Plot Monkeys

I didn’t know I wanted to write and I can’t pinpoint the reason I decided to try. All I do know is that one day, after an argument with my husband over my expensive hardcover reading habit (one book a day/$20 each), I tracked the authors I love back to their roots so I could read them in paperback (cheaper he said) and discovered romance. From there it was a short trip to deciding I wanted to give writing romance a try. I went into a bookstore and purchased a “how to” book and outlined it from cover to cover – I think the book was called “How to write a romance and get it Published” by Phyllis Taylor Pianka. I didn’t tell anyone in my family that I was pursuing this dream. I was afraid they’d laugh, I think. I never majored in English, I really wasn’t a creative person in any way, so this wasn’t expected especially since I’d been a lawyer. I went to college, law school and was licensed to practice in New York and Connecticut. I worked for eight months and couldn’t handle the pressure. So I was home with my first baby, dealing with colic and deciding to write.

I had an old IBM computer (I think), one I had gotten when I started law school. I had a dot matrix printer/perforated edges paper printer, and I’d started to write when my husband was at work, wasn’t around. When I needed to print the pages out, I realized that I needed something with more power. Believe it or not, that’s what outted me. I went to my husband I told him that I wanted a new computer and printer, that I was writing, and that despite how crazy it sounded, I KNEW that it wasn’t something I’d give up or try and fail at. I KNEW I was meant to write. I must give the man credit. He didn’t laugh at me. And though I can’t remember, I am pretty sure we bought a new printer and computer.

At the time, I was reading the lines (category romance lines) and trying to decide what I wanted to write. I remember deciding on a Special Edition. I wrote a manuscript I called KINDRED SPIRITS and I finished it, then I queried Silhouette exactly like the books told me to. I remember also calling Silhouette and asking questions. In between while writing, I’d read in the book that if you want to write a romance, you must join Romance Writers of America (www.rwanational.org) because of what a wonderful organization it is. I had called and joined, and gotten the name of my local chapter. I walked into a woman’s home where the meetings were held, petrified, shy, and my life changed forever. I became a writer with writing friends. This particular chapter was critique group focused. They’d read their work aloud and others would critique it. I didn’t understand how anyone could know more about my manuscript than me, and I always opted out. One of the published members even offered to read and critique my manuscript and again, I opted out for the same reason. Until Silhouette answered my query letter with a “Yes we’d like to read your manuscript.” The next day, I sent the full to someone in my chapter and she critiqued and sent it back … and I learned something. My entire story was in passive voice. That was probably my first big writing lesson. I fixed up my story and sent it back to Silhouette.

OK laugh at me if you want, but I was convinced I was going to sell. I thought if they asked to see it, they’d buy it. Boy was I wrong, LOL. But I’d started to go to RWA conferences and meet writing people, and the Internet became a part of my life. I realized there was a process to the rejections.

Over a seven year period, I realized that at first I would get generic rejection letters. Dear Author and “I’m sorry your story does not meet our needs.” But then one day something amazing happened. I got a one line critique of my manuscript. While I enjoyed X about your story, I had a problem with Y. That’s when I started to learn if an editor took the time to make a real comment, there was something they liked in the manuscript. One hurdle passed. And later, the key line at the bottom of the rejection that I looked for before anything else: If you have anything else for me to see, please send it along marked Requested Material on the envelope. I even started to look forward to rejection letters because they meant more progress.

And I kept on going, still targeting mostly Special Edition or Desire. I had a manuscript that was called READY MADE FAMILY and it had been rejected all over – but it had also gotten very far up the line to senior editors before being rejected. I knew it had potential.

Before giving up on that story for good, I packaged up three chapters and sent them off to Harlequin Temptation and Brenda Chin.

A STRANGE THING HAPPENED while I was sitting in the diner …
I called home and on my answering machine was a message from Brenda Chin. My heart started racing. Logically I knew that she wouldn’t buy on a proposal (three chapters and an outline) but SHE’D CALLED. It turns out she wanted me to do some revisions and resend. (I called back from a pay phone – do they have pay phones anymore, LOL!) You can bet I did those fast and sent back. I revised a few more times for her and she sent it up to the senior editor. I knew this book wouldn’t sell though, because Temptation was getting hotter (Temptation – Blaze) and this was a family type story originally targeted for Special Edition and I was right. I sent Brenda a few more stories I had already written, non worked for her.

At some point, I was pregnant with my second baby and in the hospital with preterm labor when my mom called to tell me that Brenda had called. I called her back from the hospital and took notes on revisions in the back of a book I was reading at the time. Brenda still can’t believe I called her from the hospital. How could I not? Next to having this baby, selling a book was one of the only things on my mind. As I said, the few old books didn’t sell.

But Brenda was persistent and she said to me, I know you can write, now give me a story I can buy. Bless her, she worked with me from idea, to outline, to proposal to full story. By the time she sent my story, WEEKEND LOVER to the senior editor, she had been over it with a fine tooth comb. The next time I heard from Brenda was for REVISIONS. I kid you not. More revisions for the senior editor, and then more WAITING.

Seven years into the process I had two children. I’d moved twice. I’d submitted, revised and resubmitted at least 10 completed manuscripts all over creation depending on the publishing house’s rules. I’d seen lines fold and lines start anew. I knew about publishing’s summer hours. I knew if I didn’t hear from Brenda by four on a Friday, I probably wouldn’t.

And then I got THE CALL. Around 3:30 during the week while my husband was on the golf course and unreachable for my good news, I got THE CALL. Brenda wanted to buy WEEKEND LOVER.

~ would I mind if we changed the name to BRAZEN?
~ would I mind taking a pseudonym because we needed something more hip than Karen and easier to remember than Drogin?
~ would I mind if from here on in I was slotted in the TEMPTATION HEAT line?

You get the gist! I minded NONE OF IT.
For those of you trying to get published, there is a lesson: PERSEVERANCE. Write and never give up. DO not rely on one manuscript and revise it forever. Always have something new to submit in case what you have out there is rejected. And believe in yourself. Overnight success is RARE. (Remind me one day to tell you the real post Kelly Ripa story if you want to know what I mean ).

To this day, I’ve written 25 books including Hot Property, the story I am writing now. Four of them were for Warner, three of my older stories were for Kensington, and two anthologies were for St. Martins and NAL. That means that 16 of my books were for Brenda Chin.

I owe my career to Brenda. I’m just glad that I’ve hit the NY Times for her too. I still owe her a top 15 NYT hit. Can you let her know I’m working on it?