Good morning and welcome to Anatomy of the FEMALE Mind.  Yep, we’ve gone rogue again, but we had good reason.  With it being our anniversary week, we thought it would be appropriate to invite our first Visiting Professor back to help us kick off another year.

Let’s give a big RU welcome to bestselling author Brenda Novak.

Boundaries

 I’ve never been good at setting boundaries. “Pleasers” usually aren’t. They are trained—or programmed from the beginning, maybe—to give others what they want and expect, no matter how difficult or time-consuming. So I spent a good portion of my life living for the praise of my parents, my teachers, my siblings, my husband, even my children.

And then something happened. I started to write romance and that evoked some…gasp… disapproval from certain people, several of which were very close to me.

As silly as it may sound to those who have always been assertive, weathering that disapproval without succumbing to the pressure to quit was a difficult exercise for me. It required a lot of soul-searching. But I’m glad for the challenge it presented. I feel as if it was necessary to my growth as a person. I finally learned how to break out of that childish “pleaser” mold, if only a little, and do what I thought I should be doing regardless of whether anyone else agreed with it or not. Once I took a stand, I felt empowered. It was the first time I had ever really set any boundaries, the first time I put those in my life on notice that I was going to live according to the dictates of my own conscience.

 I’ve now been published for eleven years and have been fortunate enough to hit The New York Times. I love what I do and am far more confident in it than I was during

 those early years. And yet…I am faced with another challenge regarding boundaries. Slowly but surely, as I’ve built my career, I’ve lost control of my time. I have a steady stream of people–wonderful people so this is nothing against them–writing to ask if I’ll tell them how to get published, read their manuscript, critique their query letter, introduce them to my agent/editor, donate to their cause, visit their blog, meet their daughter/wife/mother, speak at their event, etc. The attention is exciting. So are all the opportunities. And I sometimes need favors myself, right? Look at all the people who donate to my diabetes auction! I owe thousands!

 But agreeing to do it ALL means there’s no time for my family, no time for my writing, no time for my fundraising, no time to replenish the well from which I create my stories.

So how do I reclaim my life while still doing all I can to help others and take advantage of the great opportunities that come my way? How do I achieve the right balance? Is it possible to set boundaries without offending?

Whether it is or not, I fear saving my sanity will mean using a word I’ve never felt comfortable with—No.

***

RU Crew, how do you set boundaries in your own life?  We’d love to hear from you.

A special thanks to Brenda Novak for being with us today. After all, she could have chosen now to say no and we are so glad she didn’t. Please join us tomorrow when Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate will offer advice on what unpubbed writers need to establish a web presence and why they need it.
 

Please take a moment to read the following note from Brenda regarding her annual auction to benefit diabetes research. This is a wonderful event and the auction items are amazing (be sure to check out the RU basket.).  Once again, here’s Brenda:

I started this fundraiser in 2005 and have made it an annual event in an attempt to help my thirteen-year-old son (diagnosed at 5) and the many, many others who struggle with diabetes. The need is there. Anyone who lives with a diabetic will tell you about the constant fingertip pricks, the shots, the pump insertions, the danger that comes with blood sugars that are too high or too low or swinging wildly from one side to the other. It’s almost impossible to avoid the fluctuations, no matter how hard you try. But you rarely hear about that, or about the tragic side affects. Diabetes affects every part of the body—the heart, the liver, the kidneys, the skin, the nerves, the eyes, everything. But thanks to my many, many generous donors–and shoppers–we’re doing what we can to help!

Last year we managed to raise over $280,000, which brings us to over three-quarters of a million so far. In 2010, we should break the $1 million mark! Judging by the increase in donations and web traffic, I think we’ll get there. Not only do I offer fabulous items like original paintings, handmade quilts, trips and stays and autographed books and baskets from Big Name authors, I offer fabulous opportunities for readers and writers. How would you like to have lunch with one of your favorite authors—authors like Barry Eisler, Diana Gabaldon, Linda Howard, Beverly Barton or Catherine Coulter? John Lescroart and Christine Feehan are offering you an opportunity to name a character in one of their novels. Jane Porter is offering a fabulous trip to Hawaii. Heather Graham has donated a trip to New Orleans, which includes her Writers For New Orleans Conference. Nora Roberts is offering a stay at her inn. Hank has donated a whole category of wonderful items, including a visit to your book club. And Anna DeStefano has put up a whole category of Coach purses. For aspiring writers, we have more agent and editor evaluations and author critiques than ever before. There are too many items to list here, so hop over and check it out.

For those of you who have never participated in an online auction, don’t worry–it’s easy. This auction runs just like E-Bay. You shop the entire month of May (there are also one-day auctions so be sure to check the schedule), bid on whatever you like and pay for what you win via  credit card or Paypal when it’s all over, at which point it will be shipped to you (in most cases, the shipping is free). The person who places the highest number of bids each week will be awarded a fabulous prize (the first week it’s an iPad as well as an Advanced Reading Copy of my new book, WHITE HEAT, due out July 27^th). There will also be lots of other prizes given away via random drawings.

And we have something new this year for aspiring writers. It’s a writing contest that will be judged by New York Times Bestselling Authors. The winner will receive a 6-month mentoring package from me and guaranteed reads from my agent and editor. One other thing I should mention. To help promote the auction, I’m currently holding a drawing for a fabulous Trip for 2 to Curacao. This trip includes airfare and hotel stay at the Hyatt Regency. To enter, visit brendanovak.com and click on the Contest link.

***

 Brenda’s bio: New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has three novels coming out this summer—WHITE HEAT, BODY HEAT & KILLER HEAT. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $770,000 and is hoping to break $1 million this year. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.  

Today we welcome Amy Atwell to Romance University.  I’d like to start off by sharing Amy’s bio with you because it’s important for this post.  Here’s the bio:

—2008 RWA® Golden Heart® finalist Amy Atwell has won awards in several contests including The Maggie, The Sheila and The Daphne, The Beacon and others.  A member of Romance Writers of America for nine years, she hosts WritingGIAM, where goal-oriented writers share support and track progress.  A professional theater veteran, she’s written non-fiction projects for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The National Park Service, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Shakespeare Festival.  Learn more about Amy at http://www.amyatwell.com

Now, you would think with that bio, Amy would be published by now, but she’s not.  I asked Amy to share her thoughts on making career adjustments while trying to become a published author.

Here’s Amy!

It’s such a pleasure to join Romance University as a guest today.  And to talk about Crafting Your Career?  I’m all over it.

 You see, I’ve been writing fiction with an eye toward publication for ten years. 

 Did you wince when you read that?

 Don’t apologize.  Frankly, I cringed a bit writing it.  Oh, I could give you a litany of reasons why I’ve never sold.  It’s a tough world out there.  Ever changing markets.  A suffering world economy.  Technology blurring the traditional landscape of publishing.  Sure, I’d like to blame my lack of publication on all these factors. 

But the truth is I’m not published yet because I haven’t presented the “right” (marketable, fresh and well-crafted) manuscript to the “right” (loves my concept, loves my voice) editor at the “right” (there’s available budget and room on the publishing schedule) moment.  Call it the holy trinity of publication.  Or, for the more cynical, think of it as a slot machine where all three wheels must match before you win the jackpot.

I’ve had some successes along the way.  Contest wins.  A Golden Heart® final.  Requests for full manuscripts from editors.  Signed with a fabulous agent last year.  Alas, so far, no jackpot. 

I felt really confident about my first agented submission.  This was the manuscript that had garnered so much editorial interest, had won praise from contest judges and beta readers.  People loved the characters—especially Edgar the rabbit—and the quirky treatment of the Las Vegas setting. 

But once we submitted, the responses from the editors surprised me: they loved the idea, and the characters were great, but they didn’t know how to market it.  It was romantic suspense, but it was also a dark comedy.  Too suspense-y to put in their contemporary romance line, but too funny to put in their romantic suspense line.  I was sitting on the fence dividing two popular markets. 

My next submission—a Regency era saga—met with eerily similar feedback.  My story, while well-written, wasn’t sexy and streamlined enough to fit editors’ notions of historical romance, yet it lacked the immersion into that specific world to market it as a mainstream historical.  Again, my manuscript straddled two popular fiction genres, but didn’t clearly fit either. 

I’d written two very different stories, but I’d made the same key mistake in both.  While I was aware of the sub-genres, I hadn’t defined my story to clearly fit into any particular one.  Frankly, marketing the story to the public book buyer hadn’t been on my radar.  I’d just been trying to catch the eye of an editor. 

Well, I caught a lot of their eyes.  A number of editors even commended my work.  But none of them offered me a contract. I realized that in the evolving world of publishing Darwinism, I had to adjust my writing or face possible extinction.

I’m lucky to have a wonderful agent who believes in my voice and my ability to turn out another story.  She suggested I go back and revise my Golden Heart® finalist manuscript from last year.  The problem is I first plotted that story nearly ten years ago.  At the time, it felt new and fresh.  Looking at it a few months ago, the concept felt overdone and, to be honest, dull. Worse I now saw the same mistake I’d made twice before—this story was a romantic comedy but the subplot felt more like women’s fiction.  Again, it was straddling markets.  There wasn’t a lot of sense in spinning my wheels down this same road again.  I mean, if the signs say “Road Closed,” you find an alternative route, right?  So I came to a full stop, reviewed where I’d been, confirmed where I wanted to go, and set a new course.

Remember, my goal was to write fiction with an eye toward publication.  Though I’d come close, I’d missed that target.  To zero in on publication, I knew now I had to look more closely at the market.   

Markets change.  Popular culture changes daily.  Heck, with Twitter, make that hourly. 

Instead of working in a vacuum like I had with my first stories, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with my agent, discussing the market and what editors were seeking (note: this info is about four months old, but…  BIG ST contemporaries, a la Debbie Macomber, more about family than about the romance only; paranormals—but they want something FRESH; sexy historical romances and commercial historical fiction are both being sought; RS is still doing well, though editors aren’t clamoring for it the way they used to).

Based on all that feedback, I sifted through my pile of story ideas.  The work I’d done on my recent historical submission had reinforced for me that while I’d gotten great feedback over the years on my contemporary voice, my first love was historicals.  I had a half finished manuscript I’d always hoped to get back and finish.  It’s a late medieval historical suspense.  I’d sent it to a critique partner a couple of weeks before, asking if she thought I could put a nice “sexy romance” spin on it.

Her feedback stopped me in my tracks.  She suggested I go in the opposite direction—increase the historical context, add some real people from history as characters, and blend it into a commercial historical fiction.  Basically, drop my fictional plot into the midst of real life events and intertwine everything.

My agent loved the idea.  More to the point, she thinks it’s seriously marketable.  When I hung up the phone, I felt this wave of relief.  Not that she’d agreed with me, but that I was going to return to writing what I had first loved reading—big historical fiction stories with the emphasis on the history.  I wasn’t chasing the market, I was finally giving myself permission to write outside the boundaries of romance.  I see now I was trying to pigeonhole myself as a romance writer, but elements of my stories just refused to fit. 

So, what have you learned today from my ten years’ experience?

1.  If you want to write for publication, be aware of the markets.

2.  Don’t chase the markets, but make an honest appraisal of your writing and how it fits—or doesn’t fit—within those markets. 

3.  Don’t give up writing stories you love, but consider how you choose to craft a story to make it a clear fit into one of the many sub-genres of fiction.

4.  Don’t be afraid to change course.  Yes, it’s scary, but you may discover you have a talent or a voice for a particular sub-genre.

5.  If the market isn’t publishing the types of stories you love to write, don’t despair.  Ten years ago, I was told the historical was all but dead.  Now it’s one of the strongest selling sub-genres both as historical romance and mainstream historical fiction.

6.  Read.  Read everything.  Read newspapers and magazines, read romances in your sub-genre, read outside your subgenre.  Read literary classics.  Read non-fiction.  Reading refills your well of ideas.  It energizes yet relaxes your mind.  It keeps you abreast of the markets. 

7.  If you feel like you’re close but you’re not making that sale, don’t lose hope.  Don’t give up.  Slow down, try to identify what’s missing, and change course if needed.   

And finally, if you plan to make writing your career, make sure you’ve stated your goal.  Know what you want out of this career.  Once you’ve got the goal, you can make an active plan on how to achieve it.  Review it often and adapt whenever necessary.

And here’s hoping you all hit the publishing jackpot.

A special thanks to Amy for being here.  She will be checking in today to answer questions so fire away!

Our guest today is bestselling author Allison Brennan who will share her thoughts on breaking those rules we all hear so much about.  We love rule breakers don’t we?

Allison has offered to raffle off a book to one lucky reader so be sure to ask a question (or just say hello) for a chance to win.

Here’s Allison!

There Is No Spoon 

Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Spoon boy: There is no spoon.

Neo: There is no spoon?

Spoon boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

 The Matrix, 1999

When I first started seriously writing (by that I mean writing with the purpose of finishing a book, finding an agent, and selling to a New York publisher), I didn’t know there were any rules.

Sure, there are rules of grammar. I knew better than to write my book in all lower case, or without punctuation, or to kill off my hero at the end of the book. (Yes, that’s been done, but not all too successfully in romantic suspense, my favorite genre.) 

I had some of my own personal rules—such as not killing off the hero OR the heroine—but other than that, I  wrote a couple books at night after the kids went to bed and queried a few hundred agents.

 As often is with writing, especially in a romance sub-genre such as romantic suspense, after a time writers find themselves joining Romance Writers of America. I did only after being invited to a local RWA chapter meeting (Sacramento Valley Rose) and liking the people I met. I’d already had two completed books under my belt, I had an agent (who I subsequently split with before I even sold), and felt I knew what I was doing.

 I didn’t. In fact, I learned I knew nothing about writing, nothing about getting published, nothing about querying agents, and nothing about the business. I didn’t know any of the rules, and I about had a nervous-breakdown!

I didn’t know anything about point-of-view, head hopping, occupations, prologues, introducing characters, blending genres, flashbacks, or word count. Hell, I didn’t even know about formatting! In fact, everything I’d ever learned about writing up until January 2003, I learned as a reader.

In fact, I didn’t even buy a craft book (except for SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS) until after I sold. Two of my favorites—THE WRITERS JOURNEY by Christopher Vogler and ON WRITING by Stephen King—I read during the window after my first sale but before my publication date.

RWA, critique groups, and craft books are all valuable tools in your writer’s tool chest, to paraphrase Stephen King. While I always had confidence that I would sell someday, I believe that joining RWA, entering a few contests, and learning about the business and craft sped up the process. Instead of the average five years, six months (as I had read in an RWR shortly after I joined), I sold in two years.

Between contests and finding a critique group, I learned what I did well and what I needed to improve, and wrote three more books before I sold.

The Matrix is one of my favorite movies, right up there with Star Wars and Casablanca and Working Girl and North by Northwest and Raiders of the Lost Ark and Charade and a host of others that taught me more about storytelling (along with the thousands of books I devoured in my lifetime) than any artificial rules.

In The Matrix, Morpheus says to Neo during training: “This is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality of the Matrix. It has the same basic rules, rules like gravity. What you must learn is these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken.”

There are plenty of people who will tell you what to do and how to do it, but what works for one writer doesn’t work for all writers; the so-called “rules” are guidelines and can be used, bent, or broken based on the individual writer, genre, voice, talent, or luck.

For example, some writers honestly ONLY want to write in two POVs (i.e. telling the story from solely the hero and heroine’s point-of-view.) For them, that is their personal rule and to break it would be cataclysmic for them. Some writers find they tell their stories better with multiple POVs—five, six, ten or more—and that when they try to limit point-of-view to two or three, they feel stifled.

Neither writer is right . . . or wrong. It’s only wrong if it twists you up inside, you begin to sweat, and you can’t write or the writing is so laborious that you start shaking every time you sit in front of the computer.

So what I’m going to tell you here is that YOU can make up rules FOR YOU—you CAN’T make them up for other writers. Unless you’re an editor offering a contract, remember Neo’s parting words:

“I’m going to show them a world … without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.”

There is a choice—and you, the writer, need to make it. You need to set your OWN rules and adhere to them because they are, and should be, part of your voice, your writing style, your vision. Some of them you’ll adopt as conventions of the genre (for example, if you’re writing a mystery a rule most mystery writers adhere to is solving the crime. Most mystery readers want to know who-did-it.) Some of them you’ll adopt or modify because it suits you. Great. More power to you—we all have rules we like and rules we diss.

The so-called “rules” are there for a reason: some author did very well following a specific set-up (such as, the hero and heroine must meet in the first chapter); or an editor had a pet peeve and it was drummed into the head of all her authors, who spread the “rule” (such as, no musicians as heroes); or a creative writing teacher told her classes for twenty years that you must never switch POV unless you begin a new chapter.

So with that, I’m going to debunk some of the “rules” I was told either in critique groups, contests, by unpublished authors, and by published authors—were a MUST DO.

Ultimately, your goal is a story that sells, right? A story that grabs the attention of an agent and editor and readers. To do that, your story needs to flow smoothly, be eye-catching, well-paced, with great characters and yes, it needs to be well-written. Perfect? Nothing is perfect. But it should be at least self-edited with a judicial eye.

Are any of those rules? I suppose . . . but I’m not going to tell you how to make the story flow smoothly, how to pace it, or how to craft great characters . . . because HOW one author does it is different than another, and this is where we start tumbling down the slippery slope of RULES.

YOUR WORLD, YOUR RULES

• Every author breaks different rules.

• Be true to yourself and your voice.

• Be fair to other authors.

• Listen to your editor.

• Trust your instincts.

• Does it make your WRITING stronger?

• Does it make your STORY stronger?

• Is it a “rule” or suggestion?

• Does it enhance or diminish your voice?

• Does it make sense TO YOU?

• Are they an acquiring editor?

• Are they an A-list literary agent?

• If not, why are you listening to them? Do their suggestions make sense TO YOU?

• The story comes first. Marketing is second.

• You have control of only one thing: the story.

POINT-OF-VIEW

POV is my pet peeve. Not because I’m a purist, but because I cringe every time I hear someone offer advice like:

“You can only have the hero and heroine’s POV—maybe a villain if you’re writing romantic suspense.”

There are some publishers who prefer 2-3 POVs, especially in traditional, short category romances where the author has limited words to tell a story. Know your reader and you can decide whether to write in limited POVs or add in a multitude of secondary characters.

My debut novel had 13 POVs. All my books have between 7 and 13. My seven deadly sins series will have more—I have 7 in one chapter alone. With no “scene breaks.”

The KEY is to have a purpose for switching and to transition smoothly. But if 10 POVs make your story shine, by all means use them.

Yes there are some readers who don’t like more than 2-3 POVs in a book. Great! There are books out there that they’ll love. But one thing every writer needs to learn from the beginning is that you cannot be all things to all readers. Some people will love your stories, some people will hate them. Accept it now.

My friend and fabulous mystery writer Wendy Roberts writes her ghost duster series in tight, deep third POV from her protagonist’s POV. In fact, it’s so deep that when I wrote a blurb for her first mystery, I had to look back to see if she wrote the book in first or third! So even one POV can work if done well.

“You can only have one POV per chapter.”

You CAN have one POV per chapter . . . or seven. It’s up to you and your story. Don’t switch POV just to piss off the purists; change POV for a reason.

“If you switch POV in a chapter, you must put in a scene break.”

There are some houses that insist on this, but I, personally, find it very distracting. I only put in a scene break when there is a change in time or location. 

“You shouldn’t write in first person POV because a lot of readers don’t like it.”

 True, some readers don’t like first person POV. So what? If your natural voice is stronger in first person, guess what? There are a lot of readers who love first person!

“Never start a book with the POV of a strong male character other than the hero.”

This comment came directly off a scoresheet for a contest I entered. The judge was emphatic that I couldn’t start THE HUNT (which ended up being my second book) in Sheriff Nick Thomas’s POV because he wasn’t the hero and he was a strong male character. I had a very specific purpose for starting in Nick’s POV. My hero and heroine had a history, and this was their first meeting after years of being separated. I wanted the readers to see them as they truly were (through Nick’s eyes) as opposed to how they saw each other.

Start the book at the beginning of the story, no matter whose POV it is. Just know why you’re doing and consider whether it’s the best way to start.

 “Switching POVs in a chapter is head hopping. Head hopping is forbidden.”

 No, it’s not. Head hopping is going back and forth within two or more character’s head so that every line changes POV. Head hopping is not omniscient, which is a “godlike” narrator who knows all. Switching POV requires a transition so that the reader knows that they are in another character’s head immediately. I often use an action and start the paragraph with the new POV character’s name and either an internal thought or an action that requires thought.

Head hopping can work if there’s a reason. I’ve often “hopped” at the end of a chapter into another character’s POV. Again, with a reason.

Omniscient POV can work well in some stories. It is rarely used in romance, though I’ve seen great prologues in omniscient POV. And sometimes, a line of author intrusion works very well J

THE HERO AND HEROINE MUST MEET EARLY AND OFTEN!

I cannot tell you how many times I was told that the hero and heroine MUST meet in the first chapter. Or within XX number of pages (insert arbitrary number.)

If you’re writing a straight romance, then yes, it’s probably a good idea to get the h/h on the same page pretty quick, but whether it’s the first chapter or the fifth, if the delay is worth it and makes sense for the story, then why force a meeting too soon? My h/h are on the same page when it works for the story.

A caveat here is that I write romantic suspense. I have my own pet peeves and rules about romantic suspense, and thus the first meeting FOR ME is secondary to adhering to my rules of set-up. Sometimes they meet in the first chapter (THE HUNT, FATAL SECRETS, CUTTING EDGE) and sometimes they aren’t on the same page until after page 100 (FEAR NO EVIL, TEMPTING EVIL, SUDDEN DEATH.)

This is where I think some writers whose natural voice is to write, for example, a thriller think that they HAVE to conform to romance “rules” in order to sell. Honestly, there is some truth to that—like you don’t want to kill off the hero—but you FIRST need to be true to your voice.

In THE PREY, my debut novel, I introduced the hero, John Flynn, to the heroine at the end of chapter five, about 75 printed pages into the book. My editor suggested that I introduce the hero to the readers a bit earlier—so that they weren’t shocked when he walked on page. Good advice—I didn’t have to mess with the story, but I did add two short scenes (one in a secondary character POV during a conversation with John, and one in John’s POV) that gave the reader insight into his character and the knowledge that this person would be important in the story. So I accomplished my editor’s goal and stayed true to my story vision.

Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in the conventions of a genre that we stifle our creativity. Let your story out, THEN when it’s all done, sit back and reflect on what works and what doesn’t.

YOU HAVE TO PLOT OR OUTLINE

No. You don’t. Some writers plot, some writers don’t. As long as you’re writing and making forward progress, yeah you.

NO PROLOGUES

The one book I wrote without a prologue, my editor asked me to add one. All twelve of my published books have prologues. I like them. To me, the prologue should take place before the start of the story but have an impact on the story and/or a character.

 Some prologues give a hint to the mystery—for example, in PLAYING DEAD, the prologue was from the killer’s POV 30 years ago, the first time he killed a woman, and what happened immediately after. This was pivotal to the story and set the tone. In THE HUNT, my prologue showed my heroine watching her best friend die, then run away from the killer (and the reader doesn’t know what happened after she ran.) I was told by several contest judges that I should integrate that into the story, having the heroine tell someone what happened.

 Ugh.

First, my heroine wouldn’t have told anyone with the impact of the reader watching it happen “live.” Second, the prologue set the tone and the motivation of the heroine. And third, it was a great scene that hooked the reader.

I have my own prologue rules. They should be short and take place well in the past.

I’ve broken both rules.

Each book in my FBI Trilogy has a prologue in excess of 10 pages. ORIGINAL SIN has as prologue longer than most of my chapters.

In SPEAK NO EVIL, the prologue takes place only a few hours before the book starts in Chapter One.

But GENERALLY, when I write a prologue, I keep them short (less than 10 pages) and set them far in the past.

NO FLASHBACKS

I love flashbacks. I use them all the time, in all my books, and I also use dreams, flashbacks integrated with a present scene, and memories.

I used them in my first book, and every book since.

They work for me. They may not work for you. I love Stephen King, love his books, his writing, his book ON WRITING, but I disagree with his opinion on flashbacks.

A flashback well done adds depth to the story. But not everyone likes them, and sometimes they are unnecessary. Know your story, know your voice, and know your characters. If it works … use it. If it doesn’t, don’t.

NO TABOOS

Ever hear that you CAN’T write about a specific type of person? An athlete, a musician, a politician? What about settings that don’t “work”? There are some “taboos” based on personal preference—such as an editor who hates dogs—but generally, if done well, you can write about anyone.

One of my favorite stories comes (with permission from the Rules Breaking workshop I gave last year) from my mentor and friend, NYT Bestselling author Mariah Stewart:

“It wasn’t until after Linda Marrow at Pocket Books bought my first two books – one about a rock star, the other about a woman politician – that I found out about RWA. I was so happy to meet other writers! I attended my first chapter meeting and was so excited because a real NY editor was coming to speak. I came in just as she was being introduced, so I took a seat in the back. She proceeded to run down the rules for everyone – all the things you can and cannot do if you’re writing romance. I did not hear a word she said after she declared: No one wants to read about rock stars. And no politics – especially women in politics. All I could think was, OMG, if Linda hears about the rules, I’m toast… I really thought my career was over before it began. I called my agent first thing Monday morning and told her, I think we have a problem. I think she’s still laughing…”

IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU

If anything I say helps, use it. If it doesn’t, dump it. Because like with anything in this business, this is all my opinion and while it may work for some . . . it won’t necessarily work for everyone. Remember, however, that there is no spoon. Bend yourself, twist yourself, make yourself see the story and the writing outside of the strict confines of rules you had no part in creating. Be bold, be different, and most important, tell the story well using the rules that work and chucking the rest.

IT’S ALL SUBJECTIVE

• One editor will hate it; the other will love it.

• One agent will send a form rejection; the other will call and offer representation.

• One reader will throw it against the wall; the other will put you on their auto-buy list.

• Be true to your voice and trust your instincts, learn when to take advice and when to leave it, but most important . . . Forget rules and just write!

So, do you have any questions? I’ll be around today and all weekend to answer whatever you toss my way. And comment (even just to say hello!) for a chance to win a copy of any of my backlist titles.

Allison’s Bio: ALLISON BRENNAN, New York Times bestselling author of 12 romantic thrillers, has always been a writer–just ask her mom who picked up reams of paper with half-finished stories from every corner in the house. Her latest novel, CUTTING EDGE, just went on sale this week. And next year, she launches her Seven Deadly Sins supernatural thriller series starting with ORIGINAL SIN on 1.26.10. A former consultant with the California State Legislature, Allison lives in northern California with her husband Dan and their five kids. (Yes, five.) To find out more about Allison and her books, check out her website: www.allisonbrennan.com.

Thank you to Allison for the wonderful post and for being with us today.  For our readers, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a book.

Good morning and welcome to Crafting Your Career. We are thrilled to have NY Times bestselling author Brenda Novak as our visiting professor today. Brenda has three novels coming out this summer-THE PERFECT COUPLE, THE PERFECT LIAR and THE PERFECT MURDER, all part of her popular Last Stand Series. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $500,000. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

The thing that is not listed in Brenda’s bio is how big and generous her heart is. As an added bonus for us, Brenda is giving away a Brenda Novak tote bag filled with goodies and a $50 gift certificate to her online auction for diabetes research. Just post a comment or question for Brenda and your name will be included in the drawing.

Learn more about the auction in her post and bid often because she has great items on the list.

Class is now in session.

Adrienne: What strategies did you use to help you become a NYT bestselling author?  Do you have a sense of what tipped the scale? Marketing? Writing great books? Diabetes auction? Website?  Or did all these things coincide at the right moment?

Brenda: I think the strategy that served me best was to take advantage of every opportunity that came my way. These days it often takes more than being a great writer to get ahead. There are a lot of great writers out there. You also have to be a good businessperson. So I’ve always tried to do that–to be a “complete package.” I believe success in writing starts with a solid book, of course. You have to have a great product to sell or nothing you do will bring people back to your product if they’ve tried it and they don’t like it–but marketing can make a difference if you have that foundation in place. I try to do plenty of speaking engagements, maintain an interactive and appealing web site, run fun contests, making myself available to fans as much as possible. All these things drip into the bucket of success, I think plain old luck plays a part, too. <g>

Adrienne: How did you keep yourself motivated while trying to get published?  Did you have an agent prior to being published?

Brenda: I did have an agent. I kept motivated by having my expectations in the right place. I didn’t expect to become an overnight sensation, so I wasn’t disappointed when it didn’t happen that way. I expected it to be a long journey, sometimes painstaking, and filled with disappointment. But I ultimately believed in myself, and I think that has to be there. You have to believe in yourself or no one else will believe in you. Fortunately, I did have an agent for my first sale. I was lucky enough to final in the Golden Heart at the same time an agent was expressing interest, and I think that sort of solidified the deal. She took me on and sold that first manuscript to HarperCollins. It’s the only historical romance I’ve had published because I was orphaned before it ever came out, but I still love that book. LOL.

Adrienne: How long were you writing before you were published?  How many books did you write before you hit the NYT list?

Brenda: It took me five years to teach myself the craft of writing and to finish my first manuscript. I had five little kids and couldn’t devote a lot of time to it back then. Now it’s a full-time job for me.

I hit the list with my 8th single title. I’d also written quite a few Superromances by the time I hit, but those aren’t really contenders for the list (they’re only out for three weeks, for one reason).

Adrienne: How did you get started with your auction?

Brenda: When my son was diagnosed with diabetes at five years old, I knew enough about the disease to understand that he would need constant care, and that his care would not be comfortable for him (lots of shots and finger pricks per day), but I was blown away by all the side effects that go hand in hand with this disease. I couldn’t bear the thought of watching my son go through what so many people with diabetes suffer and I really wanted to do something to make a difference. I had very little resources at the time (and all those kids, remember! LOL.) so it took me a couple of years to come up with just the thing–but then, one night I was at a silent auction for the elementary school and as I stood there looking around it hit me that I could do the same thing on my web site and invite my fans and publishing associates to get involved. Since then I’ve watched the auction double each year. Last year, we raised $252,300. And every year I grow more impressed with the people who come together to help me do this. They are amazing!

Adrienne: Tell us about your auction.

Brenda: Every year, in the month of May, I run my online auction for Diabetes Research. The auction takes a full year to plan and pull off, but it’s a labor of love—for all the people who, like my son, suffer from diabetes.

My very first auction ran in 2005 and was a huge success. Together with my generous donors, which included some of the biggest and brightest stars in publishing, I raised $34,982, which went directly to research. In year 2, we did even better and raised $62,705. In year three, we more than doubled at $141,700. Year four, we raised over $250,000. We’re definitely on a roll – each year gets bigger, brighter and better.

You can get involved – either by donating an item or by bidding when the auction starts in May.

This coming year, instead of waiting to add items in the months just before the auction, we’re going to start adding them as we receive them. So keep tabs on the 2009 Auction Spotlight page. We’ll keep you up to date with some of the best and most amazing donations you can bid on next year.

Each year, I offer a fabulous prize package to the person who places the most bids over all (even if that person doesn’t end up winning a single item). The 2008 winner received:

• A brand new Camcorder (retail value of at least $1,000),
• His/Her Name in My Next Book,
• An autographed copy of TRUST ME (6/08–the first of The Last Stand series)
• And Chocolate (lots of chocolate!)

Thank you to Brenda Novak for visiting today.

We’ll see everyone on Wednesday when author Milton Grasle will discuss women writing in the male POV.

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