Following the RWA conference in Orlando, I and most other authors I talked to, both published and unpublished, came away with the impression that the romance publishing industry was in the doldrums, that all print book publishing was in dire trouble, that continuing to be published was about as chancy as selling a manuscript for the first time.
In short, there was enough trouble to go around to everyone. It was enough to send a girl to the bar, if only for tea and sympathy from fellow sufferers.
That was then; this is now. Anaheim was different, in more ways than the crowded freeways, torn-up roads, and lack of green open spaces. The restaurants were superior, including those away from the hotel; the hotel seemed easier to get around in; and best of all, the buzz was better.
Right here it's best to make my confession: I didn't actually sign up for the conference. I didn't even stay at the Hilton, but rather at the Radisson, which necessitated a brisk walk several times a day. But I was at the Hilton mingling, meeting with representatives of my publishing house, jawing with writer and bookseller friends from around the country, participating in a great book signing in Costa Mesa, and in general acting as if I belonged.
Wherever I turned up, there was talk about the industry, and most of it was good. Sales are getting stronger, lines are looking for new writers, no lines are closing (if you consider the Loveswept demise old news).
A statistic to back up this view: in Orlando the RWA chapter for Golden Heart finalists who have not yet sold booted out five authors, which means five made that elusive first sale; in Anaheim, the number was 23.
(A commercial note: this comes from a writer friend, Cynthia Sterling, a finalist whose first book for Berkeley will be out in February.)
At the invitation of Leisure grand pooh-bah Tim DeYoung, I crashed one workshop, which featured the heads of the top romance publishing houses. Their message was positive with strong recommendations to continue writing, to get out and meet the public as much as possible, to work the markets in your hometown and state. Lots of published authors don't like to hear this; it's not much fun sitting in a bookstore listening to passersby say they don't read, or if they do they wouldn’t buy "that kind of book."
Lots of published authors who don't like to do promotion also don't have contracts now. This is an oversimplification, I know. A few writers don't have to promote. Their books sell regardless of what they do. But most of us have to work not only at our craft but also at seeing it gets before the public.
It was satisfying to hear for a change that the public is still out there waiting to be lured.
(These opinions are those of the writer, whose current release Crown of Glory is available for purchase now. Her opinions and decisions are suspect, she hastens to point out, with two cases in point as proof: one, she would have felt less guilty had she paid the conference fee and plans to do so for Chicago '99, and two, her next work [Golden Man, Love Spell, February 1999] is about a single mom who works in an auto repair shop, and the bachelor President of the United States. She belatedly asks the question, is the world ready to believe in an honorable President?)
Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Yvonne Murphy and I live in Maine with my husband of 19 years, our two daughters, aged 13 and seven, two dogs and a cat. I have a HUGE weakness for chocolate, a deep love for Celtic music and a propensity for romantic movies!
I’m an avid reader of romance and have been since I was seventeen years old. I first discovered the magic and wonder of romance when I opened the pages of the "Wolf and the Dove" by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Immediately following that wondrous novel came the many works of Rosemary Rogers, Constance Gluyas and later, Valerie Sherwood. Many new voices fill my shelves today and I treasure them all.
Now, let me give you a bit of information about myself and how I came to be an Associate Agent for the Hyatt Literary Agency.
I have been writing romance for more years than I care to count. I attempted writing my first romance in high school. It ended up being a ‘tragic’ romance, but at that age, love was tragic. I have been writing since then (over 20 years...don’t do the math and figure my age!) with brief periods of inactivity because of childbirth, career and domestic responsibilities. But the desire to write never left me.
I am actively involved in a critique group that meets once a month and we’ve been meeting regularly for seven years. I think I’ve read every book known to mankind on writing! Over the years, I have developed an insight for recognizing flaws as well as strengths in stories as well as within the voice of the story teller. I’ve judged the Golden Heart for the last 4 years, as well as the Rita in 1997.
During this time, I continued to write, learn, read and grow as a writer. I learned all I could about the craft, and make no mistake, it is a craft. I continue to learn today. It’s an endless and continually evolving process. During this time, I met Linda Hyatt when she joined our RWA chapter in Maine (MERWA). We spoke often about writing and the various elements involved: what works, what doesn’t, what helps, what hinders, etc. We spoke about our own books in progress, our own struggles as writers, and the business and craft of writing.
It was through these talks that Linda felt that I had what it took to Agent and write. She’d seen work I had critiqued, heard my comments and felt that I had a gift. (I will tell you that this surprised me completely! Me? Gifted? Hadn’t she heard about ‘Murphy’s Law’?) Linda felt that I had insight as to what works, what doesn’t, but more importantly, I had ideas on how to make it work, how to "fix" it, how to make a good book a published book. This surprised me even more! I will tell you that I have long thought that I was suited as a ‘reader’ for a publishing house. It wasn’t until Carla Neggers suggested I look into it that I began to truly wonder about my reading abilities.
Suffice it to say that I was surprised by Linda’s offer to join her Agency and moved by her faith in me. I will do my best to fulfill that belief, not only for Linda, but for myself, as well as the authors that I will represent.
I hope the following information answers all your questions about submitting to me through the Hyatt Literary Agency.
I do prefer to receive proposal length material (synopsis and first three chapters). If you have written novels in other romance genres, feel free to include a query for each. I do not charge a reading fee.
I know that writing a synopsis is difficult, and I prefer to not judge a writer’s ability by the synopsis alone. Please be sure to include a SASE if you wish to have your material returned. I also prefer to know if you wish to have any comments written on your manuscript. My turn around time is about 4 weeks, usually less. Feel free to include any and all pertinent information in your cover letter, such as whether you have won any contests, writing background and submission history. Keep in mind that this information is NOT necessary and is in no way a guarantee. It does show a serious endeavor, but not all serious writers enter contests. I have a fondness for a light voice and humor, but I adore a dark voice and theme just as much.
My first love is historical romance, any time frame. My strength is not in the contemporary market as yet, but I have been working hard on studying the market and the various lines. If I feel work has promise, I have Linda Hyatt to turn to for guidance. Good writing is good writing, regardless of genre, and if the voice is clear and strong and the story compelling, I shall not pass on it but will endeavor to do the best that I can for the author should I choose to represent their work. I do read time travel and futuristic as well, so feel free to submit if you have any work completed in those areas.
Please, do not query me if your novel is not completed. Send only ‘editor ready’ manuscripts, as free of typographical and grammatical errors as possible. As a word of caution, do not write a novel for the market, i.e., "I’ve written a historical time-travel romance with a secret baby, a cowboy hero and a stolen bride!" The market fluctuates too dramatically for this approach. What is hot today will be trite tomorrow. Write the book you want to read. Do the best you can and be open to suggestion.
As a writer, I know that the writer’s heart and soul goes into creating a novel. I know how difficult a synopsis is to write. I know the pain of revision, of self-doubt, of rejection. These things are a part of me as a writer as well as an agent. I look forward to hearing from you.
Send your proposals to: Yvonne Murphy, 5 Jeannette Avenue, Lewiston, ME 04240. You can e-mail me anytime at: yvonnem@ime.net
Many thanks to multi-published author Stobie Piel for informing us of this unique story. And our gratitude to Yvonne on answering our request to tell of her transition from writer to agent. Although Heart of Texas/RWA does not endorse any agency, we do feel any information on our craft is invaluable to our members.
This week (August 16-22) Vicky Dreiling and I have been participating in a writing challenge called Book In A Week (BIAW) conducted by the on-line group Romance Foretold. The purpose is not necessarily to write an entire book in just one week (although some of our participants have done so), but to totally immerse ourselves in writing. To Just Write, no second guessing, no re-writing, no editing as you go, just pushing ourselves to write as much as we can in one week.
Some might say "You just want quantity? But what about quality?"
And here my dears, is what I believe to be the crux of the matter. A large part of the purpose behind BIAW is to shut up the Internal Editor that so often cripples us when we sit down to write. This Witch is that little voice in your head that shows up when you start putting words on paper and says "Oh, that sounds so stupid, who ever told you you could write?" or "You’ve used that same word three times in the same paragraph. What’s wrong with you?"
Now, this Editor/Witch isn’t really a Bad Person. Not really. Her role (or his--visualize yours as you like) in your head is two-fold. First, to protect you from harm, especially the emotional kind. Unfortunately, the Witch is not very bright about some things. She figures that since it hurts to fail, the way not to fail is not to try.
Secondly, the Editor/Witch is there to edit. To make sure your deathless prose really is deathless, that you’ve eliminated all the passive voice you possibly can, and that your verbs and nouns and such like all agree with each other. One must have agreeable verbiage, after all. However, when you’re just trying to get the words down on the paper, you don’t need a long bony nose with a wart on the end of it peering over your shoulder screaming at you: "Was! I saw another was! Get rid if it immediately!!"
This Witch is the cause of enough Writer’s Block to build the Tower of Babel. This kind of criticism--this voice in your head that tells you "That’s not deathless prose. It’s lifeless,"--can stop a writer cold before even one word gets out on paper.
We all have a Witch in one form or another. We need them, especially when it’s time for the editing process. But we need to know how to control them. They can sneak up on you when you’re not looking, and the next thing you know, you’ve been writing for half an hour and all you have to show for it is a half-page of cross-outs. The Witch calls for Eternal Vigilance. You may think you have her whipped, and then here she comes again.
So. How to control your Witch?
Just Write. Tell the Witch you’re just getting words down on paper. Just filling up a certain number of pages or writing this many paragraphs. So what if it sounds stupid? You can fix it later. After all, you can revise crap. You can’t revise nothing. Besides, first drafts are SUPPOSED to be crummy.
It’s not working? Here are some tricks to try.
1. Visualize getting rid of the Witch. Some just lock her in a closet or send her to Antarctica to play with the penguins. Some prefer to murder her with methods ranging from stuffing her in an oven to bashing her over the head and dumping her in the lake. Warning: The Witch is harder to kill than Rasputin--the advisor to the last Czar of Russia--who was poisoned, shot, strangled, thrown in a frozen river and finally drowned under the ice. Just don’t get so caught up in thinking up new ways to get rid of your Witch that you forget to write. Your method probably depends on how persistent your Witch is, and how bloodthirsty you’re feeling. Every time she rears her ugly head, kill her again.
2. You might try writing nasty messages to her right in your manuscript. Do use a wild font and a different color (red works good) for your computer screen so you remember to take it out in the editing phase. Or if you write longhand, this is what margins are for.
3. Try writing longhand, if you usually write on the computer, or vice versa. I prefer doing first drafts in longhand as many of you already know, because it gives me permission to be messy. It’s not real writing, just goofing around, if I’m using pen and ink. And it’s easy to change if I don’t like how it comes out. It’s not cast in stone.
4. Take on a BIAW challenge. The one that Vicky and I are involved with has 82 participants, each with our individual goals. At the time I write this, it’s smack in the middle of the challenge. Vicky’s trying for 70 pages in the week. I’m hoping for 40, with my heavy schedule. We report our daily accomplishments to the group, cheer each other on, cheer each other up, offer advice, and then get back to the writing. By pushing ourselves to reach these goals, we don’t have TIME to listen to that Witch.
5. Whatever works.
Seriously. If you’ve figured out a way to silence this insidious voice, even for a little while, use it. And then share it with us. The Witch keeps coming back! (Dang it, Vicky, I thought you’d drowned her! Send her out to play on the freeway!!)