Not Going to Nationals?

If you're like me and not able to make it to Nationals this year (for those of you who don't know what Nationals is, it's the Romance Writers of America's Yearly National Conference) you're probably feeling pretty down about it. I know I am. :(

One thing I've done for years that I've found very helpful is to head over to the RWA.org site and check out the workshops section of the conference. In an amazing show of support and sharing with authors who can't attend, many workshop presenters have their workshop handouts available for download online.

Now, some of these handouts don't make much sense without hearing the session that goes with them (which you can order the recording of after the conference) but most of them are actually extremely helpful!

You can get some of the benefit of the conference workshops without actually being there.

So, head over to this page and see what workshops you are interested in that offer their handouts already. I'll think you'l find at least a few that will give you some new insight into your writing or writing career. (Make sure to check out that updated SHOW ME THE MONEY handout for a real look at authors make on books at some publishing houses)

Are you one of the lucky few heading to Nationals? If so, what workshops are you most excited about? Or if workshops aren't your thing, what are you most looking forward to. If you aren't going then are you doing anything special to pump up your writing during that time?

Make sure to take advantage of writing during the time everyone else is at conference . You'll feel better about not being there and it may even inspire you to push yourself.

Now Go Write The Damn Book!

Sabrina Shields

Educate Yourself: Know Your Target Publishers & Editors

Yesterday's Word Count: 501

As an aspiring author, I've heard time and time again from industry professionals that newbies should not only just “write the damn book” but that I should also keep up with what's happening in the industry and research and know as much as possible about the publishing house I'm targeting.

Now, I know for a fact from all the blogs, forums and tweets that there are TONS of writers out there writing away with no thought whatsoever as to which publisher they are targeting. It's almost like it's an afterthought and that they'll just sent out masses of queries without regard to if they are even targeting the right house for their work.

There are so many things wrong with this haphazard Russian roulette way of kicking off your writing career.

Although I think a writer should be true to their story, shouldn't they have at least a passing idea of if their idea has an audience and if so, what publisher is the best one to present it to that audience.

Most people wouldn't accept a job with a company without trying to get a feel for what the job entailed, who your boss would be, what the expectations are and finally, do you meet the qualifications of the job?

I know there are so many out there saying, “But you must write the book of your heart without caring about audience and who you are pitching.” This isn't the post to get into that whole book of your heart convo, but I wanted to point out that you CAN do both. There's no reason why knowing you want to sell to Harlequin Blaze and that they want stories at 55k words has anything to do with if the story you write is an emotional one for you.

Please authors, educate yourself! Treat this like the business it should be to you if you want to make a go at this being a full time career for you.

Follow any and all romance editors on Twitter, Facebook and blogs. You'll see them write about books they love, what they've acquired or are editing and you'll get an idea of what type of stories they are looking for. It's an easy way to get an idea of who might be your ideal target.

Oh and for goodness sake go to the websites of the publishers and look at their submission guidelines! I don't know of a single publisher that doesn't list them plainly online. I can't tell you how irritating it is to sit in on an editor chat and have question after question be about what the margins should be or if they take e-submissions. Do your homework!

Present your best face to an editor by knowing your business – the writing business!

Now get out there and learn all you can so you can make sure you have the best chance at not only finding the right editor and publisher, but also the one that will help you be the most successful.

OTF - (Off to Write)
Sabrina Shields
www.twitter.com/sabrinashields

No Words But Still Productive!

So no words written on the WIP this weekend. But I do have my reasons, although some might call them excuses, I'm giving myself a pass.

Saturday was my 32nd birthday and I had a fantastic lunch at one of my favorite resturants. Amazing food and with the hubby there to offer his generally witty conversation topics it was a great time.

After lunch, we headed over to my appointment to get LASIK eye surgery. Yep. On my birthday. I didn't intentially plan it this way, it just so happened it was the best day for me to do it. Happy Birthday To Me!

What this meant though was that my vision wouldn't allow me to work on the computer or read. In fact, today is the first day I can spend anytime online. So you would think it was a total waste of a weekend for writing right?

No way! I totally let my imagination take over and walk me through the rest of the story I have to write, and I even brainstormed a little on a story idea I have for a novella. Somehow, I even managed to write down some notes on each but we'll see how readable those are later this week!

Do you brainstorm when you can't actually sit and do your writing? Is what you come up with useful later or do you find that you really needed to have your computer with you to really get down the right notes?