Synaesthezia

Next was actually the Panel session: the Next 20 Years, which I posted at the time.

And finally there was the last Plenary by Jane Porter.

This was fun, and at times quite moving.  Jane read excerpts of the rejection letters she got for 14 books over a 17 year period.  During this time there were 4 comments that stood out that encouraged her to keep going.

- one said she had a good plot

- one said it was competently written

- one said it was a good premise

- one said she had a ‘crisp and enjoyable writing style’

Despite all the rejections, Jane perservered, because she believed that she was meant to write.  Eventually her 15th book was accepted for publication.  Jane now has more than 30 books published since the late 90s – from her website it looks like 22 category romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon, and subsequently another 10 single title books she has classified under ‘classic romance modern lit’. Flirting with Forty was even made into a movie.

As the closing session of the conference, it was a in inspirational way to finish.  It was positive and encouraging, and for those who have had rejections before, it was a sign that it is not final, if you persevere.  And Jane left us with the following thoughts:

• we don’t write for those who criticise us
• we don’t write for the glory
• we write because we are driven to
• we write for those who want the story

That brought the formal proceedings to a close.  After that there was a confirmation that the 2012 conference will be held on the Gold Coast, and the organising team was announce (I of course didn’t know any of them).  The 2013 conference will be held in Fremantle, and the 2014 conference will be held in Sydney.

I had a great time, I took copious notes.  I met lots of people and learned about the mailing lists (which I have joined, but goodness they are high volume, even in digest mode).  My computer problems and subsequent lack of time mean that some of the sessions were quite delayed in getting up here, but at least they are all done now.  I hope that my friends who read this have got something out of it, and I’m sure that I will find it a useful reference for myself too.

Now I have about 8 months til the Gold Coast conference is on!  Anyone interested in that?

Marion Lennox, a former university academic, and writer of more than 90 published romances, gave a very entertaining talk on what she has learned as a writer.

- sex is fun

- snakes don’t necessarily replace underpants (that was an editor’s suggestion in one of her early novels!)

- your editor is not your friend

- the editor is there to buy the best book they can for the best price

- treat your editor professionally and they will treat you professionally

And below the cut is the sealed section

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A good crafting session presented by Lisa Heidke.

Motivation:

• If you don’t have any words coming, then research / work on setting.
• At least that is progressing the story.
• You might come up with inspiration which helps you to get writing again.
• Sometimes you might just need to step away from the digital world – step away from computer and think.  Maybe take some longhand notes.
• Write a letter in character to their best friend who they haven’t seen for 10 years.  It may not appear in the story, but it is getting you back into the character and back on target.  Some of the words may actually appear in the first draft anyway.
•  Set reasonable goals – 500 words per day is fine.

Doesn’t have to be perfect first go – just write it!

Writers need ‘me’ time – away from tv and people.

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What publishers are looking for.

This is where all the ‘literary’ publishers had to admit they are chasing after the Romance dollars.  Except they didn’t really want to admit they were after anything so unliterary as money, and most could still barely bring themselves to use the word ‘romance’ even on the final day of the ‘Romance Writers of Australia’ conference.  It was ‘Women’s Fiction’ all the way.

Random House – Beverly Cousins

• was previously a crime and thriller specialist
• looking to expand into women’s fiction

Penguin – Belinda Byrne

• expanding commercial fiction range
• interested in Women’s fiction / romance
• moving into eBooks (longer titles)

Curtis Brown Australia (Agents) – Clare Forster

• spoke a bit about the state of the industry and using an agent

Avon – Erica Tsang

• new digital line called Impulse
• currently taking submissions

Harlequin Mills and Boon (UK and US)  – Lucy Gilmour

• do research
• read what you want to write
• knowning category romance is good but not required
• editors can help

Allen & Unwin – Anette Barlow

• Expanding into women’s fiction
• looking at eBooks

Hatchette - Bernadette Foley

• publishes fiction, non-fiction and children’s books
• expanding into women’s fiction
• also moving into eBooks

EBooks

• quite a few publishers are starting to move into this area in Australia
• requires a lot of reediting and reformatting
• requires new author contracts for new rights
• very slow process, but starting to happen
• Dymocks is setting up an eBook program
• current distributors available in Australia are Apple, Kobo and Kindle

Literary Board Grants program

• funding for Literary Board grants has recently changed
• genre fiction ha not been deemed ‘literature’ in the past
• this may change with the new rules, so keep an eye on submission guidelines if you are interested

Harlequin Single Titles:

• HQN – romance single title *
• Mira – commercial literary finction *
• Harelquin Teen – young adult fiction *
• Luna – fantasy / sci fi / high concept paranormal (100,000 words – 120,000)
• Nocturne Cravings – erotic paranormal ebook fiction (15,000 – 25,000 words)
• Harlequin Historical Undone – sensual historical romance ebooks (10,000 – 15,000 words)
• Carina press – digital imprint for all genres of romance

* Agented submissions only

All in all, a very interesting discussion, and one with plenty of new opportunities for Australian writers.