With the RNA Conference fast approaching
the RNA blog today welcomes Industry Professionals who are offering 121s to
delegates. We have asked all IPs a series of questions so that members can get
to know them prior to interviews.
A warm welcome to Rosie de Courcy (RdeC) Head
of Zeus; Julia Williams (JW) Mills & Boon; Pia Fenton (PF) ChocLit; Natasha
Harding (NH) Bookouture; Emily Yau (EY) Ebury and Laurie Johnson (LJ) Mills
& Boon.
What would you not like
to see in a submission?
RdeC Anything paranoral
JW We are looking for
fresh original voices in the line, who can bring a new twist and dimension to a
classic love story. We don’t want
stories where there is no emotional depth or where the characters don’t grow.
And we do want to see stories that target our series effectively and give our
readers the HEA they’re looking for.
 |
| Pia Fenton |
PF I don’t want to see
stories with unhappy endings (it should at least be a positive one), or stories
with weak heroes, TSTL heroines and too much ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’. And no YA, children’s books, non-fiction or
poetry please.
NH I’m
looking for complete novels to discuss not partially written books.
EY One of my most
frequent complaints is that a story is passive – when a novel is made up of a
series of unfortunate events (pardon the pun), which our protagonist must
overcome. I like to know the main concept of a novel from the first few
chapters, with the primary dramatic tension being introduced in one (or a few)
events early on. A character driving their own narrative is much more
interesting to me and helps to make them more engaging and likable.
LJ Clichéd and
untargeted storylines with two-dimensional characters and unfounded set-ups.
The common misconception is that it’s easy to write a Mills & Boon book,
that it’s romance-by-numbers—let me assure you, it’s not! Our authors work hard
to create their stories, build their characters and develop their plotlines.
What is it you hope
to achieve on your own behalf?
RdeC
JW As an editor I am
always looking for fresh original voices that can tell an old story in a new
way. I am always keen to nurture new talent and look forward to meeting writers
at the start of their career.
PF I’m not there to
achieve anything for myself personally – in my role as commissioning editor for
Choc Lit I’m looking for great stories that will suit their style/brand and
authors who will be an asset to the Choc Lit team.
 |
| Natasha Harding |
NH I’m actively acquiring
in my role at Bookouture so I'd love to find new commercial fiction authors to
work with. I’m particularly looking for a world war two saga, a laugh out loud
romantic comedy and a novel that perfect for mums.
EY I’m always on the
lookout for new talent so am really looking forward to meeting lots of authors
from the RNA community. I always welcome the opportunity to talk to writers –
after all, I love talking about books! – and even if it doesn’t come to
anything I find that it really helps to spark ideas on both sides.
LJ I would like to
acquire fresh, new authors! It’s exhilarating to read raw voices brimming with
potential and be the one to help take their book from concept to published
manuscript.
What is your company
looking for at the present time?
RdeC
JW Mills & Boon is
looking for strong themes and key selling hooks told from fresh new angles. We
want strong, targeted, marketable editorial that fits the romance promise for
the series we acquire in the UK—Mills & Boon Modern, Medical, Historical
and Cherish.
PF Quality adult fiction
with romance at the heart (unless the author is aiming for the Death by Choc
Lit imprint ie crime), preferably featuring the hero’s point of view and with a
male hero. 60-100,000 word completed manuscripts previously unpublished and not
currently accepted by an agent or other publisher. Sub-genres:
contemporary, historical, thrillers, mystery, romantic suspense,
fantasy, time slip.
NH Commercial fiction,
primarily women’s fiction and crime, from authors who are able to write two or
more books a year.
 |
| Emily Yau |
EY Ebury fiction is
interested in new and exciting voices in women’s fiction, whether that’s
big-idea issue-led novels that will have readers reaching for the box of
tissues, or lovely, charming reads that you want to curl up with and that have
a slightly different angle to those that have already been published.
LJ Mills & Boon is
looking for strong themes and key selling hooks told from fresh new angles. We
want strong, targeted, marketable editorial that fits the romance promise for
the series we acquire in the UK—Mills & Boon Modern, Medical, Historical
and Cherish.
Will you be joining
any of our panels or workshops over the
conference weekend?
 |
| Rosie de Courcy |
RdeC Yes, both
JW We will be running a
workshop called Make a Date with Mills & Boon. Where we will be discussing
the secrets to writing successfully for series romance and looking at what
makes a perfect hero and heroine. We can also give you some insights into what Mills&
Boon can do for you as an author.
PF Yes, but not on Choc
Lit’s behalf – I’ll be my ‘author self’.
As Christina Courtenay I will be doing a workshop together with Anna
Belfrage on time slip vs time travel in romantic fiction, and as Pia Fenton
I’ll take part in a panel/workshop with the Paisley Piranha author collective
about romance, relationships and realism in YA.
NH No
EY Yes – The State of the
Industry, chaired by Nicola Cornick at 4.30-5.30pm, Friday 14th July 2017.
 |
| Laurie Johnson |
LJ Yes, we will be running a workshop
called Make a Date with Mills & Boon. Drop by and discover the secrets to
writing series romance, looking at the perfect hero and heroines; learn what
Harlequin Mills & Boon can do for you as an author; and meet the editors
you’ll be submitting to.
If you had one piece
of advice to give to a writer, what would it
be?
be?
RdeC
It’s a craft to be learned
It’s a craft to be learned
JW Develop a thick skin
and listen to advice and learn from it, and if it’s your dream, never ever give
up.
PF Find yourself a
writing/critique buddy, they are invaluable!
NH Find two authors who
have a similar style and/or subject to you writing and use these as comparisons
for your work. This will be really useful information when submitting to agents
and publishers as well as for beta readers.
EY Do your research – it
really helps when an author knows their genre and their audience: which books
and authors write in a similar market to you and – more importantly – why is
yours different, or *gasp* even better? And of course, research is hugely
important for other areas, such as plotting out a novel, constructing a
striking cover letter and deciding which agents to send your submission to.
These things take time to perfect, so don’t rush it.
LJ Think about who your
audience is, who you are writing this story for, what readers you want to
reach. Target your story for them and then choose a publishing imprint that
fits the story you’re selling.
Thank you all for answering our questions today and we hope you will
enjoy the 2017
RNA Conference.
Compiled by Natalie Kleinman
If you would like to write for the blog please contact us on
elaineeverest@aol.com
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