Romancing the Future

Editors, Agents and Writers Search for “That One Pearl”

“I would really like to change the world,” bestselling novelist Betina Krahn confided to the roughly 200 men and women attending the 1999 Virginia Romance Writers (VRW) Conference in Williamsburg, Va., March 27.

Throughout the reception hall, heads nodded in agreement. Most of the audience for Krahn’s keynote address came to the three-day event to change their personal worlds from unpublished to published romance writers.

Romance conventions and conferences, much more than those of other genres, focus on giving novice writers the tools to make their first sales. Conference organizers invite agents and editors, waiving fees and providing accommodations, with one proviso. “They insist you do at least one hour or, if possible, more of interviews with authors, both published an unpublished,” Pamela Ahearn, president of the Ahearn Agency in New Orleans, said.

Ahearn estimated she conducted 14 writer interviews during the March 26-28 conference. Most of the ten attending editors and agents spoke of similar schedules that left them (in the words of Pocket Books associate editor Amy Pierpont) “tagged and bagged” at conference social events.

But publication-hungry writers felt like they landed in the honey jar. Their rising excitement thrummed through hallways and lobby areas of the Williamsburg Marriott Conference Center.

Arming for Combat

In a typical vignette, VRW Chapter President Linda Campbell, half of the Terry Campbell writing team, coached a nervous writer who was counting down the minutes to her first editor interview. As Campbell knew from experience, the new writer would not have long to make her pitch. Typical presentations last no more than eight to ten minutes and must succinctly convey a book’s concept, conflict and plot.

The first presentation is always the worst. “I’m an award-winning speaker. Speaking in front of a thousand people doesn’t faze me,” Campbell’s writing partner Bobbye Terry said. “But the first time I went in for an interview with an editor, I thought I was going to faint.”

Eleanor A. Korman, who attended the convention with her daughter, agreed. “I’m a dean at New York University. I’ve faced strange and peculiar things. This is harder for me.”

Most novice writers prepare for their agent/editor sessions like gladiators preparing for the arena. Everywhere you looked at the conference center, women armored in trim suits and careful make-up hunched over index cards, their lips shaping key phrases like invocations to the gods.

The conference guaranteed all interested participants a shot at one agent and one editor. The press for interviews proved so great, organizers scrambled to accommodate all requests — and to deal with those reservations that disappeared between forwarding mailbox and conference hands.

The resulting changes in schedule left some writers momentarily adrift, uncertain whether the brief delays constituted a reprieve or merely a stay of execution. It also highlighted an intriguing difference in the way men and women approach networking opportunities.

The women accepted the luck of the draw with their two interviews. If they wanted more contact with attending agents and editors, they hunted their quarry at the opening reception and after panels.

However, inspirational fantasy writer Joseph B. Hoyes went for the numbers. “I requested my two interviews in advance, and I came early — 3 p.m. Friday — and got two more choices,” he said. “Then I hung around the scheduling tables and picked up any opening I could get.”

Different Expectations

Ironically, the editors expect less from the interviews than the writers. “I must say I’ve experienced some really poor interviews, then been pleasantly surprised to see the work submitted from those authors was wonderfully well done,” Christine Gee, senior editor for the electronic publisher Hard Shell Word Factory said.

“Let’s face it, creative people can seem a bit odd, even to our peers. Our emotions and thoughts run deep and profound, and as the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover,” Gee added with a grin.

Ahearn concurred. “To be honest, presentation doesn’t tell you much,” she said. “What’s important is what you get when you see the manuscript. So — unless I just know it’s something I’m not going to be able to sell, something I just don’t handle — I almost invariably request to see material.”

Ahearn added, “I don’t think I’ve ever sat down at a conference and taken [a client] then and there.”

But professionalism does matter when it comes to the manuscript. LionHearted Publishing might be looking for books that can be turned into movies and Pocket Books might declare they don’t do trends or special lines, but every editor wants the same kind of manuscript.

“The well-written kind,” Gee said. “The kind with interesting plots and conflicts, well-developed and motivated people, dialogue that does what it’s supposed to do, pacing that doesn’t cure insomnia, great use of senses, a vibrant narrative/descriptive style, a clear and unique voice, tension — sexual as well as other — a whiz-bang ending with threads all neatly tied up. And it helps if the writer can spell and handle grammar too.”

A Certain Something Extra

Ahearn credited Romance Writers of America (RWA), local chapters (such as the VRW), and affiliated conferences and workshops for making professionally crafted manuscripts the norm rather than the exception. But Ahearn, like her editorial counterparts, also looks for something more.

“The first thing I look for is the quality of the writing. Absolutely,” Ahearn said. “But then there are things that are rather hard to talk about — like author’s voice and what I call ‘authorial control.’”

Pierpont’s thoughts ran along the same lines. “It can’t just be a middle-of-the-road story where everything works and is perfectly fine,” Pierpont said. “Fine doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s a tough market out there. Fine just isn’t going to do it.”

According to Pierpont it comes down to: “Infusing your characters with your particular voice. As I said in my workshop, I have had to turn down many authors that were great, because they wrote so similarly to some of our best known writers.

“I said to all these women, ‘Where are you in this story? You’ve got everything right. Your plot is great, your writing is strong, you make me love these characters, you make me laugh,’” Pierpont continued. “‘Where are you?’ They’re doing an exceptional job at mimicking what works well, what some of the bigger and more popular writers do. But it’s almost flat, because there’s nothing of that particular writer in there.”

Wishing Away the Present

If the hopeful writers mimicked anything at the conference panels and workshops, it was a maternity ward full of expectant fathers. Many settled briefly in the conference’s advanced writing and industry trends programming tracks, fidgeting nervously through sessions such as “Changing Genres” and “Paranormal.” Their voices sounded harried, brittle, and experienced hands Patricia Potter and Marie Sproull, respectively, answered their questions with great gentleness.

In keeping with its theme of “Step Back in Time,” the conference offered a strong historical track, featuring the well-known (and male) western romance author Leigh Greenwood and experts in various aspects of social history. In addition, both keynote speakers, Krahn and bestselling western romance writer Kathleen Eagle, boast strong historical romance credentials.

But the focus on the past appeared to amuse Krahn who, unlike Eagle, writes exclusively historical romance. “What makes the past so blessedly romantic?” she asked conference participants, then proceeded to answer her own question. “For one thing…

…we don’t have to live in it. Distance is well known to cause a softening of the heart and head. Really the past was bloody awful inconvenient.”

Krahn confessed she preferred the present, not only to live in, but also as a place to read. Unconsciously echoing Ahearn, she noted, “I believe we are writing the best romances now. If you go back to your ‘keeper’ shelves and pick out some of the books from the early Eighties you’ll find: forcible seduction, out and out rape, beastly men, giddy 17-year-old virgins, self-sacrificing nurses, and romantic relationships so ‘tempestuous,’ they’d probably be labeled abusive today.”

In addition, she noted, the past was relative. “What you’re doing right now, in the near future, will become your past.”

Around the room, women awaiting interviews glanced at each other, their eyes telegraphing the message that their 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. interviews couldn’t become the past fast enough.

Strong Criminology Track

The published authors took the conference at a more leisurely pace, focusing on the conference’s unusually strong criminology track. Mystery and fantasy writer Rosemary Edghill, and her sister, the short story writer India Edghill, traveled all the way from New York for the panels. Forensic criminologist Dan Grinnan’s “Study of a Crime Scene,” Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms special agent Kathleen Kiernan’s reminiscences, and Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro’s cheerful discussion of decay did not disappoint.

In a major coup, the conference also snagged FBI special agent Rob Patterson, who discussed profiling and stalking. Although FBI representatives routinely talk to civic groups, the Bureau views writers as more dangerous than a room full of explosives. The Bureau worries writers will publicize their methods, giving criminals an edge they do not need.

Towards the end of Patterson’s talk late Saturday afternoon, the back of the room began to fill with “the suits.” Quiet sighs accompanied the settling of carry-alls on back tables. Tightly buttoned jackets opened to reveal soft blouses and tops.

“I had nine interviews today,” Hoyes whispered during the video of a famous Florida stalking case. Although selling an inspirational fantasy at a romance convention might seem a long shot, Hoyes succeeded in seeing four editors and five agents. Three editors and four agents agreed to see a partial manuscript.

After the Wars

Hoyes viewed their willingness to see his manuscript as affirmation of his strategy. “I was willing to take interviews with anyone, including some of the smaller houses other people weren’t so interested in.”

Hoyes appeared unconcerned that his strategy bordered on simultaneous submissions, a practice frowned upon by many publishers. Although at the time of the conference his manuscript was under consideration by Kensington Books, he said he wanted a back-up plan, “just in case,” and carefully noted every tip and hint.

“Even the editors and agents who didn’t handle [inspirational fantasy] were helpful. They’d say, ‘I’m not interested, but I know someone who might be.’ And just about everyone came up with at least one name.”

Writers who pursued a more conservative strategy also appeared pleased. After her interview, Korman said, “I went to the desk to ask if they were always that nice. Both [Bantam Books editor Kara Cesare and Writer’s House agent Karen Solem] wanted to see more of my work.”

“The point is to get [the editors and agents] to ask for pages. They probably do this to everyone, but it plays better if they ask,” new writer Nan Thompson added in the wake of her own interview with Mary Sue Seymour of the Seymour Agency. Needless to say, Seymour asked to see Thompson’s pages.

Success Stories

The interview process works, according to conference publicity director Mary Burton. She should know. She met her agent, Irene Goodman at a 1997 Washington Romance Writers conference and looks forward to the publication of her first novel.

“It’s a historical romance set in the American West in 1876,” Burton said. “It’s going to be published by Harlequin Historicals and will be out in March 2000.”

Rosemary Stevens, another Goodman client, is also a believer. With four romance titles to her credit, she’s expanding her range to include mysteries. Berkeley Prime Crime will begin publishing her Beau Brummell mysteries early next year. Stevens met Goodman at a previous VRW conference, and she cheerfully drags writing friends to them every chance she gets.

In fact, many of the winners of the VRW’s HOLT (Honoring Outstanding Literary Talent) Medallion Contest for published writers got their start at romance conferences, including prior VRW events. And this, said both editors and agents, is what makes the demanding interview schedules worthwhile.

LionHearted editor and double HOLT Award-winning writer Katherine Greyle sees conferences as a win-win proposition. Writers hone their skills in workshops, in conversations and even in the interviews that don’t work out.

For the editors, Greyle said, “There’s the lure of finding that one pearl — finding Nora Roberts when she’s just a beginner and helping to guide her, teach her or just seeing her bloom. And the editor’s career blossoms right along with the writer.”

The next Nora Roberts, here, in Williamsburg, among the nervy warriors trying to wrapped their crossed fingers around their pens? What are the odds — a billion to one?

Once again, Krahn’s keynote address echoed in the mind. “Unlikely things happen all the time,” she said. “… There are billions of unlikely things in the universe, and I can tell you about exceptions to all your rules, sometimes by name.”

Jean Marie Ward