And Away We Go!

A week ago I made my first visit to the New Jersey Romance Writers' Put Your Heart In A Book conference. Now this was an auspicious event for a variety of reasons. First, as a caretaker, I had not taken a vacation away from home in 13 years. That's right, folks, so this little sojourn (3 days, 2 nights in the lovely Sheraton at Woodbridge Place, NJ, king-sized bed, big TV, great shower and ah, maid service!) was quite an exciting moment for me. Second, I was planning a huge step: PITCHING to an editor.

I was going with friends, so I knew I wouldn't be sitting in a corner all woebegon and wallflowerish. I overpacked (where's Sherpas-R-Us when you need them?) but in the end it was all good. I had all the right clothes, a custom-made necklace of delicious purple crystal and lots of libations (as advised by a friend, lest I go broke with room-service vino).

Arriving on a glorious Friday morning, I was soon caught up in registration madness. Then, my first big disappointment. I had registered on-line for editor appointments, having done great amounts of research on my five favorites - their publishing houses and authors, the lines the editors attending worked for - I was totally on top of everything.

But the techno-black-hole had eaten my registration so lo and behold - I got no appointments. My pitch practice, it appeared, was for naught. But wait! There was a free appointment for one of my traditional publishing house choices (Tor/Forge) and I snapped it up like Imelda Marcos at a shoe sale (dating myself much?). Excited at the reprieve, I plunged into the days' events with gusto. Lunch, included. Five of us gathered to eat modest fare and yack it up about our books and our pitches and then huddled over the program to decide on workshops.

NJ presented a wonderful array of workshops, from the business, to craft, inspirational and motivational to technological. I made my choices and then our little group of intrepid romance authors split up. Three of us were "first timers" and so went to that event, which was a hoot. A Saturday Night live level comedy of all the things NOT to do at a conference (run an NFL block to get to your favorite editor, slide your MS under the bathroom stall door). I had no qualms that I'd be well behaved. After all, I'm shy. And one of the hardest things for me to do is get pushy (something I'd learned in my acting days, to my detriment), SO, I knew I'd be OK.

Next up was "Stalking the Wild Agent". It was one of those times when it turned out my interest in the business side of this romance writing game meant I already knew the lion's share of the info dispensed by the funny speaker who nonetheless made it a worthwhile experience.

With my Luddite sensibility I chose wisely and next took Penny Sansevieri's Red Hot Internet Publicity workshop. Penny spoke as fast as a country auctioneer, but it was necessary to get in as much info as possible, all of which was wonderfully informative and helpful for me. I learned where a visitor's eye travels on your website, how the Google and search engine rankings system works, and how to optimize your time by "recycling" material from website, to Blog, to Facebook and Twitter. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. It was a great way to reinforce my own opinion that an internet presence is vital.

Last up for Friday was an epublishing seminar by Angela James, editor, of Samhain publishing. Honest and forthright, she gave us the nuts and bolts of how epublishing works, and the differences between a traditional publishing operation, including the differences in advances, royalty structure and distribution.

The evening was a glamorous one as we all dolled up for the cocktail reception and the Golden Leaf & Put Your Heart in a Book awards ceremony. The New Jersey chapter is immense and the events were well-organized, fun and uplifting. The awards were numerous, but the reception for all the authors rousing and genuine. With this business as tough as it is, these opportunities to cheer our fellow authors on is both motivational for the rest of us and reinforces my firm belief that this is one of the most generous communities around.

We all gabbed and yours truly won a goody bag filled with contributed booty from the NJ folks.

After hours we slipped into comfy duds (OK, well I did) and gathered in a room to chatter, sip some wine and beer, and nosh (no dinner was served beyond the cocktail hors d'oerves so we munched) until the wee hours. Religion, politics, women's rights and some lighter fare made for a great night. The opportunity to engage in good conversation with intelligent friends is always a good thing.

After a good night's sleep (which I wasn't expecting since I'm both a light sleeper and a paranoid one) it was hit the ground running or get left behind on Saturday.

I wasn't one of the fortunate first 100 who got the pleasure of an early am meet with bestselling author JR Ward. But two of my gal friends did and said it was a wild, fun ride, with the author who warned them up-front that she had a "potty mouth". Breakfast Keynote speaker Eloisa James' personal rendition of her path to publication was humorous and poignant, by turns, and while I already loved the Professor's wonderful Regency romance books, I found out the lady herself is equally appealing.

Again I opted for a website workshop - needing all the help I can get - and was wowed by the amazing team of Caridad Pineiro and Rayna Vause. They took us from A to Z of websites, including an in-depth explanation of meta tags, links, design parameters, hosting possibilities, and the need for a serious web presence, even before you may have sold.

Then it was time. THE BIG MOMENT. Editor & agent appointments began. Ladies (and a few gents) queued up for the 15 minute "speed dating" arrangement. My appointment was well into the morning, but two friends spotted extra agent appointments available and urged me to try for one, if only to practice my pitch. I managed to grab one for a session just getting ready to start and was lucky enough to sit down with editor Tricia Owens of The Wild Rose Press. I sucked it up, called on my enthusiasm for my MS (Just In Time - a sexy and suspenseful time travel thriller of Jack The Ripper) and my former actress' ability to "present" myself and I was off and running. Imagine my absolute surprise when Ms. Owens requested the full MS and even called over her fellow editors to discuss an appropriate line. When questioned as to whether I'd add more sex if they required it (they obviously don't know me!) I said "SURE" and danced away with heady glee.

Said heady glee was soon dampened, however, when my Tor/Forge appointment turned out to be a non-appointment as the editor had not shown for the conference. My name and info was taken, however, and I was assured by the wonderful appointment volunteers from NJ that they'd make sure she sent me an email request for a partial submission.

With the pressure off, I was able to plunge back into the workshops, getting in on the end of the JR Ward/Jessica Andersen hilarious get-together re: worldbuilding.

Luncheon was a raucous affair with speaker Lisa Scottaline keeping us all in stitches. She got serious, though, to echo Eloisa James' opinion that it is writing what excites you, what touches you, what is meaningful to you, that is the one big MUST.

Able to relax and rejoice after my successful pitch appointment, I sat in on the editors' panel and laughed along with the great group of ladies from Harlequin, Berkely, Avalon, Wild Rose Press, Bantam, Samhain and Lachesis (& more!). Once again a single "must" was reiterated: What were they looking for? More paranormal? More comedy? More sex? Bottom line: Every editor agreed - they're looking for good stories. So don't try to squeeze yourself into a category or genre because you think it is hot. Write the great story and they will come.

Feeling a bit shell-shocked I decided the craft workshops that had appealed earlier required too much brain power, so I sat in on the Perils & Pitfalls of Publishing contracts by the amazing Energerizer Bunny, Caridad P. (President of the chapter, she was everywhere!). Despite my day job at an entertainment law firm, where I have learned all about publishing contracts, I was still able to get some new intel, including the new move to add "non-compete" clauses in the publishing contracts.

After that it was time for a huge dinner. My group of 6 trucked across the highway to a Tuesdays where we enjoyed a nice meal, and a handsome waiter who served us wacky and wild ladies with aplomb.

Back at the Hotel the "Afterparty" was underway and when we were warned the ladies would be letting their hair down, they weren't kidding. A DJ, karaoke and some wild old tunes had everyone up and shaking their booties. My NYC chapter contingent even went so far as to serenade our fellow antendees with a passable version of NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

After that it was a group of zombies who headed back to our rooms, the fun and games over, the anxiety of polishing submissions for our requests not yet setting in.

I packed, had a lovely call with my e-fella and then hit the sack. Sunday dawned beautiful and autumnal and my traveling partner and I trudged to the train, and headed back into Manhattan. There we parted company and I trundled onto the LIRR and back to my quiet Sunday at home.

I could not have been more exhausted. But I had a great time, came through my first pitch with flying colors, networked for all I was worth and met a huge number of fantabulistic ladies.

Kudos to the NJ Chapter for a most wonderful event (I'll be back!) to my gals for sharing in the fun, and here's to success for all of us as we get ready to leap into the next chapter of this publishing fray!