The Bellagio Conservatory-photo by the author
I returned from Sin City this weekend ready to write and confirmed in the general direction of my plans. The master class on Tension and Conflict was super helpful and so were sessions on Female Archtypes, Marketing, and Medical History among others. Hobnobbing with other writers is always motivating and motivational.
What did I learn? Here are some things:
- Traditional publishing continues to prioritize print publishing.
- HistFic authors continue to long for acceptance by agents and trad publishers.
- Any time authors were asked about their work over half would cite 20th century, predominantly World War II novels. We also heard that World War II stories are “over.” It confirms my belief that writing to the market is futile. You may get lucky; you may miss it altogether.
- Historical Romance is “dead.” Really? I’ve heard it was dying for over 30 years. In my opinion, it seems to be dying out of traditional publishing even as it continues to flourish in the digital publishing world, the world I work in.
- All authors have to promote, but it is critical to “do what you can, lest you burn out.” I came away with ideas for simplifying and prioritizing. The most important thing is THE BOOK…it is also important to cultivate community.
- Medical/health issues are a part of character development. I have a new form on that subject to add to my routine character development tools.
- A key element in any novel is conflict. A storyteller has to raise the stakes for the main characters over and over. The higher the stakes, the greater the tension. I may have known that but it has been reinforced in me.
So this week the plan is to get Valentine Wishes off to beta readers,** and to make progress on my story for the Bluestocking Belles’ holiday anthology. Both are due in September. Then a big project starts; I’m ready for it. I’m also working on a marketing system I can apply to every story and long term. But first, coffee.
**A note about beta readers. I need some. I’m looking for people who love to read and read A LOT. Members will receive early drafts of my work and be ask to provide feedback on things like plot holes, pacing, character confusion etc. I will communicate with them via Facebook messenger or a private Facebook group so they must be comfortable with that. If you are interested, please send me a direct message.