Hangin' with Sarah

I'm spending this gorgeous summer day hangin' with Sarah Simas of The Lovestruck Novice. Pour yourself a tall glass of lemonade and stop by for a visit!

BTW as a dyed-in-the-wool, card-carryin' 80s girl, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the loss of Michael Jackson. Just as I will always remember where I was the day I heard that Elvis died, my kids will probably remember yesterday.

I remember watching this performance as a young teenager in 1983 and being mesmerized. This is the Michael Jackson I'll always remember.

And the winner is....

And the winner of the free PDF of The Model Man is.... Sarah Simas! Congratulations, Sarah! Your copy is on its way!

Nic

Stop and Smell the Roses Blog Bouquet

Welcome to TWRP's fist "Stop and Smell the Roses Blog Bouquet"--several of my fellow TWRP authors will be posting blogs today. The list of those participating can be found at the end of this blog. All who leave a comment today will be put into a drawing to win an e-copy of my TWRP release "The Model Man." Check back tomorrow to find out the winner's name!

Happy blogging fellow roses!

Onto today's blog topic...

To agent or not to agent? That is a question I’ve pondered many times in recent years. I’ve heard of so many people who have gotten burned, so many people who had their hopes raised only to see nothing happen to move their careers forward. That, added to the 15 or 20 percent that comes right off the top, and my take on the subject was pretty much “who needs ‘em?”

Well despite what my kids would tell you, I’m not totally inflexible. *G* I attended a workshop recently entitled “Do You Need an Agent?” I went in a solid “no way” and came out a “maybe I do!”

The agent who spoke to our group was approachable, informative and professional—not the “Danny DeVito in a brown polyester suit” I’d pictured in my mind, LOL. I really enjoyed listening to the responses she gave to the many, many questions our group asked her, and since we’re a widely varied group of writers, the questions all covered different areas of writing.

She started off by mentioning the Association of Author Representatives. A quote from the homepage: The AAR's objectives include keeping agents informed about conditions in publishing, the theater, the motion picture and television industries, and related fields; encouraging cooperation among literary organizations; and assisting agents in representing their author-clients' interests.
To qualify for membership in the AAR, an agent must meet professional standards specified in the organization's bylaws and agree to subscribe to its Canon of Ethics.

That definitely sounds like a good place to start when looking for an agent. The website also contains lists of questions you would want to ask before signing with an agent. Some of them were real eye openers. Click here to read the full list.

She also went on to say that as the publishing industry gets busier and busier, there are few NY publishers left these days who take unagented submissions. Unless you’re lucky enough to get a foot in the door with a contest entry, your work may never make it to the desk of your dream editor without an agent’s help. Having an agent, after all, tells an editor that your work is “worthy” of her time and attention.

The main focus of an agent is a sales person –it’s her job to sell your work. It’s her goal to see you published and published well. An editor’s primary responsibility is to her publisher; an agent’s serves only you.
Many agents will also offer editorial suggestions, but some don’t. It’s a good idea to ask if there are fees involved for those who do.

The agent’s role is to serve as a buffer between author and editor. While an author who has been working with a certain editor for a while may not feel comfortable asking for a bigger advance or larger percentage of the royalties—an agent won’t. The author may not even know if she’s entitled to more, again, it’s an agent’s job negotiate better advances, royalty rates, etc.
An agent will also take care of the business end of things—chasing down contracts and royalty payments.

So it sounds as though an agent’s role is to take care of the business end of things—those areas we writers all hate—so that we can focus on the creative end of things. I’d say that’s worth the 15-20% fee.

Some helpful tips from the agent I spoke to:

*Make sure the agent you query represents what you write.

* Don’t take it to heart if an agent passes on your work. This is a subjective business—an agent’s opinion is just that—her opinion.

*Persevere. Never give up.

*Don’t write to market trends. By the time you finish the story and it gets published, the trend will be passed.

*Write what you know and love. No matter what you write, if it’s wonderful, someone is going to buy it.

A lot to think about, but I definitely came away a believer! Don’t forget to stop by my fellow Stop and Smell the Roses blog bouquet authors’ blogs today. And don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of The Model Man!

Here’s the list of those participating in today’s bouquet:


http://AnnWhitaker.blogspot.com
http://bethcaudill.blogspot.com
http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com
http://catemasters.blogspot.com
http://christinecolumbus.blogspot.com

http://donnamichaelsauthor.blogspot.com

http://happyendingsblog.com
http://kyAnnwaters.blogspot.com
http://laurirobinson.blogspot.com
http://lindabanche.blogspot.com
http://lynnreynolds.blogspot.com
http://marywritesromance.blogspot.com

http://melanieatkins.wordpress.com
http://missmaesite.blogspot.com
http://nicolemccaffrey.blogspot.com

http://plparker.blogspot.com
http://romanticcravings.blogspot.com

http://roniadams.blogspot.com
http://sherilewiswohl.wordpress.com

http://skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.com

Coming Out of the dark...

...long enough to post a blog over at Lilac City Rochester Writers. Stop by if you can!

You Made Me Love You...

Time is short today, but I wanted to update the blog. Most of my blog thoughts are a bit too long for the amount of time I have today, so I thought I'd post this one.

I fully intended to get a full night's sleep last night. With all the craziness that went on with my dad during the month of May (he's now in a nursing home, most likely permanently. It's a lovely place and he's getting wonderful care but there is a boat load of guilt that comes along with the relief of knowing he's getting mental stimulation and aggressive physical therapy.) I've been really exhausted lately.

Anyway, this is the guy who kept me up past my bedtime.



"It Happened One Night" was on television and once I came across it, I couldn't stop watching until it was over. It's not just that it's one of my favorite movies, or that the plot reminds me of Wild Texas Wind, it's... that Gable magic. You can't look away from him when he's on the screen. Even now, nearly 50 years after his death when male movie stars have changed so much, he's riveting.

My love affair with Clark goes back a long way, I remember the first time I saw him in "It Happened One Night";I don't recall how old I was, probalby 12 or 13--I fell under the spell even then. Not long after, there was a "television event" (remember those? In the days before cable? When things like North & South, The Thorn Birds or Gone With the Wind on television were "events") and Gone With the Wind aired. I had never seen it before, but had read the book a few times. One look at Rhett and I was hooked. For life, LOL.

I won't say I've watched all of Mr. Gable's movies, but I've burned the midnight oil a time or two when the movie channels have had a "Gable weekend". He's worth losing a little sleep over.
Like I said, I don't know what it is about the man, but he's definitely got that indefinable "it" factor. Heck I'll bet he could even teach ol' Brad Pitt a thing or two about being a movie star.

So while to most of us, he'll always be Rhett, I still think of him as my first love, LOL. Right up there with Shaun Cassidy. Only better! Sigh. I have a busy weekend ahead, but I definitely feel a date night (me and Clark, that is!) with Gone with the Wind coming on....

Some Gave All

With a nephew serving in Iraq this summer, and our veterans marching in parades, I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that this day is about more than picnics and cookouts. It's a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Some say Memorial Day began in Kingston, GA for both the Confederate and Union soldiers while the South was still occupied by Sherman's army. New York State was the first to officially recognize the holiday in 1873; by 1890 all northern states recognized the day. Many southern states refused to acknowledge the holiday and kept their own day to recognize their Confederate dead. Things began to change after WWI when the holiday--then called Decoration Day--expanded to include the dead from the Spanish-American War and WWI.

In 1971, Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday in May to give Federal employees a three-day weekend.

I hope you'll pause in whatever you're doing at 3 p.m. today for our National moment of remembrance and think about what this day really means.

A Little Ray of Much-Needed Sunshine

It's been one of those roller coaster weeks. First, we lost my husband's uncle unexpectedly. I've loved this man as if he were my own uncle from the first time I met him. My husband was very close to his uncle and cousins so we spent a lot of time with them, especially when we were first dating. In many ways, I was more comfortable with Uncle Jimmy and his wife than with my own in-laws. It's hard to see those you love suffering, and hard to be strong for them when you'd really like to find a corner and cry your heart out yourself.

Then, just as we were starting to wrap our minds around the fact that Uncle Jimmy is gone, my dad (who suffers, as some of you know, from senile dementia) wound up in the hospital after a fall. Right now it's not clear if he'll be able to come home or when. Until his mobility improves, my mother can't care for him, so he remains in the hospital, possibly heading to a nursing home for short term care --or longer(which none of us wants to see happen) and we remain on that roller coaster of ups and downs.

So when I found this in my inbox this morning it was a nice ray of sunshine in what's been a week of dark skies and rain (both literally and figuratively, LOL).

A four star review from The Romance Studio:

The Model Man
Nicole McCaffrey
Contemporary romance
Available from The Wild Rose Press
ISBN: 1-60154-237-2
March 2008

Single mom Kelly Michaels is a popular romance author whose children always come first. She didn't want to attend the writers' convention but lets herself be convinced to go. She definitely doesn't want to have a liaison with a playboy cover hunk who is fifteen years her junior.

Derek Calavicci is used to women throwing themselves at him. But the author of the novels he poses for isn't interested in a fling. He has a chance to convince her he won't tire of her when they are compromised by the paparazzi and to save their reputations they pretend to be a lovestruck couple.

This is an extremely enjoyable, fun romance. The characters are fabulous and everyone interacts naturally. Derek and Kelly are filled with realistic qualities, but I wish I could have seen more of his feelings involving 9-11. I loved all of the wonderful secondary characters; I want a best friend just like Sharon! I was entertained by every aspect of this story; the chemistry between this couple is hot. Their growing relationship kept me spellbound and I'm a sucker for a well-written older woman/younger man romance. The settings were perfect, the plot flowed so well that I didn't put the book down until the last page and was, in fact, sad when it was over.

Overall rating: Four hearts
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Theresa Joseph
May 6, 2009

I don't know who Theresa Joseph is, but she sure made my morning!