Silken Sands Success Stories

Today, the Sizzlers share our Silken Sands Conference Success Stories. Imagine pitching to your agent or editor at a table under an umbrella on the veranda of a resort hotel on the beach with a cool breeze blowing.  Most of our conference attendees had great succeses.  When The Calls come, ladies, please share them with the Sizzlers so we can post them in our blog.

Gothic Dweller

Gothicwriter: This year our Silken Sands Conference meant more to me then any of the others. I felt more of a member and I pitched for the first time to Lindsey Faber, and Elaine Spencer. Both requested material. Being around our group of writers felt like coming home. People who understand the need to write. It’s like a sisterhood. I have made history in my life this year and even if nothing becomes of what has happened. I’m proud of myself for the experience. I’m proud of all who tried, and to the ones who didn’t. Next time will be your time to shine. We understand the need to step back. It just means you weren’t ready. Dreams do come true. If you want something, you have to work for it. In the end, it’ll mean all the more. To Cynthia Eden. you put together a mean conference. Thank you for everything. You’re wonderful. And to all the ladies who received a request to send out “Good Luck!”  We’re getting closer.

Lizbeth:   The conference was great and I really learned a lot, especially at the editing presentation which will help with the final edits before submitting them. Patience Smith requested a full of my romantic suspense and Lindsey Faber requested a full of my paranormal short story. 

Lizbeth

 

 

 

 

 

RitaVF:  Appreciated Cynthia Eden’s and Joan Turner’s hard work. Loved the conference. Learned a lot. Met new folks and visited with old ones. Only pitched to Samhain’s Lindsey Faber. She requested a full of His Obsession (SQUEEE!!). When I apologized for talking so fast (I had so much to say and so little time to say it.), she replied, “I talk fast but I hear fast, too.” A genuinely nice lady.  I’m going to do one more read before emailing it.  Won a basket and a critique by Dianna Love.  HAPPY DAYS!

Rita VF and Romancemama

Romancemama:  Wow! It was a fast, furious and fun weekend. This weekend marked the “coming out of the closet” of my pen name, Arabella Stokes. She has written books, but I have never introduced myself as her. Felt very odd. I talked about it with my new buddy Karen Rose (yes, shameless name-dropping here!) who like me has people in her life who can’t handle some of her writing.

And to me, that is just one example of what was so great about Silken Sands. We had all the bright-eyed neophytes like moi sitting down with industry powerhouses, and the biggies not only didn’t act bored with us, they were positively friendly and encouraging. I mean, for Karen Rose to compare any, any aspect of her incredible career with my hesitant little baby steps?!?!?! I sat and swilled cheap white wine with Barbara Vey, people! She put a picture of me on her blog! I chatted up the future of e-publishing with Lindsey Faber!It does not get any better than that.

The Gulf Coast Chapter is a rare and unique group, and our conference reflects that. I’ll go a step further: Cynthia Eden is one of the most professional, delightful people you could meet, and under her leadership, the conference couldn’t be anything else. The 2012 Chair (are you listening, SFCatty? LOL!) has huge shoes to fill!!!

Runere. I’ve piloted offshore marine vessels through Texas locks, and sat box on a dice game with over half a million dollars in play with only one tenth the trepidation with which I approached my two pitch appointments! Yes, it’s that big, and all consuming when it’s something you want so badly and only eight minutes to accomplish it. I felt like one of Sayde Grace’s cowboys in slo-mo: eight seconds vs eight minutes! I’m so fortunate to be part of the support system called RWA Chapter #125 and their spicy spin-off the Southern Sizzlers (Go, my writing sisters!). And I am beyond excited to report I have a request from Laura Bradford for the first thirty pages and a detailed synopsis of the book I pitched to her; and a request for the full MS of the book I pitched Lindsey Faber from Samhain Publishing. Lindsey went out of her way to make my experience a pleasant and promising one! Thank you so much Silken Sands for providing that opportunity!

Runere and Steve

 

 

 

 

 

Sayde Grace: I received a request for a new short story from Lindsey Faber and an ms from Megan Records.  

Sayde Grace

 

 

 

 

 

 

SFCatty:   Silken Sands Conference was a wonderful experience. Met lots of amazing people from all over the country as well as Canada. This was my first experience at a writer’s conference since I came out of the writing closet a bit over a year ago. I’m wondering what took me so long to get involved with such an awesome group of supportive people. It is inspiring to be around so many others that have the same interest in being the best we can be in our writing endeavors. I was impressed with each and every one of the editors and agents I met. All the speakers had knowledge to impart. It was a great experience and one I hope to repeat again and again. Even if none of the requests I got for my work pan out to anything, it was so worth it. Patience Smith asked for a full on Runaway, my romantic suspense and Lindsay Faber asked for a full on Redemption for the Devil , my 1920 Irish historical. I am also sending a partial of Runaway to Elaine Spencer. And, I’m proud to say that I’m not a pitch virgin any longer. Kudos to our conference chair, Cynthia Eden and her co-chair, Joan Turner. They are da bomb!    

SFCatty

Moonday’s Heroic Hunk: The Sleeping Faun & A Visit from Barbara Vey

     The Southern Sizzle Romance blog for Moonday’s Heroic Hunks in History features a sleeping faun, but first, a Silken Sands Writers’ Conference tidbit. Barbara Vey visited the Sizzlers while looking for the Tiki bar at the Silken Sands Conference Friday night. The bar was closed but we had a nice Pinot Grigio to offer. She’s one classy lady that we hope will become a regular face at Silken Sands. 

Barbara Vey at Silken Sands by gothicdweller

 

     The next night she won two (yes, two) door prizes. She’s shipping the baskets—chock full of books and other treats–home to Wisconsin to donate to an American Cancer Society fundraiser. Like I said, classy. 

     Finally, this Moonday’s Heroic Hunk in History is the “Sleeping Faun” by Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (1830-1908) which is displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Art. “Hatty’s” upbringing by her physician father in Watertown, Massachusetts was considered extremely permissive for the time. In 1852 she moved to Rome, a center of cultural richness and diversity, and eventually became a popular-sometimes controversial-artist. Over a long and prolific career she produced numerous sculptures in the neoclassical tradition. 

     In Roman mythology, a faun was a woodland place-spirit usually depicted as a goat below the waist. Hosmer’s “Sleeping Faun,” completed in 1867, obviously omitted the goat features.  The artist also sculpted a “Waking Faun” which we might view on another Moonday.    

      Tomorrow, the Sizzlers will post our first group blog. During the Silken Sands Conference, we pitched to the following: Laura Bradford (Bradford Literary Agency), Elaine Spencer (The Knight Agency), Joyce Holland (The D4EO Agency), Lindsey Faber (Samhain Publishing), Megan Records (Kensington Publishing), and Patience Smith (Harlequin/Silhouette). Visit us to see whether we struck out or hit home runs.       Rita VF

Countdown to Conference Interview Six Agent Laura Bradford

Hello everyone. This morning I’ve posted agent Laura Bradford’s interview that she was nice enough to participate in. I know lots of people are interested to know what Ms. Bradford is looking for so here you go everyone and Ms. Bradford, thank you for participating.

 

Sayde:    Tell us what you think is hot and what’s not?

     Ms. Bradford

    Paranormal is still pretty hot.  I think that lots of publishers are happy to see interesting mashups that keep paranormal exciting and fresh.  Darker, more intense material has been easier to sell than lighter, frothy work lately, generally speaking.  I think straight contemporary romance is one of the tougher genres to sell right now, though there are a number of houses looking for contemporary romance/women’s fiction hybrids a la Debbie Macomber, Susan Wiggs, Sheryll Woods or even Lisa Kleypas’ contemporaries.  Historical seems to be doing well, too though there are always settings and time periods that are easier to sell than others.  Example:  Civil War or Revolutionary War set American historicals and Native American-themed historicals are pretty tough to sell.  Regency and Victorian era-set European historicals are easier to sell. 

Sayde:    What types of work are you most interested in seeing at the 2010 Silken Sands Conference?

     Ms. Bradford

    I do more single title work than category, so that is my general preference, but I am really open to any romance subgenre except for inspirational.  I also handle mystery, thrillers, women’s fiction, urban fantasy and young adult.

           Sayde:    This question goes back to the “writer rumors”, but so many times I’ve heard that agents/editors will throw out a manuscript if they see grammatical errors. Personally, this is a huge one for me as I am grammatically challenged.  Many times authors will edit and edit then send to a contest and have their manuscript ripped to shreds because they used “ing”, “ly” or “was” to much for the judges liking. Do you look for these issues when reading requested material or is it more about the story?

 

    Ms. Bradford:

    I will notice those errors when I am reading, of course, but unless the material is so riddled with typos and grammatical mistakes that I suspect that the author didn’t bother to proofread at all, I can ignore them.  The voice and the characters are much more important to me than the fact that a few typos slipped through.  I am the world’s worst typist and my typing fingers and brain rarely communicate.  I understand as well as anybody that sometimes a few mistakes slip through.  I don’t judge that harshly on things that are that easy to correct if the rest of the work is rock solid.

 

           Sayde:    What is your opinion on emarket vs. traditional print? I know this is a hot topic and we all appreciate whatever comments you can give us.

 

          Ms. Bradford:

       They are just different animals.  Success in the ebook market can look like something very different than success in traditional print publishing.  The pay is different, the pace is different.  I do not think that all ebook publishers are created equal (same with traditional NY print publishers) and it is true that I regard certain epublishing credits differently depending on the publisher (same with NY publishers).  I know that it is possible to make 6 figures a year epublishing (or at least that was true a couple of years ago) just like I know it is possible to make 6 DOLLARS a year epublishing.  Any way an author can financially support herself through her writing whether she is epublished or traditionally print published, I think deserves respect.

          Sayde:    I know that when I am researching an agent or editor, I Google them, check their Facebook page, and tweet them. I read their posts and blogs.  I try to see if their tastes would lean toward my writing style or not. And I try to get a feel for their personality to see if we might “mesh well” if the opportunity ever arose. If you have a manuscript on your desk, do you ever check the same accounts for that author?  Do you ever check to see what he/she is posting? If so, have you been influenced by what you’ve learned?

 

    Ms. Bradford:

    Sometimes I look, sometimes I don’t.  I usually don’t until I am very close to making an offer of representation or else the author has told me she is previously published and I need to look up her credits.  I am mostly on the lookout for a lack of professionalism.  It is less important to me that you have an expensive, fancy-shmancy website (since lots of folks upgrade their websites when they make a sale anyway) than you comport yourself in a professional manner on your website and blog or on twitter etc.  I really don’t want to see an author discussing her sex life with her husband on her blog or bashing her fellow authors or shoving her polarizing political views down everyone’s throats.  I expect authors to treat their work as a business and to exhibit good judgment.  If the Author in question is published and known to travel in the same circles as any of my clients, I will even sometimes ask those clients whether the author I am considering is a complete whackadoo or not. And yes, I have been influenced by what I have learned.

 

           Sayde:    If an author has queried you and you’ve rejected that query/partial and the author emails you asking for details on why you’ve rejected their ms, what is your process here? Do you give specific reasons on why the manuscript may not have been for you?

 

    Ms. Bradford:

    I am not a fan of authors emailing to ask why the material has been rejected after I pass on the material.  I might not remember, in the first place, even if it is only a couple of days later.  I get 700-1000 queries/submissions a month.  I do sometimes write specific, personal pass notes if it was something I was on the fence about or if I liked certain elements enough to warrant me asking for future submissions or a revision.  I write personal pass notes if it is for a submission I requested at a conference agent appointment.  Otherwise, I have a form rejection note.  If I have passed on material, however, I think it is perfectly acceptable for an author to send me a query for something different.  Just because I passed on your work doesn’t mean I passed on YOU forever.  I have signed plenty of authors on the second or third submission they sent me.  It happened just this week, in fact.

              Sayde:    As a final wrap up could you tell us some of your pet peeves in the industry? Or is there anything happening in the industry you’d care to comment on or discuss?  We’d love to hear some of your views and opinions on the state of the craft and the market.

 

          Ms. Bradford

Industry pet peeves?  I don’t really have a lot of those. Don’t send me a nastygram telling me what a tasteless jerk I am if I pass on your work.  I can do without those emails.  Attempt to follow the specific submission guidelines of the agent/editor you are querying.  In general, to close, I think that 2010 is going to suck a lot less than 2009 did as far as the publishing business goes.  I sense that publishers and editors are ready to start taking risks again.  Yay for that

Again, thank you to Ms. Bradford for this, I had no idea just how many queries she received a month WOW. What a busy lady and I will admit, yes I follow her on twitter and I believe it was last week when she wore her Captain Efficiency hat.  Go Ms. Bradford!