I’m in awe of Jan
Jones! However did she managed to coordinate the industry appointments as well
as organise such fabulous conferences for so many years?
When Jenny Barden
called on RNA committee members to help out this year I tentatively raised my
hand. What could I do? Perhaps she required someone to wash up or finish up the
dregs of wine after Gala night? I could be a food taster – any excuse to stop
the diet for a week or so! I looked at the suggested list and ticked the box
for industry appointment coordinator. Hey, I’d attended conferences in the past
and knew it wouldn’t take much to send a quick email to a delegate and tell
them the time of their appointment – I was wrong.
When the information pack arrived from Jan my tummy did a flip. This looked pretty serious to me. So
many appointments and look at the list of illustrious industry people who had
offered their time. Me? I had to liaise with all sides and actually speak to
these important people – well, email, but it’s the same as I’d still have to keep an
eye on what I said and not make silly jokes, or call them by the wrong name.
On the morning the conference
packs hit hundreds of doormats my email inbox exploded with incoming messages.
I needed a system. I put on my office manager head – it had lived under a dust
cover for the past seventeen years whilst I pretended to be a writer (someone
is sure to catch me out one day) and devised a fool proof system.
I was already having
nightmares about irate authors and being drummed out of the RNA for letting
them down. Thankfully it never happened. What did happen was that I spent just
over a month chatting to lovely people and advising some on the right interview to attend and what to submit. I had chats with new writers who experienced meltdowns
over their work and wished to cancel. I can do meltdowns with ease so was
extremely sympathetic. On the other hand I can also nag so talked others into
seeing it through. There was only one instance of a missing email but checking my
clever system I knew that the naughty little mail had never hit earth and is
still out there somewhere in cyber space.
Am I glad I took on
this job? You bet! In fact I’ve already signed up with Jan to do it next year. I’ve
made so many friends and actually met them, rather than just chatting on
Facebook or sharing tweets. With luck I will make even more friends next year.
Elaine
Everest
The panel that considered the Future for Romantic Fiction were (left
to right): Katie Fforde (President, RNA), Pia Fenton (Chair, RNA), Jenny Barden
(Facilitator for the panel), Richard Lee (Chair, Historical Novel Society),
Nikki Logan (President, Romance Writers of Australia)
Having
not let anyone read much of my work; the idea of sending in a chapter to be
looked over by an editor was overwhelming. To say that I was nervous and scared
was an understatement.
However,
the process of applying for these appointments was made incredibly easy and
straightforward. Also, throughout the course of the weekend, any mention of my
one2ones to any other RNA member was met with encouragement and support.
When
it came to the editors, the ladies I met were incredibly friendly, helpful and
offered sound, constructive comments when it came to my writing – comments
which will be extremely useful to me moving forward.
If
you are thinking of attending a future RNA conference, these one2one’s are an
amazing chance to meet with publishers and editors. It’s a unique and very
worthwhile opportunity.
Laura
Parish
Like a virgin:
At the RNA Conference for the very first time
Question:
What is the difference between a night seeing the Chippendales and a
weekend at the RNA Conference in Telford?
The answer is at the end of this blog post, so keep your eyes peeled.
 |
Amanda Ward
enjoying her first Conference |
It’s a rare occurrence in the past twenty-four years
that a chance to be virginal at something crops up. So naturally I grab at it with both
hands. As a first time member and attendee
of the conference I was apprehensive and extremely nervous. As it turned out I had no need to be. I was
greeted warmly by Kate Jackson, Roger Sanderson (fan moment there) and Jan
Jones and after settling in to the cleanest and most comfortable room, I and my
mother in law headed off towards the Weston Building.
When asked how I found the conference I
immediately said “different” because there in Telford it is a completely
different world from the manic life at home. Full of interesting individuals who had a great deal of knowledge to
impart, many gushy fan moments meeting and shaking hands with authors I had
read over and over again. I came home
buzzing, knackered and with lessons learnt.
To be myself, treat writing as a ‘job’ - and above all WRITE!
As for the answer to the above question. It’s simple.
After a weekend with this amazingly friendly group of authors,
everyone is guaranteed a happy ending!
Amanda Ward.
Gala evening
Oh what a night!
The gala
evening lived up to its usual glam and glitz, the elegantly decorated room
graced by equally elegant ladies. There was the smattering of gorgeous high
heels (including a particularly wonderful bejewelled, scarlet pair), but it
seemed many went for flatter, though still pretty, sandals this year. Not that
we had to move far – apart from to the bar – as we were served at the table.
This was very welcome after a tiring, if inspiring, day of talks and
one-to-ones.
During
the meal, the winner of the Elizabeth Goudge Prize was announced. Janice
Preston looked thrilled to be the winner of this prestigious award. Also
announced was this year’s recipient of the Katie Fforde bursary, Janie Wilson.
My group
of revellers was among the last to leave. We wandered back to our flat to
continue the party and it was evident that others had done the same. As we
passed kitchens, one above the other, they were lively with chatter and
laughter. I’m reliably informed by a friend who couldn’t sleep, that some of
them went on into the wee small hours!
Francesca Burgess
The winner was...
I had a total of 37 entries for the Elizabeth
Goudge competition, all intriguing and so many with excellent ideas on how to
transform old fairy tales into something new. It was very hard to
choose! All entries were based on all the more usual stories except for
one which was a new take on HC Anderson's "The Shepherdess and the Chimney
Sweep". This theme obviously fired everyone's imagination which was
great!
Winner - Janice Preston with "Rip Tide" (modern take on The
Little Mermaid)
Runner-up - Vanessa Savage with "Hush" (modern take on
Sleeping Beauty)
Runner-up - Caroline
Johnson with "Ash Grey" (modern take on Cinderella)
Sue Moorcroft taking a well deserved break
What a weekend!
I’m still excited about what I learnt
during the amazing sessions. I loved every minute of drama, laughs, and friendship.
I’m also still recovering from too much wine and not enough sleep. The food was
excellent, all home grown and well worth putting up with the overbearing smell
from the cattle sheds that occasionally drifted through the venue.
Whilst at the conference, I found myself
very lucky to have managed to take part in not one, but three different ‘one on
one’ ten minute discussions with Editors.
Each and every one of the editors were
lovely, they’d all obviously taken the time to read and digest my opening
chapters, along with my synopsis. The feedback that I received was not only
invaluable, but crucial to the continuation of my career as an author.
Out of the three editors that I saw, two
have requested a full manuscript. As you can imagine, I’m absolutely
delighted. Especially as one of these publishers
would be my dream choice. I love everything about them, their attitude, ethics,
business sense and most of all their beautiful covers. So, fingers crossed..!
Lynda Stacey
A big smile from Pamela Hartshorne after her talk
Walking towards the first talk I’ve ever given at an RNA
conference
As I
walked towards the room where I was to give the first talk I’ve ever given at
an RNA conference – yes, panic! -
I
felt exactly as I’d done when, as a teacher, I was about to give a whole school
assembly. It wasn’t the teenagers who’d fill the hall who were a fearful
thought: it was my peers - the teachers who lined the walls
Giving a talk to a room full of writers is giving a talk to your
peers, and that’s scary!
PS. I couldn’t have found myself in front of a nicer group
of peers.
Liz Harris
Harlequin singles
Write from both your head and your heart. That was the
message from Victoria Ounjian and Lucy Glimour, editors for Harlequin singles.
In a lively session, I discovered that while Victoria and Lucy might be Margot
Fonteyn and James Bond in a parallel universe, they haven’t lost their passion
for publishing in this one.
After a quick run round the Harlequin imprints - Mills and
Boon, Mira, Carina and Carina Ink (Y.A.) we were assured that they were looking
to nurture authors who would appreciate a publishers’ expertise and wanted a
global career. Copies of Not Quite
Perfect by Annie Lyons lay on the front table, evidence that e-books can go
to print.
Victoria and Lucy like fresh voices, great hooks and lots of
P.Q.T. Do you know the acronym? I didn’t. It’s for that elusive but vital
ingredient: page-turning-quality.
No books by number please, or the re-telling of current
trends. Individuality matters, even niche, as long as it might be competitive in
the market and has mass appeal.
Finally, Victoria and Lucy left us all with this compelling
thought: If a reader has five pounds a week to spend on a book, why should it
be yours?
Cathie Hartigan
'Tea and Tales of Yesterday and Today' part of the
RNA author showcase at Wellington Library, Telford
A time
travelling author!
There
were two things that tested me this year as I prepared for the RNA’s annual
conference. The first was making a 1940s district nurse’s uniform for the
historical authors’ event at Blist's Hill Victorian Village in the Iron Bridge
Museum and the second was putting together a talk about plotting and story
structure for the conference’s main programme.
After the
initial problems of finding a dress pattern of the right design, the uniform
and apron took only a day for me to make. The hat was more difficult but
thankfully I spotted my daughter’s old St John’s Ambulance hat so pinched that.
With my old prefect badge as substitute nursing association insignia and my bag
of pre-war nursing equipment and text books I was set for the day. Although I
wouldn’t recommend wearing 1940s underwear including stocking, suspenders and
full under slip in 23c the event was brilliant fun and attracted a great number
of visitors. My second task wasn’t so straightforward.
Despite
the fact that teaching is my day-job, preparing to talk about an aspect of
writing to group of authors was quite another matter. Firstly, because I had
the overwhelming feeling of teaching my grandmother to suck eggs and secondly
because the divide between a published and yet-to-be-published author is paper
thin. Who was I to teach others how to construct a page-turning story when I’m
still learning myself?
However,
not one to balk at a challenge and using the plot of Pride and Prejudice to
illustrate the points I set about putting the 20 slide PowerPoint presentation
together.
I was
uncharacteristically nervous as Sunday morning ticked by but once everyone
laughed at the first joke I got into my stride. At the end of the talk I
received overwhelmingly positive responses from many of the 80 plus people
who attended my Keep Control of Your Story. Would I do it again? You bet
ya! But I might consider more user-friendly undergarments the next time
around.
Jean Fullerton
Two dozen went to Blist's Hill
The RNA conference isn't just about seminars
in lecture halls. On Friday morning,
while volunteers were making up goody bags up at Harper Adams University, two
dozen historical authors went to Blist's Hill Victorian town. In the glamorous setting of the Goods Shed,
we held a "meet the author" event. To
showcase our work we brought not only our books, but also artefacts we've
collected, or made, to do with our era.
There was everything from a cardboard Coliseum to printed versions of an
alternate history of the United
Kingdom.
The display of Georgian prints and antique fans drew a lot of interest
from the public, as did the tombola with instant prizes of books, stationery and
sweets.
Many of us dressed in costume appropriate to
the era we write about and we took the opportunity to have a look
about the town, too, which was manned by volunteers in period
dress.
At lunch time, I wandered past the pub, where
the policeman, who'd parked his bicycle outside, was belting out music hall
tunes on the piano and spotted a sign hanging in the draper's
window that reminded me of my place. (It
reads: Cast off clothing - the lower classes may call after 5 o'clock.)
Christine Burrows
(Writing as Annie Burrows)
Christine with Juliet Greenwood
Kate Johnson and Liesel Schwarz
Lizzie Lane
Annie Burrows and Freda Lightfoot
Jenny Barden
My First RNA
Conference Talk
It was a sweltering hot day when I did my talk on Love and
Death in Romantic Intrigue.
Actually, the almost tropical weather turned out to
be fitting for describing the main plot details of Romancing the Stone, though I wish I had glowed like Kathleen
Turner, rather than just having a bright red face. As I said to the attendees,
I had hoped to be more sparkling and less wilting.
I was very lucky with my audience, who were very receptive
to everything I had to say, and took part with great gusto, despite the
heat. Even the more experienced writers
were very receptive, and it made me realise that no matter how long we’ve been
doing this, we can all learn something from other writers.
It was a really good weekend, and the icing on the cake was
when I was sitting in the foyer and overheard someone behind me talking about
my workshop. It was clear they had really engaged with it, so that made my
weekend.
Sally Quilford
I came. I saw. I conferenced.
 |
Hazel Gaynor
The Girl Who Came to Conference |
Was I nervous? A little. Should I have been? Not at
all!
As a first-timer, what did I learn from RNA 2014?
1) Always
help the person sitting beside you on the train with their luggage. It might
turn out that they are going to the same conference as you and you might not
realise this until you both get off the train and miss the next connection.
2) You
will meet people who are trying to get published, people who are recently
published and people who have published 60 novels. There is something to learn
from everyone (and Mary Nichols is an inspiration!)
3) People
are incredibly generous when it comes to giving lifts. You will never be left
stranded in the middle of Shropshire.
4) Everyone
is very friendly and particularly forthcoming with wine.
5) Even
when your supply of books doesn’t arrive from your publisher, there is much fun
to be had in dressing in Edwardian clothing and pottering around a Victorian
town.
6) You
can find out an awful lot about someone over a pint of cider in a student union
bar
7) People
WILL come along to your talk at 9am on Saturday morning. And they will be
lovely and have great questions.
8) Speaking
in front of a fairly full lecture theatre is absolutely fine when you have such
a wonderful co-host as Alison Baverstock.
9) When
you see people starting to make their way to dinner, go with them. There will most
definitely not be any panna cotta left if you dawdle.
10) A
lecture-theatre full of (mostly) women can move very quickly when the fiction
buyer for WH Smith Travel offers to give out his business card. Has anyone seen
Matt Bates since?!
11) What
Janet Gover cannot do with audio visual equipment simply isn’t worth knowing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole conference – both as
a speaker and as an audience-member. I met lots of writers who I’ve only known
on Twitter and I met lots of lovely people who I will definitely be tweeting
with in future.
Thank you RNA!
Hazel Gaynor
Finally
What an amazing event the #RNACONF2014 has been. We'd like to thank all of you who took the time to share your experiences with us - there are far too many to name.
There were people who gave, people who shared, a meeting of old friends, a reassurance for newcomers who might have been feeling a little overawed - I'm sure that disappeared pretty quickly. As always, something for everyone. Roll on London 2015. See you there!
Elaine and Natalie
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