Hearts Talk The official journal of Romance Writers of Australia Edition #321 | March 2020 RuBY Award-Winner Works Devilishly Hard Maddison Michaels is the poster girl for aspiring authors everywhere. She’s got the talent, the work ethic, the branding, the books and the publishing contracts…not to mention the RWA 2019 Historical RuBY Award for her debut novel, The Devilish Duke. Maddison has been a long-time member of RWA, attending her first conference some twenty years ago. She wrote in stops and starts for years – don’t we all! – until knuckling down in 2010 to finish her first manuscript. “I actually wrote The Devilish Duke in 2010, and was lucky enough to be selected for RWA’s inaugural five day intensive manuscript workshop in Brisbane,” said Maddison. She was paired with Annie Featherstone, who writes historical romance under the pen name Sophia James. “She gave me such a great insight into what needed to change and what was working.” Fueled with inspiration, Maddison did the obvious thing and put her manuscript in a drawer and let it simmer – for a few years. It was 2015 when she decided it was time to get serious. Maddison renewed her RWA membership and dug out her manuscript from beneath the dust and mothballs in her drawer. “I attended the 2016 conference in Adelaide and pitched for the very first time,” she said. “It certainly motivated me to get my editing and polishing done.” And it was worth it because she received three requests for her manuscript. “It’s such a subjective process. One editor told me she really enjoyed my manuscript, took it to the acquisitions meeting and it was rejected because the timing wasn’t right.” Without a publishing contract, Maddison pushed on and started pitching to agents for representation, particularly in the
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Hearts TalkThe official journal of Romance Writers of Australia Edition #321 | March 2020
RuBY Award-Winner Works Devilishly Hard
Maddison Michaels is the poster girl for aspiring authors everywhere. She’s got the talent, the work ethic, the branding, the books and the publishing contracts…not to mention the RWA 2019 Historical RuBY Award for her debut novel, The Devilish Duke.
Maddison has been a long-time member of RWA, attending her first conference some twenty years ago. She wrote in stops and starts for years – don’t we all! – until knuckling down in 2010 to finish her first manuscript.
“I actually wrote The Devilish Duke in 2010, and was lucky enough to be selected for RWA’s inaugural five
day intensive manuscript workshop in Brisbane,” said Maddison.
She was paired with Annie Featherstone, who writes historical romance under the pen name Sophia James. “She gave me such a great insight into what needed to change and what was working.”
Fueled with inspiration, Maddison did the obvious thing and put her manuscript in a drawer and let it simmer – for a few years.
It was 2015 when she decided it was time to get serious. Maddison renewed her RWA membership and dug out her manuscript from beneath the dust and mothballs in her drawer.
“I attended the 2016 conference in Adelaide and pitched for the very first time,” she said. “It certainly motivated me to get my editing and polishing done.”
And it was worth it because she received three requests for her manuscript.
“It’s such a subjective process. One editor told me she really enjoyed my manuscript, took it to the acquisitions meeting and it was rejected because the timing wasn’t right.”
Without a publishing contract, Maddison pushed on and started pitching to agents for representation, particularly in the
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 2
ContentsCover Story ........................................ 1-2President Column .................................4Get the Headshot of your Dreams .......5Conference News .............................5-11Regional Workshop Pictures .......... 12-13Setting: Another Character ............14-15Emily Winners ..................................... 15
Life in the Indie Lane .......................... 16Marketing Money & Motivation .... 17-18The Craft of Romance ...................19-20Otherworldly Bites ..............................21Owls ...............................................22-23Tips from an Industry Insider ........24-26Legal Beagle ...................................27-28
Contest News .....................................29Advice on Getting Advice ..............30-31News in Brief ....................................... 32RWA Contacts .................................... 33New Releases .................................33-34
...continued from 1
US. The response was phenomenal with around twenty requests for partial and full manuscripts, resulting in four offers of representation.
“Pamela Harty from the Knight Agency was the standout for me, as she was able to offer me representation for my current and future goals.”
In the meantime, Maddison had sent a Twitter pitch to Entangled for The Devilish Duke. Several weeks later, she spotted an email from editor, Tracy Montoya. Figuring it for another rejection, Maddison prioritised coffee before opening it. To her shock and sheer delight, it was an acceptance with the aim of taking it to acquisitions and eventual contract.
Everything fell into place from there, with her new agent able to negotiate a contract that resulted in the publication of Maddison’s Saints and Scoundrels series: The Devilish Duke in 2018, The Elusive Earl in 2019 and The Sinful Scot at the end of January this year.
Maddison is under contract for a further three books with Entangled, with one due every three months. Plus, she is branching into hybrid author waters with a couple of thrillers bubbling away under the surface.
“I’m working on a proposal for a thriller at the moment,” said Maddison. “I love plotting, it’s so much fun working out the twists and turns that will keep readers guessing.”
For those of us still hunting that
elusive contract, Maddison has shared her journey on her website. Her submission process, including the query letter and synopsis are spelled out in detail. There is an eleven-point template for a successful synopsis and examples of not only her successful query letter, but those of other authors as well.
Maddison’s ultimate secret for finding publishing success – don’t give up!
Her seemingly overnight success was some twenty years in the making, and her path is littered with rejections and lots of learning along the way. Importantly, it’s also full of kind, supportive and inspiring people. Many of whom she is aiming to catch up with at the RWA Conference in Fremantle later this year.
“I love catching up with my author pals,” she said. “The networking at conference is fabulous – new friends, old friends, the talks and workshops. You can always improve your craft, it improves with every word you write.”
Not to mention, win you a RuBY!
“I truly didn’t expect to win,” said Maddison. “I was up against Anne Gracie!”
“I decided to give it a crack and see how I went. When I found out I was a finalist, I was thrilled. It was something on my bucket list, to win a major award like the RuBY, I just really didn’t expect it on my first try. Everyone who was on my table at the Awards Dinner can attest to how shocked I was.”
If you’ve read The Devilish Duke,
you won’t be shocked at all about her win. Maddison’s debut novel certainly lives up to her tagline: “Sexy history with a dash of mystery.” You’ll travel back in time to the Victorian era and get swept away in the romance, seduction and suspense with the ‘Devil Duke’ of Huntington and Lady Sophie Wolcott. Queen Victoria even makes an appearance!
Maddison will be appearing at A Romantic Rendezvous in Sydney on March 8. To find out more about Maddison and her books, visit:
www.maddisonmichaels.com
WIN HER LATEST BOOK
To celebrate the release of her latest book, Maddison is giving away a copy of The Sinful Scot to the first Hearts Talk reader to email [email protected]
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 20203
From Your EditorsSara Hartland Content Editor [email protected]
Once upon a time, aspiring novelists struggled to find useful courses to help them gain the skills to take that shiny idea and wrestle it into a completed manuscript. Today’s writers struggle with the opposite: how to find the gold among all that glitters and sparkles and shouts “pick me, pick me” on the internet. There was some great chat about this in the RWA facebook group recently thanks to Lisa Ireland’s advice on getting advice, which she graciously allows us to share again here on pages 30-31. I also took time out to attend a regional two-day workshop by esteemed authors Rachel Bailey and Josephine Moon at their Sunshine Writing Lab. See who I met there on our social pages on 12-13 . Until next month, happy writing.
Sara Hartland, Hearts Talk Content Editor
Website: sarahartland.com
Tanya Nellestein Deputy Content Editor [email protected]
I’m still riding the high of our first edition of Hearts Talk! So many great stories and contributors. And the fun continues in March. I had the immense pleasure of speaking to Maddison Michaels, as well as Emily winners, Kali Anthony and Jackie Rutherford. That’s in between scraping onto the podium in third for Selling Synopsis … wait until you see my acceptance dance at the Awards Dinner! I’m looking forward to catching up with a whole bunch of RWA Authors at A Romantic Rendezvous book signing in Sydney on the 8th … and I’ll have my camera ready for the social pages.
Tanya Nellestein, Hearts Talk Deputy Content Editor
Website: tanyanellestein.com Instagram: @tanyanellestein Facebook: facebook.com/tanya.smith.1654 Twitter: @TanyaNellestein
Lana Pecherczyk Design Editor [email protected]
As this edition of Hearts Talk comes out, I’ll be flying home from my ten day holiday with the family in Bali. Hopefully, I’ll be one hundred percent relaxed and ready to dive into a new paranormal romance series I’m writing.
Perth conference is shaping up to be a fantastic event, with topics from the “darker” side of romance, to the light.
I enjoyed putting together this month’s Hearts Talk. There are so many great articles from so many wonderful contributors. I particularly enjoyed Life in the Indie Lane, where they talk about goal setting. This is somewhere where I’m continuing to grow every year (because I’m so poor at it), but I use the editor’s “deadline tip” all the time. There is simply no way that I’d get my books out in time, if it weren’t for that little bit of accountability. Good luck with your goals!
Lana Pecherczyk, Hearts Talk Design Editor Instagram: @lana_p_author | Website: LanaPecherczyk.com
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RWA President’s Columnby Joanne Tracey, [email protected]
As I sit down to write this month’s column the baby next door has just begun crying – I suspect the poor thing is teething – I’m keeping an eye on the white beans I’m simmering for la soupe au pistou, a Provencal style vegetable soup, and the washing machine is beeping to let me know that the load needs hanging out.
It’s a timely reminder that we can’t rely on perfect conditions when we sit down to write – especially when deadines are involved!
So to March. I for one will be happy to see the end of the steamy weather, although here in south east Queensland it won’t begin to cool down just yet. I know though that I’m not alone in being glad to wave goodbye to this particular summer – it’s certainly been a tough one for many people.
March is the beginning of a new season in more ways than one. This month we’ll be holding the first of our focus groups to consider the role, scope and operation of a new diversity sub-committee in RWA.
This initiative has grown from a diversity panel session at last year’s conference, and conversation and
debate within the membership. The role of the diversity sub-committee is an important one, so it’s vital that we get the scope of its operations right. Thank you in advance to everyone who has expressed interest in being a part of this.
While on the subject of initiatives, the Committee will be holding its annual Strategy and Planning meeting in March to discuss RWA strategy for the next twelve months and beyond. Not only will we be reviewing progress against the goals determined in March 2019, but it’s at this session that the ideas raised by you, our members, in surveys and other forums, are discussed, prioritised and planned. I look forward to sharing the outcomes of this meeting with you in the coming months.On a personal note, there’s a lot happening this month. My daughter (how did she get to be 22?) and I both have birthdays in March and this year we’re celebrating with an extra-long weekend in Queenstown at the end of the month. I’ve so far set two books in Queenstown and I can’t wait to go back again.
On the book front I have a first draft, a structural edit, a copy edit, and a few dreaded blurbs all competing for my attention this month. And lurking around the edge of my brain is a shiny new idea that I’m madly jotting down notes on so I don’t lose sight of it before I’m ready to write it. I’m sure that I’m not alone when it comes to that!
Whatever you’re writing this month, and whatever you’re up to in March, I wish you all the best… and please tell me, who else dreads writing blurbs? It’s not just me is it?
Instagram personal: @jotracey
Author instagram: @thehungryauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/joannetraceywriter/
My blog: andanyways.com
Author website: joannetracey.com
Write for Hearts TalkGot a great idea for a story? Think we’ve missed something? We’d love to hear from you!
Contact the Editors with your ideas, including interview/profile opportunities.Sara Hartland: [email protected]
Tanya Nellestein: [email protected]
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 20205
How to Get the Headshot
of Your Dreamsby Tanya Nellestein, [email protected]
It’s time to leave the selfies to the holiday makers and influencers, and get yourself a professional headshot. Afterall, you are a writer. And not just any writer, you belong to the glorious elite that are romance writers.The Freo Conference Team has done the hard work of finding two amazing photographers to be at RWA20. Angelo Di-Benedetto and Shelly Boston are offering Author Headshot Sessions for $75 per person. The 10-15 minute session will give you 15-20 images, from which you will end up with your favourite high-resolution, retouched headshot. Bookings
will open at the same time as conference registrations.I recently got my first professional headshots, and yes, I love them. So, from one romance writer to another, here are my best tips for making the most of your session time.
♥ Research some images and poses. Think about your own brand and the look – and message – you are going for.
♥ Figure out what looks good on you. What colour will make your eyes pop? Or are polka dots more your thing? Ask for a second, or third opinion from
some trusted friends about what suits you if you aren’t sure. Stay away from major trends that could date your photo well before you’re ready to replace it.
♥ Keep your hair and makeup simple. Caked-on foundation is never attractive, and complicated up-dos will get lost at the back of your head.
♥ Practise! Park yourself in front of a mirror and see if that open-mouthed, one-eye-winking, wearing-a-sailor-hat pose is really working for you. (continued next page...)
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♥ There are a couple of tricks involving positioning your neck and chin at certain angles – but professional photographers know what they’re doing and will guide you. Do sit up straight, and don’t forget to smile.
♥ Take a mirror with you. If you’re anything like me, you’ll sweat half your makeup off, get lipstick on your teeth and end up with your hair parted in
the wrong place while you’re in the elevator on the way to the shoot. Having a pocket mirror handy will alleviate concerns and assist in repositioning your tiara. (Maybe take some powder to sort out that sweat sheen too…)
♥ Bring a friend for moral support. Your real personality is more likely to shine if you’re relaxed and having fun.
romanceaustralia.com/rwa20-fremantle-conference/
by Angelo Di-Benedetto
by Angelo Di-Benedetto
by Angelo Di-Benedetto
by Shelly Boston
by Shelly Boston
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Registration for Fremantle 2020 is coming up, and choosing a pitch appointment will be part of the registration process. Pitch registration will close at the end of the Early Bird registration offer this year.
For those who want to pitch, remember that a short, simple, but most of all interesting description of the essence of your book isn’t enough. You need to be able to follow through, with a book ready to send out if the editor or agent requests the full.
In creating your pitch, think about the premise of your story, the themes and the hook. Write them down, and play with them until you feel you have a handle on them. Also, if you have critique partners or beta readers, ask them what they think the premise and hook of your story is. Quite often you may be too close to easily see it, and someone else with more distance can help narrow things down.
A good way to approach things when you start to work with the rough notes you’ve got on premise, hook and theme is to look at the back page blurb of books that are
similar to yours, or books whose blurb really jumped out at you. Study how they are put together, what you like, what you don’t like, and start to put something unique together for your story.
Be able to succinctly describe who your characters are and have a short punchy explanation of their goals, motivations and conflicts (internal and external). Try to include the emotional highs, lows and major plot points. It might look like this:
“When (hero/heroine), a (role) who (empathy/setup) is (opportunity), she/he decides to (new situation/preliminary goal). But when (change of plans)she/he now must (outer motivation/primary goal) by (hero’s plan/deadline) as well as (secondary goal) in spite of the fact that (outer conflict).”
Don’t forget: You are the expert on your story. If you love it, go in confident that you will get your goal, a request for submission of part of your story.
The Pitch ProcessRWA’s mission is to promote excellence in romantic fiction,
to help aspiring writers become published and published authors to maintain and establish their careers, and to provide continuing support for romance writers – whatever their genre – within the romance publishing industry.
One of the ways it achieves this mission is through the annual conference and the opportunity for its delegates to pitch to an editor or agent.
Before the ConferenceYou need to be registered for the core conference (Saturday and Sunday) to be eligible for the opportunity to pitch your story, face to face with one of the business representatives, editors, and agents attending, and pitch registration will close at the end of the Early Bird registration offer.
Make sure you understand the language of publishers/editors/agents before you begin. Knowing
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Secrets of a Successful Pitch
by Michelle Diener, Pitch Coordinator, RWA Conference Team Fremantle 2020
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where your story belongs is crucial when you start looking at who to target. Is it a romance or is it a story with romantic elements? Stories suitable for one of Harlequin Mills & Boon’s category lines is unlikely to be of interest to someone looking for commercial women’s fiction. Don’t waste your time or theirs pitching to the wrong publishing house representative.
You will be asked to nominate your preferred option when pitching opens. To help you make this decision, read all the information on the agents / editors / publishers attending the conference included in this month’s Heart’s Talk.
Before you Register to PitchRead all of the information about pitch takers very carefully. You
may want to supplement this with further research. We are giving you the opportunity to do your research by releasing the information on agents / editors / publishers taking pitches before Early Bird registration opens.
How Pitching Will WorkPitch appointments are scheduled to run as one-on-one sessions of approximately seven or eight minutes each, during which time you will need to “tell me what your story is about, how it fits in my line and what makes it stand out,” as one senior editor put it. Remember to leave time for the publisher/agent to ask any questions they have.
Make sure you have a business card in case you are asked for your
contact details and rehearse your pitch at every opportunity. Subtly practice your pitch on friends, fellow writers and future readers.
Please be on time or early for your pitch sessions and other appointments. Be courteous and thoughtful of those you are pitching to, and to fellow delegates pitching.
After the Conference
Make good on your promises. Get that submission in as soon as you go home. RWA is ready to encourage you, waiting to hear your call story, hoping for your dream to come true.
Good Luck!
Business appointments & pitching opportunities at Fremantle 2020by Michelle Diener, Pitch Coordinator, RWA Conference Team Fremantle 2020
A host of agents, editors, publishers and business collaborators will be available to meet with in person at RWA Conference in Fremantle this year.
We are happy to have both Dan Woods and Kevin Tumlinson from Draft2Digital available to take business appointments at Fremantle 2020. You can put in a request to meet with the Draft2Digital team to discuss anything you’d like about self-
publishing. Learn more about all the opportunities out there for your books in digital, print and audio or ask about the latest marketing tips.
Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy will also be available for appointments. As one of the founders of Reedsy, Ricardo has helped to create the world’s leading marketplace of publishing professionals — from editors to proofreaders, cover designers, book marketers and
literary translators. Ricardo is happy to discuss any marketing or advertising-related topics, as well as offer guidance on hiring editors, designers, marketers, translators, assistants, etc.
Also obviously happy to answer any
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questions about Reedsy and Reedsy Discovery.
We are also happy to welcome Melanie Cole from IngramSpark. IngramSpark provides print on demand and global distribution services for authors, and Melanie is happy to provide guidance on using IngramSpark to self-publish their titles for those who book a business appointment with her.
We are so pleased to have Camille Kidson, Business Manager of Apple Books Australia and New Zealand joining us in Fremantle as well. Apple Books is on over 1 billion devices worldwide because it is the inbuilt reading app on all iPhones and iPads. Apple Books aim to find and promote books they think their customers will love and would love to talk to authors to help support them with ways they can work directly with Apple.
Their primary focus is on customer experience: They want readers engaging with authors’ books on their devices. They’d like to talk to authors about all the ways in which they can succeed on Apple Books. They are happy to talk through any questions authors have on setting their book (or series of books) up on the Apple store or, more broadly, tips on how authors can work with them to succeed on Apple Books.
Find An Agent: Below we tell you about the agents taking pitches and what they are looking for, so you can find the best person to pitch your work to.Alex Adsett is a literary agent specialising in fiction for all ages, as well as a freelance publishing consultant offering commercial contract advice to authors and publishers. She has more than
twenty years of experience working in the publishing and bookselling industry and has managed Alex Adsett Publishing Services since 2008.
As a consultant, she has helped hundreds of authors review and negotiate their publishing deals, or strategise about their career path. As a literary agent, she is focused on finding exceptional fiction and non-fiction manuscripts for adults, young adults and children, with a focus on genre fiction. She represents more than forty authors including Melissa Lucashenko, Isobelle Carmody, Sasha Wasley, Leisl Leighton, Jodi McAlister and many more. She is often on twitter at @alexadsett or via her website alexadsett.com.au.
What Alex is looking for: Single title only (75k and upwards for adults) and 60,000 and upwards for YA.
What Alex isn’t looking for:Not looking for urban fantasy or dystopian (I love it, but unless you have an incredible new angle, and I mean *incredible*, it is almost impossible to sell to publishers at the moment)
The genre or sub-genre Alex is particularly keen to see:
Romantic mysteries, with a really strong plot and wonderful characters. Bonus points for something set during the glamourous 1920s or 30s.
Science fiction or fantasy romances – particularly by authors from a diverse background (culturally, socially, economically, lifestyle etc)
What is Alex’s favourite genre:
Normally, I adore SFF romance, but
right now I’m loving the brilliant rom coms like Red, White & Royal Blue, and The Hating Game.
What is Alex’s major turn-off in a book?
Stupid heroines, unequal relationships, and heroes who don’t listen or wait for consent.
What will knock Alex’s socks off besides an engaging voice and well-written book?
Strong characters interacting as equals. Friends to lovers. Bantering relationships that aren’t mean. Consent.
Alex’s advice to prospective pitchers:
Make sure your manuscript is finished (or as close to finished) as possible before you pitch. Write what you love, even if the trends are not supporting it at the moment.
Tanera Simons joined Darley Anderson in 2017 with a view to building their women’s fiction list.
She is actively looking for stand-out stories and compelling voices in all areas of the genre, but particularly enjoys contemporary rom-coms, uplifting love stories, and sweeping historical romances. Tanera currently represents authors Beth O’Leary, Sandie Jones, Mandy Baggot, Claire Frost, Lauren North, Nicola Gill, and Mary Hargreaves, to name a few. Collectively, her authors have Sunday Times top 5 bestselling status, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, and WHSmiths’ Fiction Book of the Year.
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Find an acquiring editor who loves your work: below is a list of the editors attending Fremantle 2020 who will be taking pitches and what they are looking for, so you can find the best fit for your work.Anna Boatman is the publisher across PCR Fiction. She oversees the Piatkus Fiction and Constable Crime lists, which publish women’s fiction and crime fiction respectively, and has five editors across those imprints working for her.
She began her career eleven years ago at Mills & Boon, so romance is her first love, and though she’s always on the lookout for books that might suit editors across the team, she directly acquires and edits commercial fiction for Piatkus, particularly all kinds of romance fiction. Her authors range from international bestsellers such as J. R. Ward, Julia Quinn, Mary Balogh, Sarah Maclean, Charlaine Harris and Christine Feehan to new authors across a whole range of genres, such as romantic comedy (Sally Thorne), fantasy (Maria Lewis), Historical fiction (Pamela Hart), or commercial fiction (Love Letters From Montmartre, a beautiful love story translated from German). She’s always on the lookout for very commercial stories, fantastic characterisation and authors who have the ability to not only deliver consistently high-quality fiction but also to reach out directly to their fans. If it’s addictive, page-turning, uplifting, emotional and creates a world readers want to return to, she will want to read it!
Annette Barlow has worked at Allen & Unwin, Australia’s largest independent publishing house,
for over twenty-five years. She has a wide and vibrant list of fiction and non-fiction, and is proud to publish Fleur McDonald, Karly Lane, Nicole Hurley-Moore, Maya Linnell, Lee Christine, Kate Morton, Kirsty Manning, Genevieve Gannon, Jessica Rowe and Minette Walters, among others.
What Annette is looking for: Single title only (70 k and upwards).
What Annette isn’t looking for:
Fantasy and sci-fi, category romance.
The genre or sub-genre Annette is particularly keen to see:
I’d love to acquire another rural storyteller, optimistic in tone, with real rural issues in the narrative mix and engaging characters. There’s a big place in my heart for a gripping historical/contemporary dual narrative. And I’m also keen on acquiring contemporary domestic drama, like the works of Petronella McGovern, Genevieve Gannon and Charity Norman.
What is Annette’s favourite genre:
That’s a hard question. I love working with Fleur McDonald, Karly Lane, Nicole Hurley-Moore, Maya Linnell and Lee Christine on rural stories. And I also adore the satisfying weaving together of historical/contemporary narratives by authors such as Kate Morton and Kirsty Manning.
What is Annette’s major turn-off in a book?
Something that makes me yawn! Perhaps that’s caused by an information dump in the beginning pages or single-dimensional
characters or cliched language.
What is likely to really knock Annette’s socks off besides an engaging voice and well-written book?
Well, if it has those two advantages already, I’m keen. But to really knock my socks off, I’d want to feel from the first page that I’m spending my time with a writer who has a talent for storytelling.
Annette’s advice to prospective pitchers:
Don’t be nervous, remember all of the people to whom you pitch really, really, really want your book to be fantastic. Know your market, know your competitors’ books and tell me why yours is going to stand out in the marketplace.
Rachel Donovan works with the Harlequin publishing team as a commissioning editor. She has been in the Australian publishing industry for over ten years and has worked in a variety of roles from administration and sales to editorial. She joined Hachette Australia as a division coordinator before branching out into product management and marketing in the heady days of YA Vampire romances.
She crossed over into editorial with the local publishing division before moving to Allen & Unwin. There she worked with a creative and fun children’s publishing team as a children’s editor. Over the years she has helped create books of fantasy, moving memoirs, kids’ picture books and
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ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202011
war stories; but fiction is her one true love. Now she is dedicated to hunting down those compelling stories filled with unforgettable characters that you can’t put down.
What Rachel is looking for: For HQ Fiction and Mira imprints: Single title only (80k and upwards)
For Escape: 40,000 – 80,000 (short novel) & 81,000 – 100,000 (novel)
What Rachel isn’t looking for:
For HQ Fiction and Mira imprints: Erotica, Horror, YA and Children’s, Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Georgina/Regency/Scottish historical romance and non-fiction
Escape: must include a central romance or romantic elements focused on lead characters and an uplifting ending.
The genre or sub-genre Rachel is particularly
keen to see:Romance: rural, historical, suspense, contemporary — funny, sad and in between! — women’s life fiction, family saga and historical epics, particularly with Australian content.
What is Rachel’s favourite genre:
There are too many to count! Like most readers, I read widely.
What is Rachel’s major turn-off in a book?
Psychological tension and the connection between people is engrossing, but anything overly gory on the page is hard going.
What is likely to really knock Rachel’s socks off besides an
engaging voice and well-written book?
Something that shows you more about the world around us or the universality of human experience without you even realising it as you’re too engrossed by the characters.
Rachel’s advice to prospective pitchers:
It’s easy to say, I know, but don’t be nervous. I want to hear all about you and your story, as we’re actively looking for novels by new local voices.
Jo Mackay heads the local lists for Mira and HQ at Harlequin Books Australia, commissioning fiction and nonfiction. A passionate advocate for her authors, Jo firmly believes good writing can change lives. She loves strong characters, historical novels, suspense, family saga, pacey woman-centred fiction, psychological thrillers, romance set in close-knit communities and any story she can’t put down after the first page.
Jo has worked in publishing for more than 20 years. Originally from the UK, she began her career as a journalist in London before training as a book editor. Since then she has worked in Australia for several trade publishing houses in senior editorial roles, including six years as a Commissioning Editor at ABC Books and three years as an Associate Publisher at HarperCollins Publisher. She has worked at Harlequin since 2014.
All the best to everyone who will be pitching at Fremantle 2020, I look forward to seeing you there!
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FebruaryWe spent February chasing speaker agreements, locking down the program and organising who was coming to take pitches. Then the lovely Donna added all of the information to Grenadine and set up registration.
MarchRegistration will open this month! As of the Hearts Talk deadline (Feb 8) we don’t have a definite registration date, but we will send an email to all members when it opens. Now we’ll be looking at organising all of the extras: the masseuse, confirming details with the bookshop, checking the merchandise quotes and quantities and starting to draft the pdf program. We’ll also be looking into sourcing items for the annual charity fundraiser.
Conference
Team
Journal
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 12
Budding authors gathered at The Sebel in Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast to learn from the experts at the first Sunshine Writing Lab workshop by The Writers Emporium in early February. Multi-published authors Rachel Bailey and Josephine Moon shared their expertise with fifteen participants including writers of romance, commercial
women’s fiction, scriptwriting and non-fiction. Over two days of workshops, topics ranged from writing a premise that hooks, approaches to finding the story in the research, the importance of conflict, using description to bring your work to life, creating crackling sexual tension, structuring a robust novel, creating engaging characters and exploring a new
approach to finding the time to write. The program finished with a question and answer session. Sessions included small group work, one on one discussions and writing exercises. Participants travelled from as far afield as Biloela, Brisbane and Melbourne to take part. For more details and to find out about future events, visit https://thewritersemporium.com/
Regional Workshop a Success
Photos from the Sunshine
Writing Lab workshop
Brisbane’s Anita East writes non-fiction and was thrilled to learn story-telling techniques from best-selling contemporary fiction author and co-presenter Josephine Moon.
Former ABC radio presenter Mary-Lou Stephens now writes “late-historical” and enjoyed comparing notes with Brisbane writer Fiona Gallan.
Flying the romance flag were Melbourne category romance writer Clara Ai; best-selling author, co-presenter and PhD in Popular Romance Studies student Rachel Bailey; and Brisbane paranormal romance writer Heather Epstein.
Hearts Talk editor Sara Hartland practised her networking skills as well as polishing her grasp of writing craft with presenters Rachel Bailey and Josephine Moon.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202013
More photos from the Sunshine Writing Lab
Romance writers Karina May from Sydney and Jo Edgar-Baker, Sunshine Coast, enjoyed the workshop.
All smiles were Brisbane historical romance writer Ava January, co-presenter Jospehine Moon and contemporary women’s fiction writer Marie-Louise Willis, Sunshine Coast.
Diane Anderson drove from Biloela to attend and learn tips for polishing her rural romance. With her is Janie Dowdell, a Sunshine Coast contemporary fiction writer.
Brisbane paranormal writer Heather Epstein chatted in a break with co-presenter Jospehine Moon.
Contemporary romance writer Sara Hartland chatted with historical romance writer Toni Wass from Tanawha.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 14
Setting: Another Character in Your Novelby Fiona Lowe
Last year during a Better Reading podcast, the interviewer said to me, “Your novels are unapologetically Australian.” I was taken aback, but given that since 2017, I’ve been exclusively writing novels about family and community set in small Australian country towns, that’s hopefully a good thing! But it got me thinking about the importance of setting and how it’s another character in your novel.
Setting, written well, lives and breathes. I once set a book in London, (it was a Mills & Boon continuity) using a twenty-year-old memory, Google Street View and tourist brochures. I did a fair job and it worked, but I had no idea how noisy that part of London was or the colour of the sky. Did the canal stink? What was the mix of nationalities who strolled the streets? Nothing comes close to standing in the heart of a place and using all five senses. In Home Fires, readers breathed in the scent of eucalyptus and pungent choking smoke of a bushfire. They experienced day turning into night and the heat burning their skin. In my current release, Just an Ordinary Family, it’s the salt, seaweed and the distinctive smell of fresh fish straight off the boat that rises off the page.
Kurnai Bay is an amalgam of Metung, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance in Victoria, so I spent a week in East Gippsland – half the time on land and the other on a yacht sailing around the Gippsland Lakes – to get a sense
of the place. I talked to people. I read the community notice board. I eavesdropped on conversations in the Sports bar, I hung out in the library and I read the local papers. I stood on the dock and chatted to a guy who cleaned tourist boats. That was gold, because one of the characters in the book owns a boat hiring company. It turns out that blocked toilets and getting stranded on sandbars are the two biggest reasons they are called out to help. Information like this gives layers and texture to your book.
Just an Ordinary Family starts in January and ends in December. To show the passing of the seasons, I used a series of community events that also demonstrate life in rural communities. Across the book plot points occur at barefoot bowls, sausage sizzles, Nippers, Relay for Life, mid-winter light installations, spring fetes, community art fairs and the book finishes in a cascade of New Year’s Eve fireworks. It’s quintessentially Australian.
Setting a book in another country? Research their events. For example, the Fourth of July in the USA – every small town has a parade. Guy Fawkes night in the UK – they still let off fireworks. Hari Raya Haji in Malaysia – believe me, the entire population returns to their village and it’s chaos on the trains and the roads.
Can you smell, taste, feel your setting in your current WIP? Have you melded it with your plot and linked it to the emotional arc of your characters? Have at it,
because it adds depth to your novel and weaves another strand of story to entice your reader. And don’t we all want to do that?
Fiona Lowe is the author of Just An Ordinary Family, HQ Fiction, details on winning a copy, page 15. Fiona’s also been a midwife, a sexual health counsellor and a family support worker; an ideal career for an author who writes novels about family and relationships.
A recipient of the prestigious USA RITA® award and the Australian RuBY award, Fiona’s books are set in small country towns and feature real people facing tough choices and they explore how family ties impact on their decisions. You can find her at her at fionalowe.com, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202015
Rutherford, Anthony score wins in The Emilys
Thanks to Fiona Lowe, one lucky Hearts Talk reader will get the chance to read her new novel, hot off the press. The first reader to email [email protected] with the subject line Just an Ordinary Family and their postal address in the body of the email will find a copy in their mailbox.
Giveaway
Time!
This year marked the 30th year of The Emilys Writing Contest. The West Houston RWAmerica Chapter is very proud of the contest which continues to attract entries from all over the world. Our very own Nicole Flockton is a member of the West Houston Chapter, and was the Contest Coordinator in 2011.
“It’s a very popular contest in the US and is well respected,” said Nicole. “I know there have been more entries from Australia and New Zealand in the last couple of years.”
Romance Writers of Australia was well-represented with three writers making the finals list, with six entries.
Jackie Rutherford won the Contemporary Romance – Long, with The Reality of Mr Right, and Young Adult Romance with The Ex-Factor. Kali Anthony won Contemporary Romance – Short with Second Chance Spouse.
Kali also received a request for her full manuscript from an editor.
“I’m in the middle of a horrendous house move and wasn’t thinking about the Emily Awards! The news of my category win came like a bolt out of the blue and still hasn’t sunk in,” says Kali. “I need to take the time to process it all and drink some champagne, because it hardly feels real. I’m a little stunned, to be honest.”
Jackie was thrilled with the results. “It’s a big honour to win a category in a contest, to win two was incredible. I was especially excited as both my winning
entries are new story ideas I’ve
just started testing in contests, so
it was great to get such a positive
response to them.”
Congratulations again to Jackie,
Kali and Nancy Cunningham, who
finaled in the Historical Romance
category, for your sterling efforts
and just rewards!
Jackie Rutherford
Kali Anthony
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 16
The Art of Goal Setting for a Rocking Writing YearThe year is off to a flying start! I absolutely loved seeing all the 2020 goals of some of our talented authors in the last Heart’s Talk. So, do you have your writing goals set? Or are they more hopes, wishes, and prayers?
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” – Zig Ziglar
Without some practical goal-setting, the words won’t get written, and the books won’t get finished. Setting goals doesn’t need to be daunting or demotivating. I love setting my writing goals for a new year (I usually do this around October/November of the previous year, and my other Indie Lane authors do it around that time too).
A good goal should challenge you to do better, but it shouldn’t leave you feeling mentally or physically defeated. When you set your goals, set them to suit you, not someone else. Don’t set unrealistic targets on the number of words you think you can write – stretch yourself a little, but still set yourself up to succeed.
The nuts and bolts of your writing goals starts with how many books you’d like to write in the year. Then get out your calendar and block out dates where you can’t write (holidays, birthdays etc), then you need to work out your monthly,
weekly, and daily word counts. I download a yearly calendar into a spreadsheet and do my plan there, but it can be online, in a planner, on paper – whatever works for you.
Claire B’s hot tip This year I’ve started using Agantty, a free online gantt chart software which allows you to put in your tasks and then mark them as complete. You can set it up to send you daily or weekly reminders of the tasks you need to complete in order to hit your deadlines.
Remember, be honest with yourself. Don’t assume you can write say 3,000 words a day if you’ve never done it before. On the other hand, don’t give yourself too much extra time either. Have you heard of Parkinson’s Law? Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. I know if I leave too much time, the writing stretches out to fill that time.
Anna’s hot tipAt the beginning of the year, I book all my dates in with my editor. Then I don’t have any delays with a book because my editor is busy AND it helps keep me accountable. I know I need to get the words done to meet my deadline.
Goals keep you focused. Every day, you wake up knowing how many words you need to write and when you need to write them. It’s also a great idea to share your goals with your family or an online group to help keep you accountable.
Write them up where you can see
them and cross them off when they’re done.
Clare C’s hot tip Reward! Hitting goals is definitely its own reward, but I do like to give myself a bit of extra motivation. Daily, this is usually a cup of tea per thousand words (and sometimes a Haigh’s frog). Weekly, it’s a new magazine or book, and annually, it’s scheduled weeks off. But if I’m behind schedule, I lose that week – and that is very powerful encouragement to hit those goals! If you have a bad day or week, don’t quit. Life happens (for me it is usually sick kids!) and there will be times when you get off plan, but it’s important to just keep going. Part way through the year, you might need to adjust and tweak your plan depending on how you’re doing. So, if you haven’t already, set your writing goals and get writing!
Life in the Indie Lane by Anna Hackett This column is a team effort between Indie authors Anna Hackett, Clare Connelly, Claire Boston and Michelle Diener.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202017
Lights. Camera. Kindle! Marketing techniques authors can borrow from the movie world.
I once read somewhere that authors should treat book launches like business startups, and I totally see that logic. In my former life as an advertising executive, I worked with a number of startups, and learned that they tend to be lean, hungry, nimble, and full of the kind of optimistic energy that gets sh#t done.
Startups attack the market at pace, and hit the ground running achieving goals that seemingly beyond their means, on tiny budgets and the smell of an oily rag, simply because they were driven by boundless passion and enthusiasm, and the will to succeed. All good stuff, and definitely qualities and characteristics that we as authors could benefit hugely from harnessing.
However, that’s a post for another day, and as someone who “watches” my books like movies in my mind as I write them, I see a number of parallels in the world of movie marketing that we, as authors, can employ to help raise our books from B-movie to blockbuster.
I should make it clear that I am aware movies have in some cases, multi-million dollar marketing budgets – whereas most authors,
and even publishers are working with way more modest coffers. However, even scaling down the techniques significantly, there are still some great ideas we can pilfer to suit our means and make work for us, just like the startups I mentioned above.
The first is the build up. Have you ever noticed how movies are marketed many months, sometimes even years, in advance? The truth is, the first few trailers are normally in the market long before the movie is complete. Sure the final movie is subject to change, but it’s unlikely to pivot enough to invalidate early trailers or other PR activities.
The same can be said for books. Don’t be afraid to share sneak peeks and snippets as they leave your fingertips – even unedited passages, even if they don’t end up making the final cut. This needn’t necessarily be to the wider public, but to a targeted niche, such as your newsletter or readers’ group, these work-in-progress updates can be the perfect way to “warm the pot,” and start generating interest and excitement in a project, way before it will ever see the light of day.
In fact, there can be value to be had
simply in dramatising the journey – keeping readers up to date with progress, even asking their input in certain aspects of the work. Helping to name characters or places can work well – the equivalent of the Hollywood trend of offering a role as an extra a prize, or putting together blooper reels, deleted scenes, and other snippets from the cutting-room floor.
Speaking of niches, one thing Hollywood does well is researching
and knowing the target audience/s for their products and marketing them accordingly. Movie-makers will go as far as changing elements of their films based on viewer feedback, and will also actively target different niches for the same movie. Likewise, knowing our audiences and the trends that appeal to them can (and arguably should) inform every aspect of our authorly endeavours—from the trends and tropes we write to, to the covers (and other imagery) we chose, to the formats and
platforms we distribute on, and in. Getting this stuff right – knowing who we’re talking to, and how to talk to them – can dramatically affect the trajectory of our books, for better or for worse. The same book can fly or flail based solely on (not) finding the right niche for it, and marketing it accordingly.
Marketing, Money & Motivationby MV Ellis
With a twenty-year career spanning advertising, marketing, social media, and life coaching, MV brings a unique skillset to the business of being an author.
Don’t be
afraid to
share sneak
peeks and
snippets
as they
leave your
fingertips.
...continued next page
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 18
A big element of movie marketing – especially Hollywood blockbusters is built around the star power of the actors – even cameo appearances can be leveraged to widen audience appeal. Obviously most books don’t have the advantage of being associated with Brad Pitt or Sandra Bullock, and the borrowed interest these kinds of stars bring (side note: if Brad is ever thinking of volunteering to promote a book, I humbly offer myself…I mean my books as tribute), but there are still learnings we can apply in our work.
One I particularly love is to treat the lead characters as though they are famous actors, and to bring them to life accordingly. Selecting cover models/images that work to market plays a big role here, as does promoting images of them wherever and whenever possible – this includes the movie poster teasers, and the movie book trailer. There are also more obscure opportunities – such as character interviews – that can help readers get to know the characters before they “meet” them in the book.
In this context, the author plays
the role of the director, seeking out opportunities to promote the craft aspect of project: author interviews, VLOGs, live feeds, guest appearances, and other reader-facing opportunities can really help
to bring readers on the journey with us, taking them behind the scenes with us, so they can see how the magic happens on the other side of the fourth wall.
The final piece of the movie marking puzzle tends to be the premiere – most movies live or die based on the first weekend’s box office sales. And while again, most book launches don’t involve a live event let alone one attended by Jason Momoa or J-Lo, we can still harness the power of the digital space
we operate in, to bring a touch of the red carpet hype to each release.
Whether this means blog tours, launch parties, big prizes, or stunts or gimmicks to really make a splash at release time, like a movie premier, these activities can really help to get a book on reader’s radar – and prompt them to click to buy – in those early moments just after it’s gone live. People have busy lives and short memories, so
any opportunity to remind those who have previously been aware but failed to commit (or new people who’ve somehow missed all of your other wonderful marketing efforts) is not to be sniffed at.
MV Ellis doesn’t just write romance, she lives it. She followed her heart halfway around the world to be with a man she sat next to on a wild 36-hour bus journey across sultry Brazil.
Visit MVEllis.com to learn more.
The final
piece of
the movie
marking
puzzle tends
to be the
premiere...
RWA is happy to announce that we’ve negotiated to extend the Ingram Spark On-Demand Pub-lishing code. This means that when you upload a manuscript to be printed and distributed through the Ingram network, you won’t have to pay a set up fee. Ingram will also be visiting us this year at our conference to help educate our members about their services. We look forward to seeing them there.
Use Code: SPARKRWAU
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202019
The Craft of Romanceby Elizabeth Rolls: [email protected]
Racial diversity in Regency LondonLet me say, right up front that any offence is far from my intent. However as a White woman writing about the issue of racial diversity, I apologise unreservedly in advance and would like to hear about it directly if I cause offence. I’m running a risk by writing in general terms because of space constraints, but please let me know if I screw up here.
I mentioned to a non-writing relative that I was writing about a biracial heroine in Regency London and got the Don’t Rewrite History Lecture. So I asked him if he seriously thought that London in, say 1800, had no non-White people, let alone other marginalised groups. He huffed a bit and said he supposed “those people” were there, but no one knew they were there. Because it wasn’t talked about.
The truth is far more complex than that. Marginalised people were there. People of Colour (POC) were certainly talked about – in the context of the abolition of the slave trade, and also in various tracts and pamphlets through the eighteenth century justifying the trade. But our view of Abolition tends to centre White men such as Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson. Our only view of the slaves themselves tends to be the plaque Josiah Wedgewood made for the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
If we want to truly reflect the world of our characters then we need to include the marginalised people in our stories. But then we have to be sensitive and respectful about their inclusion in our stories. We need to seek out sources from the marginalised. If you are going to write a story set in Regency Britain with a Mixed Race character, look for sources from that community as well as the more usual White-centred sources.
There is a very real tendency for us to assume that everyone in London in 1800 was at least White, if not British. Nothing could be further from the truth. Quite apart from European minorities, such as a sizeable population of French emigrés after the Revolution, there were many Black people in London. Some were quite well-off and moved in society, such as Ignatius Sancho and Olaudah Equiano, and Dido Elizabeth Belle – the subject of the movie Belle.
Some were servants. Others were part of London’s teeming population of paupers. Most were there courtesy of Britain’s involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. An excellent read for this context is David Olusoga’s Black and British. Another, dealing specifically with the slave trade, is Hugh Thomas’s The Slave Trade.
As writers how do we portray POC with sensitivity? We need to avoid traps such as including the White
Portrait of Dido Belle and her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murry
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 20
Saviour Trope (eg. the movie The Blindside) where a White character saves the POC, or including a token non-White character without their own character arc merely to assist the character arc of the White main character which can include The Magical Negro trope (think The Legend of Bagger Vance), or making the only non-White character/s in the story the villain/s. And once we’ve worked through all that we need to make sure we aren’t describing our characters in terms that POC find offensive, such as constant food analogies (almond-shaped eyes), “exoticism” or “othering”. Using metaphors that compare them to animals is not on. Yes, I know we like to describe our heroes as panther-like or leonine, but when writing about a racially marginalised person this is problematic because for a long time POC were literally viewed as sub-human. And let’s avoid other racial stereotypes such as Black characters being extremely athletic unless there is a reason for it beyond his/her skin colour.
Most of us now would find
the characterisation of the moneylender in Heyer’s The Grand Sophy to be deeply problematic, but did we even notice it as racist when we first read it as teenagers? We need to acknowledge our own unconscious biases before we even start. Robin Di Angelo’s book White Fragility is a good place to start doing that.
And returning to London we need to acknowledge that the wealth of Great Britain from the late seventeenth century on was largely founded on the slave trade and the slave plantations in the Caribbean. The very name of the West India Docks in London tells us that they were built to accommodate this trade, leaving London for the West Coast of Africa to pick up their human cargo, then the brutal Middle Passage across the Atlantic to deliver the captives, and then home to London laden with sugar, rum and molasses.
I mentioned White-centred sources. As an example I have a book, London Docks by John Pudney, published in 1975. In the chapter on the West India Docks not once
is the slave trade mentioned. Not. Once. That connection has been erased completely.
So all round we really do have some work to do if we want the worlds we create to reflect the diverse reality that existed.
Elizabeth Rolls is a two-time winner of the HOLT Medallion, and RuBy and RITA finalist.
There is so much to love about the books and authors nominated for the 2019 Australian Romance Readers Awards. Apart from adding another twenty books to your TBR pile, it features so many of our own RWA members. Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on March 7 in Sydney.
Tanya Nellestein has secured a ticket to A Romantic Rendezvous on
March 8 in Sydney and can’t wait to
fangirl all over the amazing authors
that will be at the signing. She
will be taking photos for the April
edition of Hearts Talk, so make sure
you find her and bring your best
smile – and your award, if you are
one of the winners.
Hearts Talk in Sydney at ARRA event
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202021
by Shona Ford (SE Welch)
OtherworldlyBitesAll Steamed UpSteampunk. I can hear you now—what is it and why would I want to read it? Sounds like something your goth brother-in-law would have on his bookshelf, so you’d never touch it, right? WRONG! Steampunk romance marries four of my favourite things: history, sci-fi, PNR and love.
For those of you unfamiliar with the genre, steampunk is the illegitimate love child of Victorian literature and cyber-punk sci-fi. Polar opposites, yes, but in reality, a match made in heaven. These books tend to explore the social mores of the Victorian era with its tightly hierarchical society while pairing it with an alternate, more technologically advanced history. This means that you can have a woman dressed traditionally in corset, bustle and hoop skirt (chaperoned, of course) taking a trip by ‘airship’ whilst being waited on by her mechanical butler. The best steampunk authors do this so seamlessly, you’d question whether history as you know it really happened.
Though it doesn’t have to, the steampunk genre is ripe for supernatural and paranormal elements to hijack a story. Because we are already suspending disbelief when we accept a Victorian world with technologically advanced elements, it’s easy to also accept vampires, werewolves, necromancers, witches and their ilk as being part of the social fabric of the time.
I read my first steampunk romance when I was given a copy of Gail Carriger’s Soulless in 2010. I’ve always loved paranormal romance
but was going through a phase where I couldn’t put down Jane Austen’s books, so a friend gave me her copy of Soulless to read. I finished it in a night, laughing out loud on many occasions (much to my husband’s sleepy disgust) and bought the eBook the next day. Carriger managed to marry a Victorian comedy of manners with a paranormal romance in an alternate history, and she sucked me right in. I’ve reread it so many times, I know lines by heart.
Meljean Brook’s The Iron Duke was next, and the premise was a lot darker, yet just as compelling. Victorian era, post-zombie apocalypse, lots of interesting tech—so much to love! Her books became a bit of an obsession for me. Melanie Karsak wove fairy tales into her steampunk world with Curiouser and Curiouser: A Steampunk Alice in Wonderland, and I devoured all of her Steampunk Fairy Tales series. Then her Airship Racers series. Did I mention I’m one of those readers? The ones who finish all your books and get cranky when you’re too slow writing the next?
Our own Bec McMaster has been my latest obsession. Vampires basically ruling Victorian London? Yes please! Her London Steampunk series starts with a bang with Kiss of Steel and each subsequent book only gets better. If you’re after something less on the paranormal and more on the mechanical or alternate history side, Iron Heart by M.C Dalton and Melanie Page (also RWA members) mixes mechanics and medicine in an unusual Victorian cocktail you’re guaranteed to love.
Most Steampunk Romances are slow burn, behind closed-doors
romance, though they get steamier if that floats your boat. Or should I say, ‘your airship’? Lots of the tropes associated with PNR books are present in Steampunk Romance, so those PNR fans looking to try something new will still be satisfied, while Historical Romance fans will appreciate a different take on what history could have looked like. As a fan of both Historical and Paranormal Romance, Steampunk is the perfect way for me to get a fix of both at the same time.
Oops. Now I sound like a junkie. And I’ve probably just shot my credibility to pieces. But the reality is, looking behind us through steampunk goggles helps us to question the decisions made in our past and consider whether the present we live in needs some…adjusting. After all, you can’t immerse yourself in steampunk without acceptance of diversity. And even in an alternate Victorian England, there are those who stand up for the greater good of all.
So if you haven’t tried one yet, lace up your corset (or fasten your stays), put on your top hat and gloves and stroll to your local bookshop. Pick up a Steampunk Romance and prepare to be whisked away on an adventure you won’t forget.
Shona Ford (S.E. Welsh) is a Territory author who, when not wrangling two kids and a full time job, puts fingers to keyboard to explore magic, mythology, history and love.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 22
Hoot, Hoot! Online Writing Labs
Dates: 2-27 March 2020Cost: RWA Member—$55. Non-RWA Member—$88
Venue: Online Moodle Platform
Spell Casting: An Introduction to the Craft of Writing with Karina Coldrick (craft)
Building Your Online Author Profile with Kate Larsen (Business)
Booking: trybooking.com/BHFFT
Most writers aren’t born with magic in their fingertips. While a rare few have a natural instinct for storytelling, the rest of us need to hone our craft. This class introduces tools to sharpen your skills.The best books casts a spell over readers, stealing them away from every day to let them live in someone else’s head. What are the tools and tricks used by wordwitches to create this magic? What should an apprentice wordsmith know?This workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of craft
including story, characters and worldbuilding, voice and writing style.Specific lessons include:
♥ Wordsmithing
♥ Deep Point of View
♥ Editing
♥ Character Goal, Motivation and Conflict
♥ World Building
♥ Plot Points
♥ Romance Beats
♥ Movement and FlowPresenters Bio
An internationally award-winning
writer, Karina Coldrick started penning Empire Strikes Back fan fiction as a seven year-old and hasn’t stopped writing since.
Originally from Perth, Australia, she met her husband-to-be when studying in the UK. After deciding they needed castles more than sunshine, Karina and her family moved to the Emerald Isle where they now live near the river Shannon. She writes romantic fantasy and contemporary romance. https://www.facebook.com/karinacoldrickwriter
Booking: trybooking.com/BHFGC
It’s more important than ever for writers to think about building an online author profile – even before they’ve been published. Join literary-sector leader and social media evangelist Kate Larsen to find out what options are available to you online, how to use them to your best advantage, and how to balance your writing time alongside the time you need to spend building your brand.
Learning outcomes
♥ Find out why you need an author platform.
♥ Look at what options are
available to you online.
♥ Explore ways to engage with online communities and audiences.
♥ Get tips on how to build your author brand and manage your reputation.
♥ Discuss the sticky issues of working online, such as pseudonyms and copyright concerns.
Presenter’s Bio
Kate Larsen is a writer, arts manager and non-profit/cultural consultant. Her work has been published or commissioned by The Relationship is the Project,
Guildhouse, Asialink Arts, Australia Council for the Arts, Kill Your Darlings, Overland Journal, Arts Centre Melbourne, and anthologies, magazines and blogs in Australia, Asia and the UK. An advocate of online creative communities, her alter ego Katie Keys wrote and posted a daily poem on social media for over a decade. She is also a former Director of Writers Victoria, Co-convenor of the Arts Industry Council of Victoria and CEO of Arts Access Australia.https://larsenkeys.com.au/
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202023
On-Demand course available from 3 February – 27 November 2020
Cost: RWA Member—$165. Non-RWA Member—$264.
Venue: Via Email
Hoot, Hoot! Online Writing Labs
Focus on the First Five with Samantha Bond: Individual Mentoring
ON DEMAND COURSE from 3 February – 27 November 2020 Cost: RWA Member—$165. Non-RWA Member—$264.Venue: Via EmailBooking: trybooking.com/BHRIH
Are you ready to submit your work to an agent or publisher? Want the best chance to impress? Then you’d better make sure your first few pages rock. Sending your work out into the world is a harrowing experience, but if you get those first five pages right, it has a far better chance of success.
The object of this on-demand workshop is to get those first five pages in top shape. My years of mentoring at the TAFE and university level have shown me the best way to improve written work is to focus on the individual writer.
Group activities are great, but individual feedback is for serious writers. You’ll learn not only how to improve your first pages, but will learn lessons applicable to your whole manuscript.
About the Presenter
Samantha Bond is a reformed corporate lawyer, now writer and public servant. Her creative work has been published in numerous national literary journals, anthologies and magazines. She has an Advanced Diploma of Professional Writing, winning the award for Highest Overall Achievement for her graduating class of 2014 and now teaches and mentors in that course.
https://samanthastaceybond.com/
Click here to view the full OWL schedule for 2020
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 24
Tips From An Industry Insiderwith Laura Boon
Romance publishers and imprintsFollowing on from my last column about imprints and what authors can learn from them, here is a list of specialist romance publishing houses and general publishers with romance imprints. The list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point if you’re looking for a publisher. To the best of my knowledge, they are all still viable and accepting submissions from authors at the time of going to
press.
It’s a good idea to spend time on a publisher’s website, explore their submission guidelines and read up about their different imprints. If there isn’t much information about the different imprints, try reading a couple of titles to discern the difference between imprints. In romance, imprints can be divided by heat level and/or sub-genre.
Most of the publishers listed are small press publishers. The bigger houses usually don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts and you need an agent to approach them. However, many Australian
branches of large international publishers do not adhere to that rule.
As far as I am aware, all the publishers listed below accepted unsolicited manuscripts direct from authors and are full-service, royalty paying publishers, that is, authors are not required to contribute financially to the production and marketing of their book. If you know differently, or if you would like to highlight another romance publisher, please contact us.
Romance publishers and imprints
Publisher (A-Z) Imprint Overview Submission Guidelines
Ankara Press Digital. Sub-genre: Contemporary African
https://tinyurl.com/swlbkhd
Beachwalk Press Digital. All sub-genres. Minimum heat rating of sensual.
https://tinyurl.com/rkky3of
Belle Books Imajinn Digital. All sub-genres https://tinyurl.com/sbzyqpy
Blushing Books Digital and audio. Sub-genre: erotica
https://tinyurl.com/rczb2cs
Bold Strokes Digital. Sub-genre: LBGTQI including YA
https://tinyurl.com/r9392tv
Book Strand Siren Digital. Sub-genres: BDSM, m/m, menage
https://tinyurl.com/s8elk8b
Borroughs Publishing Group
Digital. All sub-genres https://tinyurl.com/sjxxqs9
Bullitt Publishing Digital. Sub-genre: contemporary
https://tinyurl.com/vfmxfrw
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202025
Changeling Press Digital. Sub-genre: short erotica
https://tinyurl.com/tppjqpp
Clean Reads Digital. Sub-genres: YA, NA, Contemporary. No swearing or open-door sex scenes.
https://tinyurl.com/u8a6s9j
City Lights Press Digital. Sub-genres: contemporary, historical, women’s fiction, NA, YA
https://tinyurl.com/uoth4rb
Decadent Publishing Digital and audio. Sub-genre: paranormal
https://tinyurl.com/va7ojwj
Dragonblade Publishing
Digital and paperback. Sub-genre: historical
https://tinyurl.com/rgzboc2
DreamSpinner Press Dreamspun Desires Digital, paperback, audio. Most genres
https://tinyurl.com/ych7me7z
Entangled Amara, August, Bliss, Brazen, Embrace, Entangled Teen, Indulgence, Lovestruck, Scandalous, Scorched, Teen Crave, Teen Crush
Digital and paperback. Most sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/smjkb37
Evernight Publishing Digital. Most sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/rvtwree
eXtasy Books eXtasy, Devine Destiny Digital. Sub-genres: erotica and paranormal
https://tinyurl.com/y5xyxad4
Hachette Australia Paperback, digital and audio. Genre: women’s fiction
https://tinyurl.com/v79524k
HarperCollins including HMB
Carina Press US Digital first, most sub-genres, LBGQTI+ friendly
https://tinyurl.com/w26fnq6
Escape Australia Digital first, all sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/w6wok8k
HMB Australia including MIRA, M&B, HQ
Paperback, digital, audio. Most sub-genres.
https://tinyurl.com/v6cw63k
Harlequin US including MIRA, HQN, Inkyard, Graydon House
Digital, paperback. Most sub-genres excluding paranormal but including women’s fiction
https://tinyurl.com/zjwou7j
Mills & Boon Australia including Dare, Desire, Heartwarming, Historical, Intrigue, Medical, Modern, Forever Romance, Romantic Suspense, Cherish
Digital, paperback. Most sub-genres excluding paranormal
https://tinyurl.com/sbgb95u
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 26
Mills & Boon UK including Modern, True Love, Medical, Historical, Dare, Desire, Special Edition
Paperback and digital. Most sub-genres excluding paranormal
https://tinyurl.com/qudr7hm
Kensington Zebra Books, Paperback and digital. Most sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/w3nh8ap
Melange Books Melange, Satin Digital. Genres: erotic, paranormal, contemporary
https://tinyurl.com/s3hcgoa
Pan MacMillanAustralia
Digital, paper, audio. Sub-genres: contemporary, historical, erotica.
https://tinyurl.com/ur963y2 Submit on Manuscript Mondays only
Red Sage Digital and paperback: all sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/rf5xket
Riptide Publishing Digital. Genre: LGBQT, all sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/wacqy5o
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Casablanca Digital, paperback. Sub-genres: paranormal, romantic suspense, contemporary, erotic, historical (pre-1900)
https://tinyurl.com/ycckffbe
Spencer Hill Press Digital. Sub-genres: YA, adult contemporary
https://tinyurl.com/tohzp4p
Sweet Promise Press Digital. Sub-genre: contemporary. No swearing or open-door sex scenes. Submit a story idea based on a world that they have created.
https://tinyurl.com/yx6emp73
The Wild Rose Press Champagne, Crimson, Yellow, Sweetheart, Black Scarlet American, Tea, Cactus, Vintage
Digital and print. All sub-genres
https://tinyurl.com/qow2s4q The Wild Rose Press also has a self-publishing arm. Be sure to submit to their traditional publishing program.
Publishing houses which you can target through an agent include: Amazon (Montlake), Allison & Busby, Baker House (Bethany/Revell), Clan Destine Press, Hachette Book Group International (Headline Eternal, Piatkus Entice, Forever Yours), HarperCollins International (Avon, Impulse), Penguin (Berkley), Random House (Loveswept, Flirt), and Simon & Schuster
For more insider tips, read Laura’s monthly column on the RWA blog.
Laura Boon worked as a bookseller, sales rep, marketer and publicist before discovering the RWA and finding the courage and technique to write her own books. She is the author of two contemporary romances, the most recent being the novella, Lion Dancing for Love.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202027
Copyright: What is it and what is it good for?Copyright of a work gives the creator exclusive rights to publish, reproduce, perform, communicate and make an adaptation of their work. A Commonwealth statute, The Copyright Act 1968 (C/w) (http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/) regulates copyright law in Australia, which means the law is uniform throughout the country (yay!) Copyright protects works including literary works (textual materials, such as a novel, screenplay or poem), dramatic works (including plays and screenplays), musical works (music separate from lyrics) and artistic works (including paintings, sculptures and architectural drawings), and tries to find a balance between protecting the rights of the copyright holder and fair dealing with copyrighted works. As we’re all writers, I’ll focus on literary works in this (very brief and general!) overview.
Who owns the copyright?The creator. But note that if you write words as part of your day job, for example as an academic writing exam questions, or a marketing manager writing an ad campaign, the employer will likely hold copyright.
What is protected?The fundamental criteria are that the work is original (not a copy),
skill and effort has been exercised in its creation, and a human created it.
Do I have to register my copyright?
Copyright applies automatically when a work is created. No registration is necessary and there is no cost. The work simply has to be written down or recorded (put into a “physical or material form”). It doesn’t need to be published in the sense of “released to the public.” It doesn’t need a copyright “c”’ signal on it.
A reader has purchased my published novel. Does that mean they have copyright
over it?No! As the creator of a literary work, you will be the copyright owner, and as such you have a right to stop others from reproducing or communicating your work, or from selling rights to it to someone else.
Jane has an idea for a novel about a woman (a widow with four children) and her experiences in the 1850s Ballarat goldfields. She discusses this idea with her writing group. Another member of the group writes a book about a widow with two children, set in Ballarat in the 1850s. Does Jane have copyright over her original idea?
Copyright doesn’t protect ideas, so unless Jane’s specific words (for example, in a synopsis or a few lines from a workshopped Chapter 1) are copied or paraphrased in another’s work, there’s unlikely to be a breach of copyright. Even
then, it would likely only relate to the specific words taken without permission, not “a novel about a widow.”
What should a “copyright notice” look like?
The symbol “c” in a circle, the name of the owner of copyright and the year of first publication. While a notice isn’t required to protect copyright, it can serve as a good reminder that the novel is protected, who claims copyright, and the owner of the copyright.
Can I use my pseudonym in a copyright notice?
A pen name won’t have an impact on copyright protection (because no notice is required), but in order to make sure your copyright achieves maximum protection, it’s good to be identifiable. If your great grandchild (who inherits your estate) doesn’t know your pen name, they might not realise they have a right to protect the copyright in your work!
How do I prove I have copyright?
If someone infringes your copyright, you’ll need to show that you are the originator. This shouldn’t be difficult as a novelist as you’re likely to have drafts of your manuscript, but you might also have copyright in your outline (though see above – a 100 word outline would be subject to copyright, but that doesn’t mean there’d be a breach if a 100,000 word book with a similar idea were
Legal Beaglewith Penelope Janu
Editor’s Note: Protecting your hard work as a writer is important, so understanding copyright is time well spent. Save this for future reference, and make a note to check out the RWA conference session on estate planning when details are announced.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 28
written by somebody else).
How widely does Australian copyright law extend?
The law will apply to breaches that take place in Australia, notwithstanding creation or publication of the copyrighted material outside Australia.
My book was created and published here. Will
overseas jurisdictions protect it?
Australia has entered into a number of international treaties (or conventions) with other countries in which the signatories promise to respect the copyright laws of other countries. Sometimes however, the laws aren’t enforced. And pirates (damn them!) take no notice.
How long will my copyright last?
For works created before 1 January 2005, copyright lasted (with a few exceptions) for the life of the creator plus fifty years. Since then, Australia has extended the period to the life of the creator plus 70
years. But… copyright duration and protection varies throughout the world and enforcement can be extremely difficult.
Can my work ever be used without permission?
There are fair use defences where a small proportion of original work may be used for, for example, educational purposes, but there must always be creator attribution. On the whole however, using copyrighted material without permission will infringe copyright.
If someone changes my work so that it is barely
recognisable as mine, can there be a breach?
Yes! A good way to look at this is not what is different about the new work, but what is the same. So if only a tiny element of your manuscript, novel or novella is reproduced, there could be a breach and monetary penalties, and even imprisonment, can apply.
As always, note that this column provides general information—not legal advice. For further insights, I recommend the Australian
Copyright Council (www.copyright.org.au), which has some excellent fact sheets. The ACC can also direct you to a lawyer who can give legal advice!
Penelope was a solicitor and legal academic, but after the publication of four novels and a novella, now describes herself as a writer. Her most recent novel, Up on Horseshoe Hill, was published by HarperCollins in November 2019.
Many romance writers work across multiple genres. Are you, or someone you know, an indigenous writer who also writes Young Adult or junior fiction?
You may be eligible to enter the 2020 Daisy Utemorrah Award. This prestigious national award comes with prize money of $15,000 and a publishing contract with Magabala Books.
The Daisy Utemorrah Award is
for an unpublished manuscript of junior or YA fiction and is open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples currently living in Australia. The award is supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and the State Government of Western Australia.
Published and unpublished writers of all ages are eligible to enter, and applications close on 30 April 2020.
Launched in 2019, this national
Indigenous Writing Award Now Open Ambelin Kwaymullina
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202029
Valerie Parv contest opens soon There is only one contest left in our 2020 contest year. The much sought after Valerie Parv Award in which the winner will receive a year’s mentorship with Valerie Parv. To be eligible to enter you have to be an aspiring or emerging member (who has no work over 40K contracted or commercially available) or a non-member in the same category, to enter. There is still time to get your entry prepared as the contest opens 6-26 April.The Sapphire and Emerald contest have progressed to second round judging. It will be a week or two before the finalists will be sent to the industry judges for final judging. Sweet Treats and Spicy Bites are almost at the end of the judging process, as are the Ruby entries.The coordinators of the contests have done a marvellous job getting the
entries judged through a
very difficult summer, where
many of our volunteer
judges have been impacted
by the continued bush fire
emergency.
At the time of writing this,
the Anthology cover contest
entries have yet to be posted
online. I am looking forward
to seeing how creative our
members are.
Congratulations to our
Selling Submission winners.
♥ 1st Nancy Cunningham
♥ 2nd Bernadette Eden
♥ 3rd Tanya Nellestein
Thank you to Tanera Simons
from Darley Anderson who
was the industry judge for
this contest and who will be
one of our overseas pitching
agents at the Fremantle
Conference this year.
Contest News…by Linda Joyce, Contests Manager [email protected]
continued from page 26...
award recognises excellence in junior
and YA fiction and seeks to grow
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
writing for younger readers.
Aboriginal writer and illustrator
Ambelin Kwaymullina is a supporter
of the award.
Ms Kwaymullina comes from the
Palyku people of the Pilbara region
of Western Australia. She is the
author and illustrator of a number of
award-winning picture books as well
as a YA dystopian series. Her books
have been published in the United
States, South Korea and China.
Ambelin is a prolific commentator
on diversity in children’s literature
and a law academic at the University
of Western Australia.
“Our young people need stories...
They need stories that speak of
how to get through tough times,
and stories that celebrate who they
are and who they can be. The Daisy
Utemorrah Award is an incredible
opportunity for a First Nations voice
to speak, and the story they will
tell will help to nurture the next
generation of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander storytellers.”
The Daisy Utemorrah Award is part
of the WA Premier’s Books Awards.
The winning author will be awarded
at a ceremony at the State Library of
Western Australia in July 2020.
For award details and to apply, visit
Magabala Books’ website http://bit.
ly/38SDaisy
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 30
Advice on Getting Adviceby Lisa Ireland
After a few discussions with aspiring authors recently, I thought I’d write something on getting advice. Before I start, I want to tell you what my experience is so you can judge whether you want to listen to me or not. Basically, the premise of this article is CHECK CREDENTIALS before you commit, so it would be remiss of me not to give you mine.
I’m a traditionally published author. My sixth book is about to be released by Penguin Random House. Prior to PRH I was at Pan Macmillan and before that Harlequin. I started my career at a digital first publisher, Escape, (the digital arm of Harlequin) back in 2014, when the publishing landscape was markedly different to now. I am an author, not a publisher or an editor – I have no direct experience in those fields. I have never self-published and have no expertise in that area either. Some of my books have been Australian bestsellers, some have most definitely not!
So now you know what my experience is you can decide for yourself whether this article is something you want to read or take notice of!
Before I was published, I remember being desperate to do whatever it took to get a book on the shelf. I was a sponge ready to soak up whatever information I could get. I read craft books, went to author talks, did a writing course at TAFE and (thankfully) joined RWA. Self-publishing didn’t really exist as a viable option back then, and digital publishing was in its infancy, so
being published meant getting one of the big publishers to take me on. I knew it wouldn’t be easy and I wanted advice from those “in the know” on how to get there.
RWA was a wonderful source of information. Authors like Barbara Hannay and Nicola Marsh helped me out in the early days. As I got closer to publication, I met Rachael Johns and Fiona Lowe, who became trusted advisors. There were many others too, including “my tribe” (too numerous to mention here), a group of aspiring authors who were at the same stage of their careers as I was. We all pulled together and pooled our knowledge – and we all got there in the end. Every one of us is published now.
Most of this advice came for free. I didn’t pay a cent for the advice given by established authors and that’s one of the reasons I’m committed to helping aspiring authors now. Yes, I paid for my RWA membership and I paid to go to conferences. I paid for the TAFE course. But with all of these things, I was getting something tangible, and I knew the credentials of all the people providing the services I was paying for. I got what I paid for, and some!
Last year I was at a library talk and I was approached by a lovely woman who was hoping to be published soon (not an RWA member). She told me she’d been
made an offer by a publisher, but she was afraid the author services she would have to pay were quite expensive and she wondered what I paid. When I told her nothing at all she was quite surprised. She’d been quoted thousands of dollars. This made me very angry on her behalf.
Since then I’ve made it my business to talk to aspiring authors about their path to publication, and I’ve been absolutely shocked at some of the things I’ve been told. People paying big dollars for manuscript assessments or editing by people with (as far as I can tell) NO CREDENTIALS OR INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE.
Others paying subscriptions (over $1000 per year) to belong to exclusive groups, often with vague promises of publishing success. Some of these groups look very reputable, and some are set up by people who truly believe they are qualified to provide such a service, but that doesn’t mean they are good value.
Now for the practical advice. First some facts (mixed in with my educated opinion!)
♥ Anyone can call themselves an editor or a publishing advisor. Just because someone has a fancy website, doesn’t mean they are experienced or qualified in the field.
♥ Anyone can set themselves up as a publisher. Do your homework before signing your life away to a small press. Some
I’ve been absolutely shocked at
some of the things I’ve been told.
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202031
(not all) can’t do anything for you that you can’t do yourself as a self-publisher. You need to decide what benefit there will be to signing with a very small publisher as opposed to publishing on your own.
♥ Most “exclusive” subscriptions (Facebook groups, e-loops etc) are not worth paying for. If there’s a nominal fee for website maintenance or admin, that might be fair enough, but paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to belong to one of these groups is a waste of money. Most don’t provide anything you can’t get here in RWA or in other (free) online groups.
QUESTIONS TO ASK AN EDITOR, PUBLISHER OR
OTHER “EXPERT”.
♥ How many books have you worked on? Can you name some of your successful clients? (question for editor)
♥ What will you charge me? What can I expect for that? (editor/other advisor or expert)
♥ How many books have you published? (question for publisher)
♥ How many books do your authors sell on average? Can you give me figures for your highest selling authors? What about your lowest selling? (publisher)
♥ At what point can I get my rights back? (publisher)
♥ Are there any costs involved at all? The answer should be no, without exception.
♥ What editing/industry qualifications do you have? *Hint having written a book does not necessarily qualify someone to be an editor. Some authors make excellent editors, others do not. Writing and editing are very different skills. If a person’s only qualification is having written their own book, be cautious and do your research to find out if they are the right one for you. Ask previous clients if they were happy and READ their books to see if you think the editing is up to standard.
Remember we are stronger together. If you’re an aspiring author, don’t be afraid to ask questions. We were all in your shoes at one time.
Lisa Ireland is an Australian bestselling author. Lisa’s sixth novel, The Secret Life of Shirley Sullivan, will be published by Penguin Random House Australia in May 2020.
(HT editors: This article appeared as a post on the RWA facebook group on 6 February 2020 and is reproduced with Lisa’s permission. Comments and shared experiences from other RWA members make essential reading. )
Join the Wordcount
Warriors!Need some encouragement to make your word count? Join the Wordcount Warriors! This private Facebook group is for RWA members who want accountability and community for their writing targets.Click here to find the group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/384123381970479/or contact the RWA Admin on [email protected]
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 2020 32
News in BriefAudiobook sales on the rise
In 2019, five percent of book purchases in Canada were for audiobooks, up from 3.6 percent the previous year, according to Booknet Canada. Their survey found hardcover sales were 24%, down from 25.9% but otherwise little change to buyers’ habits. Paperbacks and ebooks held stead at 49% and 17%.
They noted that audiobook purchases may be underreported, as 26% of audiobooks were acquired through a subscription service and “may not have been considered a ‘purchase’ by survey respondents.
The survey was an online survey of adult, English-speaking book buyers across Canada through the year, asking book buyers about their purchases in the prior month.
Canadians love book clubs – for books, not wine!
A new study has busted the stereotype of book clubs being “an excuse to drink wine”. Reading Together: Book Clubs in Canada, found 64% of members reported they joined mainly to talk about books, and the second most popular reason was to be exposed to new books (56%), followed by the more social reasons: meeting new friends (50%), connecting with existing friends (39%) and talking about life (31%). Key influences for suggesting picks for clubs were word-of-mouth (52%), bookstores (49%) and libraries (44%)
US trend shows print book growth
Overall 6.5 billion print books were sold over the past decade in the United States, compared to just 1.8 billion e-books. “At the start of the decade, digital e-books were expected to decimate print book sales,” Kristen McLean, books industry analyst, NPD Bookscan said. “However, print books have remained surprisingly resilient. After a high point in 2013, e-books have continuously lost share to print books every year. Looking ahead, the growth in audiobooks is another trend expected to continue well into the next decade, as people shift some of their reading to listening on smart devices.”
Fifty Shades wins the decadeThe best-selling book of the past decade in the United States was Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James, reports NPD Bookscan. It sold 15.2 million copies from 2010 to
2019, and holds the top three positions in the decade’s top-ten ranking list, with nearly 35 million print and ebook sales. All the top ten had movie adaptions. The top three were Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker (10.4M copies) and Fifty Shades Freed (9.3M). In fourth place, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins sold
8.7M, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help sold 8.7M, and Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train sold 8.2M. Seventh placed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn sold 8.1M, with John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars on 8M, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson at 7.9M and Veronica Roth’s
Divergent selling 6.6M. (Source: The NPD Group / NPD Bookscan, NPD PubTrack Digital, includes U.S. print book and e-book sales, 2010-2019.)
Source: The NPD Group / NPD Bookscan, NPD PubTrack Digital, includes U.S. print book and e-book sales, 2010-2019.
Book deal for erotic romance
Suzy Shearer who writes contemporary and paranormal erotic romance has just signed a contract with publisher Evernight Publishings for a new book. Ash is book three in Suzy’s BDSM series The Silk Rope Masters. Keep your eyes out for it to be available in ebook format March or April. Find our more about Suzy at https://www.suzyshearer.com/
Got a romance news story? Shoot it through to the HT team at either [email protected] or [email protected]
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AUSTRALIA | MARCH 202033
Romance Writers of Australia Inc
PO Box Q740, Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230
Romance Writers of Australia Inc ABN 30 075 409 728 is registered in NSW as an Incorporated Association the liability of whose members is limited.
Please note that RWA is run by volunteers. The best way to make an enquiry is via email to [email protected], but if you call the phone number, please leave a message and someone will contact you as soon as possible.
WEBSITE
romanceaustralia.com
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romanceaustralia.com/blog
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RWA COMMITTEEPRESIDENT Joanne Tracey [email protected]
VICE-PRESIDENT Tracey Rosen [email protected]
TREASURER Bridie Smith [email protected]
SECRETARY Renee Geelen [email protected]
COMMITTEE MEMBERS Tanya Kean, Ebony Mckenna, Bree Vreedenurgh, Linda Joyce, Sara Hartland.
RWA CONTACTSADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Donna Munro [email protected]
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR Bree Vreedenburgh [email protected]
WEBMISTRESS Kim Lambert [email protected]
BLOG MANAGER Nancy Cunningham [email protected]
FACEBOOK MANAGER [email protected]
INSTAGRAM MANAGER Suzie Jay [email protected]
SPONSORSHIP Laura Harris [email protected]
MARKETING Ebony Mckenna [email protected]
MEDIA LIAISON vacant [email protected]
CONTESTS MANAGER Linda Joyce [email protected] deadlines, entry forms and sample scoresheets are at www.romanceaustralia.com. If you have a query about a contest, please email the contest coordinator for that contest first, then the contest manager. All contest staff are volunteers.
JUDGE COORDINATOR Kristine Charles [email protected]
RUBY COORDINATOR Sarma Burdeu [email protected]
OWL COORDINATOR Libby Iriks [email protected]
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Kenny Raine [email protected]
CONFERENCE/EVENTS COORDINATOR Tanya Kean [email protected]
MEMBER SERVICES COORDINATOR vacant [email protected]
CRITIQUE MATCHMAKERS Madeline McCreanor [email protected] Bernadette Eden - host [email protected]
ASPIRING AUTHOR AMBASSADOR Dannielle Line [email protected]
EMERGING AUTHOR AMBASSADOR Samantha Marshall [email protected]
ESTABLISHED AUTHOR AMBASSADOR
Elizabeth Rolls [email protected]
FACE-TO-FACE GROUPS exist throughout Australia, and for queries on how to join an existing group or start one yourself: Rowena Candlish [email protected]
HEARTS TALK TEAMEDITORS Sara Hartland (content) [email protected] Tanya Nellestein (content) [email protected] Lana Pecherczyk (design) [email protected]
MEMBER NEWS [email protected] [email protected]
TEAM MEMBERS Pam Collings, Barbara Hannay, Vonnie Hughes, Penelope Janu, Moraig Kisler, Jodie Morphett, Serena Sandrin, Patsy Poppenbeek, Janette Whitehead, Catherine McKinnon, Nicola McEniery, Carolynn King, Shelagh Merlin, Lisa Stewart, Jodie Gibson, Debbie Deasey, Esther Clark, Anna Hackett, Michelle Diener, Claire Boston, Clare Connelly, Carolyn Wren, Laura Boon, MV Ellis.
HEARTS TALK RIGHTS INFORMATION Hearts Talk is the official publication of RWA Inc. and no part may be reproduced or used without prior written permission from the Editor. Reproduction rights may be arranged between agreed parties only on the condition that appropriate credit is given to RWA, Hearts Talk and the author of the article. All material appearing in Hearts Talk may be reproduced by RWA in any form for any purpose. Copyright remains with the author.
The views expressed in Hearts Talk do not necessarily reflect the official policy of RWA. All care is taken to verify details included in these pages but no responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies or actions arising from the information. If notified of errors, a correction may be published in a subsequent issue if warranted.
Deadline for Hearts Talk submissions is the 8th of the month before publication.
© Copyright 2019
Main point of contact: [email protected]
NEW RELEASES MARCH 2020
Continued to the next page for more new releases!
Title available as ebook.E Title available as print and ebook.P
Forgotten Lena West
Gymea Publishing
E
Just an Ordinary Family Fiona Lowe
HQ
PA
Arousal to Zipper: Linda Mercury Linda Mercury
E
Deadly Falls Phillipa Nefri Clark Phillipa Nefri Clark
E
Beloved Viking Ree Thornton
E
Expendable Camille Taylor Indie Published
E
Bindarra Creek 3 Book Box Set Suzanne Gilchrist
Mallee Star Enterprises
P
Sweet Texas Fire Nicole Flockton
Tule Publisher
E
Fighting for Nadia Nicole Flockton
Aces Press
E
One Night with the Sexiest Man Alive
Ainslie Paton
E
Callum Sasha Cottman
Self Pubbed
P
Choosing Lillian Rania Battany Self Published
E
The Gamble S.E. Welsh
Boroughs Publishing Group
P
The Return of Her Billionaire Husband
Melanie Milburne
P
Reunited By Their Secret Daughter
Emily Forbes
P
Revelations of a Secret Princess Annie West
Harlequin Mills and Boon
P
Nemesis Christina Phillips
Indie Published
P
Paradise Valley Camille Taylor Indie Published
E
One Night with His Rival Robyn Grady
Harlequin Desire
P
Reckoning Sandra Carmel Totally Bound
P
NEW RELEASES MARCH 2020Title available as print and ebook.
Please visit www.romanceaustralia.com to upload your new release cover for a future edition of Hearts Talk. You will need to login to the website first. You can also include a URL to link to a book page or author website. Covers and information must be received by the 8th of the month prior to publication.
Title available as ebook.E Title available as print and ebook.P
The Master and the Sorceress Bernadette Rowley
Bernadette Rowley Fantasy
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Home from the Hill Susanne Bellamy
Self published
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Love and Other Addictions Isabella Hargreaves Isabella Hargreaves
E
Awakening the Duchess Eva Shepherd
Harlequin-Mills & Boon
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Scarlett and the Model Man Cathryn Hein
Indie
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Click on each cover image to learn more about the book.
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