Traditional Publishing is Dead? RWA Conference Notes

Tip of the Day: Need to boost your writing output? Pretend you're in the Writing Olympics - time yourself in 1,000-word sprints. Try to beat your own record. Remember, you can always go back and revise. ;)

The Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference is happening this weekend. I'm not a member. I'm not even there. But, boy, am I being flooded with emails about what's happening at this conference.

Interesting tweet #1: "@Jennie_Lucas: #rwa12 holy cow. Stephanie Laurens just said traditional publishing is dead. What an amazing, gutsy speech."

Who is Stephanie Laurens? She's a New York Times bestselling author.

I have to admit, I was STUNNED when I read this tweet. Who would stand up at RWA, an organization who doesn't recognize self-pubs, and say this in front of a crowd of agents, editors, and writers?

Luckily for us, Ms. Laurens posted her keynote online. You can read it here. In her defense, she never said "traditional publishing is dead." Here's the crux of the speech, the part I think you'll find the most interesting:

"So my last words to you are these: Seize the day. Go forth with that same exuberance, joy, and passion in your heart - and write your stories. Seize the day - because for authors there is no danger in this new era. Take your passion and make it happen. Seize the freedom, embrace the opportunity, because one thing is absolutely certain - in all the millennia, there has never been a better time to be a storyteller."

I agree with her 100%. It's what I've been screaming to anyone who will listen. Write with passion. Publish with purpose - in the way that suits you best. I also think she's telling people to get over their hatred of self-pub because it's not evil.

Now back to the other statement I made above about RWA not being self-pub friendly. I have writer/friends who are members of RWA and have long complained that no matter their level of success, they can't get RWA to recognize them as PAN (Published Authors Network) members. It frustrates them as much as it frustrates me as a member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). I have more sales to my name (and far more income) than many SCBWI members, and yet I'm not automatically granted PAL (Published and Listed) membership. I'm fighting for PAL membership. It's a good fight, I think.

Anyway, back to RWA.... Now self-pubs WILL be able to get PAN membership.

Interesting tweet #2: Courtney Milan ‏@courtneymilan
AGMnotes #rwa12 Golden Heart next year will be entirely electronic; $5000 self-pub earnings make you PAN eligible.


Wow. Did you hear my jaw drop on the floor?! WOW, WOW, WOW! I checked RWA's website and couldn't find confirmation of this. It's possible the announcement was a surprise and won't be put on the website until after the conference.

If it's true, and I totally believe it is, then RWA has made amazing strides. I want SCBWI, my writing organization, to do the same. Self-publishing is not a black hole of crap. We work our asses off. We love writing. We love readers. We should get validation too. Hats off to RWA for recognizing this!

Editing the Indie Novel, Part 3

Tip of the Day: Find your perfect critique partners through SCBWI or RWA.

So now that you know the different types of editing you need to do to your manuscript as an indie (because traditionally published authors have professional editors through their publishers to make sure, hopefully, all the bases are covered), I'm going to help you find your perfect editing partners.

When I decided to start approaching my writing as a business with an eye to getting published, versus just writing for fun, I joined SCBWI - the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. It was through this organization that I found my first online critique group. I was thrilled because two of the members had MFAs in Creative Writing.

That was equally exciting and intimidating. Luckily, the members were more than happy to take me under their wing. I didn't submit my material at first. Instead, I sat back and learned how they critiqued. It was totally mind-blowing and I am grateful to each of them for everything they taught me. After a year of critiquing with them on a bi-weekly basis, I felt like I'd learned a lot ... but I was pretty sure there was more to learn. That's when I discovered Becky Levine.

Becky wrote this incredible book, The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide.

You should buy a copy because this book will enhance any critique group situation you encounter. It will make you a better participant and a better critiquer.

Once you're able to locate some critique groups, you want to gather people around you who have different skill sets. Find people who excel in copy edits, people who can spot a hole in a story a mile away, or who can find your writing tics that no one else can see. I can guarantee you that you will not find one perfect critique partner, nor can you be everything to someone else. Make friends and start sharing your work!

Now we can talk a bit about hiring an editor. *cringes* I hate talking about this. I really, really do. Why? Because when I was querying I sent out feelers to three professional editors, people whose names you'd recognize and who are well-respected editors. I sent each of them a sample to edit, so I could get a feel for their style. I purposely filled the document with errors, some subtle, some obvious.

All of the samples came back with a cursory edit. I was crushed. These were the most well-respected editors and the illusion had been broken. I spent seven years as a journalist. Had I ever turned in an article that poorly edited, I can guarantee you I wouldn't have received new assignments.

If you do decide to go the professional editor route, here's what I want you to do:

1. Figure out what kind of edits you need. Not every editor does all kind of edits.
2. Get referrals from friends. Read some of the work they've edited.
3. Send them a sample edit with known mistakes.
4. If you like the way they edited, make sure their style jives with yours. Make sure they understand your voice.
5. If you go ahead with the edit, don't assume their edit was perfect. Go over your manuscript again and again and again.

I've never claimed my books are perfect. There definitely are advantages to having a traditional publisher and their massive editing machine behind a book (though we've all seen mistakes in trad pubbed books too), but indies can get their books up to par too.

Good luck!!!!

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber