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It’s the rule of 3.
Think of one physical aspect of sexual attraction that gets YOUR senses tingling--holding hands, a heated look, whispered words, a tight butt, a solid chest, heat & humidity, rain, etc.
Now--plot that physical aspect to appear 3 times in your story, building the intensity of the impression/sensation/contact each time. Your building the intensity by deepening the character’s reaction to that physical aspect.
 

Example:
1) hands brush accidentally in a crowded elevator and heroine feels a self-conscious zing before quickly pulling away, 2) Hero grabs heroine’s hand to pull her up to his pace as they run to escape the bad guys in pursuit--she feels a sense of danger and urgency, but also feels uniquely protected by the hero, 3) heroine confidently, seductively, laces her fingers through the hero’s one by one, savoring each point of contact, noting the increasing warmth and friction until their grasps are completely connected--she’s declaring her lust, her love, her commitment and her trust by taking a simple action and making it so deliberate (this could be a love scene or a wedding ceremony or a reassurance after he verbally declares his love).

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I agree that rejection is not a joyful topic, but it’s one that I feel is important to discuss and be open about. Dealing with rejection letters alone while waiting for the success to come, is tough. So why face it alone when you’re not alone in receiving them? Any writer who has submitted their work for publication has invariably been baptized with a rejection letter or two. It’s a part of the game.
 

REJECTION: ONE DOWN AND COUNTING
“I’m always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I’ve been, “—Billie Holiday

Have you looked in your rejection file lately? If you have and the file is bursting, you need to congratulate yourself. Not only does that bulging file mean you’re writing, which is a major accomplishment in itself, but it says you’re submitting. And submitting your work for the world to see takes a ton of courage, and not just anyone has the guts to put their heart and soul on the line to be criticized. You have my upmost respect and admiration because you are trying. You get a gold star!
 

“A rejection letter for each book is like proof that you wrote that book, even if it sits in your attic,” says aspiring author Jamie Hansen. “You don’t have a book on your self to prove it, but a binder full of [rejection] letters will prove you are trying and accomplishing as much as you can.”
 

What if your rejection file is a little on the thin side? Then maybe you need to ask yourself why. If you’re one of those lucky people who sold the very first book they ever wrote the very first time they ever submitted it to a publisher, stop reading now. Sorry, this isn’t for you. But you might want to check out the sidebar to this article for future use, just in case.  If you aren’t one of the above-mentioned individuals, then why is your file bordering on gauntness? If you’re new to writing and have only submitted a few times, if at all, then I’ll give you a break and grant you a legitimate reason for thinness.
 

However, if you’ve been dreaming of selling a book for a long, long time, then maybe you need to dig a little deeper to find the true reasons why you’re not racking up rejection slips or better yet, sales. Anthony Robbins says in his best-selling book, Awaken the Giant Within, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power.”

 
Hmm. Some sage advice. We could go into all sorts of reasons/excuses why we don’t direct our focus: fear of success, lack of time, family obligations, etc., but we won’t, that’s a topic for another article. What we want to accomplish here is to learn how to cope with that big, ugly R word.

The, BUT I FEEL SO ALONE, Syndrome
“Pity is treason,” —Maximilien Robespierre

The next time you open your mailbox and find a rejection letter grinning evilly back at you, don’t think you’re alone. If you do, stop right there and repeat these words: I am not alone. I am not alone. Now, make sure you believe in those words. If you can’t do it on your own, then maybe what these authors have to say can help. And always remember. We rejection recipients are in excellent company. Not everyone can say they have something in common with John Grisham, Madeleine L’Engle and Stephen King, to name a few.
 

I contacted both published and unpublished writers for this article and they reported they had received anywhere from two to one hundred plus rejections on their books and have been writing from two to sixteen years.  Dani Collins, a two-time Golden Heart Finalist is one who has received more than 100 rejections since she started writing in 1987. Out of all of those rejections, I asked Collins which one was the worst. “The first,” she says. “I didn’t really believe it would happen. Not to ME.”
 

Lois Winston, who has been writing since 1995 says, “When I started out, I knew less than nothing and quickly racked up 32 rejection letters from queries sent to agents over a six-month period. Since becoming agented, I’ve received 46 rejection letters on 10 different books.”
 

Garthia Anderson,(Spellbound In Seattle, Leisure March 2003) says she’s received dozens of rejections. “I don’t have an exact count–nor do I want to know–but my seven manuscripts made the rounds to every agent and editor accepting in that genre. I would occasionally get a request for a full manuscript from an agent, but almost all the responses I got were form rejection letters.”
 

A TIME TO MOURN
“Let mourning stop when one’s grief is fully expressed.”—Confucius

Coping with rejection is an individual process and we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t feel at least a little sad and disappointed when faced with rejection.  “I think it’s important that a person be allowed to vent her frustration for a period of time,” says Margaret Daley (The Courage to Dream, Love Inspired April 2003) “If you don’t, sometimes it is hard to move on.”

Lois Winston also adds that it takes her at least a week to go through the mourning process. “I get angry. I get weepy. I yell. I whine a lot. Godiva ice cream helps!”
 

Sandra Crowley who has been writing for five years says, “I only waste a couple of days rejecting a rejection—my attention span for negatives is short.”
 

Kerry Swift, who has been writing off and on for 10 years, says she gives herself a week to mourn over a rejection, but she’s quick to add, “that’s only on the rejections that don’t ask me to submit something else. For those that do, I get back to work within the hour.”
 

Author Sylvia Rochester says she only allows herself a couple of hours to vent her frustrations to her writing friends via e-mail. “Then, I chill out with a cold one.”
 

OUCH! I’M MENTALLY CRIPPLED!
“Pain of mind is worse than pain of body.”—Publilius Syrus

Okay, so we’ve established we’re not alone when it comes to getting unwanted rejection letters. But have you ever received a rejection that crippled you so much you couldn’t write for weeks? Months? Maybe even a year or more? Aspiring writer, Kelly Young, says it has taken her a long, long time to get over her latest rejection and almost a full year to get back into a real writing pattern where she was hopeful and enjoying it again. “During that time it was a struggle to even think about the writing process,” Young says. “I had a terrible time figuring out which book to write next, whether to scrap the book I was working on at the time, and if I should focus on a different publishing house.”
 

Wendy Douglas (Shades of Gray, Harlequin Historicals March 2002) says, “if you let rejection cripple you, then you continue to let that one thing–or that one person–drive your life. Rejection hurts, there’s no doubt about it, but giving it complete control over your creativity just seems self-destructive to me.”
 

For Tracy Sumner, (Tides of Passion, Zebra Books) believing in yourself and your talent is very important in dealing with tough rejections. “Remember the real reason we do this. Love of characters, and the genre.”
 

Sylvia Rochester had this advice to offer when I asked if she’d ever struggled to get over a rejection. “Never!” she says. “It’s all subjection. Why torment yourself over that?” Excellent point.
 

TO QUIT OR NOT TO QUIT
“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”—Elbert Hubbard

Whether we’ve got one or 101 rejections in our file, we’ve all probably had a moment, or for some of us, many moments, when we thought about quitting. But let’s be honest. Is quitting really an option for us writers?
 

Author Kate Donovan (Then He Kissed Her, Zebra, May 2003) says she’s thought about quitting a few times. “But, I asked myself what I’d do instead for fun and for a creative outlet. And nothing even comes close. So I go back to writing, because not writing is worse.”
 

Douglas says she considers quitting with every rejection. “It only lasts about 10 minutes,” she adds. “Then I get mad at myself for letting one person’s opinion affect me so much–even if it is a person who can make or break my career.”
 

After facing a particularly tough rejection, Young did some serious soul searching and journaling. “I realized I didn’t really want to quit. So what else could I do?”
 

COPING AND MOVING ON
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”—Thomas Edison

Anthony Robbins also says in his book, Awaken The Giant Within, that the most powerful way to shape our lives is to get ourselves to take action. When you receive a rejection, you have two choices. Do as Robbins suggests and take action, or do nothing and end up wallowing in self-pity.
I recommend taking the action route. Too much self-pity can lead to depression and end up being worse than the rejection ever was.

 
One sure way to get a handle on rejection is to keep your work in circulation at all times. Whether it’s a query to an editor or agent, a partial currently under consideration at a publishing house, or a contest entry, keep at least one submission out there at all times. Make this a rule for yourself. It’s a good way to keep that flicker of hope burning bright within yourself.  And remember. You can’t succeed if you don’t take action.
 

“I try to keep in mind that all my favorite authors went through many rejections before they published,” says Young. “If you aren’t getting rejections, you’re not in the game.”  Swift says, “I just try to remind myself why I started in this crazy business in the first place–I love romance novels and I had a story I wanted to tell.”
 

Douglas suggests writing your way through rejection. She recommends writing a scene, a page, something fun, or even your fantasy. “If you can do that you can probably find the love of writing again.”
 

While we are sure to face rejection at one point or another, we don’t have to sit back and accept it. The next time you get a rejection letter, I challenge you to learn from it if possible, and then move on. Have that cold one and eat Godiva if necessary. But most important, don’t give up on yourself. Keep writing. Because that’s what it all boils down to—the writing. Besides, if you give up now, you’ll never know if you were only one rejection letter away from acceptance.

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First off, let me say that this information isn’t meant to depress you. The purpose of sharing these authors’ stories is to prepare you for what might lie ahead on your career path as a published author. True, writing a good book is the most important element in selling. But educating yourself from a business standpoint is just as important if you want to remain on the published track once you get there.
 

Every author has unique experiences during their career, but having an idea how editors work, what publishing houses expect in sell-thru numbers on every release, and being aware of trends, are just a few of the issues you will face after selling. Now, as an unpublished writer, is the time to educate yourself.
 

And of course there is always the issue of rejection. If you think rejection will be a word you can axe from your vocabulary once you do sell, you need to think again.  Margaret Daley who writes for Steeple Hill Love Inspired estimates she’s received 60-75 rejections over a 25-year period. “Just because I sold that didn’t stop the rejections.”  Daley says she finds rejection just as hard, if not harder, to cope with now. “As a published author the bar is raised and the pressure is greater to sell that second, then third book and so on.”

Garthia Anderson who saw her first book released this past spring agrees. “I think it will be harder because I have the expectation that I sold once so I should be able to sell again.”
 

Wendy Douglas whose first book was published by Harlequin Historicals in March of 2002 has discovered how tough selling a second can be. Douglas’s editor has rejected three proposals since she sold. After approving a fourth, Douglas wrote the book, but it still hasn’t been accepted for publication. She is currently writing a fifth book on which her editor approved the synopsis, but she hasn’t officially made a second sale.
 

Douglas concurs with Daley and Anderson that rejection after selling is tougher. “The thing unpublished writers don’t understand (I certainly didn’t!) is that all the insecurities you had before you sold stay with you! They don’t go away just because you sold. In fact, you get a whole new crop of them in addition to the ones you already had.”
 

Kensington author, Kate Donovan, chooses to take a different perspective. “Even though [rejection] is still devastating, I have those copies of my books sitting on the shelf next to my desk, giving me strength. And I have letters and e-mails from readers—perfect strangers who enjoyed my stories. So it’s easier now to say to myself, “Okay, this one editor didn’t like it. But others have liked my writing enough to buy it.”
 

When I asked Zebra author, Tracy Sumner, if she found coping with rejection as a published author harder, she had this to say. “I didn’t have enough rejections before I sold to say for sure, but now it feels like I know more and should be better. I guess I beat myself up a little for getting rejected even though I have an agent and know editors in the business due to networking—things I didn’t have before. It feels like I should be easier when in fact that is not the case.”
 

Donovan also had this to add. “Don’t judge a rejection on the day you receive it. Even if it’s a form rejection, it will sound harsher to you on the day it arrives than it will a month or so later. So digest it and put it aside. And if an editor says she wants to see something else, BE HAPPY. Be encouraged. I made the mistake early in my career of being so crushed by a rejection, I didn’t send something else to a “send something else” letter for quite a while. And guess what? The editor really meant it!”

 
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But in order to make that dream become a reality, I first must write, then submit. And then comes the big kicker—I must wait. All the while I keep my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that this submission will be the one to finally sell and I’ll achieve the first of my goals.
 

I wish I had a dollar for every day I’ve been waiting to hear on a submission. I could buy something really nice for myself, or treat my husband and me to a romantic European vacation. But since no one pays me for waiting, all I can hope for is my persistence and patience will eventually bear fruit and a publisher will buy one of my books.  After all, good things come to those who wait.  Right?
 

I’ve been writing and submitting for quite a few years now—you won’t hear me admitting just how many—and during that time, I’ve noticed a few changes in the genre. Oh sure, I’ve seen countless new lines come and go. And for years historicals dominated the market. Now, humorous, and murderous contemporaries rule. But the taste of the reading public isn’t what I’m referring to. No. What I’m talking about are the long turn-around-times on our submissions and how tight the market supposedly is today.
 

What happened to the days when publishers’ guidelines claimed you could expect a response on your full manuscript in twelve weeks? Twelve weeks?! A three-month response time would be a blessing for such an insecure lot of individuals.  But these days, the reality is you can expect to wait a minimum of six months on just a proposal, and eight, twelve, or more months, on a complete. In some cases we’ve waited so long we wonder if our manuscripts have disintegrated to dust from being devoured by paper weevils.
 

So what’s happened in the last few years that us hopefuls, and published authors, too, are forced to wait with bated breath by our mailboxes and phones for months on end? I decided to do a little research to see if I could find an answer. Let’s start by taking a look at some numbers. When RWA was founded in 1980, the organization had a membership of 37. Today that membership has grown to approximately 8,400. Now you don’t need a math degree to figure out that RWA has done some serious growing in the last twenty-three years. In fact, if you break out the calculator, you’ll see that’s an average growth rate of 365 new members a year. When I joined RWA in early 1992, (okay so here’s a hint to my dive into this writing madness) my new member packet stated that the membership was approximately 5,000. So if we do a little more math, we see that RWA has grown roughly 3,400 members in the last decade which is an average of 340 new members a year. That’s keeping very close pace with the 23-year average. Now if we do even more math, we quickly discover that if this current growth rate continues, RWA could possibly have a membership base of roughly 12,000 by 2012.
 

So what does this mean? Well, simply put, more RWA members = more people writing and submitting = bigger mountains at the publishers = longer turn-around-times. Kensington author Kate Donovan (Fool Me Twice, Zebra) concurs. “I think the number of writers has increased drastically in the last decade due to computers and word processors which enable people (like myself) who never would have pounded out a story on a typewriter with carbon paper, to actually write our stories.”
 

But is the increase in the number of writers the only reason publishers are taking longer to consider manuscripts? Cheryl St. John (Christmas Gold: Colorado Bride, Harlequin Historicals) says, “I’ve worked with several editors, and the differences lie with the editors themselves. I’ve had proposals read immediately and I’ve had proposals languish on a desk for months, depending on the editor (and sometimes depending on her list of responsibilities.) It took a year to get an offer on an option book I just sold this January.” By the way, that long wait was on Cheryl’s twentieth sale.
 

Darlene Scalera (May The Best Man Wed, Harlequin American) had this to share. “I’m fortunate that after my first sale, the rejection/acceptance process has always been accomplished in a timely manner (within two weeks) and I largely credit my editor for the terrific turn-around. But I’m aware this is not always the norm.”
 

Best-selling author Christine Feehan (Dark Symphony, Berkley) commented, “Submissions seem to take longer as the editors are very overworked.”
 

Which leads us to the second reason submission times have slowed down. Many publishing houses have merged over the years, and as with any corporate merger, jobs are often combined and even sometimes eliminated all together because of the bottom line. It only stands to reason that if there are fewer houses to submit to, then you have fewer editors to handle the submissions.
But are there really fewer houses? Again I did a little research. I dug out all of my old RWRs (yes, I still have the very first issue I received) and I studied the annual January Market Update starting with the year 1993. I quickly discovered that even with all the mergers over the years, the 2003 RWR Market Update listed 29 possible markets for our books. That’s six more than in 1993. Over the last decade the average number of houses complied in the list was 22. We have more market options today than we did yesterday. Good news.
 

So, this discovery makes me question my memory again. Are the publishers really taking longer to consider our manuscripts than they did ten or even five years ago? Or does it just seem that way?
In our fast paced, instant gratification society, have we grown increasingly impatient? Well, just to make sure that memory of mine wasn’t way off kilter, I did some more double checking. In the 1996 edition of the Romance Writer’s Sourcebook, (Writer’s Digest Books) publishers reported response times on queries as an average of 3-6 weeks, and 8-12 weeks on complete manuscripts. To further my search, I pulled out my bulging file of rejection slips and noticed many of them were received around that three-month mark. And as with any rule, there were a few exceptions that languished into the one year, or more, territory. There were even a few submissions that I never actually received a rejection slip for, but we won’t go there. That’s another article, Submitting When You Shouldn’t.
 

Okay, I’m feeling better about my memory, even though I’m feeling a little depressed now after perusing through all those rejection slips. But at least my memory isn’t wacked. Thank goodness for that.  Let’s move on and take at look at RWA’s 2002 Romance Fiction Statistic Report compiled by Libby Hall. Libby’s report states that 2,143 romances were published in 2001, down by 146 titles from 2000, and down by 380 titles from 1999. That doesn’t sound encouraging.  But if you read her comments about the report in the October 2002 issue of the RWR, you soon discover maybe that isn’t as bad as it first sounds. Libby says that this drop could be attributed to “the diversity creeping into our genre and into the careers of member-authors of RWA.” Libby goes on to point out that only “novels marketed as a romance” were included in the study. Any novel marketed as “women’s fiction” was not.
 

So this brings us to our burning question. Given the current situation of more writers and fewer, and extremely overworked editors, is it really tougher to sell a book these days? Is the market really that tight? “I think it’s always been difficult,” says Kathleen Nance (Enchantment, Leisure Books) “I can’t speak for ten years ago, but I do think there are higher quality submissions today. And I think there are more authors selling to the publishers, so there are fewer slots per author.”
 

Cheryl St.John says, “All sources indicate that it’s the economy and the market. Even the big names are selling fewer number of books than in years past. As all the publishers tighten their belts, it stands to reason that editors must be more selective than ever.”
 

Darlene Scalera commented, “Shrinking midlists, reissues of earlier books, the rise of the conglomerate bookstores, even increasing paper costs, are only a few of the factors conspiring against authors today. But selling a book has never been an easy process. It’s the nature of the publishing beast.”
 

Maureen McKade (Journey Of The Heart, Berkley, June 2004) says, “I believe editors are looking for more specific stories today. For example, if their house is leaning more toward lighter romance because that’s what’s been their hot sellers, then everything (contemporary and historical) submitted will be considered more at that level.” McKade believes the changing culture has also dictated this shift. “We need to attract younger readers who’ve grown up with computers and sharp, sassy television shows.”
 

Christine Feehan adds, “The changes I’ve noticed are in the buying trends. Houses seem to put out calls for the same types of material which then floods the market the following year which then changes the trend to something else.”
 

Kate Donovan says, “Ten years ago, I felt like publishers were willing to experiment a little. Five years ago, the door seemed closed on certain subgenres. Now it’s loosening up again. These days, you can find a home for a gothic, a paranormal, chick lit, erotica, regencies, traditional romance, romantic comedy—virtually everything! So even though it gets harder every day to sell a book, this is the best time I’ve ever seen for finding a home for a great-but-off-the-wall sort of book. If I were a new writer who had two ideas—a crazy one and a traditional one—I’d do the crazy one first, because this portal might not be open forever.”
 

Maureen McKade offers this sage advice. “Speaking strictly from my own experience, I found that I would rather write what I love rather than try to write something my heart isn’t involved in. It took me almost three years to make another sale because I stuck with writing westerns when very few were being bought. During this soul-searching time, I also found I wanted to try a romantic suspense, which I did. I was very fortunate to find a house which wanted both types of books. But there were times in the last couple of years where I despaired of ever selling again. In my opinion, you can spend your time chasing rainbows in the hopes of finding that pot of gold, or you could stay in one place and that pot of gold might just find you.”
 

On another positive note—Gerri Russell wrote in her “First Sales” year-end report, (RWR, Feb. 2003) “reported” first sales for 2002 totaled 85. That’s up 22 sales over 2001. Hurrah!
 

Okay, so after all this, what conclusions have, we made? Is today’s romance market super tight? Are your odds of winning the Lottery better than selling your book? Let’s review.
1. RWA is bigger than ever and still growing.
2. Editors are seriously overworked.
3. There are more houses publishing romance novels today than ten years ago.
4. There were fewer “romance” titles published in 2001.
5. “Reported” first sales were up for 2002.
 

Well, I’m no expert, but I’d say that as long as the romance market stays as strong in the future has it has in the past, the first two numbers aren’t going to change. Hopefully number three will hold true and the houses publishing romance will continue to grow for many years to come. And fourth, well, as long as RWA members are selling and readers are buying, that’s always good news, for all of us. And five, Gerri’s report is proof that first-time authors are selling.
 

Over the last eleven years there is one thing I’ve noticed that hasn’t changed. There has been one constant. Authors are still saying, (as they did in 1992, 95, 98, 2002) “It’s tough to get published. It’s always been tough to get published.” Now I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, too!
 

But I believe the future is bright for first-time, and multi published authors both. As long as we continue to strive to write the best books we can each and every time, and continue to submit them, even if the editors remain overworked, eventually something has to click. And when we do click, we can look back on all those rejection slips and be reminded of what it took for us to sell. Knowing we’ve paid our dues, we can smile and say, (to borrow a title from Barry Manilow!) Looks Like We Made It.


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But for all Janet’s success, she started out just like everyone else: At the bottom. She received a box full of rejections, and she even claims she burned them, before finally getting the call.
“It took me ten years to sell,” Janet says, “and I wrote three manuscripts that never sold.”
Janet’s first sale was to the Second Chance at Love line and she cashed a check for a whopping $2,000.00. With such an obscene amount of money in her pocket, Janet kissed her secretarial career goodbye and began writing full time. She wrote series romance for five years, but after 12 novels she decided she needed a change and switched to the mystery genre. Janet liked the idea of being able to use more action and use less internal monologue. During the two years it took her to create Stephanie Plum, she hung out with members of the law enforcement community, learned to handle a gun, and perfected her cussing skills.

Sherry Siwinski: Where did the idea for Stephanie Plum come from, and did you ever have any idea she'd become so popular?

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie is a composite of me, my daughter Alex and my favorite
romance heroines. When I started the series, I HOPED Stephanie Plum would be popular.

SS: I've read that you knew nothing about the bail bonds industry. Did you find the research that you had to do daunting, and did you worry about getting the facts right?

JE: The research was a little strange at first. I wasn't used to hanging out with guys who carry guns. And yes, I worried about getting the facts right. I still worry about it and usually have one of my cop friends read my manuscript before I send it to my publisher.

SS: Out of all the Plum novels you've now written, do you have a favorite, or a favorite scene?

JE: I like the new one, HARD EIGHT. I think the crime is interesting and the book is well constructed. My favorite scene would have to be the rabbit in the parking lot.

Ooh! A rabbit in the parking lot? I can’t wait to read what that’s all about. HARD EIGHT goes on sale June 18, and the paperback edition of SEVEN UP went on sale June 5.

SS: Some writers compare writing to sweating blood. I like Stephanie and the gang so much, I'd think they'd be a breeze to write. Of course the grass is always greener on someone else’s keyboard! Do you ever sweat blood when writing the Plum novels, or do you find them a "breeze" to write? Can you tell me why?

JE: I work very hard to make my books easy to read. I'm a slow writer and no book has ever been a breeze. Books are most fun when you're done with them.

Amen, brother! I can attest to that.

SS: You wrote a number of books for Bantam Loveswept and Second Chance at Love. Do you feel those publishing credits helped you sell ONE FOR THE MONEY? Or was it like starting from scratch since you were trying to sell a totally different type of book?

JE: The fact that I had twelve books in print definitely helped me sell the Plum series. Still, I sold ONE for a very small amount of money and struggled with a small print run on that first Plum book.

SS: I heard you will be re releasing one of your earlier books, FULL HOUSE, and expanding it with the help of Charlotte Huges. Was this your idea, your publisher, or was it the fact your fans just can't seem to get enough of your writing?

JE: For years now my fans have been asking for more books. And for years I've had book ideas that I haven't been able to get to. Charlotte and I have been friends since we were Loveswept authors together and thought it would be fun to work together on a project. The way it's going to work is that I work with Charlotte on the initial outline, Charlotte does the bulk of the new writing, and then I help edit the finished product.

Mark your calendars, FULL HOUSE is due in stores on September 3.

SS: For us writers who have yet to reach the pinnacle of the New York Times Bestseller list, or have never gone on major book signing tours, can you describe those experiences for us? (Just so we know what to expect when we make it!)

JE: Seeing your name on a national list is a thrill. It's validation for all the hard times. A book tour is exhausting and often frustrating. The travel part of the tour sucks. The meeting the fans part is terrific. The media part is terrifying. Bring granola bars or you'll never get anything to eat!

Janet starts another book tour this month, but the closest she’ll make it to us is on June 29, when she’ll be signing at Sam’s Club in Des Peres, Missouri. Darn it. Maybe someday we’ll get lucky and she’ll make it as close as Omaha. But speaking of media, Janet made a television commercial this past March to promote HARD EIGHT. The commercial is scheduled to air this
month.

SS: What do you find to be the worst & best parts of writing? The creative aspect, the business end, the clamoring fans, fame and fortune?

JE: Fame is an illusion and inconvenient. Fortune ain't bad. The fans are family. Writing the book, hard as it is, is always the best part.

Speaking of business, Janet’s family helps out in that department. “After we moved to New Hampshire, we realized there was more to this writing stuff than just writing, so we formed a family business, Evanovich, Inc,” Janet says. Today, her husband, Pete, manages all aspects of the business and tries to keep Janet on time. “An impossible job!” she says. Her son, Peter, takes care of the financial end, while her daughter, Alex, handles the web site, the newsletter, the graphics, the comics, and the online advertising. They get about a million hits a month on the site. Now that’s a lot of traffic!

SS: You said you're contracted through book ten with the Plum series and that you're having fun writing the books. Is it getting to be more of a challenge though, to come up with fresh & intriguing storylines? Do you feel the pressure to deliver?

JE: Probably I felt more pressure early on in the series. I got good reviews for ONE and after that I always felt like I was playing CAN YOU TOP THIS. I think I've relaxed a little in the last couple years and don't feel the same sort of pressure to deliver. Or maybe it's that my life is so filled I don't have time to worry!

SS: I always save the next Plum novel as a reward for myself when I accomplish a goal with my own writing. I do this because once I start reading, I can't put it down and everything else goes by the wayside. What do you feel is/are the key element(s) to creating a nonstop read?

JE: Clean, spare writing. Lovable, interesting characters. A dead body early
on in the book.

If you’ve read any number of Janet’s books, you know dead bodies do show up a lot, and usually an explosion isn’t far behind. And just in case you can’t get enough of Stephanie Plum and her friends, you’re in for an extra treat this year. Janet is currently working on a short Plum novel to be released November 5. Here’s a little sneak peek. “VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS takes Stephanie Plum on a holiday adventure and introduces a new character that readers will flip for! He’s as mysterious as Ranger, as sexy as Morelli, and . . . well, we won’t say any more.”
Hmm? I can’t wait!

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Feehan says she’s been writing from the moment she knew what a sentence was. She loves every kind of book there is, but in order for her to be completely satisfied, there has to be a romance in the story somewhere. And she has to have the happily ever after. So it was only natural she decided to write romance.

Sherry Siwinski: Tell us about your first sale.

Christine Feehan: I was lucky. My agent had worked with Alicia Condon of Dorchester in the past and asked her to read the book. Most houses told us they would not touch vampire. She tried to explain Carpathians weren't vampires but we couldn't get anyone to read the manuscript. (One editor did, loved it but couldn't get the okay for it) Alicia read it and bought it. I was very lucky. Dorchester worked hard for me. They took a chance putting out three books a year which wasn't easy for publishing or marketing as they couldn't get my sales figures fast enough. When my agent called me, saying they wanted the book, I had been so certain no one would buy it, that I actually told her I wasn't certain I wanted to sell and I had to think it over. I totally panicked!! I'm certain my poor agent thought I was crazy.

SS: For those readers who have yet to try your Dark series, can you explain the differences between a Carpathian and a Vampire?

CF: A Carpathian is a species of people coexisting with humans. They have many special gifts
such as shape shifting, but they also have many problems. A Carpathian is honorable and does his best to follow the laws of his people and protect those weaker than he is. A vampire is wholly evil and takes pleasure in depraved behavior.

SS: How did the series come about?

CF: I was in a very dark place in my life and needed to find hope, so the Carpathians were born with all the darkness in their lives but seeking the light and eventually finding it!

SS: Your series started with Dark Prince. Is it necessary to read the books in the order they were
released?

CF: No, each book was meant to be read as a stand alone book. The stories are a richer read in order, as the history of the people and many other smaller details are added, but if any reader picks up a book in the middle it would be no different than reading a paranormal romance.

SS: You've now sold to Berkley. Tell us about that and what readers have to look forward to.

CF: I am hoping to continue to put out three books a year. I would like to do the Dark series,
perhaps a shape shifter series and paranormal psychic contemporary series. I have many ideas and I hope to be able to try them all!

SS: Do you plan to continue the Dark series for Leisure?

CF: At the moment I'm writing for Berkley and hope to do the Dark books for them. I loved writing for Leisure, it was a very positive experience for me and would love to work with them again, so you just never know.

SS: What is your writing schedule?

CF: I write at least eight hours a day. I also do another couple of hours of mail and interviews and research. It is full time, but I love to write so it works for me. I take my breaks around my children's schedule and also try to go for mini-walks often during the day. Close to a deadline, if I've fallen behind, I will put in more hours.

SS: You've written several anthologies. In your opinion, are they harder or easier to write because of the short length?

CF: For me, writing anthologies is much more difficult. I am very wordy and have never
written short stories, not even when I was young. It's a new experience and I try very hard to make the story as full as possible. I spent a great deal of time researching other anthologies and shorter series stories to see how authors set them up.

SS: Do you think anthologies can be a boon to an author's career?

CF: You know, I don't honestly know the answer to this. I would have said no before because I never ever read anthologies myself, but I've received hundreds of letters from readers who found me in an anthology so in rethinking the issue, I would have to say those readers might not have found me!

SS: What are some things about the publishing business that you know now that you wished you had known before you sold?

CF: I wish I had known the business end. I didn't think of slots, or print runs or marketing or even booksignings. I just concentrated on writing and when the rest of it came up, I was unprepared.

SS: What is your favorite thing about writing?

CF: The absolute adventure of writing. For me it is like a great movie unfolding in my mind with all the little details up to me. If it isn't to my satisfaction I can change the scenery and look
and feel of it until it is. Until I can live and breathe the adventure. I love that.

SS: What do you dislike about writing?

CF: The business end is the most difficult for me. I am not someone who does well if the
strict truth isn't told to me. I don't like having to check on things that should have been done and taken care of by someone else. I much prefer losing myself in the writing but the business end is a BIG part of publishing so learn it! Become as knowledgeable as you can!

SS: Any advice for those trying to make that first sale?

CF: Keep trying. Often a rejection has nothing to do with your writing. I know several
lines were closed for a period of months and authors were rejected with a standard rejection letter. The publishing house was not buying for those lines and so the manuscripts weren't read. It is also ONE person's opinion. Reading is subjective. I was rejected at one house because my book went to an editor who didn't like paranormal and wasn't in charge of that division. The paranormal editor contacted me asking me for something and when I expressed surprise, she was upset the book hadn't been passed on to her. So keep trying. Never give up. It will happen and while you're waiting, enjoy the writing of your next book.

SS: How about some advice for staying published?

CF: Write the best books you can and keep your passion for writing. Yes, it is a business, but you started writing because you love to write, not because you wanted to be published. If you don't love to write you shouldn't be doing it. Write what your characters dictate, not what you think the readers and editors want. Write with a market in mind but use your own voice. Watch that you don't over critique yourself into a generic voice. It's easy when you read reviews and get hundreds of letters to start changing how you write and that isn't what you want. Be true to your writing always and keep your passion for it going.

The complete Dark Series includes eight books: Dark Prince, Dark Desire, Dark Gold, Dark Magic, Dark Challenge, Dark Fire, Dark Legend, and coming in May 2002, Dark Guardian. Anthologies include three: Fantasy–The Awakening, A Very Gothic Christmas–After the Music, and After Twilight–Dark Dream. Also watch for The Scarletti Curse, a Leisure Candleglow romance, and coming in September of 2002, Lair of the Lion.

Sherry Siwinski is a founding member and past president of the Prairieland Romance Writers. A member of RWA since 1992, she has published more than 50 newspaper and magazine articles. She also has her own promotional business, JustAFew Promotions. Ever the optimistic, she plans on one day promoting her own books.

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I first learned about author Jane Sullivan from her brochure called, Test Your Writing Personality. After taking her short quiz, I flipped over to the back to her bio. Instantly I was impressed with what this writer had accomplished in such a short, and I mean short, period of time. After all, we are talking about the publishing business here.

 
Being a Golden Heart finalist in 1999 was just the beginning for Sullivan. She went on to sell that manuscript, STRAY HEARTS,(August 2000) to Harlequin Duets. Then in February of this year, she sold her second book to Duets. In May she sold a single title romantic comedy to Ballantine, which lead to a two-book contract. Sounds like a writer’s dream come true to me.  But wait. There’s more! One week after making the deal with Ballantine, Sullivan sold a book to Harlequin Temptation.
Boy, talk about an impressive year. And it’s not even over yet. Since I’m always eager to learn more about this crazy profession/obsession I’ve chosen, I knew I had to email this talented lady and find out how all of this came about for her.

SS: How long have you been writing, and what made you decide to write romance?
JS: I studied Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma more than twenty years ago, but I didn't write again with a serious eye toward publication until about fiveyears ago. I had a short story published and was working on a young adult mystery, when a friend handed me five romances from her keeper shelf. They were wonderful stories by incredibly talented writers, and it was then
that I knew I wanted to write romance.
SS: When you first started writing, did you know you wanted to write romantic comedies?
JS: No. My first book was a romantic suspense novel, which didn't sell, but I learned a lot writing it. When Harlequin started their Love & Laughter line, I thought I'd give romantic comedy a try. By the time I finished STRAY HEARTS, that line had evolved into Harlequin Duets.
SS: How many manuscripts did you write before making that first sale?
JS: I started about three or four different manuscripts, but I completed only one of them before writing STRAY HEARTS, which was the first book I sold.
SS: Do you attribute your first sale to the Golden Heart?
JS: I attribute the speed of my first sale to the Golden Heart. If you final, it brings your work to the attention of the judging editor and lets you bypass months in the slush pile. Still, I believe that if you've got a great book, they're going to buy it. It just may take a little longer.
SS: STRAY HEARTS, is centered around an animal shelter. Are you a big animal lover? How did the story come about? JS: I do love animals, which made that book a blast to write. But the idea actually began with the Disney movie, THE MIGHTY DUCKS, which is the story of a man who does
something rotten, is sentenced to coach a kid's hockey team and finds love and happiness in the process. Then I visited an animal shelter and came up with the idea for STRAY HEARTS. It's the story of an animal-fearing woman who thinks her cheating ex-fiancé deserves to pay for his
indiscretion, so she gets a grooming service to shave his snooty, prizewinning Cocker Spaniels. She's sentenced to community service at an animal shelter, where she meets the resident veterinarian and falls in love. Taking existing stories and giving them your own unique spin is an
excellent way to generate ideas.
SS: Let’s take a moment and talk some more about your writing process. When you start getting a snippet of an idea for a story, what hits you first? Characters or storyline?
JS: For me, it's always different. I will say, though, that it's probably best to develop strong characters before getting all engrossed in a plot, because you simply can't build a good romance novel on a really cool plot and weak characters. On the other hand, you can sometimes skate by
with a so-so plot if your characters are wonderful. Of course, it's best to deliver both!
SS: When creating your characters, do you use someone as amodel for their looks and mannerisms?
JS: No. I go by what my mind's eye is telling me that character looks like. I've tried the photo thing before, but I always wander back to what I'm seeing in my own head.
SS: How do you prefer to plot your books? Detailed outlines, a 10-page synopsis, note cards?
JS: I plot by the seat of my pants. I'd love to be one of those writers who can outline a book, then stick to the outline. I'm not. Selling on proposal has forced me to write synopses ahead of time, which is a good thing because it gives me a road map to follow, but I hate doing it. I also skip around a lot when I write, never following a chronological order, and then I put all the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. And sitting down and writing a complete first draft without editing along the way is inconceivable to me. I'd like to be more methodical, but my brain just doesn't work that way.
SS: In the last year, you've sold four more books. Share with us how all of this came about for you.
JS: It was crazy there for a while! I sold my first Duets in September of 1999, then pitched an idea for the second Duets to my editor in November and got a go-ahead to do a proposal. They bought that book in February of 2000. Soon after that I sent my editor a proposal for Temptation.
Then my single-title romantic comedy proposal went out toseveral publishers. In May 2000, just over a month after submission, Ballantine made an offer on it and wanted a two-book contract. A week later my editor at Harlequin bought the Temptation!
SS: Wow! With so much happening over the last year, do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by it all? If so, how do you deal with it?
JS: Overwhelmed? You bet! I sold four books on proposal in a matter of a few months. It was the most exciting thing I've ever experienced, but then I came down from the high and realized I had to deliver. I'm thrilled at the opportunity I've been given to write for both Harlequin and Ballantine, and I'm knocking myself out to make sure I give them the best books I possibly can.
SS: How has becoming a published author changed your life?
JS: I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know if I work hard enough, I can eventually realize my dream of making a living doing what I love to do--write. Selling these books has enabled me to cut back to part-time on my job. Eventually I intend to get rid of it altogether!
SS: Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you work at it five days a week? Do you have a page-a-day quota?
JS: I try to get the work done on my part-time job in the morning, then devote the rest of the day to writing. My husband and daughter are very helpful in giving me the time I need to write. I have no set daily goals--it just depends on how things are going. Some days I'll write two pages, some days ten or fifteen. Some days they're good pages, some days they're not. But I eventually get the
book done!
SS: We hear a lot about setting goals and making career plans and how important they are. You said you aren’t much for daily goals, but how about long term and career planning?
JS: Definitely long term. I never allowed myself to doubt, even for a moment, that I would eventually sell. I visualized that constantly, and that broad goal forced me to do the smaller things I had to do to get there. Never, though, did I imagine I'd sell five books in eight months!
SS: Do you have any career planning tips for unpublished writers? For published writers?
JS: As an unpublished writer, you can't control whether an editor decides to buy your book, but you can control what you put in front of that editor, making it so wonderful that she can't possibly say no. Then after that first sale, you'll see what options you have and can start planning for a long-term career. As far as career planning tips for published writers, I'm not in a position yet to
offer them advice. I'm too busy taking their advice!
SS: Do you have an agent? If so, how important do you feel an agent is to an author's career?     JS: Linda Kruger offered to represent me during the time I was doing rewrites on STRAY HEARTS for Brenda Chin at Harlequin and hoping for a sale. I could have made that first sale without an agent, but in my opinion, if you're going to be a professional writer with a long-term career, an agent is
an absolute necessity. Linda handles all the details I don't want to deal with, and her advice has been invaluable.
SS: What are some of the things you've learned/experienced in the business that prior to selling you had "no idea?"
JS: Truthfully, there haven't been many surprises, but that's because I sought out the advice of the wonderful published authors at my RWA chapter in Dallas even before I sold, so I already had a pretty clear picture of what I was going to face afterward. That's something I'd recommend highly--seek out the advice of the people who are where you want to be, then follow that advice!
SS: Any last thoughts?
JS: I get very irritated when I hear doom and gloom about how impossible it is to get that first sale. Read the RWR.  There are first sales every single month. If you write a great book that meets an editor's needs, she'll buy it!
SS: Thanks for the interview, Jane. It’s been great.
Be sure and look for a copy of STRAY HEARTS, and watch for THE MATCHMAKER'S MISTAKE coming in March 2001 from Harlequin Duets.

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