Forgive me for this bout of sentimentality, but I’m a reflective sort of person. Last year, on this day, the Friday before RWA conference, I received a call on my cell phone while at work. Blithely, I called the number back when I had a break and found that it rang to the message machine of Harlequin Mills & Boon in the UK. An English accent never sounded more lovely!
The actual “Call” wouldn’t come for another several days. I had the weekend to stew, my agent had other editors to nudge, and after a little bit of this and a little bit of that, I sold Butterfly Swords five days later on Wednesday morning in Washington D.C. at RWA ’09.
It was an exciting conference for me, to sell right there among so many friends. I was also up for a Golden Heart award. Someone asked me if I still wanted to win even though I’d sold.
“Heck, yeah, I want it,” I said. “Winners always want the ball.” (Extra credit for anyone who can place that quote.)
You see, I’m absolutely awful at playing it cool and nonchalant. Some people try to downplay the possibility of disappointment by voicing their denials. I have as much self-doubt as the next person, but I’ve always been someone who fell on the side of saying, “Yes, I want it, I want it. Disappointment, I dare you to smack me in the face.”
Because can’t we all admit, we all WANT IT?
Neither approach affects the outcome. The Golden Heart scores were already tallied and that envelope was already sealed. But maybe the attitude does matter. Maybe just admitting your dreams proudly, as vulnerable as that makes you, affects you in little ways — affects your pen upon the page, trying just a little harder to pull out the words from inside you.
Anyway, it’s RWA time again. A bunch of authors, hopefuls, and the rest of Romancelandia will be converging on Orlando. I’ll be heading there and not blogging for the entire week.
This year, I’m presenting the Golden Heart award in the historical category and I just wanted to say to whoever the winner is going to be, and also to all the other writers who are pitching, networking, and waiting for “The Call”:
Aim high. Dream big. It can happen, it can happen, it can happen. Exactly as you dream.
Since its inception, the Harlequin® Historical line (of which I’m proudly a part of) has published over 1000 titles. My senior editor, Linda Fildew, takes a walk from the first releases to the most current.
#1000 is Christine Merrill’s Paying the Virgin’s Price:
It was also fun seeing the original covers and how the cover art has evolved. There’s a nice mention of #1014 – Butterfly Swords coming in October.
It feels kind of nice being a part of a long running tradition:
No book excited me more last year than Cindy Pon’s debut, Silver Phoenix. I rushed out and bought the hard cover. I told everyone I knew about it. Plastered it all over my blog. One fan even wrote me after reading the book because she thought Cindy Pon was my pen name since I’d gabbed about the book so much! (I redirected said fan to the right place)
The morning I sold, I literally ran to my computer and typed an excited e-mail to Cindy. I felt like a giddy schoolgirl running through the playground to a friend who was a grade higher than me. “Cindy, Cindy! I sold!”
Silver Phoenix is lush and gorgeous and the original cover reflected the mood of the book perfectly:
Then I saw the cover of the sequel today:
And I saw how they want to rework Silver Phoenix:
The covers are dark and urban in appearance. The clothing modern. The faces hidden. To me, they look like so much of what’s out there in YA land. Black covers. Dark brooding mood.
I’m going to be emotional and unedited for a moment: They took away everything that was bold and special about Phoenix. They made it look modern and non-descript and non-Asian. The reasoning is that it will reach new readers this way. By hiding. By HIDING.
I lied about the unedited part. I’m a writer. Everything I post is edited. I thought very carefully about this post, because I do admit, I know next to nothing about the publishing industry. I don’t know about marketing books since I’m so new in this game. And I make it a habit not to rant too much about things I don’t know about.
But I am a reader. A consumer of books. And yes, I am biased. I write historical romances set in the Tang Dynasty. I love wuxia fiction. I started writing what I write because there weren’t many books like Silver Phoenix in the English-speaking market.
So I’m going to speak as a fan. Perhaps sales were low and the publisher had a responsibility to try to change that. I get it. This is a business. But what principle of marketing says that the way to success is to downplay your strengths? Cindy Pon writes fantasy. The selling point of fantasy is the worldbuilding. What principle of marketing dictates that you should NOT differentiate yourself from the crowd? That you should look like every other product on the market? Maybe people will think they’re buying Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, but really they’re picking up the generic store brand instead.
And that brings me to my biggest confusion. What makes the powers that be believe that READERS WANT TO BE FOOLED? That readers will pick up a book expecting one thing, and will actually be happy when it’s not that at all? That’s one of the main complaints I read in reviews. I expected a different book. So what happens when a reader picks up Cindy’s next book expecting a dark urban fantasy and gets a sweeping and epic adventure instead?
Maybe 2009 was just a tough year. Maybe people just stopped buying hardcovers except for huge big name authors with established readerships. Debut authors need to build a readership and it takes more than one book. That’s what everyone keeps telling me right now. The best way to sell more books is to write the next book. Well, Cindy did that. Fury of the Phoenix is coming out in April and Silver Phoenix‘s paperback release is in February. If the publisher had stuck with the same look and feel, then they’d be building the brand and message. More sales on the second book, renewed interest in the first.
But the way they’ve done it now muddles the message. I don’t know what to think. If I wasn’t constantly checking up on Cindy’s blog, if I had walked by the bookshelves come April, 2011, I would have missed this sequel.
Consistent messaging. Building a brand. Increasing loyal readership. Aren’t these written into a big book somewhere?
I’m going to read Fury of the Phoenix in April. I’m going to tell everyone I know and I’m going to plaster it all over my lonely blog. I’m going to do it with love and not sadness or anger because I’m getting that out now. I’ve wanted to read this book since I finished the final sentence of the last one.
I hope the marketeers are right. I hope this new look nets a bunch of new readers who are happy to discover Cindy’s work. I hope all her current readers know to look for this book in April and buy it. Because I know the general reading public isn’t online and stalking authors the way I do. They’re walking into the bookstore and browsing shelves.
I hope the marketeers are right about this move, but I hope they’re wrong that an Asian cover doesn’t sell books.
I always know what time it is in the UK. At least, I know when 5pm hits over there and the business day is over. That block from when I wake up to about noon is when I wait eagerly for news…if there’s any wait-worthy news on the pipeline…which there usually is.
In any case, I woke up this morning to a wonderful surprise. The powers that be have decided to rename my Harlequin Undone short from “Warrior Bride” to “The Taming of Mei Lin”. The Undone line is e-published, with a possibility of later going print in an anthology. The title is the main selling point for Undones and the powers wanted something that reflected both the sensuality and the Asian setting.
I’m quite thrilled! The Taming of Mei Lin also has the added benefit of referencing The Taming of the Shrew. Hee hee…which actually works quite well here. I wish I had thought of it.
Mei Lin is the feisty counterpart to Ai Li, the heroine of Butterfly Swords. You’ll have to look carefully for Mei Lin’s appearance in the longer novel.
Highly anticipated by me, of course. I just received a scan of the cover flat this morning. Apparently, the Harlequin art department worked quite hard putting it together and I’m very grateful. The cover stands out from across the room!
But the part that made me most weepy…yes, okay. I did sniffle a little…The part that made me most verklempt was the little inscription along the spine that says “Tang Dynasty – China”. I’ve read so many Harlequin Historicals and I’ve seen different categories along there. “Regency – England” “Medieval – Scotland” “Western – America”
And here it is. My little book, the new kid on the playground!
Harlequin offered a two book contract for more Harlequin Historicals and two short stories for Harlequin Historical Undone.
Of the books, The Dragon and The Pearl is next in line for release after Butterfly Swords. The title may be changed though I’ve become so attached to it! The story is near and dear to my heart….well, they all are after so much work goes into them….but this one in particular because I had such a strong bond with both of these characters before I even started writing.
Not to mention the good omens that came with it! The title was suggested by author Elizabeth Grayson during a living room pitch session before Nationals and it shaped the rest of the story. This manuscript was also the very first time I received a request from an editor off of pages. A much needed ray of light.
But I digress. For now, I’m dancing around and singing: More books! More books! More books!
I was searching for the title of an old school romance I must have read over ten years ago that I really enjoyed, despite the outlandish plot. It was about a pirate or a highwayman who seduces the heroine and then later ends up marrying her while disguised as a portly, older gentleman. To our surprise, she eventually falls in love with him as the less attractive fellow. (I still haven’t found it)
While searching for this title, I was reading blurbs from historical romances from the 90s and late 80s and started feeling wistful. There were so many wild adventures to exotic lands then – Sioux country, the Caribbean, Scandinavia. The desert, the high seas, the jungle. Sure those settings are still about today, but it seems that they’ve taken a back seat. The market has become tame and sensible with Regency England and the occasional Scottish medieval.
Then and Now
Don’t get me wrong! I adore reading Regency and authors are continually finding clever twists and variations within those confines, but at times it starts to feel like different actors moving about the same stage set. The painted backdrops all look the same, the props are rearranged. The lines change, the characters switch around, but in the end, it’s all so familiar.
I’ve been reading Elizabeth Grayson’sMoon in the Water and I’m just swept away with her descriptions of St. Louis and steamboat life in the 19th century. There was a whole culture along the river and I’m pulled in and immersed in it, from the colorful characters working on deck to the Indian attacks along the shores. I even enjoy reading all the navigation techniques they would use. If they had to navigate in the dark, they’d float rafts in the water with candles upon them to outline a safe path. Fascinating! It made me realize I missed being swept away like that into an unknown world.
That’s not to say that sort of book doesn’t exist today. I loved Blythe Gifford‘s In the Master’s Bed and its exploration of 14th century university culture in England. But is it just me, or is that sort of book now the exception to lords and ladies and the ton? And I wonder how well this book would have been received if it didn’t take place in jolly old England.
Nowadays there’s deeper exploration of the heroine and hero’s psyche. The heroines are more empowered and independent. The old, stale bodice-ripping tropes are laughed at or frowned upon. These are good developments, for sure. But did we have to do away with the grand adventure? Just a little bit of passion-swept romance, please? The heroine’s bosom isn’t supposed to heave anymore, but I still want to be left breathless.
As the old song goes: Today’s music ain’t got the same soul
I like that old time rock ‘n roll
Our workshop “Selling the Hard Sell” was approved for the RWA national conference in July. I’ll be speaking with partner in crime, Kristina McMorris, debut author and fellow Golden Heart® finalist.
We came up with the idea because, as new authors, we may not have tips to offer in regards to long-term career and craft, but we know how it feels when no one wants that book of your heart because the writing is good, but it’s a “hard sell”. Kristina’s background is in marketing and her WWII set debut novel, Letters from Home, is scheduled to be released in February 2011 after a long journey through contests and queries similar to Butterfly Swords.
After some discussion, we reflected on how we had kept a keen eye on the market, despite having “unmarketable” proposals. The workshop will outline our query and submission process and the very specific approach we each took. Beyond the tips and tricks, Kristina and I might have some war stories under our belts that writers in the query war might find heartening as well. It’s going to be an exciting conference.
I hope I don’t forget my lines. I hope the room isn’t empty. *crickets chirping* I also hope we get to speak early so I can get the butterflies over with and breathe easy!
I don’t do these often. If you blink you might miss it.
I went to the bookstore last night with my critique group. Checked out the new releases section. All the male authors’ books were bigger (i.e. taller) than the books by female authors. I kid you not.
Maybe it was because most of the female authors were women’s fiction/romance? I’m not counting the larger trade paperbacks, just the mass market paperbacks.
Really, go check it out at your local bookstore and tell me if I’m off my rocker. Paperback new releases. That’s my rant.
The going statement is that writers have absolutely no say over what goes on their covers, but my publisher did ask me to send some images that I thought might be useful for the covers, though they already had many images in mind. I wish I was more artistic! I sent a couple of images that have inspired me in terms of the period and clothing but now I’m wondering if I should have sent more in the way of setting and location? Then again, I was a afraid of sending too much since they have an art department that thinks about these things and I’m so not a graphic artsy person that I didn’t want to mess with it.
Of course there’s the swordwoman in red that I use as my avatar. I’ve always loved that since my heroine starts and ends the book wearing a red wedding dress. It’s also very flowing and dramatic.
There are a couple of other artists I found on deviantart whose style I quite like.
schumy330′s work captures the ethereal quality of Tang dynasty costumes. Her portraits are so fresh and innocent.
http://schumy330.deviantart.com/gallery/
Feimo is a bit edgier and more seductive
http://feimo.deviantart.com/gallery/
I’m quite excited to find out what the covers will look like. It has me quite giddy. That also means that soon, hopefully soon, I will have definitive news of a release date.
Harlequin offered a two book contract for more Harlequin Historicals and two short stories for Harlequin Historical Undone.
That’s not to say that sort of book doesn’t exist today. I loved 
