An End of Year Post! or “How Was It For You?”

I don’t think many of us will look back on 2021 with unalloyed joy! We almost have a duty to look forward to 2022, in the not-very-convincing expectation that it won’t at least be worse!

Personally, my year has been bound by the forced realisation that I’m no spring chicken – no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. Sadly, my titanium knee has started to degrade, much as I expected. I also have been made acutely aware of how much my energy levels have fallen. To put it in a nutshell, my get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went! All this has been coupled with an equally savage falling off with my OHs health. As someone said, “Growing old is no game for cissies!”

One thing that makes it worse is that neither myself nor my OH are in the first flush of youth. Realistically, we don’t have that many years left (not complaining – just do the maths) and that’s two years now of lost and missed opportunities, mostly involving our granddaughter, then family and friends. Still, its no use trying to blame a virus. They are notoriously unsympathetic!

However, and this is the important bit, – NONE of this is going to stop me trying to wring every ounce of joy from every single incident, on every day of the year! I urge you all to do the same.

May All YOUR Tests Be Negative!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch……

Andrew Holgate, Literary Editor of the Times and Sunday Times, produced a list of the Best Books of the Year for “Every Genre”. In so doing he left off the LARGEST genre of all – Romance, in any of its tropes!

Like many friends who write, I was appalled by the pure snobbishness on display. Thankfully, the wonderful RNA strode in to bat for ALL of us authors of romance. Their letter is in the link.(I signed it too)

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/rna-writes-open-letter-sunday-times-after-romantic-fiction-excluded-best-books-roundup-1294270

Andrew Holgate himself seems to have gone to ground since he penned his original article. However, the RNA is made of sterner stuff. Four of their more successful members produced this excellent article:

https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/2021/12/love-in-the-time-of-snobbery/

Thankyou to Milly Johnson, Phillipa Ashley, Heidi Swain and Rowal Coleman. Kudos to all! 

The article has garnered support from all quarters, This very readable riposte came through Harper Collins Australia, penned by https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaBrookmn

https://www.harpercollins.com.au/blog/2021/12/15/victoria-brookman-in-defence-of-womens-fiction/

 I also urge you all to keep up the struggle to stop the literary world ignoring what they like to label “Women’s Fiction!” I will continue the campaign mounted by the Romantic Novelists Association to bring the genre – OUR genre - to its rightful place. I also urge any writer whose work can be described as Romance – of any sort, or in any of its multitudinous tropes, to join the Romantic Novelists Association. Together we are stronger!

https://romanticnovelistsassociation.org/membership/

You and I can help by using the hashtag #RespectRomFic on ALL your book-related posts, whether in Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Remember, Caring is SHARING!

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

To close, for the New Year – 2022 - and still “Next Year” at the time of writing, there is always hope. We have been lucky here in that we haven’t, as far as we know, lost any friends or family to the virus. For that we are truly thankful.

Have a fantastic 2022 ! 

The RNA Virtual Conference 2021

 
The Romantic Novelists' Association holds a yearly writers' conference. It's a great opportunity for members of the RNA, both established authors and aspiring writers of the RNA's New Writers' Scheme, to meet up with agents, editors and other industry professionals for talks, workshops and some social networking. There is also an opportunity to book a 10 minute pitching slot with an agent or editor. This is an amazing opportunity for any writer seeking representation or hoping to further their career.

The RNA conference is usually held at a venue suitable to cater for guests travelling from afar.  The University of Lancaster and Leeds Trinity University have both been used in the past. For members of the RNA, the weekend in July is one of the highlights of the RNA's calendar and I have always wanted to go, but due to my business commitments, a weekend away during the summer was not possible. However, in late 2019 things changed on the home-front and I was free to attend, but then Covid struck and everything was transferred to online. It didn't seem the same so I didn't attend in 2020, but this year I made it a priority to find out what the conference was all about, albeit from the comfort of my own home. I saw my attendance to the online event as a precursor to the real one... a sort of dipping my toe in the water before I dived in next year!

I enjoyed the experience, which ran from late Thursday afternoon to Saturday evening. Each talk had a private zoom link and was well attended, with nil technical glitches as far as I was aware, which is a miracle in itself. Below is a summary of my experience with bullet points of the advice I took away from the talks.

Thursday

Practice Makes Pitch Perfect
Approximately twelve (brave) authors pitched their novels to agents Juliet Pickering, Kate Burke and Sian Ellis-Martin from the Blake Friedmann Agency, who subsequently offered feedback. I say brave, as they pitched in front of the audience, whereas pitches are usually private one-on-one meetings. This was an excellent opportunity to see how others do it and put the intense experience into perspective.

The feedback was informative and specific to each pitch but the general advice was:-
Be positive and enthusiastic about your novel.
Be clear about what the story is about.
Don't get bogged down in what emotions you want your story to convey to the reader. Agents are interested in the plot and your ability to write and the emotions will follow but only if the first two elements are there.

Friday

121 Pitches
Those attending had the opportunity to pitch to an agent or editor. Needless to say, the demand for these slots was huge, as was the administration task to sort out the hundreds of requests received. Those lucky enough to be allocated a pitch was provided with a zoom link for the ten minute slot and instructions to submit the first chapter, synopsis and cover letter prior to the event. If the agent or editor liked the premises of the story, saw potential in working collaboratively with the writer and loved the writing style, they could request a full manuscript to assess its potential further. It will be several weeks, even months, before successful pitches become more public, and those writers will be the lucky few. However, all writers will have been given feedback and advice on their submission from a professional in the industry, which is like gold dust in itself.

Saturday

Building a Writer's Resilience
Hosted by author Nicola Cornick, international best selling author, Dinah Jefferies, shared her experience of building resilience and revealed that even best selling writers can suffer from self-doubt, lack of confidence and impostor syndrome.

Below is a summary of the advice given:-
Bad trauma and experience can be used positively by adding authenticity to one's writing.
Take time out and look after yourself. Not all pressures are external, they can be internal too.
Train yourself not to compare yourself to others.
Regarding feelings of jealousy, be aware that we don't really know what is going on in other people's lives.
A writing career is up and down for everyone.
Rejection is hard. Research who you pitch to to reduce the possibility. While waiting don't stress, just write another book to occupy you.
Don't read reviews, you'll only remember the bad ones.

A talk about the role of the agent followed from agent Felicity Trew. It was packed with information and Felicity's enthusiasm for her job shone through.

Screenwriter and senior lecturer, Marie Macneill, walked us through The Proposal film, using the key plot points to show us how to structure your rom com to create movie magic.

Award winning author Fiona Lucas discussed the anatomy of a scene, followed by Rhea Kurien, editorial director of Orion Dash,who explained how digital publishing works.

The weekend ended with author and podcast host, Dorothy Koomson, chatting with Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award winner Beverly Jenkins. Beverly's wise words, delivered in a calm, no nonsense way, was a joy to listen to as she chatted about her life and how, as a youth, she devoured history from the journals of her local library. As a writer, she hopes her books educate readers about the real history of black people, whilst at the same time they enjoy a romantic read. Author of over forty novels, with decades of writing behind her and a deep love of history, Beverly Jenkins knows what she is talking about. "I was black before it became fashionable," she said at one point. This interview is well worth a listen when it is finally uploaded onto The Happy Author podcast. 

I hope I will have the opportunity to attend the RNA conference in person in the future, in the meantime I shall take on board all the advice given and channel it into my writing career for the future. Writing is a continual journey of gaining experience and wisdom, whether its from the research you do, from your own successes or failures, or gaining knowledge from your peers. The RNA conference is one of many opportunities available to a writer The advice may or may not be used, but the trick is not to be too proud, arrogant or stubborn to listen to it in the first place.

As for the partying and social networking... well enjoying a drink (or two)  with other members of the RNA will have to wait until the time we finally meet face to face again.

Victoria Cornwall

Celebrating 60 Years of the RNA

In the year Penguin Books was found not guilty of obscenity in the Lady Chatterley's Lover legal case, something else significant was happening in the romantic fiction world.

Frustration had been brewing for some time that the romance genre was not being shown the same respect awarded to other genres. It was often felt that romantic fiction writers were seen as the poor relation in the literary world and their readers treated with equal contempt.

Determined to celebrate and promote romantic fiction, and gain the respect the genre deserved, authors Denise Robins, Barbara Cartland, Elizabeth Goudge, Netta Muskett, Catherine Cookson and Rosamunde Pilcher founded The Romantic Novelists Association.

Over the decades, the RNA has grown in author membership. Today it also welcomes publishing professionals, booksellers, book reviewers and writers who are published in other media formats. The widening of their membership is not the only change the RNA has made in recent times, and it is thanks to its ability to constantly evolve that has helped to make it still relevant and popular today.

As well as hosting numerous workshops, talks and networking events, it also organises the Romantic Fiction Awards and the Industry Awards. Although celebrating current authors is important, the discovery of new talent is paramount for keeping the romantic genre thriving. In order to encourage new writers, the RNA runs the New Writers Scheme, which offers advice and support to unpublished writers. Places are limited so my advice is to apply early.

My first RNA event, where I was a finalist in the Joan Hessayon Award.

In recent years, the RNA has launched a range of initiatives and bursaries to encourage membership regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, social background, nationality, income level and disability. These inclusive initiatives helps provide diversity within the association and genre which both members and readers of romantic fiction can benefit from.

Romantic fiction is a wide genre as it includes many sub-categories which can appeal to a wide audience. Yet, arguably, the genre could still be shown a little more respect so the RNA's work is not done yet and they will continue to support and promote romantic fiction.

This year the RNA is celebrating their 60th anniversary and this February they are launching their first ever Romance Reading Month. Below is a brief timetable of what is ahead...

1st-7th February follow the #lovemylibaryweek #romancereadingmonth hashtag on Twitter as authors of romance share their library visits with you.

On the 9th February, the RNA is celebrating LGBQT+ books. So watch out for some great reads online.

A week later, on 14th February, the RNA will officially launch their Romantic Fiction Book Club on Facebook. It is open to readers and authors, so if you enjoy romantic fiction, why not give it a try?

Join in the fun with RNA members on 23rd February and share your review of a romantic read using the hashtag #Dimondreviewday

Finally, on the 23rd February, follow #romancereadingmonth #Iloveromance or/and #RNA60 as authors of romance will be sharing their favourite romantic reads via videoclips and pictures. I've done one, so watch out for it on Twitter or Facebook to see what my recommendation is!

These are only a few of the many events planned for February, so keep an eye out and follow @RNAtweets to join in the fun.

So what benefit have I received from being a member of the RNA? This year, in the 6th decade of the RNA, my 6th novel will be published. The cover reveal was on Tuesday, 11th February and it will be published on 24th March. Here it is!

My career as a traditionally published author began as a direct result of being a member of the RNA's New Writers' Scheme. It was their encouragement and the support from friends I had met through the association, which motivated me to submit my manuscript to agents and publishers again. As a result, I secured my first publishing contract. So Happy Birthday to the Romantic Novelists' Association, and thank you.

So while the Romantic Novelists' Association was taking its first breath in 1960, what happened to the censored book, Lady Chatterley's Lover? As a result of winning the court case, the original version of Lady Chatterley's Lover was no longer banned from public sale. Readers flocked to their bookshops and it ended up selling 200,000 copies in just one day. It has now become a classic.

Although the publicity surrounding the court case helped with the boost in sales, I think we can all agree that the majority of people enjoy a bit of romance in their lives... and escaping into the world of romantic fiction is one of the best places to find it.

By Victoria Cornwall 

FROM A MAN'S POINT OF VIEW THIS WEEK

Today we welcome John Jackson as our guest blogger. 

John writes about 'life, love, history and, hopefully, all sorts'. And we mustn't forget his love of hedgehogs. He's also very keen on photography and does a lot of back-office stuff for the RNA of which he is a stalwart member. Here he talks about being a man writing in a predominately female genre. Welcome and over to you John.

The 1%

Walking into a Romantic Novelists Association function can be an ear-splitting experience, especially for someone like me – a mere male. However, it only takes a few minutes to get accustomed to the RNA Roar, and if not, there are always ear-plugs.

Men ARE rare when it comes to membership, though. I did a quick count-up and found that – at the time I counted – there were just 10 out of 1000 – or 1%. 

Its not as if male writers lack talent. I am more inclined to think its because they see romance as a predominantly female readership, although various surveys show that up to 30% of readers are, in fact, male.

There have been some very successful male romance authors too. Peter O’Donnell, writer of the Modesty Blaise cartoon strip and subsequent action / adventure novels also wrote romance as Madeleine Brent. In 1978, his novel Merlin's Keep won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award. He didn’t appear in person to collect his award, though. 

In more recent times, we had the late and much missed Roger Sanderson. Roger wrote medical romances for Mills and Boon for many years, using his wife’s name as a nom-de-plume. When not busy writing, he was to be found up a mountain or cliff as an experienced and keen mountaineer.

Up here in Yorkshire, we have the wonderful Bill Spence. Bill served in the RAF during the war, as a bomb-aimer in Lancasters. Peace brought him back to civilian life and a career in teaching and store management, where he tried writing westerns. Eventually his publisher suggested he tried his hand at romantic fiction. To date he has written 23 romances, generally sagas set in North Yorkshire. He is STILL writing at the age of 96, and still attends his local chapter of the RNA for occasional lunches.

I joined the RNA quite by chance. I met and got to know two lady novelists, and through them, met several more. They seemed perfectly nice, and normal, and one thing led to another. Two years later I found myself in the New Writers Scheme.

I was fortunate in that, as a male, I didn’t shy away from the idea of reading romance. My father was a big Georgette Heyer fan, and passed them all on to me, and, at the end of the day, good writing is good writing, and makes good reading. 

Of course, like all tyro writers, I thought Draft 1 was the best thing since sliced bread. It took a Conference or two, and a very helpful NWS Reader’s report to make me realise that, like most things, writing is a craft, and that we all have to learn it. What’s more, we don’t stop learning it. We should all be continually “sharpening our pans” 

I would urge ANYONE who wants to write, and who wants to write something that has some element of romance in it, to try and get into the New Writers Scheme. There are few, if any, schemes like it. 

John (One of the 1%)

Heart of Stone", now available at http://viewbook.at/Heartofgoldlink

You can learn more about John here:

Email: jjackson@btinternet.com Web: johnjacksonauthor.com/

And follow him on Twitter: @jjackson42

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnjacksonauthor/

And John would like to put the following call out: Calling all writers who were born in Yorkshire or currently live there.Join Us at http://www.promotingyorkshireauthors.com/

Fun Time in Dublin by Gill Stewart

The Liffey, Dublin

Writing is a solitary occupation, isn’t it? And writers are quiet, reserved people, right? Well, it’s true that we do spend an awful lot of time alone – or alone with our characters. But occasionally we get together and when we do it’s a treat. To meet other writers! To talk – and I mean TALK – about writing. And about lots and lots of other things too. And eat. And drink. Yes, writers certainly know how to party.

This was proved yet again on the amazing mini-cruise organised by my agent, Kate Nash Literary Agency. Ten of us, some with partners, set off from Liverpool docks on Friday. We started with a Very Important Business Meeting (of course). Then had a fantastic meal that we enjoyed so much we had to be gently encouraged to leave the restaurant … Then some of us took a walk around the deck. Going along those narrow bits in the dark was surprisingly scary. Definite plot possibilities for those who write crime and horror. And while a few of us then faded, others went on to join the quiz and enjoy the midnight buffet. As someone who had never been on a cruise before, I didn’t even know midnight buffets existed!

Naomi Morris outside the magnificent GPO

 Saturday morning was spent wandering around Dublin with the lovely Naomi Morris. It’s a lovely compact city centre, very busy this close to Christmas, and with some great traditional buildings (the GPO, above) and quite peculiar new monuments (the spire, below). Then, in the afternoon, it was party time again when we met up with the RNA Irish Chapter and talked some more about … writing.

The spire (or spike) which we managed to miss on first walking past!

 I can’t believe the whole experience lasted less than 48 hours. It was like being in another world, meeting old and new friends, having everything done for you, eating and drinking loads. Oh, and talking. Did I mention the talking?

What made this a particularly fun experience was not just being with other writers but learning from them – how and when they write, their genres, their dealings with publishers, their successes (and tribulations). I arrived home just a little tired but also very enthused. Thanks to Kate Nash, Sue Fortin, Bella Osbourne, Terri Nixon, Louisa Heaton, Jane Lovering, Nina Kay, Virginia Heath and Naomi Morris.