Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Amazing doesn’t just mean “really good.”  Here’s my definition of Amazing: Amazing is surprising, delightful, new. It opens up new worlds and is a product of true creation. It’s also universal. Amazing speaks to the human spirit.  What is your definition of Amazing, and/or:  ·          What is the most AMAZING romance novel you’ve read in the past month?  ·          What is the most amazing romance novel your best friend read in your last month?  ·          How about your mother? Your friend from work? Your Goodreads friend? ·          What is the amazing romance novel that you’ve heard about but haven’t read yet?            ·          What is the most amazing romance you’ve ever...

by Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor In addition to getting ready for swimsuit season, summer is great time for writers to also think about taking the flab out of their work-in-progress.  I think it’s fairly safe to say most writers know one of the best ways to hook readers is to keep up a riveting pace that makes it just about impossible to put down the book. And it really doesn’t matter whether your reader is a book buyer who just picked up your latest release from the store, or an editor you’re hoping will help put your book on the shelves.  One way to keep that storyline moving forward is to follow one of my journalism professor’s favorite mantras: Omit needless words.  To me, tight writing really separates the consummate pros from the rest of the pack. Some key points to look out for when going over your next draft: Avoid explanatory dialogue – characters shouldn’t explain things they would obviously know just for the sake of the reader.  Fin...

by Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor I admit it: one of my favorite summertime guilty pleasures is So You Think You Can Dance.  There's something really special about helping discover amazing new talent.  Kinda like when reading submissions, come to think of it.  If you've ever seen the show, you know it's not always the most talented dancer who wins the day.  And I do think there are a number of lessons applicable to  writers from the show-- 1. You have to be good at what you do.  There's no denying that you have to be a great  dancer to make the top 20 on the show.  The dancers prActice and hone their craft for years before trying out.  Same with writers. Have patience.  Get better.  Dont give up.  Become amazing. 2. The dancers who go the farthest on the show aren't just great dancers; they have distinctive personalities or styles or stories that separate them from the pack. Remember Mark, who did an amazing...

By Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor This week, I’ve been doing a big pitch critique over at YA chat lit. Even though the material is all young adult, you might want to check it out for ideas in honing your own pitches:http://yalitchat.ning.com/forum/topics/pitch-slam-weekend-january-13-15-2012. Here’s a roundup of some of the most common questions I had for those who submitted a pitch: · Where’s the hook? What is the element of your story that’s going to make everyone clamor to read it? · Where and when is it set? · Does it fit the category? If it’s YA, the pitch needs to mention that the characters are teens. And for romance, I need a happy ending for the main characters. One comment that came up frequently for me was that I’d seen a lot of similar themes lately. The pitch was strong—it summarized the story, it had a hook, there was a sense of drama, the storyline was clear—but I felt as if I’d read it before. This is always...

by Leah Hultenschmidt, Senior Editor You know those books that have such a clever/intriguing title you want to read it without knowing anything else about it? Talk about love at first sight. We talk a lot about how important a cover is, and that process is a great topic for a future post. But editors don’t have the benefit of a gorgeous cover to suck us in when we’re first reading a manuscript or proposal. If we’re lucky, we have a fabulous query letter that gets excited to read more. But what can often help complete the package is an amazing title to go along with it. Every one of my authors is going to think this post is directed him or her today because we’re all going through the process of finalizing titles as we start to set our Fall 2012 list (yes, we’re working that far ahead). But it’s really for all writers at any stage in their career. And for writers going through the submission process, a strong title can help you stand out from the pack. One ...

By Deb Werksman I noticed in my recent pitch sessions that I'm getting a lot of pitches that are really plot summaries, rather than providing the kind of sales hook that I'm looking for. Let me start by telling you why I need the sales hook. When I find a project that I think we should publish (it meets all my criteria), I take it into an Editorial meeting where I present it to our publisher, editorial director, and all the other acquiring editors. I may be first in the lineup, I may be last in the lineup, I may have 1 project to present or I may have 10, and all the other editors may have 1 project to present, or they may have 10. We may have 1/2 hour for the meeting, or an hour for the meeting, or 90 minutes for the meeting. So I may have 3 minutes to present a project, or 5, or 1 minute. The first thing I have to have, is a 2-3 sentence "hook" that has people totally enrolled in and excited about us publishing this book. What the hook tells them is WHY the reade...