On my way, babe.

Deb, that definitely helps. Unfortunately, I won't find out which editor and/or agent I'm meeting until tomorrow at registration, but the agents are Susannah Taylor from the Richard Henshaw Group and Natasha Kern. Taylor was my first choice because she mentioned an interest in the Regency and because her bio struck me as kind of quirky and cerebral, but both seemed like good options. The editors are Lauren McKenna from Pocket Books, Kathryn Lye from Harlequin/Silhouette, and Lyssa Keusch from Harper Books. Just based on their lines, I listed Harper as my first choice and Pocket as my second. If I draw Harlequin, I'll just give up my place for a late registrant, because my book just ain't one of theirs.

They're not one-on-one meetings--it's groups of 4-5 writers each in 20-minute sessions with the agent/editor, so you get about five minutes each. I'm going to try not to go first.

I'm going to draw up one more draft tonight that gets the core plot pared down to a paragraph, with a few more paragraphs focusing on style, characterization, theme, etc. that I can include if the situation warrants. Then I'm going to lay it aside until tomorrow night, because there's a "Hone Your Pitch" session after the opening dinner, and hopefully I can get some feedback there.

Susan, I sent that info to Marlene.

I have to say, looking at the website, her choices do seem like they're pure fluff

This is on purpose. Her picks are meant to be fluffy beach read kind of books.

Oh, Susan?

From Marlene, this morning:

BTW,if she's conferencing and pitching, why hasn't she sent the pitch HERE???? Hell, why hasn't she sent the mss here? I am waiting for a wonderful regency historical to cross my desk because I have an editor who would KILL for a great read.

That's all. Now I'll go back to getting ready to leave for NY.

xxm

I told her I'd poke you. Don't worry about it not being perfect, or trimmed, or ready - I told her you were trimming and whatnot, and told her it was less plot and more character/story, and those are the ones she loves the best.

Just send stuff, will you? Tell me first and I'll do the joint email.

BTW, you can now tell other agents, in all truth, that you have an agent - Marlene Shannon-Stringer, Barbara Bova's partner - who has asked to read it. Because as the above email shows, she has.

edit: she added the following, and note the bit about the short summary thing:

Point is, you have to hone your pitch when you don't have someone willing to read. She's past the pitch to me part. (Although a one para pitch in a cover letter makes my life oh so much easier.) The pitch is to get them past the no thanks I'm busy stage. I'll read something someone I respect recommends.

There you go.

I'm conferencing and pitching because I planned to attend this conference way back when I thought I could finish the draft in August and get it nicely edited in September. Schedule got pushed back a month, what with me spending most of my spare time in August lying on the couch either sleeping or nibbling feebly at crackers. But since it's not like there's going to be another conference in my neck of the woods come November, I'm stuck with this one even though I'm not quite ready.

Anyway, two weeks. That'll give me time to give it a good once-over, clear up any glaring inconsistencies or redundancies, and hopefully rewrite the London section to take place in Gloucestershire.

Hoo boy.

Susan, All you ever needed to know, right here, from the horse's mouth. I sent her your liost of agents/editors, that you posted. Her response:

Marlene: Natasha is good and she used to be an editor. RH is a decent agency...have never met or seen ST

(Susan's): The editors are Lauren McKenna from Pocket Books, Kathryn Lye from Harlequin/Silhouette, and Lyssa Keusch from Harper Books. Just based on their lines, I listed Harper as my first choice and Pocket as my second. If I draw Harlequin, I'll just give up my place for a late registrant, because my book just ain't one of theirs.

Marlene: NO YOU WON'T!!!!!! Stephanie Laurens began her career at Harlequin. They have a new single title line and they have an historical line. SL writes NYT best selling regency historicals. If you get them, be thrilled. PLUS, they stand by the authors they believe in, build a career and the books pay very nicely. Kathryn is a doll. Absolute doll. Very, very nice. Harlequin eds have a flexible thing...even though they don't work for a specific line, they can acquire for all lines, with few exceptions. So do NOT, NOT, NOT pass on this opportunity.

Lauren is very nice, and does historicals, so be happy if you get her.

Lyssa is also very nice, I know her from doing mystery, but she also does historicals.

(Susan): They're not one-on-one meetings--it's groups of 4-5 writers each in 20-minute sessions with the agent/editor, so you get about five minutes each. I'm going to try not to go first.

Marlene: here's the trick to that. ...see where the ed is sitting. Do not sit next to her...and do not sit at an obvious starting point where there would be a "hole" in the grouping of chairs. And the same thing is going to hold true...you will all be asked to submit, save for something that is quite obviously unusable (men's action/adv. e.g.,) or unsale-able. And it's not too bad being first...do exactly what I said...and you set the tone. Believe me, if you have to listen to five or six pitches, there's no time. Q&A is the thing.

So remember...."I have a sensual, 100,000 word regency historical set in Northumberland, with a younger son is a secret spy against Napoleon and rescues aristos a la Scarlet Pimpernel" or WHATEVER. Get it? (and I'd read that book)

(Susan): I'm going to draw up one more draft tonight that gets the core plot pared down to a paragraph, with a few more paragraphs focusing on style, characterization, theme, etc. that I can include if the situation warrants. Then I'm going to lay it aside until tomorrow night, because there's a "Hone Your Pitch" session after the opening dinner, and hopefully I can get some feedback there.

Marlene: The "hone your pitch" would be a good thing to do just to hear how other people do it. But it refers to one-on-one meets. I seriously doubt you will be giving pitches in a group meet. If there's a group and they do a round robin, just say "I have a 100,000 word sensual regency historical, with a ____________ heroine, or a ____________hero." Don't give too much info. If you have a clever twist, try to speak to the ed/agent privately. If your book is seriously sexy, and you don't read Stephanie Laurens and Nicole Jordan, get one of each today and read. (Plus tell the eds you run into on the side that your book is kind of a cross between them...they'll want to see it fast.) Plus read Virginia Henley and Johanna Lindsey. But they're older....look to the first two.

Also, instead of trying to give up your appointment, try to see if there are any other editor appointments free, that someone's given up, especially if they are solos.

Then you'll need that pitch, but still not to worry. Editors are people, too. You want to get to the editors. If you can sell your books you can get any agent you want to pick you up. Meanwhile, Deb does the best one-line pitches ever. (my note: yes, she said that. No pressure...)

If you have any questions feel free to email me today. I leave tomorrow early am for NY for a selling trip (We have 28 appts from MOnday morning to Thursday morning, I kid you not, plus a lot of other "please drop by" sort of things. I'm sorry I can't make Moonlight & Magnolias...one of my authors is up for best historical mss award.

GOOD LUCK.

M.

OK, I have got to hook you up.

edit: and I'm going to be offline for about an hour, starting in about ten minutes. Nic has a teleconference with England and he needs the computer.

And one more thing, from Marlene:

BTW, I left out an important bit for your friend...include the word count and the fact that it's completed. (word count for a single title is 100K, +/- , so as long as she's in that area, she's ok.

Don't mind the "Hey! Why isn't she sending it ME?!?!?" tone - that's a humongous compliment.

Don't mind the "Hey! Why isn't she sending it ME?!?!?" tone - that's a humongous compliment.

OK, then I'll stop worrying about the fact there's no way I'm sending it to ANYBODY for another few weeks. (I've been told the way to handle that with anyone at the conference who asks to see it is to send them a letter right away thanking them for their interest, explaining that I'm giving it a final polish to make sure it's my best work, and promising to send it by X date.)

It's not really in the Laurens/Jordan range of sensuality--there's more in my work than you'd find in the traditional, shorter-length Regencies, but it's only a super-hot book when you compare it to my inspiration, who of course is Jane Austen. So I hope that won't disappoint her. The All About Romance website uses a sensuality grading system of Kisses-Subtle-Warm-Hot-Burning as part of its reviews, and almost all of Laurens' and Jordan's books get Hot: "Very explicit sensuality. There is an expanded focus throughout the book on sexual feelings and desires. The love scenes are longer, and there are at least 2 or 3 of them. The characters often think about their sexual feelings and desires, and making love is graphically depicted. Both the emotions of the hero and heroine and the phsyical feelings of both are important during love scenes. Examples: (older Catherine Coulter, earlier Julie Garwood, Linda Howard [in general], Elizabeth Lowell, J.D. Robb)." My book is closer to Warm: "Moderately explicit sensuality. While our lovers do make love, and the reader is there with them, physical details are described, but are not graphically depicted. Much is left to the reader's imagination. Emotions and feelings are most important. While there is sexual tension, there may not be more than one or two love scenes in the whole book. Examples: (Nora Roberts, Lorraine Heath, Debbie Macomber, Julia Quinn)" (My book has three major sex scenes.)

The active author I most want to emulate is Jo Beverley--a great writer with a real passion for history. I also like Mary Jo Putney and Mary Balogh, though they're both more hit-or-miss. And I wish Patricia Gaffney still wrote romance--if I could write a book as good as To Love and to Cherish or Wild at Heart, I'd feel I'd really arrived.