Penrith again

Kathy Gale: What publishers want – and how to make them want you
Wise words from a former Senior Editor at Pan, Pan-MacMillan, Women’s Press, now a writing coach.
Publishers want :–

• An author who writes a book a year and sells loads, particularly one of the 12 titles picked by supermarkets. Facility for publishers to “grow” authors has gone now; writing coaches have stepped in.
  


• They want to know where your book fits in the market place. They need a clear idea so they can sell it on to retailers, distributors etc ie “heartrending love story set in Regency Times”
  


• Writing of a new or contemporary style
  


• Must be able to write what publishers want rather than what you want to write * Misery memoirs/family sagas are now on the decline with publishers, though they still sell to the public. Talk to agents/read trade press, best seller lists, etc for new trends. Read new authors and discover what it is that is different
  


• *Don’t write cynically for a specific market, but write your book with an eye on the market. Try for something special ie psychological accuracy and depth. Describe place, characters, evoke atmosphere – don’t let pace override everything else.
  


• Don’t believe all the rules you hear, especially about length, or not starting with a dream, a secondary character, or a building
  


• Be professional in your MS and covering letter. Don’t indent paragraphs but leave a space between them. Single quotes are more popular now. Include a couple of paragraphs on plot, genre, comparisons with other authors (careful not to sound conceited!) and that you hope to write more in the same vein, with continuing characters
  


• Author appearance does matter, no matter what they say, so for a meeting dress bright and less than formal but not to the point of eccentricity. If you are interesting, intelligent and “promotable” it all helps. Showing yourself as self-respecting and assertive but not as TROUBLE is good, too.
  

Penrith continued

Freda Lightfoot spoke early on Sunday morning. Photographs taken while speaking are never flattering, are they? Freda shot a brilliant smile the second after this, but someone nodded forward in their seat and eclipsed her, so apologies Freda, this is the only shot I have.

"Creating a brand" was her theme.

The brand is a guarantee of quality, and readers recognise a brand they like. Today, post NBA, power is not with the writer, who must think as self-employed person, know their target audience and their work – and the way it differs from others in the genre. Authors need a website, updated regularly.

Plan for the year ahead and budget accordingly. Read http://www.book2book.co.uk to stay informed about the book trade. Get on the WI, library, church groups, and pensioners club circuit and talk to potential readers. Ask libraries if they have a budget, accept whatever their normal fee may be. At first you may do it for nothing, or expenses only. Get them to put up posters and sell tickets, provide a cuppa. Say you will talk about the issue of ….whatever your book happens to cover.
Link up with other writers. Produce a newsletter once a quarter
Contact the media about ten days before publication. If you appear on live radio, ask what the first question will be and remember they cannot cut or edit if you are live! Have three points in your mind – the book! The title! Why you wrote it! What it is about – have a little anecdote if you can.

Her talk was a perfect demonstration of How To Do It Well. I only wish I could hope to emulate her!

Penrith once more

A happy picture of (L to R) Shirley Dickson, Margaret Carr and Prue Philipson of the Border Reivers Chapter.

Jessica Hart is a reader for the NWS and finds that the thing most often missing from submissions is emotional tension. ET - "a metaphorical holding of breath" - tension comes from uncertainty. The more obstacles you can put in the way of your H/h getting together, the more tension you create, the more uncertainty there will be of the outcome. The longer you hold your breath the greater the release when you finally do let go!

She mentioned Save the Cat (Blake Snyder) and agrees with his 15 Beats - the format works.

Jessica had a neat diagram that may be difficult to show here. Think of it as a mathematical equation, with a line beneath situation (external) -

situation (external) x plot = Emotional Tension

character (internal)

All stories need an initial hook or "situation," possibly an external factor that forces them together, but it must be believeable and there must be a "stake" for each of them. What is it that drives them? They each need a goal, and those goals should be in conflict. What are the usual drivers? Love, lust, hate, fear. Fear will subdivide into fear of rejection, humiliation, loss, loneliness, loss of face, comittment, betrayal, failure etc.

The H/h must change during the arc of the tale, test their fears. Push them out of their comfort zones. Get them to talk about their difficulties. If the heroine begins to find the hero attractive, why can she not tell him? Because she believes, because he told her so, that he is in love with someone else. Why did he tell her this? He must have a reason. It may not be true.

Secondary characters are not necessary. Keep the H/h alone and remind them every time it looks like they're getting together that they cannot be together.

As for the other pictures ~ Lynne Connolly diligently worked on her edits throughout the conference ~ and Jan Jones prepares to award prizes to the lucky few at the Saturday night conference dinner.

Penrith, unexpected

It may not be what you expect from a writers conference, especially a romantic writers conference, but walking early in the morning can be rewarding.
When I saw Sue Moorcroft's pic, here I knew we had been photographing the same horse. This is in the mare's own little world at the end of the lane beyond the tennis courts and the football pitches, with Blencathra (I think!) in the distance.

The fields were full of activity, too. Hares speeding across the meadows; not a common sight these days, now that hares are on the list of endangered species.

The conference was informative, exciting and tiring. Some familiar faces, many new ones - and the noise! If I ever had the idea that authors were shy, retiring people, then this gathering blew that idea right out of the water!

Coming from the north-east of the UK, so very close to the Border with Scotland, I don't often make the trip to London. It is expensive and to make anything of it, demands an overnight stay, so it is especially good that the conference comes north and gives us northern writers the chance to make the acquaintance of all the names I see so regularly on ROMNA .

Rachel Natanson gave us a insight into the complex workings of People's Friend where so much change has gone on lately. The audience remains the same - strong, independant minded ladies of a certain age who want stories that feature believable characters perhaps caught up in unfavourable circumstances. The readers do not wish to be shocked or offended or have to worry about leaving the magazine lying around where small hands may find, read and be hurt by it. The Pocket Novel word count has gone up to 50k and still features youngish heroines, whereas the shorter stories like romance stories about older leadies - ie over 50!

RNA Conference

Drove over to Gibside today and walked the Great Walk to recharge the batteries. Gibside is a sad, folorn relic of a Jacobean Mansion house built in the early 1600s on a ledge above the River Derwent. The arms of James I are still above the door. (I have a photograph of that somewhere, must try and dig it out) The house was once three storeys, but for some reason I have yet to discover, the top storey was replaced with battlements.

There are so many delightful old houses in this locality and I have photographs of many of them. Yesterday I was out to lunch at Matfen Hall, north of the Tyne, and it is so very different to Gibside. Flourishing, and making money through its new Spa and the award winning restaurant in the Old Library.

Tomorrow I am off to take part in the RNA annual conference at Penrith, and on Monday I shall load more pics of our local old houses. Possibly one or two from the conference, should I stay sober enough to take them!