“WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS?”

“WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING AUTHORS?”

This was the question that I posed to published authors at the 2008 Romantic Times Conference, held in my home city of Pittsburgh PA. Here are their gracious responses. Note: Although these comments come from romance writers, the subject will interest writers of any genre. We all need a pep talk now and again!

Jade Lee, historical and fantasy romance author of over 15 novels including DRAGONBORN and THE TAO OF SEX, advises, “Write what you read! And be patient. This is a marathon, not a sprint. I BELIEVE IN ALL OF YOU!” (http://www.jadeleeauthor.com/)

Christine Feehan, author of over 30 books including PREDATORY GAME and DARK HUNGER, stresses, “Always remember editors are looking for that new fresh voice and innovative idea. Don’t be afraid to pitch to them. You’re the reason they have jobs. They want to find you. Get it done, and do it.” (www.christinefeehan.com/)

CARIDAD PINEIRO, author of paranormals for the Nocturne line and Latina fiction SOUTH BEACH CHICAS GET THEIR MAN (her 17^th release) states that she didn’t have an agent when she first submitted and was accepted by Harlequin. (www.caridad.com/) One example of effective self promotion: Caridad is a veteran and attends the Salute to Veterans celebration at the RT con.  

RENEE BERNARD, author of steamy Regencies, advises, “Especially if romance is something you’re interested in…going to the conferences, getting face to face with other writers, people in the industry, it’s priceless. Every career connection I’ve had, it’s been at Romantic Times conferences….It signals you really are serious. You go from wishing, to doing.” (www.reneebernardauthor.com/)

KATHRYN CASKIE (HOW TO PROPOSE TO A PRINCE) references Anne Lamott’s instruction to not get bogged down in constantly rewriting the first three chapters. “I realized it was just a first draft and I had to give myself permission to be less than perfect. I wrote to the very end, revised it, sent it in to Golden Heart (a prestigious contest), and I won.” (http://www.kathryncaskie.com/)

DIANE WHITESIDE, author of historical western romance including THE IRISH DEVIL, suggests “Read what you want and write what your heart says.” (http://www.dianewhiteside.com/)

I met our last contributor while stuffing gift bags as a volunteer. AMANDA MCINTYRE (DIARY OF COZETTE) says, “Believe in two things, potential and possibility. Do not start writing if you hope for fame or enormous wealth. As in most areas of the Fine Arts, it is the product, ultimately, that is of greater satisfaction and happiness. Keep learning, keep improving your writing, believe in yourself even when others may not.” (http://www.amandamcintyre.net/)

Good advice for all of us as we pursue the path of publication.

By Cheryl Williams writing as Sharlana Williams

THE MINEFIELD OF TRYING TO INCORPORATE BRIT-SPEAK IN OUR WRITING

THE MINEFIELD OF TRYING TO INCORPORATE BRIT-SPEAK IN OUR WRITING

A poster to Hellfire Herald admitted a fear of writing a story with a U.S. setting because he/she was from an English-speaking country abroad, perhaps the U.K. or Australia, Ireland or New Zealand. Many a North American writer understands that feeling. How can we portray ‘authentic London’ even after doing loads of research?

My solution: your viewpoint characters see through their own American or Canadian filter. Think of An American Werewolf in London. The internal dialogue inside the character’s head is from his own culture, so you won’t trip yourself up. You introduce enough of the foreign culture and lingo to flavor your story but not overwhelm. Be authentic, be certain of each phrase you use. But don’t be afraid to try to depict a foreign place or culture.

And always run your effort past a native speaker from that culture! Because it’s a minefield out there in trying to ‘get it right’, even when you think you’ve done your research.

For instance, I scribbled down a bunch of phrases while watching the British TV series Law and Order U.K. But since the actors represented characters from different regions of the British Isles, North American writers trying to fit those phrases into their own stories in an English setting might not use the words in a way that would seem proper and natural to a native British ear.    

Just for the record, here are some of those phrases. I’m going to give them to you without explanation because I’m  not Professor Henry Higgins and I don’t want to steer you wrong!

Bloke.  “Nice bloke.”

Mate. “They’re mates.” “Hey, mate.”

Coppers.  “The uniform will help you,” referring to another police officer.

 Blimey.  “a bleedin’ (something)’.  She’s playing ‘Nancy bloody Drew.’

African-Caribbean background. As in, “he’s of ….”

CCTV. The system of videocams all around London. Used in, “You were seen on CCTV in that area.”

My Lord, My Lady. In lieu of “Your Honor” in the courtroom. A barrister is the attorney for the defendant. “It’s a murder case, you’ll need a barrister.”

At uni. At university. “I knew him at uni.”

What are the local community saying? Note the use of ‘are’, not ‘is’. Ditto for the jury. “If the jury decide he’s guilty.” (Not ‘decides’.)

How’s about I come around with a takeaway?

He took some stick, everyone takes some stick.

Blinding!

It’ll take weeks to suss out.

She’ll flog ‘em. (Not referring to S&M.)

Seen snogging another bloke.

Any input from native speakers would be welcome.

What should I double check, before I submit a story to a publisher?

It is said that publishers won’t turn away your work because of some spelling errors, and that is true. But a few means that you made a valiant effort to polish your manuscript to a pristine shine and still missed something, that happens, it's human error. But I have turned down manuscripts that were unpleasant to read because they were riddled with excessive spelling mistakes. An editor can’t gage if your work is good if it’s full of punctuation and spelling errors.

I kind of touched on the fact last week, that you must have the genre in your heading. If you don’t, then I either have to send it back to you or I have to research it myself to determine what kind of book it is. When you have a Publisher that is looking for one more horror book to fill their quota and you don’t have the genre, if they are busy, guess what, you will get passed over.

Flow is entirely a lone subject fit for another blog. But I will say this: your story can’t just be a good idea with good characters, it has to flow smoothly and evenly and make sense.

Some writers think, (don’t do that, LOL) if my book is perfect what do I need a publisher or an editor for? You need them because their job isn’t to just put out good stories, their job is to make your book marketable and you need a trained eye to determine if your story has all the elements in the right order and at the right time.

I know it’s a pain in the butt, however you must check out the submissions page of each and every publisher you send to, we are picky little buggers.

In the eBook world some publishers feel that a slugline is moot, but if I don’t receive one, I am very unhappy.

Also, some say to format your manuscript to 9 x 6, which does not work for us.

I have attached our submission guidelines, but as I said, everybody is different.

We are currently accepting submissions for every genre except for Romance, Poetry, Non-fiction & YA

Hellfire Publishing Guidlines

We especially, appreciate any sub-genre of well-written horror. We will accept paranormal with horror elements only. Romance elements are acceptable as long as they are not the main focus of the story. If you’re writing the next Twilight, this may not be the place for you.

If you've crafted a riveting tale that fits in our guidelines and is nearly impossible to put down, we want to hear from you.

Submission Guidelines

Formatting Requirements

Please make sure that your manuscript is traditional print size, double or 1.5 spaced, 12pt, Times New Roman and that each page has a header, except the first.

Example of a great slugline: Smith/HellDay/2

The first page should contain all of your contact information, EXACT GENRE, completed manuscript word count and whether or not this is a simultaneous sub. Simultaneous submissions are okay, but you must let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere while we are reading it. Also, please include a website, blog or Facebook address.

Acceptable manuscript word count ranges from 3,000 up to 90,000. If you come close, either over or under, please inquire.

#1 When you have your short story perfected to the best of your ability, send it as a virus-free attachment in an e-mail. #2 A query introducing yourself, your story plot, and any accomplishments. If you have not been published, let us know that, too.

#3 A synopsis of at least two pages, single-spaced. (Not required for less than 10,000 words)

Unpublished work is preferred, but please query if you have a previously published work you think will fit our criteria.

Please read our FAQ’s for additional information. http://www.hellfirepublishing.com/faqs.html

Note: All attachments must be a word document or an RTF. No PDF, please.

Submissions should be sent to: horrorandbeyond@hellfirepublishing.com