Leaving On A Jet Plane
Dear Jake,
By the time you read this blog I will be on a jet plane. Don’t try to follow me. Just let me go. This is something I have to do. I don’t think I can wait another day.
There’s just so much out there to discover. I need to learn new things in order to grow. I want you to be on fire and in order to do that I have to get in touch with some experts who can show me a few tricks of the trade.
Stay strong for me, Jake. Trust me when I say this is the best for the both of us. Keep that flame in your heart for me. I’ll be back before you know it and ready to dig my talons into you.
LYG,
Sandra O’Byrne
Yes, friends, this year’s RWA Conference in San Francisco is my second one to date and I am really on fire about it. Craft is where it’s at for me. I went to the conference last year with a newly minted manuscript ready to seize the day. I learned a lot from that conference.
How to pitch.
How to network.
How to make my manuscript an even better one.
And that’s what I’ve been doing this past year. A pitch here. A pitch there. But mostly re-working my manuscript. I’ve been honing my baby and making it an even better book.
What do I expect to gain from this year’s conference?
More knowledge, friends.
I’m also going to have a blast re-connecting with old friends, my favorite authors and getting to meet new friends I’ve made in the romance community.
And I’ll be joining Terri in squee’ing and celebrating the accomplishments of so many talented friends.
Ciao for now. I’ll be seeing you on the blogs.
In case you're wondering, Jake is the hero of Santa's (nice of her to change her name on me, eh?) MS called Sweet Melissa. I was hoping she'd bring him with her as we're sharing a room and there's always room for Jake, but nooooooo. Since Santa is actually leaving on a jet plane today and many people will be pitching later this week or later this year, today we're going to do a group pitch session. Everyone give us your best one to three sentence pitch and lets see if we can sell some books! If you're a reader, give us a pitch for one of your favorite books and see if we can guess which book you're describing.
To help everyone out, here's the best one-liner pitch advice you'll ever find courtesy of Christina Dodd.
Define the type of story, give a sense of the plot, use action verbs, and whet the reader’s appetite for more.
Books by the Crew
45 comments:
Hell.
No, that isn't my pitch.
*cracking knuckles*
I'm going to go hide in the powder room.
SIN! This is all for shits and giggles. Come on, you can do it. Your book would call for words like "high intensity" and "scorching heat" and stuff like that. Just follow that advice from Christina and it's like the pieces fall together.
I have something that I used to try to explain it. But it's hard to explain something you haven't written. LOL
FBI Agent Sadie Michaels will uncover a secret that unlocks the past 10 years of guilt and suffering over the death of her identical twin, Kady. <--- Is what I used to explain it. Sometimes.
Hm.
This is hard.
Hm.
I need an example.
This is also from the Dodd advice on pitching. Some samples...CASABLANCA — "In a classic romantic tearjerker, a cafe owner helps couple escape from Nazis in Morocco, losing his heart yet gaining self-respect." For DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE —"Horror holds center stage as a potion frees Victorian London doctor’s bad side."
First figure out what kind of story it is. "High action thriller..." or "Edge-of-your-seat suspense..." and go from there.
Eeek.... So hard!!
Thinking.... *smell of smoke emanating from the gunner's cabin*
You can do it, Marn! Start with "A spell-binding Historical..." and take it away! LOL!
Oohh... Good start.
hmmm...
In a spell-binding historical, a telekinetic witch must secretly protect her disillusioned guardian from his first wife's murderer.
....
Meh.
That's a great start, Marn. Now, add "but" and give us the crux of the whole thing. Something like "but will her powers do more harm than good?" Though the ending with a question thing is out now so something like that only not a question. LOL!
Terri wrote mine for me.
The Original Sinners head to Sin City with the Devil himself as their escort. Instead of the new loves they seek, they find a little forgiveness, a new understanding and a shot at redemption.
I'd forgotten about that. That little pitch there kept me awake which was very annoying. It's annoying enough when it's my characters keeping me awake, but I get too little sleep to have other people's characters taking my snooze time.
When lifelong friendship turns to passion, sometimes the price is too high. After a decade of secrets and separation, Laurette and Con come together again to...aw sh*t. I suck.
Maggie! You were almost there. LOL! Throw in something about second chances and you've got it!
In this romantic suspense, FBI Agent Sadie Michaels uncovers a secret in her past that nearly destroys her future. Can Sadie find her twin sister, whom she's believed has been dead all this time, before she finds her?
See. Surely if we put our heads together, everyone should come out of this day with some kind of pitch. And whether your first pitch is this week, next month or next year, it can't hurt to start now.
I swear, Terr, I'm totally picturing you with a set of cat-o-nines. It's Tuesday! No one wants to work on Tuesday. It's time for some rum! Rum all around!
I prefer the eleventh hour sort of thing.
Hellion- talented and awesome as ever. I would've never gotten close to making it make sense. Except your giving away my surprise ending to everyone. LOL
Marn! You're a goddess!
*Swilling some rum, tapping my chin thoughtfully*
In a spell-binding historical, a telekinetic witch must protect her guardian as he clears his name of guilt from his first wife's death. But when all hope of vindication seems lost, he must choose between his past bitterness or a future with her.
I can do high concept, but pitches suck.
Desperate to escape her troubled past, celebrity heiress Simone Brody lands in South Africa... at the feet of photojournalist, Noah Harper--the same man who broke her heart so many years ago. Blackmailed to be a part of his story, Simone has no desire to tell him the truth. But when violence erupts, Simone turns to Noah, the man she's slowly coming to trust... and love.
Now we're cooking.
*blushing* Sin, goddess is perhaps a little bit overboard. Perhaps minor deity... LOL!!
Ely - that's great!!
Oh and Hellion - I loved yours. Great job!
Marnee the Muse! Isn't that ironic? LOL!
How about this one...
A sweeping epic set during one of the most tumultuous times in American history, a cunning woman with steely determination gives into the only man who ever deserved her only to lose him again in the end.
man I wish I could pitch... I'm gonna have to learn to do it before October!
It's definitely tough to get the right twist of words.... awesome suggestion from CD
OOOoohhh.... who's book is that, Ter? Am I just being dense?
LOL! Marn - it's pretty well known. I'm sure you've read it. Or at least seen the movie. ;)
Yep. LOL!
Gone with the Wind?
Gah, I'm slow these days. Don't mind me.
You try one. What would you make up for Twilight?
I'm not sure Rhett DESERVED her. I'm not sure anyone deserved Scarlett; but I do think he was the only man who loved her anyway, despite the fact she wasn't deserving.
Wow.... Tapping into the obsession, huh? Ok....
A smart, quiet girl moves to the Northwest where she falls in love with the ultimate unobtainable boy, a vampire. But when their love endangers her humanity, he must protect her from the darker desires of his kind.
Marn- that was perfect!
Scarlett got on my nerves.
*bowing* Thank you, dear.
*sigh* I love that book.
I knew you could do it. A little practice is all we need. And Christina Dodd to hold our hands. Think she'd do that? LOL!
Or did you think more about how you'd answer "what's your book about?"
Ter, did you do your pitch?
I actually gave my pitch yesterday in comments but no one noticed. LOL! I'll see if I can find it again.
Oh! That's good!!
Sorry, I ended up only scanning comments yesterday. My mom and sister were here. :) Didn't mean to be MIA.
Here we go...with a little tweaking.
An emotional journey in which fate throws two damaged people into each others’ paths and together they learn that letting go is ultimately a matter of holding on.
BTW - Marn, no worries about being MIA. I'm pretty much going to be for the next several days. Maybe longer. LOL! I have no idea how long it will take me to catch up on my sleep after this week.
LOL! Is ok. I am so excited for you! I can't wait to hear all the details!!
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