Look at Pitching as a Job Interview Part II

Pitching is part of the writers life. But, how do we learn the best way to go about it? Personally, I have heard hundreds of different tips!
Jennifer Bray-Weber thinks one way is to look at it like a job interview:
"Scott Eagan of the Greyhaus Literary Agency came to my “home” Romance Writers of America chapter, Northwest Houston RWA, gave us an eye-opening quirky presentation on submitting and pitching.
This week, I’ll share with you the scoop on pitching pointers à la Scott.
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Jennifer Bray-Weber speaks on pitching: Tell them what they want to hear

Most writers have pitched. It's part of the process to find that perfect person to buy our masterpiece! With the National RWA conference this week, some will hone their skills. But what is the best way to go about it?
Jennifer Bray-Weber says, Tell them they want to hear!
This is what you’ve been waiting for. The nugget of information that will make pitching to an editor or agent a piece of cake. The magical words of wisdom that will surely chase away the butterflies and all but guarantee you a four book deal.
Okay, maybe not that last part. You’re stomach will still flip-flop and you’ll probably not get signed before your ten minutes is up. But you’ll be armed with knowledge to get you that much closer to fulfilling your publishing dreams.
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Turning up the summer heat!

It's summertime! That is everywhere but in Seattle. I've heard rumors that the rest of the world is having the hottest summer on record. Here it feels like Fall. But, for erotic writers the heat is always turned up.
I caught up with Delilah Dawson and asked:
What do you like best about summer?

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Love and Death: Would you like a little romance with your action?

Many times we are told to not cross genres, but is this rule written in stone? Can our writing be stronger if we add a little of this and a little of that? I heard local author, Jayne Ann Krentz aka. Jayne Castle, aka Amanda Quick speak. She wanted write across genres and now publishes under all three names. A little of this and a little of that.
Author, Deborah J. Ross tells us to put a little romance in our action:
"Crossing genres is hot business these days: science fiction mysteries, paranormal romance, romantic thrillers, Jane Austen with horror, steampunk love stories, you name it. A certain amount of this mixing-and-matching is marketing. Publishers are always looking for something that is both new and "just like the last bestseller." An easy way to do this is to take standard elements from successful genres and combine them.
As a reader, I've always enjoyed a little tenderness and a tantalizing hint of erotic attraction in even the most technologically-based space fiction. For me, fantasy cries out for a love story, a meeting of hearts as well as passion. As a writer, however, it behooves me to understand why romance enhances the overall story so that I can use it to its best advantage.
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Finishing up and some thoughts on publishing by Timothy Hallinan Part 5

Now, we've finally finished our masterpiece novel. What's the next step?
Timothy Hallinan shares his final thoughts in Part 5 on Finish your Novel:

Part 5: Finishing up and some thoughts on publishing
1. Finishing Up
As many people have said, writing a book is like having a child. You give birth to it, nurture it through its infancy, nurse it when it's sick. You pour yourself into it without robbing it of its individuality. You let it delight you. You let it break your heart. You give it every single thing you have, and then you go find something more to give it.
Then comes the hard part. You have to release it, let it go wander the world among strangers. Strangers who might not understand it. Who might not like it. Who might even think it's ugly.
In a word: Eeeeeeeeeeeeek.
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Tips to Help Finish Your Novel 3.2

Part 2 continues on how to follow the line and start writing your novel. I love this quote below, "Don't write the parts the readers skip." How do we do this? Timothy Hallinan shared tips on how to finish your novel:

5. What we leave out
“Don't write the parts readers skip.”-- Elmore Leonard
"All writing is a process of selection. What is left out is often as important to the flow of the story as what is left in.
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Timothy Hallinan tells us how to finish your novel: Part 1

As writers, (I speak for myself) we usually have a MILLION ideas bouncing around in heads, but once we start... then we get another idea.... that seems better. We stop that story, and move to the next. It's like a quilt, we have a box of pieces, but nothing put together.

Author, Timothy Hallinan, has written a great article on how to help us finish our novels.
Part 1:
This article is for you if:
You’ve started a novel but are having trouble finishing it, or
You want to start a novel but aren’t sure you’ll be able to finish it.
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Why use a pseudonym? Who are you by Wendy Delaney

There are many reasons people write under a pseudonym. You want to write something different than what you've been writing and create a new you. Many times people want to keep their real world separate from your writer's life. Good plan. I've lost a job over my website...gesh...
Seattle author, Wendy Delaney, shares why she thinks you might want to consider it:
"Roger Daltrey of the Who belts out a good question every opening episode of CSI—“Who are you?”
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Why I write erotic regency romance by Brita Addams

I haven't settled on one genre yet, but this is a great question. How do you start writing what you're writing? I caught up with author, Brita Addams, and asked
Tell us how you got into writing erotic Regency romance?
"I am writing this strictly as an author who prayed fervently for publisher recognition and finally found it. As a person who doesn't 'jump the gun' as my mother used to say, I did my homework before deciding to write something I hoped one day would find its way into a reader's hands that didn't belong to someone I was related to.

Much like the experience our parents were always talking about us getting, in order to write anything, it had to be something I knew something about. I love romance and I also love history, particularly American and British. Reading Regency romance was almost a given, a perfect fit. The Regency was a time of social strictures and mores the like of which we, in our times, have never seen. As an author, I enjoy putting my characters into situations that are contrary to social expectations. When I can take an aristocrat and reduce him to mush with one look or touch from a feisty, independent lady, I am a happy camper."
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How to use your blog as a promotional tool

We've written the book, but there's more to it than that. When we get published, we need people to READ it! What can we do to get people to LOVE us, and want to run out and buy our books!

I asked Author, Libby Sternberg, what do you think about writing blogs?
"Readers now expect authors to have websites, but many authors also maintain blogs. Are blogs worth the time and effort? Do they help authors attract readers?
I'm slowly learning how to make blogging worthwhile, not just for my readers but for me, as an author.
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