Interview with Deborah Riley-Magnus

by Daisy Willis

Deborah Riley-Magnus is an author and an Author Success Coach. She is also an Assent Publishing Imprint Editor for Romance (Breathless Books) and Women's Fiction (Panoptic Books).

As an Author Success Coach, Deborah focuses exclusively on publicity, marketing, and promotional solutions for authors. She teaches live and online Author Success Workshops and has spoken at writers groups and conferences across the country.

GLVWG member Daisy Willis contacted Deborah to ask her about author promotions, marketing, and the genres she's interested in acquirng for Assent Publishing.

Daisy: New authors are often daunted by the fact that they now have to master both their craft and the marketing of it. How does Assent Academy help your authors with this challenge?

Deborah: In most cases, writers and authors, new or established, accept the fact that they must market their books. The only thing standing in their way is the fact that marketing represent a whole new skill set, seemingly in a foreign language to boot. They simply don’t understand how to use it, when to use it or why it works, but good marketing is more like writing than anyone realizes. It requires plotting, planning, practice and creativity. Taking all the mystical terror out of the task is the key to real success.

Assent Publishing is the first publisher of any size to establish an exclusive, internal, professionally-run training system for our contracted authors at no charge. The mandatory workshops are designed to give Assent authors a powerful marketing advantage through education, guidance and advice, strategies specifically developed for the author’s book(s) and time management skills.

Daisy: How important is social media in promoting an author's work? Does a strong platform help sway you towards an author or does the manuscript stand alone?

Deborah: Social media is an author’s VOICE. An author’s platform – including author website, book website, consistent and well-targeted blogging, twitter and Facebook presence – pumps blood into author success. Without tooting your horn, no one knows there’s a wonderful book coming on to the market. The time to start is when an author starts writing the book.

Our submission guidelines require a querying author give us an idea of how much they understand about marketing and their target book buyer. Yes, their platform comes in to play when we consider signing an author. I STRONGLY suggest that every writer Google themselves to see what we see. If their online presence is lacking, it’s not the end of the world, but it does tell our Managing Imprint Editors if that author is geared for marketing success. We’re looking for authors who want sales success and we give them the tools to do it.

Daisy: You're looking for romance, fantasy and women's fiction. How does a story really stand out in these genres?

Deborah: I’m pretty easy and a lot like every other book lover in the world. Catch my attention quickly, tell me a great story, give me compelling, polished writing and entertain me. I’m usually sold in the first five to fifty pages. If a writer can’t show me what I need to know in those first pages – that they have honed their craft, written a great story, and presented a well-edited piece – then I will pass.

Romance must be powerful, fantasy has to send my imagination soaring and women’s fiction needs to make me hold my breath for the main character. Like I said, I’m just like every other book lover in the world.

Daisy: As Managing Editor for Assent's romance imprint, Breathless Books, you must be excited about the "Great Romance" contest wrapping up at the end of April. What inspired this contest and what are you looking for in a winner?

Deborah: The Great Romance contest was created to bring new and remarkable romance to the forefront. We’re seeking great romance that isn’t bound to the standard formulaic plot structures and character traits we’ve all seen a thousand times. All romance subgenres are welcome, so the variety of the submissions has been exciting. The contest is an age-old challenge to tell us a love story in a different way. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back isn’t going to cut it. Our Breathless Books Imprint wants romance writers to show us their creative muscle!

Daisy: Given your expertise in marketing, you probably have some good advice on pitching a story. What works and what doesn't?

Deborah: All I ask is that a pitching author truly KNOWS their story. If you can’t pitch me in 25-30 words – and within those few words convey the genre, who will read that book and what it’s about – you might lose me. If you hook me in with those 25-30 words, I will ask for more and more. Getting an idea across with a well-crafted economy of words tells me that your writing is strong. Don’t babble and by all means, please don’t be nervous. I’ve been on your side of the table. I don’t bite and I want you to be successful!

Get your 25-30 word pitch as polished as possible. Practice it, rehearse it and know it well because that perfect pitch will carry you through everything from getting a publishing contract to requesting reviews, enticing the press, and gaining live speaking or book signing engagements. Done well, it can be your most powerful marketing tool. And never forget, you are marketing to the editor or agent you pitch.

Interview with Ramona DeFelice-Long

by Jerry Waxler

Ramona DeFelice-Long is an author, independent editor, and writing instructor. At the Write Stuff, Ramona will be teaching a session on short stories and a double-session, called "Hard Truths", on creative nonfiction and memoir writing. She'll also be teaching a preconference workshop on self-editing. GLVWG member Jerry Waxler got in touch with Ramona to find out more about her and the sessions and workshop she'll be teaching.
  

Jerry: You are teaching a combination course of memoir and creative nonfiction. That sounds like a rich combination with two intimately related types of writing. To help potential attendees understand your workshop, please say a few words about what you hope an attendee would gain from these two interrelated hands-on sessions.

Ramona: First, the workshop will address the similarities and differences between memoir and creative nonfiction. We’ll touch on how to write about memories and personal experiences (memoir) and how to explore and recreate actual events using fiction writing techniques (creative nonfiction). There will also be information about marketing both genres for publication.

Jerry: The more I write nonfiction, the more intrigued I became by the enormous differences between smaller pieces like articles and longer pieces like books. Please comment on your own writing passion. What are your favorite features of short forms and long forms?

Ramona: I like the challenge of working within the confines of a set word count. In short fiction, that means (usually) a single setting, a lean cast, a well-defined story problem. When I teach about revision, I talk about using language economically—writing in a sharp, succinct style so that overwriting and over-explaining don’t happen. Now I am working on a novel, and it is a new adventure to understand scene goals and story arcs in a larger story landscape. There’s more to juggle in a longer work, fiction or nonfiction, while keeping to the theme and story concept.

Jerry: It seems to me that the book length form has a much different structure than the short story. What is your passion when it comes to writing creative nonfiction, the short or the long form, and why?

Ramona: I love and find comfort in the classic three act structure for both novels and short fiction. When writing fiction, long or short, the author is concerned with plot points and character consistency, as well as a plot that remains logical and moves toward a satisfying conclusion. There is no single way to construct a story. Stories can be linear or chronological, or the action can be presented episodically, or told by multiple narrators from varying points of view.

Creative nonfiction is the same. The author will need to make choices on the best way to present this nonfiction story meant to read like a fictional one.

I am happy you bring up length. How often do writers tell of starting a novel with great gusto, only to hit a wall at 100 pages? One reason this occurs is size confusion. Not all story ideas fit into a book-length format; some are more appropriate as shorter works. This applies to fiction and nonfiction. I will address the size of a story idea in all of my workshops.

Jerry: I usually associate creative nonfiction skills with full length books and literary journals. I wonder if you could or will offer suggestions for how creative nonfiction principles could also be used to help improve blogs or other short informal writing.

Ramona: I have written blog posts that are as memoir and/or creative nonfiction: about the murder of a small town police officer; about how a local pediatrician got away with being a longtime pedophile; about how I double-dated to my high school prom with a young man who, years later, murdered his date. I’ve also crafted essays about motherhood. The key is recognizing a viable topic for exploration. What is intriguing about a small moment that makes it something to ponder? If an idea has broad appeal, how do you personalize it to reach a single reader? What in a particular event or experience has depth or a message? Is there some humor or irony in a mundane event that will make a reader feel connected? Think about human experience and hone in on a particular area where the subject of a post can address that.

Jerry: You are teaching a pre-conference workshop on self-editing. Thank you! That’s an important topic for writers. I notice in the description that it is listed as a workshop for fiction writers. I know from experience that nonfiction writers also need to edit their work. I wonder if you could suggest why or why not a nonfiction writer would want to sign up for your preconference workshop.

Ramona: I originally developed the workshop for a group of fiction writers, so the description continues to reflect that. The workshop will include writing with economy; good grammar and engaging style; active writing; and bad habits to be conquered. Those apply to writers of all genres, so the workshop would be beneficial to nonfiction writers who want to sharpen their storytelling skills. But I will address topics such as character consistency and plotting, and those may be of more value to a fiction writer. No matter what you write, learning good writing techniques has good value, correct?

Jerry: From your bio, I see that you belong to a number of writing groups. Why are groups such a big part of your writing life? If you can tell an anecdote about some powerful moment in your writing-group life, that would be even better.

Ramona: I belong to a monthly critique group. We turn in 20 pages for critique and discussion. The value of my critique group is: a) it makes me write at least 20 pages a month! b) I get good feedback from experienced critiquers; c) I evaluate works in progress and see the progression month by month, as the story grows (for novels) or is revised (for short works). For the past year, my group has been critiquing my novel in progress, so while I continue to work at my job as an editor, I have to keep up with my monthly submissions. That keeps me from saying, “I’m so busy now, maybe I should put this novel aside.

I maintain membership in professional organizations such as Pennwriters and Sisters in Crime because these big groups offer a plethora of opportunities for networking, online courses and conferences, and peer support. On a local level, I belong to the city arts alliance and state literary groups to support the artist community in Delaware. In all of these groups, I’ve found opportunities to share my experience but more so, to learn from the community of other writers. Recently, in Delaware, we’ve started a writers’ breakfast club. Once a month, we meet and chat for a few hours. It’s great to enjoy that camaraderie of like minds.

KRISTIN BAIR O’KEEFFE: Getting to the Elusive "Writerhead"

by Bernadette Sukley

Kristin is a China-phile having spent nearly five years in Shanghai. She encourages writers to write darn it. Getting writers to "writerhead" where body, mind and soul meet to be all about writing. She also warns writers not to wait for inspiration. Don't percolate, practice! Kristin also believes in the power of social media and what it can do for the writer.

Bernadette Sukley: You are an admitted Chinaphile—how does this influence your writing, teaching and speaking?

Kristin Bair O'Keeffe: I’m a cultural spelunker and place-passionate writer who got the amazing opportunity to live in Shanghai, China, for nearly five years. From March 2006 through November 2010, I wandered around Asia, explored old lanes, learned to speak Chinese, and listened to chanting monks in as many temples as I could find. Needless to say, I’m smitten. It’s a gorgeous country with amazing traditions, a fascinating history, an even more fascinating now, and some of the most generous people I’ve ever met. But my relationship with China is complicated (aren’t all relationships?). As an American writer who stomps around hollering “Freedom of speech! Freedom of expression! No censorship!” I struggled (and still struggle) with the restrictions China places on its writers, artists, and citizens. This preoccupies me and quite rightly informs all areas of my life. How could it not?

B: What is it about Mondays (referring to your blog’s Mojo Mondays)—are Mondays the best writing day for you?

K: Every Monday on my blog, I provide a little something-something to boost writers’ mojo. I could have picked any day of the week because in my experience, writers can use a little mojo boost just about any time of any day. But Mojo Mondays has great alliteration, and I like the idea of giving (and getting) a little inspiration at the beginning of a new week.

That said, every day that I sit down to write is a good writing day for me. Writing is a practice. And all practices—music, dance, painting, photography, etc.—require just that…practice.

Writers don’t have to have a specific day to write, but they do need to write regularly. Over and over again, I tell students, “Find your own best schedule and stick to it.” If you’re a busy mom with a babysitter on Monday and Friday mornings, write like crazy on Monday and Friday mornings. If you’ve got a big job that keeps you at the office from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., write during your lunch hour.

I get up at 5:00 a.m. every day to write. I don’t wait around for inspiration to strike. I sit down and practice. Sure, it’s awesome to get inspired while filling up the car on a Sunday (and by all means, when it happens, ignore the guy in the car behind you who is gesticulating with THAT finger and just start writing), but a moment of inspiration isn’t going to push you through an entire novel. It’s not even going to get through a short story.

Which brings me to one of my main teaching mantras: “Arse in chair.” (see also, answer to question #3)

B: Biggest mistake writers make?

K: There are two:

1. Waiting for inspiration instead of establishing a writing practice. (If you take a workshop with me or listen to me talk long enough, you’ll soon discover that my answer to many writing woes is pretty simple: “Arse in chair.” I often follow with: “Writing begets writing.”

2. Getting wrapped up in the search for publication too early in a career instead of focusing on becoming a solid writer.

B: Your blog encourages writers to “get thee to writerhead” … gotta map? How do we get there?

K: Establish a writing schedule. Recognize the patterns of your writerhead. Read great stuff. Don’t wait for inspiration. (Often I get into writerhead after sitting with a piece for hours.) Nourish your writerhead. Read more great stuff. Get to know your writerhead. And, of course, “Arse in chair. Writing begets writing.”

B: How does social media/social networking (SN) benefit writers?--Do we all need to have a blog, FB page, a twitter account? And how much SN should we do--is there a balance, a “safe ratio” of SN to writing?

K: The term safe ratio made me laugh out loud. I’ll be talking a lot about this in my conference session “Making Sense of Social Media,” but the most important thing to recognize is that social media/networking is a conversation. If you keep the rules and standards of face-to-face conversation in mind as you blog, Tweet, Facebook, etc., you’ll be fine. And you’ll also learn to recognize how much is too much.

B: Ever put down a book down unfinished? Why?

K: Oh, heck, yeah. I used to force myself to finish every book I started, but about ten years ago, I realized that in most cases, this was a big, fat waste of time. Sure, sometimes I keep reading a book that I don’t like because, as a writer, I’m learning something important. But for the most part, if I don’t connect with a book or can’t get into it, I close it or turn off my Kindle. (Caveat: There are times when I’m simply not yet ready for a particular author, for example, it took many attempts before I was able to read Virginia Woolf. So even when I close a book, I always know that I can return if I so desire.

B:  Does the process of publishing ever destroy a good story?

K: Nope. Writers write so people will read. I can’t imagine an instance in which finding an audience could ever destroy a good story.

B: Was there ever a story you wrote that you never published? Why?

K: Good gracious, yes. I have oodles of pieces that never got published (thank goodness). Some are wretched pieces of dung. Some I never finished. Some start out with a bang, but end with a thud. Some don’t have a clear point of view. And so on. But again, this speaks directly to the fact that writing is a practice. Every piece I’ve written—published and unpublished—has helped me to become a better writer.

B: Whacha reading?

K: Yu Hua’s collection of essays China in Ten Words
Tina Fey’s Bossypants
The Best American Travel Essays 201