Annie Burrows's Blog - Posts Tagged "writers-life"
R is for...Romance
When I was at the Romance Writers of America conference in New York last summer, one of the highlights, for me, was attending the Harlequin booksigning.
In spite of what anyone may say, Harlequin romances are still incredibly popular. Sales may be down, but a lot of people were extremely keen to get their hands on the books that were being given away, to judge from the queue outside the door to get in.
I signed and gave away copies of my Waterloo book, A Mistress for Major Bartlett, almost continually for the two hours the event went on.
The only bit of the event I didn't enjoy was when a film crew came along to interview me. (I'm not alone in that - the other authors ducked behind their stacks of books, then sighed in relief when the crew pounced on me, because I'd been too busy chatting to a fan to notice them sneaking up)
Anyway, they cleared a space round my bit of the table, thrust a microphone at me, and said, in what I felt was a rather challenging manner, "Why do you love romance?"
My mind immediately went as blank as the first sheet of paper in a brand new notebook. After umming and erring for a while, I came up with something inane along the lines of (I think) "What's not to like? Doesn't everything in life mean more when you have someone to share it with?"
The reason I can't recall what I answered then, is because the crew went off into a huddle for a bit, then came back to me and said, "Could you say all that again, only this time look into the camera?"
Silly me, I'd answered the girl who asked the question, not the guy standing over to the side with half a ton of equipment strapped to his shoulder.
Anyway, by this time I was somewhat irritated. Because I still couldn't come up with a clever, witty, answer off the top of my head. And I felt a bit resentful that I had to defend my position as a writer of romance. And as anyone who's ever tried to take a photo of me will confirm, I have an extremely expressive face. So I don't think the second attempt to get a soundbite from me would have been any good either. Not to judge by the tight smiles on their faces as they shuffled away, anyhow.
It was three months later, before I finally decided what I should have said. (Not that I'd been lying awake at night going over and over how stupid I must have looked or anything)
All you have to do, I should have said, is to turn on the radio, to hear that love and romance is on just about everyone else's mind too. There may be the occasional song that reaches a top slot in the charts about Medicinal Compound, or digging a hole in the ground, but the vast majority of popular songs are about love and romance. Even the most cynical of news hounds would have to admit that finding a soul mate, that special someone who will understand you, support you, and share all life's trials with you, is extremely important to a lot of people. And that without that special someone, life can feel bleak and pointless.
Programmes like the X factor or Pop Idol rely on the fact that huge numbers of young people want to get up on stage and sing about how much they long for the object of their affection to notice them, or to bewail the fact that their heart has been badly broken.
Has anyone gone up to Adele, or Sam Smith, and asked them why they sing about romance? And made them defend their choice to do so? And imply that they would somehow be more worthy if they sang about crime, or the human condition? I don't think so.
So why is writing stories about romance regarded by the press, so often, as being somehow a bit silly, when singing about love and romance is not?
If I could write poetry, or hold a tune in a bucket, maybe I'd be up there singing about how wonderful it is to fall in love, or how badly it hurts when it all goes pear shaped. (Or if I could stand being in front of a camera!) Instead, I write about people going through the entire process of striving to find their happy ever after, in prose.
And what's wrong (to quote Sir Paul McCartney) with that?
If you'd like to see how ridiculous I looked in that interview, you can view the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinBoo...
They stuck me right at the end. (I don't blame them!)
In spite of what anyone may say, Harlequin romances are still incredibly popular. Sales may be down, but a lot of people were extremely keen to get their hands on the books that were being given away, to judge from the queue outside the door to get in.
I signed and gave away copies of my Waterloo book, A Mistress for Major Bartlett, almost continually for the two hours the event went on.
The only bit of the event I didn't enjoy was when a film crew came along to interview me. (I'm not alone in that - the other authors ducked behind their stacks of books, then sighed in relief when the crew pounced on me, because I'd been too busy chatting to a fan to notice them sneaking up)
Anyway, they cleared a space round my bit of the table, thrust a microphone at me, and said, in what I felt was a rather challenging manner, "Why do you love romance?"
My mind immediately went as blank as the first sheet of paper in a brand new notebook. After umming and erring for a while, I came up with something inane along the lines of (I think) "What's not to like? Doesn't everything in life mean more when you have someone to share it with?"
The reason I can't recall what I answered then, is because the crew went off into a huddle for a bit, then came back to me and said, "Could you say all that again, only this time look into the camera?"
Silly me, I'd answered the girl who asked the question, not the guy standing over to the side with half a ton of equipment strapped to his shoulder.
Anyway, by this time I was somewhat irritated. Because I still couldn't come up with a clever, witty, answer off the top of my head. And I felt a bit resentful that I had to defend my position as a writer of romance. And as anyone who's ever tried to take a photo of me will confirm, I have an extremely expressive face. So I don't think the second attempt to get a soundbite from me would have been any good either. Not to judge by the tight smiles on their faces as they shuffled away, anyhow.
It was three months later, before I finally decided what I should have said. (Not that I'd been lying awake at night going over and over how stupid I must have looked or anything)
All you have to do, I should have said, is to turn on the radio, to hear that love and romance is on just about everyone else's mind too. There may be the occasional song that reaches a top slot in the charts about Medicinal Compound, or digging a hole in the ground, but the vast majority of popular songs are about love and romance. Even the most cynical of news hounds would have to admit that finding a soul mate, that special someone who will understand you, support you, and share all life's trials with you, is extremely important to a lot of people. And that without that special someone, life can feel bleak and pointless.
Programmes like the X factor or Pop Idol rely on the fact that huge numbers of young people want to get up on stage and sing about how much they long for the object of their affection to notice them, or to bewail the fact that their heart has been badly broken.
Has anyone gone up to Adele, or Sam Smith, and asked them why they sing about romance? And made them defend their choice to do so? And imply that they would somehow be more worthy if they sang about crime, or the human condition? I don't think so.
So why is writing stories about romance regarded by the press, so often, as being somehow a bit silly, when singing about love and romance is not?
If I could write poetry, or hold a tune in a bucket, maybe I'd be up there singing about how wonderful it is to fall in love, or how badly it hurts when it all goes pear shaped. (Or if I could stand being in front of a camera!) Instead, I write about people going through the entire process of striving to find their happy ever after, in prose.
And what's wrong (to quote Sir Paul McCartney) with that?
If you'd like to see how ridiculous I looked in that interview, you can view the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinBoo...
They stuck me right at the end. (I don't blame them!)
T is for time management
On the first Friday of every month, I've been sharing a very personal view of what it is like to be a writer. And dealing with themes in alphabetical order. This month, I've reached T...so I'll be talking about how I manage my time.
I'm supposed to write two books a year, at 75,000 words each. Every time I get a new deadline, one of the first things I do is to sit down and work out a timetable which will ensure how I get my story in on time.
My last one went something like this:
Due August 31st.
75,000 at 10k per week (or 2 chapters per week) for 1st draft. = 2k per day. Will take 7 and a half weeks.
If start 4th March, should be done by April 30th.
2nd draft - revise 3 chapters per week = 8 weeks (assuming 15 chapters)
should take until June 17th
That should have given me a full two and a half months to do a third draft, which is when I usually have only a few little tweaks to iron out. I was hoping I would be able to get the commissioned story finished, and then spend some time on a book I'd like to self-publish.
But what happened? Well, to start with, my first draft was over 30,000 words short. I'd written all the story I could think of, and the only way I could have put in anything else would have been shameless padding.
Fortunately, the Novelistas helped me with some brainstorming, during which we came up with a new ending. So that my second draft, with a completely new ending, which I managed to finish on June 29th, came in at 64,000 words. Still a bit short, but not too far off for that stage of my drafts, so I was reasonably happy. I still had a full two months before the deadline, although I was by then two weeks behind where I wanted to be.
However, I was going to the Romance Writers of America conference at the end of July, which would mean two weeks off, plus any time necessary to recover from jet lag which always turns my brain to mush. So I thought it would be a good idea to get my 3rd draft done before I flew out.
But then I had an unexpected visitor, who stayed a week. And a teacher husband at home for school holidays underfoot. So by the time I flew out I had achieved practically nothing.
My next entry in my "progress with wip" file reads:
returned to work on August 10th.
Have until 31st to deadline = 3 weeks.
Need to revise 13 chapters = min 1 chapter per day.
I finally submitted the book on September 4th, having spent the previous week hunched over my laptop feverishly typing. And ended up with back spasm, followed by a migraine.
So what had gone wrong with my brilliant plan? Ok - I knew there would be a couple of weeks out at the end of July for the trip to New York, but I shouldn't have had to end up frantically trying to finish by the deadline. I'd worked out that I'd have plenty of free time - I'd even hoped I could work on that self-published book that has been on the back burner for what feels like forever. And this isn't the first time it's happened either. The last few books I have produced have all gone the same way. I've started off with a brilliant timetable, which appears to give me plenty of time, and end up begging my editor for an extension. I'm on my 21st book at the moment, so you'd think by now I would have learned how to write a bit faster than I did to start off with.
So this time, on the recommendation of a blog I read that suggested I should be able to write 10,000 words a day if I followed their advice (cue hollow laughter) I kept a writing diary. To see if I could pick out patterns. Which would show me where I was going wrong. Wasn't I spending enough time at my laptop? I certainly felt as if I was working as hard as I could. So perhaps I was taking too many days off to gallivant - although time spent with the Novelistas wouldn't count, I promised myself. I frequently need their input. (And the home-made cake).
Anyway, what I discovered when I read through my writing diary was this deadly phrase:
Revisions landed.
And everything made sense. Because, when I counted how much time I'd spent on revisions to my previous book, when I should have been ploughing forward with my next one, it came to a shocking total of 6 weeks.
The revisions came in two rounds, the first of which took me four weeks, and the second, two.
Even when I did get back to my wip, I found phrases in my writing diary like:
Spent an hour in afternoon just trying to get my head round chapter 10 again
and
All gone to hell in a handcart coz of revisions. Now need to re date all targets
So, it's revisions that are the culprit. If I hadn't had those revisions, my book would have been submitted in plenty of time, and I could have worked on my own personal project.
So, clearly, when I'm making my timetable for my next book, I'm going to have to factor in those 6 weeks for revisions. And next time, hopefully my writing diary won't have comments like:
Change of plan -
So now I am officially only 1 week behind revised schedule.
Wow. It's going to be tight.
I'm supposed to write two books a year, at 75,000 words each. Every time I get a new deadline, one of the first things I do is to sit down and work out a timetable which will ensure how I get my story in on time.
My last one went something like this:
Due August 31st.
75,000 at 10k per week (or 2 chapters per week) for 1st draft. = 2k per day. Will take 7 and a half weeks.
If start 4th March, should be done by April 30th.
2nd draft - revise 3 chapters per week = 8 weeks (assuming 15 chapters)
should take until June 17th
That should have given me a full two and a half months to do a third draft, which is when I usually have only a few little tweaks to iron out. I was hoping I would be able to get the commissioned story finished, and then spend some time on a book I'd like to self-publish.
But what happened? Well, to start with, my first draft was over 30,000 words short. I'd written all the story I could think of, and the only way I could have put in anything else would have been shameless padding.
Fortunately, the Novelistas helped me with some brainstorming, during which we came up with a new ending. So that my second draft, with a completely new ending, which I managed to finish on June 29th, came in at 64,000 words. Still a bit short, but not too far off for that stage of my drafts, so I was reasonably happy. I still had a full two months before the deadline, although I was by then two weeks behind where I wanted to be.
However, I was going to the Romance Writers of America conference at the end of July, which would mean two weeks off, plus any time necessary to recover from jet lag which always turns my brain to mush. So I thought it would be a good idea to get my 3rd draft done before I flew out.
But then I had an unexpected visitor, who stayed a week. And a teacher husband at home for school holidays underfoot. So by the time I flew out I had achieved practically nothing.
My next entry in my "progress with wip" file reads:
returned to work on August 10th.
Have until 31st to deadline = 3 weeks.
Need to revise 13 chapters = min 1 chapter per day.
I finally submitted the book on September 4th, having spent the previous week hunched over my laptop feverishly typing. And ended up with back spasm, followed by a migraine.
So what had gone wrong with my brilliant plan? Ok - I knew there would be a couple of weeks out at the end of July for the trip to New York, but I shouldn't have had to end up frantically trying to finish by the deadline. I'd worked out that I'd have plenty of free time - I'd even hoped I could work on that self-published book that has been on the back burner for what feels like forever. And this isn't the first time it's happened either. The last few books I have produced have all gone the same way. I've started off with a brilliant timetable, which appears to give me plenty of time, and end up begging my editor for an extension. I'm on my 21st book at the moment, so you'd think by now I would have learned how to write a bit faster than I did to start off with.
So this time, on the recommendation of a blog I read that suggested I should be able to write 10,000 words a day if I followed their advice (cue hollow laughter) I kept a writing diary. To see if I could pick out patterns. Which would show me where I was going wrong. Wasn't I spending enough time at my laptop? I certainly felt as if I was working as hard as I could. So perhaps I was taking too many days off to gallivant - although time spent with the Novelistas wouldn't count, I promised myself. I frequently need their input. (And the home-made cake).
Anyway, what I discovered when I read through my writing diary was this deadly phrase:
Revisions landed.
And everything made sense. Because, when I counted how much time I'd spent on revisions to my previous book, when I should have been ploughing forward with my next one, it came to a shocking total of 6 weeks.
The revisions came in two rounds, the first of which took me four weeks, and the second, two.
Even when I did get back to my wip, I found phrases in my writing diary like:
Spent an hour in afternoon just trying to get my head round chapter 10 again
and
All gone to hell in a handcart coz of revisions. Now need to re date all targets
So, it's revisions that are the culprit. If I hadn't had those revisions, my book would have been submitted in plenty of time, and I could have worked on my own personal project.
So, clearly, when I'm making my timetable for my next book, I'm going to have to factor in those 6 weeks for revisions. And next time, hopefully my writing diary won't have comments like:
Change of plan -
So now I am officially only 1 week behind revised schedule.
Wow. It's going to be tight.
W is for Writer's groups
On the first Friday of every month, I've been sharing a very personal view of what it is like to be a writer. And dealing with themes in alphabetical order. This month, I've reached W...which I decided should stand for Writer's groups.
Writing can be a very insular occupation. I do spend a lot of time shut away in my study, writing down the adventures of my imaginary friends. But one thing I learned fairly early on is the benefit of connecting with other writers, either online or in real life.
Shortly before I landed my first publishing contract, I'd decided that if I got another rejection I was going to join the Romantic Novelist's Association (http://www.rna-uk.org/) so that I could send my manuscript in to their New Writer's Scheme for critique. I really felt I needed someone to read one of my stories and tell me why I was getting constant rejections, and, for a very reasonable fee, that is what the New Writer's Scheme provides. Only then I got an acceptance instead. So I joined as a full member and went along to my first local meeting.
It was wonderful to walk into a room full of like-minded people, and know I could talk about writing with people who would totally get what I was on about. I made my first writing friends through the RNA, and also picked up nuggets of useful advice for UK based authors, such as that wonderful institution of PLR (Public Lending Right). Basically, every time someone borrows my book from a UK library, I can get a few pence providing I've registered that book in the scheme.
And that is what writer's groups provide - not only support and friendships, but the exchange of knowledge.
Through friends I met at the RNA, I joined the group who later became the Novelistas. Our meetings usually take the form of a round robin, over a pub lunch, so that each of us can share where we're up to. Between us there is such a wealth of experience in the publishing industry that no matter what the topic brought to the table - from difficult edits to choosing an agent - there will be someone amongst us with valuable advice. Or at the very least an opinion! And if we have something special to celebrate, like a new book publication, there's very often cake.
As a writer for Mills & Boon, I've also joined the Association of Mills & Boon Authors (known as AMBA). We have an online forum where we can share industry news and chat, and meet up once a year for a lovely lunch in a swanky location in London. Since many of the members also belong to the RNA, that meeting takes place the day after the RNA a.g.m. so that people who live a long way from London can make an overnight stop and attend both meetings.
As I write historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon I've also joined an online chapter specifically for writers of Historical romance. They are a really knowledgeable and talented bunch of ladies. It doesn't matter what the question anyone asks, someone is bound to know the answer, or be able to point to a research resource where we can find the answer. I have found research so much easier since getting in contact with the Harlequin Hussies (as we call ourselves), as there is always someone who knows exactly where I can find the specific historical detail I want to get right.
Because the romance market is so big in America, I recently joined the RWA (Romance Writers of America). Although I have only managed to get to two conferences, they both really opened my eyes to the way things are done in the States. Plus, I got to meet up with the Hussies over breakfast.
The RWA magazine (which I get online) contains a mine of useful information about the craft and business of writing romance, which I can't wait to devour monthly as it drops into my inbox.
And finally, through the RNA, I learned the importance of joining the Society of Authors. (http://www.societyofauthors.org/) This is an organization for UK based authors of both fiction and non-fiction. They provide things like tax advice, legal protection, and will look over contracts before an author signs anything that might be detrimental to their rights.
So, I've gone from being a bit of a hermit, to someone who has plenty of friends, both real and virtual - all from joining writing groups.
Writing can be a very insular occupation. I do spend a lot of time shut away in my study, writing down the adventures of my imaginary friends. But one thing I learned fairly early on is the benefit of connecting with other writers, either online or in real life.
Shortly before I landed my first publishing contract, I'd decided that if I got another rejection I was going to join the Romantic Novelist's Association (http://www.rna-uk.org/) so that I could send my manuscript in to their New Writer's Scheme for critique. I really felt I needed someone to read one of my stories and tell me why I was getting constant rejections, and, for a very reasonable fee, that is what the New Writer's Scheme provides. Only then I got an acceptance instead. So I joined as a full member and went along to my first local meeting.
It was wonderful to walk into a room full of like-minded people, and know I could talk about writing with people who would totally get what I was on about. I made my first writing friends through the RNA, and also picked up nuggets of useful advice for UK based authors, such as that wonderful institution of PLR (Public Lending Right). Basically, every time someone borrows my book from a UK library, I can get a few pence providing I've registered that book in the scheme.
And that is what writer's groups provide - not only support and friendships, but the exchange of knowledge.
Through friends I met at the RNA, I joined the group who later became the Novelistas. Our meetings usually take the form of a round robin, over a pub lunch, so that each of us can share where we're up to. Between us there is such a wealth of experience in the publishing industry that no matter what the topic brought to the table - from difficult edits to choosing an agent - there will be someone amongst us with valuable advice. Or at the very least an opinion! And if we have something special to celebrate, like a new book publication, there's very often cake.
As a writer for Mills & Boon, I've also joined the Association of Mills & Boon Authors (known as AMBA). We have an online forum where we can share industry news and chat, and meet up once a year for a lovely lunch in a swanky location in London. Since many of the members also belong to the RNA, that meeting takes place the day after the RNA a.g.m. so that people who live a long way from London can make an overnight stop and attend both meetings.
As I write historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon I've also joined an online chapter specifically for writers of Historical romance. They are a really knowledgeable and talented bunch of ladies. It doesn't matter what the question anyone asks, someone is bound to know the answer, or be able to point to a research resource where we can find the answer. I have found research so much easier since getting in contact with the Harlequin Hussies (as we call ourselves), as there is always someone who knows exactly where I can find the specific historical detail I want to get right.
Because the romance market is so big in America, I recently joined the RWA (Romance Writers of America). Although I have only managed to get to two conferences, they both really opened my eyes to the way things are done in the States. Plus, I got to meet up with the Hussies over breakfast.
The RWA magazine (which I get online) contains a mine of useful information about the craft and business of writing romance, which I can't wait to devour monthly as it drops into my inbox.
And finally, through the RNA, I learned the importance of joining the Society of Authors. (http://www.societyofauthors.org/) This is an organization for UK based authors of both fiction and non-fiction. They provide things like tax advice, legal protection, and will look over contracts before an author signs anything that might be detrimental to their rights.
So, I've gone from being a bit of a hermit, to someone who has plenty of friends, both real and virtual - all from joining writing groups.
