Polish, Prepare & Pitch!

Please welcome Jordan K. Rose to the blog. Her first book, Perpetual Light, releases in March of 2012 from Crescent Moon Press.

As conference season is almost upon us, I think this post will be very interesting to you all.

Here's Jordan: Hi Rebecca. Thanks so much for having me on Shy Writers today.

I thought I’d talk a little bit about the dreaded task of pitching. I think most writers will agree they’d rather hide in their hotel rooms or take every seminar offered at any conference they attend rather than pitch.

I have found a few things to be quite helpful in this process. My first two tips are very basic.

1. Finish, scrub, and polish your manuscript. Have it ready to go at the pitch. Then, when you get the request, march back to your room and send it. Don’t delay. Get it done. You want the agent/editor to remember you.

2. Know your audience. By this I mean research the agent or editor to whom you’re pitching. Don’t pitch your hot paranormal romance to an editor who only accepts sports biographies. What are you, nuts? Don’t waste your time, his time, or your precious opportunity to network with the right editor, the one who wants that romance.

This next one is probably the most difficult tip I have because it’s all about you and your mindset. But it’s really, really important.

3. Take control of the pitch. It’s your pitch, your story, your eight minutes of uninterrupted time with a publishing industry professional who wants to hear with you.

Did you get that last part--“wants to hear from you.” Yes, that’s right. The agents and editors who agree to take pitches at conferences want to hear your pitch. They want to buy books. They want to sell books. And why is that? Because that’s how they make their money.

This is a business. You hold multiple cards in your hands. They hold one.

You’re the creative manager, the artiste, the person who gets to decide who will publish your book. You drive this process. Without you there is no book.

They get to say, “I’d like to buy your book.”

You still have veto power. You decide if this house is the best house for you or this agent is the best agent for you. Just because Pamela Publisher is one of the Big Six doesn’t mean she can help you achieve your goals.

Know your career goals. What is it you’re hoping to achieve by publishing this book? Be realistic. Very few careers have flown into the stratosphere on one book. Don’t set yourself up to be disappointed.

Put it all in perspective. The pitch is an opportunity to meet an industry professional who wants to meet you. Don’t panic, just prepare. Bring notes in case you fumble. And realize that everyone does it.

Everyone has that moment of, “Oh my God, why am I doing this to myself?” But the successful pitch is made by the writer who shoves that question to the far recesses of her mind with the swift answer, “Because I want this.”

If you truly want to be published, polish, prepare, and pitch! You can do it!

Blurb for Perpetual Light:
Fate is cruel. Especially when the one you’ve sworn to love for all eternity, the very soul who changed your destiny is the last person you should trust.

After more than three hundred years of running, Lucia Dicomano must make a choice.

Forced to take her place as a Pharo of Redemption, the divine slayer needs to master her forgotten powers. Lucia turns to Vittorio, the one vampire she’s failed to deliver from eternal damnation. But overcoming smoldering remnants of love, lust and anger aren’t their only obstacles.

Samuel, who may know Lucia better than she knows herself, hunts her with a fervor stoked by a thousand years of vengeful hatred. His plan—capture and enslave the weakened Pharo then take control of her elusive power.

Can Lucia trust Vittorio long enough to reclaim her powers? Or will she have no choice but to kill him and battle Samuel alone?

About Jordan: After trying her hand at many, many things- from crafting and art classes to cooking and sewing classes to running her own handbag business, Jordan finally figured out how to channel her creativity. With an active imagination and a little encouragement from her husband she sat down and began to write, each night clicking away at the keys with her black Labrador, Dino curled up under the desk.

A few short years later she’s entered the publishing arena with no plans to ever turn back.

Jordan’s a member of Rhode Island Romance Writers, as well as RWA National, and the New England (NEC), Connecticut, and Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FFnP) Chapters.

Find Jordan on her website at http://www.jordankrose.com/.


Follow her tweets on https://twitter.com/#!/jordankrose


Friend her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jordankrose

The Best Small Talk Question Ever for Shy, Open-Minded Readers

Please help me welcome romance author Kinley Baker to the blog. Kinley's debut novel, Ruined, just came out with Crescent Moon Press. She's generously offered to give away a copy of her book to a random commenter.

Here's Kinley: In person I’m very shy, and one of the things I struggle with is small talk. I grew up in an isolated environment, so I never had to perfect this skill. From age three to eighteen, I was a competitive figure skater, so all I had to do was talk skating. Well, I could do that in my sleep. No problem.

Then college came, and it still wasn’t that tough to manage small talk. I could usually find something to start a conversation, such as partying or studying. That’s playing it pretty safe at any college. But then I entered the work force, and things changed. Suddenly, people (customers, co-workers, the bosses) wanted to small talk. Whaaat?

But have no fear. Are you a shy person with a fear of small talk? Do you like to read? Are you open-minded to all genres? Yes, this may be a small portion of the population, but I still have a solution. The best question ever!

Q: What are you reading?

This question has worked for me time and again. Whether it’s the woman at my work who loves Amish romance, or the closet romance readers who know I write romance so they whisper what they’re reading, or the guy who reads nonfiction, I can always pass by the dreaded small talk by distracting them into telling me all about what they’re reading. For someone like me, this revelation was critical! So I applied what I learned from my skating days: talk about what you know. Well, I know books. I’ve been through so many book phases I can talk about pretty much any genre. But I also like hearing about the variety of books, which I’m sure is important to the effectiveness of asking the question.

Books saved me from awkward small talk. And usually, talking about books leads to other topics. I’ve created friendships out of listening to someone’s opinion on a book, usually about a novel I haven’t read myself.

My only guideline for asking this question is to make sure you know what the person likes. Talking erotica with a nonfiction reader probably won’t alleviate awkwardness. The open-minded part is important because if you’re not respectful of what everyone likes, you’re just going to create tension, and the point of this is to conquer small talk awkwardness.

Are you wondering what to do if the person doesn’t read? Well, yeah, me too. I’m shy too, after all.

So, since some of you might be a little shy...What are you reading? ;-)

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BLURB for RUINED


Jessa is one healing away from death. Under the thrall of her gift, the Court's Senior Healer risks giving her life in exchange for her patient's.


Vale is a rebel ruler. When his brother is killed, he's given the throne and the decree from the Court to produce an heir or lose his family's hold on the land--and his deceiving advisors aren't afraid to use murder as a weapon if their directive to stay away from the Senior Healer goes unheeded.


But Vale burns to possess Jessa. The heat between them leaves a wake of smoke, and even the powerful forces above want to bind them in a union that lasts forever. Vale taking another would be a betrayal neither could survive.


Their enemies fear a child born of such a powerful Healer and Warrior, but the true threat lies in the bond forged in shadows and fused in fire.

You can buy Ruined here or here.


About Kinley:
Kinley Baker read her first romance novel at the age of thirteen and immediately fell in love with the hero and the genre. She lives with her husband and her dog, Joker, in the Pacific Northwest. As a firm supporter of all supernatural lifestyles, she writes fantasy romance, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. You can find Kinley at her website, Twitter, Facebook, her blog, Goodreads, and her Facebook author page

Thanks so much for being here today, Kinley.

A Shy Extrovert

Please help me welcome debut paranormal romance author Renee Rearden to the blog. Renee's first book, Moonlight Bleu, is available now.

Shy extrovert. Sounds like a contradiction of terms, doesn’t it? I used to think so. Until I stopped and considered my chosen careers: official court reporter by day and paranormal romance author by night.

Though both careers require contact with others, for the most part I am my own boss. And therein lays the rub. I work around people instead of for people. Is there a difference?

Absolutely.

Whether you are a secretary in a business office, a sales clerk in a retail store, a food server or even a local bus or taxi driver, a certain level of interaction with people is required. Mastering the skill of social interaction that allows for successful business relationships is necessary. (We won’t even factor in personal relationships—there’s limited word space here!) And though a large percentage of individuals have a “boss,” most job descriptions include an aspect of working for the public: the consumer, the customer, the right there in-your-face live (and usually quite vocal) person.

“Where is this going?” you ask.

Let me explain.

My job as a court reporter is really a step removed from dealing with the public. I sit in a courtroom, stenographically writing down every word said. I rarely speak in court. (My friends would say I never stop talking—but that’s the extrovert element, and we’re not there yet!) For the most part, at my job I’m a piece of educated furniture. Outside of court proceedings, I mostly deal with people by email and telephone. I also prepare transcripts of court proceedings and timely file them. All of this is done utilizing my professional, written verbiage skills.

I work around people.

Writing my first paranormal romance landed me in my home office. Alone. With the door closed. Not even on the “social skills required” playing field. Wasn’t a problem during the creation stage of the novel. Happily, I lived in my head, transferring characters and story onto paper. With the help of an amazing critique partner, and after rewrites, edits, more rewrites and more edits (and close to 100 rejections), I landed a publisher.

Thought I’d done the hard work getting to that point. WRONG!

Promoting a novel is where the hard work really begins because that requires mad social skills. Talking about yourself and your book must become second nature. For an extrovert, that probably isn’t a daunting challenge. For an introvert—well, let’s just say a root canal would probably be less painful. For a shy extrovert, I’m somewhere in between.

Remember I mentioned my friends say I talk—a lot? I do. Just not about myself. I love talking about my friends and their accomplishments, the newest paranormal television series, and, of course, the latest book I’ve read. Unfortunately, none of that helps me get over my discomfort in talking about myself or my novel.

I love being around people. I’m not so thrilled at being the center of attention. And now that I have to promote my work, being the center of attention is not something I can avoid.

So, how do I deal with being a shy extrovert?

Humor. And lots of it. I’ve learned to break the ice with some snippet of amusing conversation—usually an ungraceful moment of my own. People relate, and then offer up some of their own embarrassing moments. Violà! Instant rapport, and everyone else does most of the talking. And during the ensuing conversation, openings present themselves to talk about my book, characters, or even myself.
Stepping beyond my comfort zone hasn’t been comfortable, but I’ve done it. And I’ll keep doing it because not only do I love to write, the people I’ve met and the stories I’ve heard have been downright interesting. Every time I walk into a light pole while looking the other direction or roll my ankle like a drunk wearing a new pair of heels, I remind myself, “That’s going to make somebody laugh!”

Renee Rearden works full time as an Official Court Reporter, sharpening her skills on the written word. Often described as a free spirit, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. In addition to her day job, being a wife, mother of four daughters, and grandmother to the most amazing little guy on the face of the planet keeps her plenty busy…most of the time.
As a Gemini, her creative side fills the rest of her spare time, keeping her mind immersed in imaginative escapism. Writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels offers an outlet for her to share the intriguing stories she creates. Each of them is filled with non-stop action, nail-biting conflict, and scintillating attraction between the people that live in her head.

2007 Golden Rose winner in the paranormal category (MOONLIGHT BLEU)
2007 Stella Cameron Scarlet Boa winner (MOONLIGHT BLEU)

You can learn more about Renee on her website, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.