again, not just this week, but all the time.
Stacy
Friday, February 8, 2013
Things to Consider When Spending Promotional Dollars
Convention season is here and many authors are deciding the
best use of their promotional dollars. Bookmarks, club cards, trinkets, pens,
and candy. The choices are endless, but what is going to give you the most
exposure for the money.
This truly is a personal choice, but I can share what I’ve
seen. Bookmarks and paper products fill the hotel garbage cans when the
convention is over. Having a bookmark to slip into a book at a signing will
have more use, but then the sale has already happened, the reader has your
book, so that expense of the bookmark didn’t really garner you a new reader.
Candy is loved at conventions. A bowl of chocolates is
quickly gobbled up, but will the hungry person who plopped your chocolate into
their mouth take the time to read the name of the author who gave them the
chocolate? Probably not. However, I think a bowl of chocolates on the table at
a signing or at Club RT for instance, is a great way to entice someone to stop
and chat for a minute.
But when it comes to bookmarks, trinkets, such as letter
openers, little mirrors, sewing kits and the numerous other items I’ve seen at
conventions, it really comes down to price.
Because we all know that you get the best deal when buying
promotional items, from paper products, to goodies, when you buy in bulk, the more
you purchase, the better the price per item.
So my advice, regardless of what you’re buying, is to brand
you as an author, and not your book cover. How long will it take you to go
through 1000 bookmarks? 500 letter openers? You’ll have supply long after your
book title is old. Think about your author tag line. Take these Wild Rose Press
authors
Sarah Grimm where dangerously sexy &
happily-ever-after collide
Kathryn Knight Passionate Romance with a Paranormal Twist
Victoria M. Noxon Sensual
Love with a Twist of Darkness
Maxine Mansfield Spinner of Erotic Tales of Romantic Fantasy
If an author writes erotic romance, a steamy image with
their website, their author name, and their author tag line will go farther in
branding them. A book cover may be outdated in 6 months if an author has a continuous
flow of new books hitting the bookshelves.
An author who writes historical western romance could use a
western background, a western font for the writing on their promotional items
and instantly give a reader insight into the genre of books they write.
Regardless of what items you choose to use, conventions and
author swag are fun ways of letting the public get to know you the author. So
make yourself stand out. Be clear on branding. If you write sweet stories, don’t
use a naked couple in an embrace to show off your stories. Your website is
vital. Be sure to include it on all your promotional swag. And then on your
website, keep all of your buy links to retailers up to date and easy to find.
If you have questions, or you know of a great etailer for
promotional items, let us know with a comment.
Lisa Dawn
Monday, January 28, 2013
Celebrating a New Year, New Changes with the Historical Team
Before January comes to its frigid conclusion
(snow or ice, anyone??? I’ve got lots!) let me wish all our TWRP authors, readers and
staff a very happy new year!
One of the things I’m most excited about as we
begin another fantastic year in the garden is that we can now consider stories
that don’t necessarily fit the typical romance mold. Over the years in historical we’ve seen many
family sagas, or stories that were more women’s fiction than romance, and with
heavy hearts we’ve had to inform those authors that we simply could not accept
their submission because it wasn’t technically a romance.
For many of us, myself included, change can be
a little unsettling. But rest assured, you
devoted readers and writers of historical, this is a good thing! (Yep, I’m
channeling my inner Martha Stewart today!)
Not only have many of our established authors already approached us with
story ideas and submissions, but we’ve been absolutely inundated with queries
from new authors, too.
So with all this talk of change, are you
wondering what your favorite historical editor is hoping to find in her submission inbox
this year? Well we still love romance,
of course, but let’s ask the editing team that very question.
Allison Byers, what would you most like to see from our authors—established
and new—in 2013?
I love historical
fiction, especially those set before 1900. I love a story in which the author
has taken pieces from the past and woven them into a story that helps the
reader see the past through a character’s hardships and happiness. The novel
should be plot-driven and richly constructed. When writing, the author should
make sure the plot excites, inflames, and inspires the reader.
But let me caution
that the story should pay close attention to historical details. There is a new
historical fiction entitled alternative historical fiction which is
written with a “What if? premise. For example, what if the South had won the
war? I’m not interested in this type of historical fiction.
Nan Swanson is sort of our Queen of Vintage Rose. She loves this line and handles the majority of
the submissions that come in for Vintage.
Nan, what are you hoping to see for Vintage Rose this year?
The Vintage Rose line is looking for stories
about the 1900s, set anywhere in the world. So much happened during the
twentieth century, and so much of it changed the life of every ordinary person,
or, as they said back then, “the man on the street” (pre-women’s lib). What
better way to learn history than by immersing yourself in someone else’s story
as they experience wars, new inventions, social and economic changes, climate
extremes, and the widening of their window on the world? Such broad subjects
can have intimate stories behind the scenes… The shipyard worker who helped
build the Titanic. The woman who cleaned at an inventor’s house, or the
gardener or cook there. The family who endured the Dust Bowl and did not pick up and go to California. The
half-American orphan in Korea in the 1950s. The family who left everything to
come to America but were late getting to the dock so took the next boat and
helped rescue survivors from the torpedoed ship they had meant to be on.
Anywhere, doing anything, they each have a story that can be told, Edwardians
to doughboys to flappers to G.I.s to
rock’n’rollers to women’s libbers to hippies to all the labels of the last few
decades before 2000. And Vintage Rose wants those stories!
Susan Yates, how about you?
In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, a book review website
recently featured a Romance Novel Reader Workout. The plan encouraged readers
to read a romance novel (always a good thing!) and do exercises when certain
things happened in the novel. For instance, when “A tingle or spark goes up the
arm of one or both characters if they touch” do ten jumping jacks, or, when “A
character looks in the mirror and describes herself” do ten dumbbell curls. The
list is not meant to be taken seriously, of course, but it’s a good
illustration of how easy it is for authors—and editors too!—to fall into
romance-novel clichés. That’s why as a reader and an editor, I’m always looking
to be surprised. I love a romance that takes me in a new direction, or that
transcends the genre in some way. Whether it’s an under-represented era or a
traditional era presented in a new way, I want a story that immerses me in
history and that makes me trust the author knows it cold. I love characters
that have dimension and feeling, and a plot that throws them into an impossible
situation and makes me care about how they resolve it. I love dialog that goes
beyond the superficial, that perfectly illuminates the characters. And most of
all, I want stories with depth and emotion that sweep me along with them. And
of course, I want stories that avoid anything that might turn a reader on the
Romance Novel Workout plan into a body-builder!
Cindy Davis, what kind of stories are you hoping to see?
I would love to see quirky characters, unique
new settings, unusual careers. Stretch your imagination. Stay away from the
familiar. Research if you have to but go beyond what you read. Go beyond your
emotions. Make the story memorable.
And as for me, Nicole D'Arienzo...
Whether it’s
romance or not, I want conflict, conflict and more conflict. Now mind you I don’t mean misunderstanding—I don’t want to see
lame or watery conflicts that can easily be resolved with a little
explanation. Nope. I want angst and emotion. I want those characters to feel that there’s
simply no way to make this work.
Many authors worry if their conflict is too
deep or too complicated, they won’t be able to resolve it, but you know
what? You don’t have to. It’s okay for your characters to decide that
being apart is far more painful than their differences and they can agree to
disagree. (Now obviously I don’t mean that one of them is married and the other
chooses to accept it, or that one is a serial killer and the other chalks it up to a minor character flaw.)
Neither should you short change your readers (or
editor!) by resolving things too easily simply because you’re nearing maximum
word count. Having your heroine suddenly shrug her shoulders on the last page and
say “you were right, I was wrong” does not
an emotionally satisfying ending make.
Take your characters on an emotional journey. Make me feel their inner struggle, torture
them just a little …and you have the kind of story I’d love to find in my
inbox!
Happy Writing!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Keeping Those Writing Resolutions: Action = Motivation
by Editor, DJ Hendrickson
Many of us begin a new year full of gumption and big plans
for our writing careers. But like a lot of New Year’s Resolutions, we may find
ourselves falling behind our schedules and not accomplishing much of anything.
With everything going on in our busy lives, it’s no wonder that our gumption
can be siphoned away by long to-do lists. Add in the human tendency to believe
that we act once we’re motivated, and it’s no wonder most of us never get
around to making those resolutions a reality.
Only the idea that we act when we’re motivated isn’t
necessarily true, especially when it comes to reaching goals or changing our
behavior. If we wait for motivation to strike, we may be waiting a really long
time and never reach those goals we set for ourselves.
The reality is, our motivation grows as we take action. Even
taking the smallest step signals to our brains that we’re making progress. And
even the tiniest little bit of progress makes us feel good, which increases our
motivation to take more action to make more progress to feel even better.
So what sorts of small actions can you take to increase your
motivation? Anything will get the ball rolling, but doing something that
actually gets writing work done will be most effective. We may think that we
need that new computer software or new paint on the walls in order to feel that
elusive inspiration that will motivate us, but we don’t. What we need is to
actually get something done.
It doesn’t have to be something big, such as writing ten
thousand words a day. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be getting words on the page
at all. There are a million little decisions to make in order for a story to
come to life. Characters must be named, places must be researched, timelines
must be plotted. Then there’s the promotion, platform building, networking and
business paperwork. When these sorts of tasks pile up, it can build a huge,
seemingly insurmountable pile that drains motivation even more. But with five
minutes, you can take action on these types of tasks and increase your
motivation. It will also free up more of your writing time to get those words
on the page. Another benefit of doing these things in tiny bursts is that
you’re less likely to get sucked into clicking lots of interesting links and
falling into the internet abyss.
Here are some ideas:
Find a way to make notes so you’re only writing down enough
to jog your memory later. It may take a bit to figure out a system that works
for you, but once you do, it will save you a lot of time and lost ideas. I
mastered this while taking notes in more literature classes than I care to
remember, so I can now write a five hundred word description from ten words I
scribbled down at a stop light. This way, when that great transition or line of
dialogue pops into your head, you don’t lose it.
Have a smart phone? Use it to scroll through
baby name sites while you’re waiting in lines, for appointments, or to pick the
kids up from school. This is also a good time to check in to social media
without it turning into an hours-long time suck. If you have a specific piece
of information you need to look up, such as when the rainy season is in the
northeast, you can probably do it in these tiny pockets
Saturday, January 5, 2013
New Blooms in the Garden - Open for Submissions
I am very excited to announce that there are going to be some exciting changes for The Wild Rose Press this year.
But first - Happy New Year! I sincerely hope each and every one of you have a prosperous, healthy and happy 2013. The staff at The Wild Rose Press is eager to team with you as we enter our 7th year in business and we are thankful each day that we get to be here with all of you in this wonderful garden of roses!
Okay so the big news. (hear drum roll in the background....). The Wild Rose Press is going to accept queries this year from a few genres that aren't romance!
I know I know. You are stunned. So are we. But after all these years we feel we are ready to stretch our limbs out a bit. Beginning immediately, we will accept submissions for the following genres:
erotica (Scarlet Rose of course)
Historical Fiction
Mystery/Suspense - Crimson Rose Line
Women's Fiction - Falling into whatever line it fits depending on heat level and content
We will also explore the possibility of other genres on a case by case basis but we are not opening up to others completely at this time.
Of course our main business model is still romance and that is where the biggest focus will be but it is time to try our hand in some other areas as well.
We are working on the updating the submission guidelines on the website but the process remains the same. Unless you are already an author with us, you submit a query and a synopsis to queryus@thewildrosepress.com.
I hope you are all as excited about this new information as we are. Please feel free to share this news with your writing groups, etc. and to repost as you see fit.
Rhonda
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Amazing Romances Free On Kindle For A Limited Time!
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