Welcome, Christine London

An Author’s Life
Every summer Romance Writers Of America holds its annual conference.This year the location had to be moved last minute when torrential rains and the rising river flooded Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland hotel. Orlando’s Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort provided a beautiful alternate venue for the July 27-31st event. 

   Wednesday evening authors and readers gathered in the enormous hotel ballroom. I signed my latest print release novel, Soul In His Eyes, at the “Literacy for Life” multi-author event.



Nora Roberts and me

 

Five hundred authors from around the globe gathered donating the proceeds of book sales to organizations that promote literacy. Over sixty thousand dollars was raised in the span of the two-hour event.

Three days of intensive workshops moderated by the publishing world’s most well know authors, editors, publishers and literary agents ensued. On the final evening the Rita and Golden Heart award winners were announced. The Academy Awards of the Romance genre, black tie was the dress code; sit down dinner for two thousand. Spotlights, glitter and class marked the event of the year.

Nora Roberts gave the keynote, admonishing those that bemoan the difficulties of the publishing world today. She reminded listeners that although the internet and computers have eliminated the author’s use of carbon paper, typewriter and ‘whiteout’, snail mail submission given way to instant email; it is still difficult to become published. It has never, nor ever will be easy.

“Hard is what makes it special,” Nora said. 

So true.

If you have never poured your heart into a creative work Nora’s comment may at first seem odd. In a society where everything instant and faster is prized, it might seem counterintuitive to think to work, to agonize over a book that requires an averge of six to twelve months of struggle to birth, could actually be sought after. Perhaps the malady that afflicts we authors should be listed in the DSM-V  as authorittis psychosis. In what other aspired profession is there so much preparation, learning curve, long lonely hours and rejection? Ah..the bitter pill of being told time after time you are not good enough. All this with no remuneration. Months turn into years even after the “call” has been received. Perhaps one to two years longer post-contract before ‘your baby’ is released. And then months more before royalties are realized.

“Hard makes it special.”   Indeed.

Most authors have a day job. We fit our writing between errands, while waiting in line, or after the kids are in bed. It is a hunger, a drive to create something from nothing; words to inspire, uplift, educate and entertain. Sometimes they are read by only a few. Some will stay forever in the drawer under the bed, relics of that learning curve and our love.

But it is those few precious moments of which every author dreams. That unexpected email from a reader writing from somewhere across the world. Those simple words of gratitude.

“You touched me.” 

“You changed my world.”

“Your story made me laugh/cry…feel.”

What a treasure. What joy. This double edged sword -- the gift of words. Reader to author is a symbiotic relationship that feeds the souls on both sides of the pen.
There is no greater joy than creating a world eyes unkown can see and dream. Thank heavens we are crazy. Crazy hope, crazy dreams, crazy love.

Hard makes it special.

 Visit my website at www.christinelondon .com  for the latest!

Anyone Judging Contests?

Judging the work of someone else is a daunting task. It's nothing like buying a book and tossing it aside it you don't like it or throwing a dart and hitting a number. Author's actually like feedback. Even if you never judge a contest, these guidelines are guaranteed to help improve your own writing. Use them to evaluate your WIPS.

Of course this year, I ventured into the EPIC arena and agreed to read and judge five historical books. It's been hard on the eyes, and very difficult to make myself not compare each entry to the previous one. Books deserved to be judged on their own merits, so I've kept that in mind. I hate discovering the type of historical competition out there...and it's growing every day. Oy vey!

I also agreed to judge in the Southern Heat Contest held by the Romance Writers of America - East Texas Chapter. These people have narrowed judging down to a fine art. Instead of the + and - system that leaves you wondering how to assess a final score, the coordinators of Southern Heat have provided me with such great guidelines, I have to share them (by permission of course) with my fellow authors, and also readers who can see what criteria is considered for award winning books.

BTW...if anyone is interested in entering the contest, do it today... the deadline is tomorrow. You can find information and entry forms on their website.

I've learned so much just from reading their judging aids:

Keep your specific category in mind when judging tone or pace. Remember, Historical or Single-Title may have a slower pace than Contemporary. Setting and back story will be handled differently. Information that is vital to the beginning of a Series story may be withheld in Romantic Suspense for the purpose of prolonging the intrigue. Also, the hero may not be introduced in the first chapter, and this may be perfectly acceptable for your category.

Focus on looking at the entry as a whole. Was this an enjoyable read? Often judges focus too much on perfection: margins, grammar, marketable hook, did the author follow all those unwritten rules we've heard so much about?

Often it's best to read the manuscript first before the synopsis, which may "give the story away." After reading the entry, see if the synopsis matches what you've read - in tone, style and storyline.

Here are the things on which the story is actually judged:

Does the entry "show" rather than tell." Is information fed naturally - not too much or too little at a time.

Is the writing vivid and evocative? Does it have a certain spark that keeps you reading?

Are sentence structure and length varied for a smooth read? Are narrative, dialogue, action and introspection balanced?

Is viewpoint always clear?

Does spelling/grammar/punctuation show appropriate skill?

Does the opening pull you immediately into the story?

Do the setting/descriptions enhance the story? Do you get a sense of time and place?

Is the plot original and well-executed.

Is there enough internal and external conflict to sustain a novel-length manuscript.

Is the pacing appropriate to the type of story? Does each sentence move the story forward?

Are the characters skillfully developed - compelling - three-dimensional?

Are the characters' motivations apparent in the first ten pages?

Are actions and reactions believable?

Does the dialogue progress the story?

does each character have their own distinct voice?

Does the dialogue sound like real conversation?

ROMANCE SPECIFIC:

Is the heroine strong enough for her starring role? Do you want to keep reading about her?

Is the hero?

MAINSTREAM SPECIFIC:

Is the main character strong enough for his/her starring role? Do you want to keep reading about him/her?

Are relationships between the characters intriguing?

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Each section of the score sheet has a certain amount of points possible so there is no guesswork involved. I like that, a lot. I've always questioned myself when no values have been assigned or a value as given but there is no equation for how to define it. Example: Twenty-five possible points but seven questions to evaluate the section. When you have twenty-five points and five questions, it's easy to determine each has a value of five. This certainly makes it much easier.

I want to thank Sarah from the East Texas Chapter of RWA for allowing me to share this information. I think it's most helpful and gives great insight into how fairly this chapter treats each entry. Good job!