Lynn Raye Harris

This probably isn’t the business for you. Or, it’s not for you if you want to get paid for your work. I am constantly amazed by the number of people these days who will pay someone to publish their stories. And I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been tempted to do the same back when I was new and green and didn’t know better. Fortunately, I stumbled onto RWA pretty quickly in my green days — and learned that money flows to the writer.

Any company that claims they will get your book in front of Oprah, if only you purchase X package from them to publish your work, is lying. Sure, they might send the book to Oprah — but you could do the same thing. Look up the address for the Oprah show and mail your package. You aren’t any more likely to get read whether they send it or you send it. Oprah doesn’t work that way. Have you EVER seen the woman talk about a self-published book on her show?

Save your money, peeps. Work hard at your craft, know where you fit in as a writer, and target that publisher (or publishers). You will get told no. You will get told no multiple times. Don’t let this negativity send you running into the arms of a company that wants to take your money to publish your book. They have no intention of selling it for you. They want you to buy your own copies and sell them to your friends. There’s no incentive to get you into bookstores.

I have been a part of a self-published anthology, btw. It was done professionally and with a goal in mind. It met the goal and made money for the group. But the organizers knew what they were doing, and they produced a professional book for a purpose. It wasn’t designed to break any of us into publishing — and a good thing too, because that’s not what usually happens with self-published books.

You aren’t breaking in this way. I can count on one hand the number of people who self-published and then went on to sell to NY in a big way. Self-publishing is not a bad thing. But you have to know the reasons for doing it before you simply throw in the towel after the 10th or 100th rejection and decide to do things your own way. If you are writing romance novels, self-publishing is not for you. It’s expensive and it won’t get you noticed by the publishers you really want to write for.

So work hard, swallow the lumps, and keep writing and submitting. It’s the only way I know that works for sure. Instant gratification happens when eating a chocolate bar, not when trying to sell your work.

It usually happens somewhere in the midst of the book I’m trying to finish on deadline. As my relationship with the current book grows rocky, a new idea comes along, seducing me with its attractiveness, its promise not to be difficult, and its possibilities. I want to stop writing the deadline book and write this book instead!

I never do.

Because, well, there’s a deadline attached to the book I’m working on and an editor waiting for it. But I’ve turned in the deadline book, and now the idea is still there, seducing me. This is the stage where it’s fun. The stage where I’m collecting photos and pasting them into my Notes document (I use Word’s notebook layout feature for this, creating tabs for the characters, story, and settings) and thinking up all the lovely possibilities.

This story is a bit different than what I’ve written before, but it still features the exotic location, the gorgeous alpha male, and the determined heroine. The possibilities are endless! Of course I’ll eventually reach the stage where the book becomes work and the next new idea pops into my head. But until then, I’m going to have fun.

I believe this stage is essential, the fun stage, where you think and plan and maybe write a chapter or two. I’ve proven I can write a category novel in 3 weeks (not easy, but I did it), but there’s no need to write every book so quickly. There are always deadlines, of course, but the dream time is very necessary to creating. One writer I know takes a month off between novels. For her, it’s essential to her process and to writing the best book she possibly can. I don’t need quite so much time, but I’ve found that a week or two is a nice break. I read, go shopping, cook gourmet meals, and generally let myself enjoy every day without the pressure to get as many words on the page as possible.

Remember while on this crazy writing journey that you still need to have a life. People change, kids grow up, friends move away. So don’t spend every hour of every day hunched in front of your computer because one day you’ll look up and wonder where everyone went. Let the blush of that new idea have its time swirling in your head. Approach it slowly but steadily, like it’s a forest creature you don’t want to frighten. Soon, it’ll be eating out of your hand. (One day it’ll bite you and you’ll want to let it go and find a new idea, but that’s another story….)

Now I’m off to play with my shiny new idea…..

Wow, she’s back again! Yep, somehow I’ve managed to come back again when I’m pushing hard toward deadline — maybe it’s because writing so much requires an outlet of unrelated writing. I don’t know.

But I was thinking today, as I was rereading a portion of the WIP to remember where I was and what I was doing, about how easy it would be to let all those writerly fears and doubts crash down on top of me and grind me to a halt. I’ve certainly done it in the past, when I had no date set in stone on a legally binding document that I signed. I’ve let the doubt and uncertainty stop me and send me off into self-pitying mental gymnastics where I wondered if I would ever be published.

You might think, once you’re published, that these doubts and fears go away. They do not, unfortunately. That fear will probably always be there.

Another thing I do when I get slammed with work is compare my career to others. Never a good idea, I assure you. We know we shouldn’t do it, and yet we do. So-and-so writes six books a year, or so-and-so makes it look so easy, etc. If so-and-so were writing this book, she’d be done already and it’d be brilliant!

What’s really bad is when you start thinking that someone has it better than you do, not only career wise, but life wise. A big house, a fancy car, lots of friends. But you don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes of Jane Author’s successful and fabulous life. Maybe she’s lonely, or maybe her fears are as big as yours. Maybe the perfect looking life is a shield she wears that hides the truth. Maybe her life is every bit as crazy as yours, and maybe she wishes she could be you.

You just never know. Which is why you must learn to keep it together when these fears and doubts assail you. You have to look at what you DO have and know that it’s good. My life isn’t your life isn’t Jane Author’s life. I think it’s very normal for women to do this sort of comparison. And we have to learn to stop ourselves when it happens. Because the life you have is full of blessings and richness. You just have to stop and take a good look sometimes.

Keep it together, y’all. Keep it real. You are you, and that’s a mighty fine thing to be.

I don’t mean to be a terrible blogger, really I don’t. But I’m on deadline — in fact it’s a huge brick wall at the end of the tunnel and my train is going to crash headlong into it in the next 3 weeks. You might be wondering how I found myself in this predicament where the time is running out and I’m writing like crazy. “Doesn’t she know how to set a deadline?” you may ask.

Well, yes. But a couple of special projects came along, and I wasn’t about to say no. Not because I didn’t feel I could say no, but because I knew I could do the work. Yeah, it’s a bit grueling — but if I weren’t doing this, I’d be puttering around and making excuses as to why I couldn’t clean the house or something. Worse, I’d be at DSW, combing the clearance rack for new heels (actually that’s worse for my husband, not so much for me).

So here I am, writing two to three thousand words a day. Before I was published, I wrote regularly — but it was very easy to go do other things if the writing got hard. Can’t quite figure out that scene? Then go to the mall, or go shoe shopping, or call up a friend and go to lunch.

Now, I can’t do that. And I really don’t mind.

I’ll tell you the truth: when I see unpublished writers lamenting that they just can’t get the muse to work that day or that week or that month, I shake my head sadly. Because that used to be me, and I know it for the excuse it is. It’s an excuse, a cop out. Because if you ever hope to publish, you have to write. And once you get bought, especially in category romance, you’d better be ready to write at least two books a year (said at the RT Harlequin spotlight just over a week ago). Two books a year minimum.

There’s no time for finicky muses, no time to ‘get in the mood’, no time for procrastination. You simply must write.

My work ethic has always been good in that when something is expected of me, I will deliver. But what do you do when something isn’t expected of you, when you can go shopping instead of wrestle the book?

You have to find a way to make it work. If it’s setting deadlines for yourself, bribing yourself with new clothes or shoes, or maybe a nice weekend away somewhere, you must finish the book. And you must do it at a good pace. Two books a year isn’t unreasonable, and these days they kind of expect it in single title as well. Gone are the days when you could write one book a year.

So, I’ve rambled on long enough. I have a book due in 3 weeks. Have to write!

For the writers: I love this post by Bob Mayer! Talk about smacking me upside the head with reality. I always make excuses for why I get good things when I get them. Just yesterday, when I found out that The Prince’s Royal Concubine was a Top Pick from RT for the month of June, I emailed my pal Kimberly Lang and said how excited I was — and then I made an excuse for why it happened this time, as if it was due to the concurrences of planetary alignments, eclipses, the bad winter, etc, and nothing at all to do with the story I wrote.

Don’t worry, she promptly emailed me back and told me to stop being so silly and of course it was because the book deserved it. Sometimes you need friends to smack you with the clue stick.

I hope you enjoy the post! See how many of the signs you have. I had 11 out of 13. I’ll probably always think I could have done a better job, but I think that’s normal. Let me know what you think about that post! I’m off to lunch with the fabulous Kimberly Lang right now, so will be back later……

Hey, y’all! Life has sure been busy the last few days, let me tell you. Yesterday, I had wonderful intentions to write all day. Didn’t happen. First, there was the emergency trip to Sherwin Williams to buy paint samples. Then there was the curtain lady from JCP who came to try and sell me custom curtains (this is what happens when you go to a home show and sign up for stuff without thinking about it too much). The curtain appointment took 3 hours — and we were only talking about TWO windows!

After she left, it was back to Sherwin Williams for more samples. Then I had to wait at home in case the painter came by to see what I’d chosen (but I still hadn’t chosen!). Once my hubby got home, it was back to Sherwin Williams a third time for more paint. I bought 7 samples yesterday, and finally made a decision. The painter is relieved, I’m sure. Tomorrow, he starts painting. Whew, who knew choosing paint was so hard?

This morning, as if yesterday wasn’t busy enough, another guy from the Home Show came by. This was for a yard service and termite control. Since Hubby and I suck at yard care (weeds, fertilizing, etc), we really wanted to see what this would cost. Totally reasonable, so I signed us up. And for the termite control too.

(I didn’t buy the curtains, however, if you were wondering. Though the fabric was beautiful, I have a hard time with $2500 for curtains for two windows — tall windows, to be sure, but still.)

This afternoon, I have to go pick up the paint that the painter is ordering this morning. And somewhere in all this mess, I have a book to finish. I’m seriously getting cranky about it too. Because I figured out a plot problem and fixed it, and now it’s time to move forward. But my motion was on hold for household things, which has really frustrated me.

The best part of yesterday, however, was getting my North American author copies of The Prince’s Royal Concubine. I wasn’t expecting them so early, but when I saw the UPS man, I knew that’s what it had to be because I hadn’t ordered anything recently. So you know what this means! To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy today on the blog. Leave a comment and tell me about the best book you read recently. (Does not have to be mine, btw.) Or you can tell me about how life got in the way of something you were doing.

Update: using the handy dandy Random Number Generator, the winner is Jayme! Jayme, please email me your contact info and I’ll get the book out to you ASAP! Thanks for all the comments, y’all! I enjoyed hearing about the books you like, and about your little life detours.

For the writers amongst you, I’ve put the links to my series on how to write a Harlequin Presents in the sidebar. Scroll down to the “For Writers” category, and all the posts are listed there to make it easier to find in future. Hope you enjoy.

I’m still buried in this Russian book, but things are looking better. I was browsing the web for images for my inspiration file, and I came across these that I want to share with you. (Yes, these were taken by talented photographers who are not me.)

I believe this is from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, but I’m not quite sure. (It might also be from the Smolny Convent.) Years ago, and I won’t say how many, ahem, I had the privilege of traveling to Russia. We flew to St. Petersburg first (still called Leningrad, if that gives you an idea), and spent 3 days there before boarding an overnight train to Moscow, where we spent another 3 days. It was an amazing trip. The palaces are beautiful, and the landscape was prettier than I expected it to be. Fortunately, we were there in May, and it was quite warm. It also never got fully dark at that time of year.

This next picture is of Peterhof, Peter the Great’s palace on the Gulf of Finland. We got to tour it, and I have a photo of me standing on one of the bridges over the canal with this palace in the background. It’s an amazingly beautiful place, full of gilt and art and antiques. My hero also has a palace, but it’s not this grand. And of course he had to buy it back from the State after the fall of communism. But looking at these photos gives me an idea of what his palace is like, though on a smaller scale.

This is the Winter Palace, also known as The Hermitage Museum. It’s a gorgeous palace on the banks of the Neva river. We spent hours wandering through the galleries. I see this photo as representing my hero’s home. The Winter Palace is actually quite grand and vast, but this small slice of it makes it look like it could be a grand house on an estate somewhere. I especially love the snow capped trees.

More info on the Winter Palace here.

I love finding photos for inspiration. It’s one of the most fun parts of beginning a new book. Thank heavens for Google! You can have photos at your fingertips and start writing about a place you’ve never been in a matter of hours. Yes, I’ve been to Russia, but I’ve never been to Argentina (The Devil’s Heart, July 2010 UK) or the Arabian desert (Kept for the Sheikh’s Pleasure, Sep 2010 UK). As much as I’d like to go to these places for real, I’m grateful for the tools that bring them to my fingertips. Even with Russia, it’s been a long time and I needed a refresher.

I’m starting a new book this week, and I’m at that stage where I’m trying to figure out what the driving emotional problem is. I wrote a chapter back at the end of August on a new idea, and I think that’s what I’m going to go with, but as I reread what I had, there’s a big gaping hole: emotional conflict. *sigh*

I always do this. I always see a scene, write it, and wonder what is really going on. I still don’t know, but I hope to figure it out quick. This book, if I am able to figure it out, takes place in Russia. That’s a new setting for me, but I have in fact been to Russia — though it was many years ago, and things have no doubt changed quite a bit.

But I remember how extraordinary Red Square was. How vibrant the colors on St. Basil’s. How brilliant the golden onion domes of the churches inside the Kremlin walls. The Faberge eggs were amazing too. I can hardly remember all the impressions I had of the country, but I love exploring my memories this way. It was a truly extraordinary experience.

What kind of settings would you like to read about? So far, I’ve written about Spain, the Caribbean, a Mediterranean kingdom of my invention, a desert kingdom, and Argentina. Next, it looks like Russia (assuming I figure out what the emotional conflict is). Have you been anywhere that you would love to read about in a novel?

P.S. Cavelli’s Lost Heir has spent four weeks on Bookscan’s Top 100 Bestselling Romances List! Thanks so much to all my readers for making this happen.

I have followed the comment trail over at I Heart Presents with sadness and even a bit of disappointment. It’s up to the editors to sort out the rules, and I will not comment on that at all. And while I DO understand the disappointment of some of the people who are commenting, I have to say that I don’t think personal attacks are ever warranted.

Yes, I was an unknown when I won the first Presents contest. And you can bet I was damn happy. Thrilled to freaking pieces. I didn’t expect I had an automatic pass through the publishing doors, however. As it turned out, I did not. I had to work hard, through two sets of revisions in which I wanted to tear my hair out and even cried because I thought I was failing big time and would never get bought, but would quietly fade away when my lovely editor rejected me and stopped answering emails.

Happily, I finally nailed those revisions and my lovely editor bought the book. Four books later, I’m still thrilled and amazed. And I still have revisions and I still work hard and bite my nails and wonder if my editor will reject me. Because it DOES happen, y’all. Being published is not a guarantee of future publication. (So if you tell me that because I’m published, it’s easy for me, I can assure you that you are wrong. Whether you believe it or not. And no, I didn’t believe it before I was published either.)

I will not speak to rules, because I am not qualified to make that judgment. But I can tell you that the two published winners didn’t get an automatic pass into the top two. Their work had to be outstanding, and it had to live up to the Presents promise. I don’t believe either one of them deserve to be attacked personally, whether or not you like that they won or think they violated a rule. It’s your right to be disappointed, and to express dismay that published authors were allowed to enter. It’s even your right to demand to know how the rules were applied and whether or not they were violated. But it’s not your right to be mean to these women.

And I will say this until I’m blue in the face: JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T WIN DOES NOT MEAN YOU WON’T SELL TO THE LINE! Ask Tina Duncan, Maisey Yates, and Mira Lyn Kelly! Of the two runners up when I won, one of them went on to sell into TRADE PAPERBACK under another name. I won’t out her because she may not want that, but believe me when I tell you the woman is amazingly talented! I am thankful to call her a friend and to run ideas past her even now.

I understand being disappointed to realize you were competing against published authors. But who do you think you’re competing against whenever you submit a manuscript? Your work has to be as good as what’s published in the line to get bought. You are competing, whether you know it or not. And I really don’t know whether there were published authors in the contest I won; being published already does not automatically make you a better writer for a particular line than someone unpublished who is targeting the same line. I’ve heard, from reliable sources, about single title writers who want to break into Presents and can’t. They don’t have the voice, and all the publishing credits in the world won’t get them bought if they can’t write the story.

Okay, so that’s my opinion. If you were disappointed by the outcome, good grief I don’t blame you at all! But please don’t listen to the naysayers who tell you that you might as well give up because you’ll never get a fair look and you can’t compete with published authors. YOU CAN. You do it every time you submit, so keep writing and keep growing. It took me 15 years to get published. How long will you keep trying before you give up for good?

The end is in sight, y’all. I hope to get there very soon, but when I looked at my daily totals recently, I realized I’ve written nearly 20k in a little over a week. It’s a lot of work, at least for me, and I can’t believe how much I got done in so short a time. I don’t recommend you do this if you don’t have to, btw. Thinking this hard, feeling my characters’ emotions so strongly over so short a period, wears me out. I really look forward to at least a week of vegging and enjoying holiday activities. (Though I expect revisions, I hope I won’t get them immediately.)

But I did have some good news to bolster me! (Besides Cavelli’s Lost Heir appearing on the eHarlequin bestseller lists!) First, I learned that my fourth book has been accepted. The Devil’s Heart is a July 2010 release in the UK! I’m very excited about this story. There is an Argentinian hero, a half-American half Italian heroine, and a priceless jewel.

The last bit of good news I got was the UK cover for The Prince’s Royal Concubine, due out in March 2010, and a North American release date! The book will be out in Harlequin Presents in June 2010. To whet your appetite, I’m giving you an exclusive sneak peak at an excerpt right here on this blog. But first, the back cover copy:

Two glittering royal houses…

Prince Cristiano di Savaré hunts his prey by ruthless means. Tonight’s pickings…Antonella Romanelli, crown princess of a rival country and part of a dynasty he has every reason to despise…

…one majestic seduction

Antonella is rocked by Cristiano’s unexpected magnetism. But there’s ice in his wolfish smile… She’s far from the promiscuous, spoiled socialite he believes her to be, but Cristiano is here to persuade her into compliance. If bedding her is what it takes, then it will make his mission all the more pleasurable…

EXCERPT:

Antonella emerged onto the top deck of the yacht, in search of someone who could arrange for a launch. She nearly stumbled when she caught sight of the man conversing with the yacht’s captain.

Cristiano di Savaré in a tuxedo had been magnificent. But Cristiano in Bermuda shorts, a crisp Polo, flip-flops, and Ray-Bans was downright sinful. He looked nothing like a prince and everything like some erotic fantasy of a muscled cabana boy who lived to serve the woman lucky enough to hire him.

He turned at her approach, no doubt because the captain ceased paying attention to him and watched her progress. She could see the captain’s eyes moving over her appreciatively, but it was Cristiano’s gaze she felt most keenly. Though he wore mirrored sunglasses, she was aware of the burning scrutiny behind them.

She’d dressed in a cotton wrap dress and sported a pair of sandals with a sensible heel. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she’d gone minimal with her makeup. She wasn’t trying to attract attention, and yet it never seemed to matter. Attention was what she got.

“You have heard about the storm?” Cristiano said, skipping the preliminaries.

Antonella pushed away a tendril of hair that escaped her ponytail and blew across her lips. “Yes. When is the launch?” she asked, turning to the captain.

“There is a slight delay,” Cristiano said before the captain could reply. “Many in the harbor are requesting transportation.”

“I see.”

“Have you made flight arrangements yet?”

“No. I had hoped to go straight to the airport and take care of it.”

“Bueno. You may fly with me.”

Antonella’s pulse beat like the wings of a thousand hummingbirds. The man was unbelievable. “Thank you, but no. I will get a flight when I reach the airport.”

Cristiano shoved the Ray-Bans onto his head. The sunlight had disappeared as clouds rolled into the harbor. His eyes, she realized, weren’t blue or gray. They were deep, dark brown.

No, green.

Hazel, that’s what it was called. Brown ringed the pupil, but the bulk of the iris was green.

Striking.

How had she missed this at dinner last night? She’d sat across from him, but she’d barely looked directly at him with Raúl sitting beside her. The one time she had, she’d been far more mesmerized by the look on his face than the color of his eyes.

“Antonella,” he said sharply.

She jerked. “What?”

“Did you hear me?”

“You were talking about your jet.”

“Yes. It’s ready, and I have room for you. All commercial flights off the island are booked.”

“But you just asked me if I’d made arrangements!”

“I meant last night, before the hurricane changed direction.”

She shook her head emphatically. “I’ll take my chances at the airport.”

Was she crazy? She might despise him, but was it worth putting herself in danger to have the satisfaction of refusing him? Wasn’t the most important thing to get back to Monteverde and speak to her brother? If only Dante had been the one to come to Canta Paradiso! He’d have gotten Vega Steel and this would all be moot.

Except he had to stay to hold the country together. And his wife was about to give birth. Antonella had been the only choice, and she’d failed. She wanted to climb back into bed and pull the covers over her head until it all went away.

But she couldn’t. Cowardice was not an option.

“Don’t be childish,” Cristiano snapped.

Arrogant bastard. She forced herself to take a long, slow breath before speaking. “It’s not childish to avoid the company of people you despise.”

“No, but it is childish to put yourself in danger because of it.”

It was disconcerting to hear her thoughts echoed in his words.

Antonella stared at the mountains rising around the harbor. The airport was on the other side of those mountains. It could take hours to reach at this rate. Dark clouds billowed over the green peaks like a thick blanket unrolling. The wind had already picked up speed in the few hours between the time she’d gone to bed and now.

How she got home didn’t matter, so long as she did. “I will fly with you if there is no other option. Though when we reach the airport, I will check to see if I can book a flight first.”

“As you wish, Principessa.”

“But I cannot fly into Monterosso.” How would that look? And how would she get home to Monteverde? There were no direct flights, and the border was cut off. A princess of Monteverde could not be ferried across the border by Monterossan soldiers. It was unthinkable.

His expression hardened. “Of course not. We will land in Paris first. You can arrange transport from there.”

A dark thought occurred to her. “How do I know you will keep your word? That you won’t take me to Monterosso and demand a ransom for my return?”

His voice stroked over her like silk. “If I were to kidnap you, mia bella, I could think of far more interesting things to do than demand a ransom.”

What do you think of this cover? (I think I need a fan and some ice water!)