Blogging My Way Through #RWA13: Day 2
The view from my hotel room
There’s something about the Atlanta air or maybe it’s pure exhaustion, but I’ve been sleeping really well here. So well that I missed some of the 8:30 session on serialized novels (okay, 8:30 is ridiculously early, is it not?).
I’m not much of a morning person, however, I’m glad I made it to Q&A time at the end because I learned a lot about serials in that short time. I’ve had a fascination for serials in the past year or so. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you may remember my holiday blog serial, The Train Ride. I can’t say much now because I’m sworn to secrecy, but I will say there’ll be another holiday blog serial this year and I’m super excited about it! *chair dance*
Okay, moving on before I spill the beans…
Now, if you’re thinking about pitching a serial, a complete first installment and a synopsis on the rest is adequate for submission. Final word count should be between 75K – 100K words and each installment should be around 20K each. Sara Fawkes recommends a 2.99 price point as the high, $0.99 and/or giving first installment as a freebie are also good choices, especially if you’re an unknown author.
Another great suggestion from Sara: Write an alternate ending or a “what would happen if…” as a blog post for your readers. Make them feel special with some insider-only information. This can apply to stand alone stories as well as serials. Readers love bonus material, especially if it’s free!
After a much needed venti non-fat latte, I sat in on a marketing session on email newsletters. Here are some quick facts about successful newsletter strategies:
The best days and time to email newsletters are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays at noon.
Romance newsletter open rates are higher during the school year than over the summer or holidays. Makes sense, busy moms with kids at home don’t have time for email.
Erotic and paranormal romance readers are more likely to open and click on a link in a newsletter than other sub-genres.
Subject lines should be 50 characters or less. They should be specific and create excitement about the content of the newsletter.
Today’s keynote luncheon featured two-time RITA recipient Kristan Higgins. I didn’t know much about Kristan before her speech, but WOW she’s amazing. I loved her immediately when she walked on stage rocking a form fitting dress and said “Behold the power of Spanx!” Kristan is a great success story. I won’t try to do her speech justice by explaining it here, it was too powerful for words. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the ballroom by 2 pm. Here are a couple quotes:
On balancing writing, life and family: “If there is no balance there is no joy, and if there is no joy there is no book.”
On writing: “No one can lie on your computer keyboard and make you stop writing. Except your cat.”
And: “Don’t strive to be the next Nora or Sylvia. Be the first you.”
Speaking of Sylvia….SQUEEEEEE! I talked to Sylvia Day today!!! How cool is that? Thanks to the Avon and Berkley book signings I also scored signed books and a quick hello from many more of my favorite authors including Jane Porter (I don’t begin a book without revisiting my notes from her RWA12 workshop), Laura Kaye, Sara Fawkes, Roni Loren, Jill Shalvis, Beth Kery, J. Lynn, J. Kenner and Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
The last workshop of the day was Tiffany Reisz and Roni Loren’s BDSM 101: It Takes More than Handcuffs. I admire both of these writers. They’ve blown through road blocks as writers of erotic romance (Roni) and erotica (Tiffany) and continue to move these genres forward. A couple of points from their session:
There’s a flood of BDSM currently on the market. If you’re going to write it, do your homework. Write it accurately and well.
The kink should be an aspect of the story, not the story.
There’s a power play in every sexual relationship. This applies to both kinky and vanilla.
Don’t apologize for what you write. Be proud and own it.
Roni Loren’s Melt Into You (one of my top ten books of 2012) is nominated for a RITA Award this year. That’s pretty incredible considering RWA’s conservative nature and the fact that Roni’s book is a menage with M/M elements! It was great to see these two talented authors again and snap this picture for one of my favorite Twitter followers and very sweet reader, Cheyenne.
Wow, this is a long post! I’ll leave you with a great quote from Nora Roberts:
“How can I write so many books? Because I’m not on Facebook and Twitter.”
Be sure to tune in tomorrow for my last report from RWA13!
xoxo
~S
