I've moved!

You can now find my website at http://www.suzannamedeiros.com. Hope to see you there!

Not Going to Conference Conference

Not forking out the dough for the RWA Conference this year, with evening wear, suits, high heels and whatever "business casual" means?

Not to worry! Romance Divas is hosting the

Not Going to Conference Conference...

The Conference You Don't Have to Get Out of Bed For!

From July 28-31, come hang out with some terrific, savvy authors -- and you don't even have to brush your teeth (although, seriously, good dental hygiene gets you extra points.)

We'll be hosting panels on:

The Power of Three: A crit group tell-all (Paranormal)

Crystal Jordan

Patti O'Shea

Dayna Hart/Rowan Larke

The Lolitas of STEAMED! Present Writing the Steampunk Romance -more than leather corsets and brass goggles!

Marie-Claude Bourque

Theresa Meyers

Whips, Chains, Slings, Oh My: It Really Isn’t About the Toys (BDSM Erotica)

James Buchanan

Joey Hill

The Great Big YA Panel

Rhonda Stapleton

Shannon Delany

Kiersten White

Carrie Ryan

Linda Gerber

Saundra Mitchell

Lara Zielin

Brenna Yovanoff

Register for free at Romance Divas, then come join us on the forums for the discussions, as well as some terrific prizes:

Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin:
1) erotic e-books, THE SEEKING KISS and TEMPT ME TWICE.
2) a synopsis critique in any sub-genre of erotica/erotic romance.

Jax Cassidy:
1) erotic e-books, DEVIL'S HEART and BRUSH STROKES.
2) book cover design or banner ad

Kristen Painter:
copy of her e-book, ALL FIRED UP

Rhonda Stapleton:
1) STUPID CUPID YA Book trilogy
2) a proposal critique (1st 3 chapters and synopsis) for any genre of book, romance or not

K.B. Alan:
1) The choice of one of her e-books: PERFECT FORMATION, ALPHA TURNED or BOUND BY SUNLIGHT.
2) A $25 Barnes and Noble gift card.

Robin L. Rotham: Signed copies of BIG TEMPTATION, ALIEN OVERNIGHT, and ENEMY OVERNIGHT

AJ Chase: copies of e-book CAT AND MOUSE

Inez Kelley:
1) e-book package of both MYLA BY MOONLIGHT and SALOME AT SUNRISE
2) The complete Dirty Laundry Series (3 e-novellas) co-written by Ginny Glass aka Wordsugar and Inez Kelley

Kate Pearce:
1) a three chapter ~and~ synopsis critique-any erotic romance, paranormal romance or historical romance.
2) Winners choice, in either print or e-book format (if available), of a set of the Simply series (there are 5) ~or~ a set of the Cowboys (there are 3) ~or~ a copy of KISS OF THE ROSE-readers choice.

R.G. Alexander:
Winners choice of any two e-books from her Samhain or Ellora's Cave back list

Nadia Lee:
Critique of 1st chapter & synopsis-paranormal or contemporary romance

Shelley Munro: Winners choice of any one her backlist books from Ellora's Cave or Cerridwen Press

Ciar Cullen: Winner's choice of any one e-book on her website.

Voirey Linger: A copy of her e-book RISKING ETERNITY

RF Long:
1) a submission package critique (letter, synopsis and 3 chapters)
2) e-books! (details TBA)

Crystal Jordan:
1) 1st chapter and synopsis critique
2) One copy of any e-book off her Samhain backlist (http://samhainpublis.../crystal-jordan)
3) One copy of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (print or electronic, winner's choice)

Jeannie Lin:
1) a first chapter critique, any genre
2) an official BUTTERFLY SWORDS souvenir charm

Elise Logan: Winner's choice of any e-book from her backlist

Marguerite Labbe:
1) A critique of an m/m story
2) Signed copies of her m/m vampire trilogy MY HEART IS WITHIN YOU, HAUNTED BY YOUR SOUL and OUR SACRED BALANCE

Seeley DeBorn:
One jar of home made body or face scrub, customized to the winner's preferences and skin type.
For example: Orange Spice Oatmeal, Coffee-Cocoa, Citrus Salt, Lavender Mint, Honey and Flax

Sela Carsen: a copy of her e-book CAROLINA WOLF

Hailey Edwards:
1) a copy of her sweet fantasy romance ebook, EVERLONG.
2) two five dollar MBaM gift cards

Charlotte McClain:
Copy of her two e-books, LOVE TO DECLARE and ROCK STAR'S RETREAT

Cynthia Justlin: (Golden Heart Finalist!) Proposal Critique (3 Chapters and synopsis)-any genre other than erotic

Lainey Bancroft:
1) signed copies of her contemporary romance, THE TROUBLE WITH TESSA and her chick lit romance COZUMEL KARMA
2) Proposal critique (3 chapters and a synopsis) any genre except Steampunk

Tina Burns-Publisher-Liquid Silver Books:
1) a critique of 1st 3 chapters & synopsis
2) 3 be-book prizes for 3 different winners! Winners choice of any one e-book download from LSB library.

Mima:
Winner's choice of one e-book from her backlist-see her website for booklist.

Taneasha: handmade jewelry by our own Taneasha-details to come!


Barbara Sheridan:
1) Winners choice of one e-book from her backlist-see her website for booklist.
2) Critique of up to 20 pages of either M/M, or M/F romance or erotic romance in various subgenres (contemporary, historical, paranormal or suspense/mystery)

David Bridger:
A copy of his ebook BEAUTY AND THE BASTARD

Victoria Janssen:
3 print books TBA (whatever she finds at the RWA Conference)

Gemma Halliday:
Signed copy of SCANDAL SHEET

Jennifer Leeland/Jennifer McKenzie:
1) copy of her e-book MARKED FOR PLEASURE (Kindle version available upon request)
2) copy of her e-book MARKED FOR DESIRE (Releasing June 29th) (Kindle version available upon request)
3) copy of her e-books The Command Series (Trilogy)
4)copy of her BDSM e-book series (3 from TWRP and 1 from Samhain)

Emily Ryan-Davis:
1) Critique of novella-length (up to 30k) manuscript; any time period, m/f, menage, f/f (m/m not her area of expertise)
2) signed print copies of her anthology: MATING CALL, DRAGON DANCE and DRAGON BOUND
3) e-book copy of CHANGING THUMBELINA

Sabrina Darby:
1) Signed copy of her erotic historical novel, ON THESE SILKEN SHEETS
2) Critique of first thirty pages of any Regency (erotic or non erotic fine, but m/m outside my area of expertise)

Alina Morgan:
1) copy of her e-book The Twilight Deception
2) copy of her e-book The Shadow Unveiled

Debbie Mumford:
1) Critique of a synopsis
2) Winner's choice of any e-book from her back list.

Kimberly Troutte:
1) copy of her e-book SOUL STEALER
2) copy of her e-book CATCH ME IN CASTILE

Sasha Devlin:
1 pair of hand made writing mitts or gloves-style and color TBD by the winner

Julia Knight
Winner's choice of one copy of any of her books available in e-book format

Author Bio!

Yes, I finally sat down and forced myself to do that one thing many writers hate to do - I wrote my author bio. It's not fancy, and in retrospect I don't know why I put it off for so long, but there is now a quick introduction to me under the "Bio" tab of this site.

New site in the works

I've enjoyed the convenience of having my site hosted here on blogger. I do, however, have some server space just sitting around that I haven't been using, and for some time I've been thinking about moving my site to that server and using a wordpress layout. It took me a long time to find a theme I liked and that I would be able to customize, but I was finally successful when I found the Eximius theme. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:

Now I just have to figure out what to add to the site's home page. Before the site goes live I'll also have to write that author bio I've been avoiding. Sigh ... I think that's one of the hardest things about being a writer!

Deadlines

I've come to accept that I'm someone who works best when they have a deadline. That's why when someone at the Romance Divas forums suggested a Fast Draft session (open to people editing as well as people writing their first drafts) I threw my name into the hat.  I've been more successful at avoiding than actually forcing myself to sit down and finish the edits to my current WIP (because hey, editing is hard!) so this came at the perfect time for me.

I've committed to editing 18 pages of my WIP/day during the two week period beginning April 11.

Wish me luck!

Joining the ereading revolution

I just preordered my Kobo eReader!!!

Yes, I know the exclamation marks are excessive, but I don't care! If I were posting this on a forum somewhere I'd be including happy, bouncy smilies with that sentence. Look, isn't it pretty?

Okay, I know there are a lot of naysayers out there who love to point out that the Kobo eReader doesn't have wireless capability (it does have Bluetooth for using with a smartphone). And it also doesn't read .doc or .txt files. I don't foresee myself needing that feature often, but if I do I can always convert the file to .pdf. I am pleased that Kobo chose to go with the more universal epub format.

And to everyone who thinks this eReader looks like a Fisher Price toy ... I think the blue button is cute!

Let's face facts. This eReader wasn't designed for those who are willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a device with bells and whistles. There are already many very good eReaders on the market that can do all those extra things. No, Kobo obviously designed this device, and set the $149 price point, for people like me who balk at the idea of paying hundreds of dollars for a device just to read ebooks.  I already have a laptop, a netbook, an iPod and a PDA (haven't bothered with a smart phone since I almost never use the cell phone I already have) so I don't need those bells and whistles. I just want a nice, cost-friendly, portable device on which to read my ebooks. I've been using my netbook, but the battery life on that thing is horrible. I've ordered a battery with a longer charge (9+ hours) and am waiting for it to arrive as I type this, but even then reading on a netbook will always be a bit of a hassle.

It's obviously a very exciting time for ebooks (the shaky adoption of the agency model for setting prices notwithstanding.) The Kobo eReader is the perfect device for those of us who were standing on the sidelines wondering if we'd ever get the chance to jump into this new medium with both feet.

Now I just have to hang on until May when it will be released in Canada. (It will be released in the U.S. in June and will be available at Borders.)

Finding a process that works best for you

I've been travelling through the murky world of editing lately. Okay, to be completely honest, I've spent a lot of time avoiding. Editing a 13,000 word story is very different from editing an 80,000 word book, and the sheer enormity of tackling the second task had me overwhelmed.

Like with any other aspect of writing, however, we learn best by working through it. I've been reading various bits of advice on how to handle edits to a book and have learned that, just like anything else in life, different people have different ideas of what works best.

I'll admit I've been stuck on the idea that I should be following Holly Lisle's wonderful one-pass manuscript revision process, but that process also terrifies me! I can't help but feel that I am, at minimum, a two-pass editor. I feel as though I need one pass to go through the book and move chunks of it into its proper order (already, at page 10, I've come to a section that should be moved to a later point in the book.) To make notes on scenes that should be added/changed/deleted. This would be the "examining the narrative and character arcs" stage.

Only after the major structuring is examined and fixed (if necessary) will I feel comfortable polishing the text, one scene at a time, until it glows.

Maybe I can look forward to a one-pass revision process with my next book. Until then, I'm just happy to have worked through the block that kept me from working on these edits.

Does it ever get any easier?

What's really holding you back?

I've made an important discovery since submitting my story to Harlequin two weeks ago. It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I've let self-doubt keep me from pursuing publication. Now that I have the time to devote to my writing, I'm working on overcoming that obstacle.

Part of what's held me back is the traditional fear of failing. We all know how that one goes. If you don't try, you haven't really failed. You haven't stepped up to the plate and been told you just didn't have what it takes.

I finally pushed past that fear and submitted my story. Like many other writers, I'm now in the position of waiting to hear back from a publisher. Waiting to hear whether they are interested in publishing my story. However, unlike other writers I'm not stalking my email, waiting for a response.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

I find myself not thinking about my submission at all. When I do remember it, I have to force myself to open Outlook to check my email. And despite what many might think, I'm not afraid that my story will be rejected. I know it's a good story, but I also know good stories are rejected all the time. Just not right for that line. They've purchased too many stories set in the regency era recently and want something different. Too similar to a story they've just purchased.

No, I find myself more afraid that Harlequin will want to buy my story. After all these years, I've realized I'm not afraid of failing. I'm afraid of succeeding.

Sigh. I know it's not logical, but fears seldom conform to logic. I found an article about fear of success for writers that confirmed my new discovery. For others who may also be dealing with this fear, you can find that article here.

I suppose the good news is now that I've identified my true stumbling blocks I can work on overcoming them. One day, and one fear at a time.

First submission of the year

Yesterday I submitted the story I'd written for the Harlequin Historical Undone line. I went through the story several times after completing the edits and each time I read it I would find something to tweak. I'd touch up a sentence here, make a word change there. And of course there was that typo I found right before I was about to submit it. I could have held onto that story and read it again and again, and I'm sure each time I would have found something to fix. I loved writing the story. I loved the characters and thought they suited each other well. It was time, though, to send the story off into the world to fend for itself.

What will I do now? Well, I'll tell you what I won't do. I won't be sitting on my hands waiting to hear back from Harlequin. The novel I finished before Christmas has sat for long enough that I can now come to it with fresh eyes. I'm starting the edits for that book and already have an idea for my next book. I'm not sure if I can write a new book while editing another one, but I will definitely work on the outline for it (yes, I'm a plotter.)

I was a little nervous when I hit the send button for my email submission, but the predominant emotion I felt was happiness. Contentment. I felt like a "real" writer. My story may not sell, but I feel that I am finally on the right path. And until I do make that first sale, I'm having one hell of a ride enjoying all these amazing characters who are romping through my mind and coming up with all sorts of scenarios for them.

On Editing

Editing is hard! I used to think writing the first draft of a novel or story was the hard part. While it's not easy, when I'm struggling with a scene I do have the piece of mind of knowing it's okay if it isn't perfect. I can fix it when I edit. And so with that in mind, I leave little [FIX THIS] notations throughout the manuscript and keep on going.

Then I finish the first draft.

I'm in that position right now with my current projects. When I wrote my first book ten years ago I didn't have to worry about editing it, but that wasn't because it was perfect. In fact, quite the opposite was true. After finishing the book and taking some time away from the project, I could see it with fresh eyes and those eyes told me the book had too many flaws. While some might have been depressed by that prospect, I don't regret having written that book. When reading it over I could see so clearly where I went wrong. Why the book was weak. I took heart from the fact that I could now see those faults.

My second finished book was my first NaNoWriMo book. There was a lot wrong with the book, but there was also a lot right with it. Given that I decided to do NaNoWriMo only the day before it started, and that I wrote that book without an outline, I'm very happy with the main story arc. It took me a while to figure out how I could fix the book, though, and when I did I was already working on my third book. Rather than stop the momentum on the new book, I decided to keep going and to come back to my second book at another time. That book will require some major rewriting, but it is fixable.

But my third book ... well, I am very happy with this book and very excited about it. I believe it's important to take a little time away from a project after the first draft is finished. It is much easier to look at your own writing critically and to see its flaws when you come to it with fresh eyes, so I took one month away from that book and wrote a shorter story. Like my book, I'm very happy with how this story turned out. I'm editing it now and plan to submit it by the end of January. At that time I'll also delve into the edits for book #3, which will be the first book I will try to have published.

Which takes me back to the sentiment I expressed above - editing is hard! There is no hiding from awkward prose when you edit. No hiding from characterization that falls flat. It is exacting, often intimidating work. But my god, when you get it right the feeling is amazing!

And so I press on.

Moving forward

I've been writing for a number of years now, but never in a consistent manner. My first attempt at a book, written over ten years ago, was very obviously a first attempt, but I learned so much from the whole process. I was sidetracked by life for a while and put my writing on the back burner, but I never gave up on it entirely. I've done three NaNoWriMos now (winning two of them) and have even posted some of my writing online. I never pushed myself to pursue my dream, though, of becoming a published author.

And you know what? That's okay. I used to beat myself up about wasted time, but I'm not going to do that this year. Concentrating on all the what-ifs is always a waste of time. The most important thing is that I am now on the right path. I've rededicated myself to my writing and this time I will not be sidetracked.

To everyone out there who feels badly about having wasted the past week, month, year, decade ... I just want to say it's okay. Forgive yourself, pick yourself up, rededicate yourself and move forward.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2010. A year filled with self-forgiveness and renewed energy ... whatever your dream may be.