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Look at What Our Members are Doing...
Cynthia D'Alba was elected to the RWA Board of Directors as PRO Liaison.
Maureen McGowan’s entry, SWITCHING SIDES, is a finalist in the “Get Your Stiletto in the Door” contest in the Paranormal-Chick Lit category, and in “The Golden Pen,” contest in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category.
Misty Evans announces that PROOF OF LIFE, Book 3 in her Super Agent Series released Tuesday, October 20. She celebrated by going on a blog tour that week.
Mary Jo Scheibl, writing romantic suspense as Casey Clifford, announces the release of her debut book, BLACK RIBBON AFFAIR (The Wild Rose Press). It is available at Amazon.com and at TWRP website, www.thewildrosepress.com.
Vicki Batman’s short story, CHRISTMAS TIES, will be published in the December issue of TRUE ROMANCE.
Joan K. Maze w/a J. K. Maze signed a contract for MURDER FOR KICKS, the second book in her Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series and her third book for Red Rose Press (Book 1 is MURDER BY MISTAKE).
Finally, welcome to our new members, Chassily Wakefield, who writes fantasy romance, and Ann Charles, who writes mysteries with strong romantic elements.
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2010 Officers
President - Judy Dawn
Vice President - Lise Horton
Secretary - Victoria Kaloss
Treasurer - Nicholas Genovese
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2010 Golden Heart Contest Sign-up
Due to the possibility of up to 1,200 entries, RWA needs as many members as possible to participate in the judging process. Each year, RWA members use their skills as authors and readers to help determine the finalists for the prestigious Golden Heart award. We hope that this year will be no different, and that we can count you in as a judge for the upcoming contest year. Signing up to judge is very easy. Simply follow the steps below.
Judges need to sign up to judge every year. Even if you signed up to judge in the 2009 Golden Heart contest, you will need to sign up again to judge in the 2010 Golden Heart contest.
Sign-up Instructions
- Go to www.rwanational.org
- Sign in to access the Members Only section. (Trouble logging in? Please contact webmaster@rwanational.org)
- Once logged in, click on the words “My Account Profile” in the gold bar toward the top of the screen.
- On the My Account Profile menu, click on the “My Contests” link.
- On the My Contest page, you should see a link that says, “2010 Golden Heart Judging Preferences.” Select this link.
- The Judging Preferences form allows you to choose a minimum of three categories you are interested in judging. Judges cannot judge a category in which they are entered, so if you think you are going to enter a specific category this year, please do not sign up to judge it.
Many thanks for your participation in the 2010 Golden Heart contest!
Questions? Please contact contests@rwanational.org.
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The Three I's of Query Writing
by Misty Evans
Rules abound for writing query letters. Just pick up any issue of Writer’s Market or type “rules for writing a query letter” into Google. You’ll find as many guides and lists of rules as there are writers.
When I was starting out, I followed the rules to a tee and rejections came as fast as I sent the queries. Frustration built and I started to wonder if it was my plot and characters that were uninteresting or my query letter. Since it was easier to overhaul a one-page letter than a 95,000 word manuscript, I decided to try rewriting my query letter first.
I deep-sixed the rule books and sat down with my query in hand, looking at it like I was an agent or editor instead of an author. What did a busy, overworked agent want to know about me and my story?
First, she probably didn’t care a lot about the form itself outside of it being short, simple and professional. Second, she probably didn’t care much about my past writing experience as much as my ability to convey my voice on paper and capture a reader’s attention.
What I ended up with was a three-part query containing the most important information about my novel, a short introduction about me, and an invitation to request a sample. That was it. The three I’s of query letters: info, intro, and invite.
My method worked. The moment I started sending off my new and improved query letter, requests for sample chapters came frequently – even one from my dream agent. Here’s an example of what I sent her. She requested sample chapters from this query, and even though she passed on the manuscript, I still have her request in my files because it confirmed I was doing something right.
Dear Ms. Top Agent*
A tightly woven plot, plenty of action and a solid hit of romance…my novel I’D RATHER BE IN PARIS, delivers all of that in an entertaining and satisfying read.
CIA operative Zara Morgan has a reputation as a loose cannon. Assigned to hunt down a terrorist who is about to unleash a biological nightmare on the Muslim world, she must join forces with Lawson Vaughn, the sexy leader of a covert ops team who lives and breathes protocol.
Efficient and unapologetic about playing by her own rules, Zara draws Lawson into an unauthorized game of vengeance that compromises both their careers. The renegade partners find themselves isolated from their government and dancing a tightrope with each other as well as the terrorist they’re hunting.
As they ignore orders from their superiors, Zara’s life is endangered when she’s injected with a contagious and deadly virus. With unflinching determination and steadfast courage, Lawson must break all the rules to save her…as well as the lives of millions of other innocent people.
As a freelance writer, I’ve had magazine articles published, done extensive writing and editing for commercial newsletters and have done web copy for several national companies. I’m a member of RWA and my local bi-state writing club. Recently, I’ve taught creative writing classes at my local YWCA.
If you’re interested in I’D RATHER BE IN PARIS, please contact me at the email address below. I look forward to hearing from you.
*agent name changed for anonymity
Since that time, I’ve had an agent and sold three novels and a short story. Currently my queries go straight to editors. Here’s the email query I used for a novella I entered in a contest that won and was published as part of an anthology:
Dear Ms. Rauch:
WITHCES ANONYMOUS is a sexy Witch Lit comedy about a bad witch determined to end her affair with the devil and find love with a normal, non-supernatural guy. But when she unknowingly hooks up with the original Adam (who is back on Earth for a redo) she finds herself stalked by Lucifer, manipulated by the angel Gabriel and up to her black hat in Biblical-proportion-size trouble.
I’m a romantic suspense author whose first novel, OPERATION SHEBA, will be available from Samhain in September. I need a break from dead bodies once in awhile and WITCHES ANONYMOUS is the product of one of those breaks. The story still has a dash of suspense, but is rich in paranormal humor. I’m also a member of RWA, Sisters In Crime, and International Thriller Writers.
I’m attaching the synopsis for WITCHES ANONYMOUS as well as the complete novella as instructed. Feel free to contact me misty@readmistyevans.com after you’ve considered the story for publication.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Misty Evans
Like I said, there are as many rules, lists and examples of query letter writing out there as there are writers, but don’t be afraid to make up your own. The Three I’s have always worked for me, though, and I hope they’ll work for you too!
Misty Evans is an award-winning, multi-published author of suspense and paranormal comedy. Visit her at www.readMistyEvans.com for more information about her Super Agent Series and to sign up for her newsletter.
"Ten Life Lessons I Learned" by Cara Marsi (aka Carolyn Matkowsky) here.
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