I recently returned from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Daytona Beach, where the official announcement was made of the winner of American Title II. Unfortunately, it’s not my novel, FOLLOW YOUR HEART. Close but no cigar.

But I still had a great time. Check out the ocean view from my room! I had breakfast with 6 other AT II finalists and last year’s winner for JANE MILLIONAIRE, Janice Lynn, and two editors and the publisher of RT. I lunched with Dorchester’s direct marketing manager. I met with Borders/Waldenbooks romance buyer, caught up with and received sympathetic hugs from numerous friends, brought home a bunch of free books and was invited on stage during the awards lunch with the other finalists to say our names and book titles and share the moment with winner Gerri Russell.

The good news: Dorchester is still considering FYH.
And we AT II finalists now have a blog: titlewave.blogspot.com, where we’ll post news of our paths to publication now that the contest is over.

Huge thanks to everyone who voted for FYH.

Usually a most loquacious sort, this week I’m in a holding pattern that renders me silent. They say patience is a virtue, but that doesn’t make having it any easier. Because those who are gainfully unemployed can spend an inordinate amount of time waiting…for contest results, word on auditions I’ve had or submitted to, replies from agents and editors who have requested submissions, for the start of an online class I hope will help with a work in progress.

In the meantime, I rely on discipline and drive to move forward, live in the moment and write new pages.

This week two of my manuscripts, THE BETTER BRIDE, a medieval, and my contemporary, MY LIFE AS A STAR, finaled in contests!

In the romance writing world, both published and unpublished authors can enter various contests. Most are offered by individual RWA chapters, others are sponsored by publishers or authors.

Here’s a brief overview of reasons for entering: To get: 1) feedback from first round judges 2) if your entry makes it to the final round, recognition in online groups, the national romance writer magazine, and from editors and agents who judge the final round. These editors and agents can, and do, ask to see more material from finalists. 3) gain credentials for query letters and pitches. So far, four of my manuscripts have finaled in a total of 16 contests. 4) validation that someone, somewhere, likes your work.

Reasons not to enter: 1) Money. Most contests have entry fees ranging from $10 to $30. Though there are some e-contests, many require several copies of the entry and also return postage. 2) Contests often have different requirements…various page limits or requiring a one page or two page synopsis. If you don’t already have what that contest wants, you can spend a lot of time reworking your manuscipt…time away from writing new pages. 3) Luck of the draw. Sometimes, one judge will give my entry a perfect score, say a 60, while the other gives it a 37. The night before I found out FOLLOW YOUR HEART finaled in American Title II, where editors from Dorchester selected the finalists, the same material recieved horrible scores from a chapter contest. So you never know. 4) Feedback. On occasion, I’ll enter a work in progress just to get reactions. Judges may give low scores without backing them up with reasons, or conversely high scores without sharing what resonated with them.

Next post: choosing which contests and which manuscripts to enter.

It’s spring, and romance writer conferences are in the air! 1) Attended the Desert Dreams conference in Arizona where I had the opportunity to talk with assorted editors and agents. 2) My chapter, Chicago-North RWA, had its Spring Fling conference this weekend. Guests included best selling authors Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer, Alesia Holliday, Mary Alice Monroe, agents Nadia Cornier and Nephele Tempest, and editors Margaret Marbury (Red Dress Ink & MIRA) and Rose Hilliard (St. Martins). Speakers offered humor, motivation and practical advice. We had attendees from as far away as Washington state and Florida.

I’d been hearing that the historical market was making a comeback, but the message this weekend seemed to be only sexy historicals.

I still get MANY questions about how I structure and fill my Gainfully Unemployed days. As when I had a day job, I make a list of tasks I need to accomplish on a given day and rank them in order of importance. Then I work my way through the list. Do I have enough to do? Yes. Is it sometimes challenging to stay motivated and disciplined? Yes. But I’d think that even those with bosses looking over their shoulders have days where their to do list is daunting and they’d rather be outside appreciating the weather…

Today I’m going to work as an extra again…for a British film shot documentary style. The extras casting director had called for other days but I wasn’t available. So she called again yesterday, for this afternoon.

Extras need both a flexible schedule and wardrobe. They also need to be able to carry overstuffed backpacks/garment bags or wheel a suitcase, make their way to the filming location and have lots of stamina. The shoot can go 12 hours or more….call time is 1:30PM, so I could be there until 1:30AM or even later.

I’m going to be an on-camera reporter, and need to bring conservative suits and upscale casual options, plus suitable outerwear. As usual, no red or white or loud prints.

Fortunately the weather is nice, so I shouldn’t freeze/boil doing exterior shots.

Everyone with a day job has employer-set goals. You need to sell this many widgets, bill this many hours, reach that target, attend these meetings. At the company I worked for, all kinds of goals were handed down from those on high, who presumably put significant analysis and effort into goal setting and measurement.

But the Gainfully Unemployed must make their own goals and schedule. So how much is enough? What tasks do I need to accomplish, how many hours do I need to work each week to feel I’ve made enough progress? How do I assess that progress? What is a reasonable percentage of the day to spend on pursuits that aren’t income producing, such as singing in a choir, volunteering as an adult literacy tutor, judging writing contests or working on committees? How much “time off” do I deserve?

I’m still working on the answers.

Zipped down to the Dreamin’ in Dallas conference…appx 180 writers gathered to network, enjoy a booksigning and learn about the craft and business of writing romance novels.

Are historicals coming back? Is chicklit in a slump? The grapevine says yes to both, again proving the cyclical nature of the market. Most everyone advises “write the book of your heart,” but will that leave you on the cutting edge or behind it?

Met a lot of “newbies,” those fresh-faced writers who, no matter their age, have just gotten on the romance writing roller coaster and still have stars in their eyes. Who knows, maybe they will sell as a result of their first editor/agent appointment?

I keep lists so I don’t forget to do things. But what happens when I forget to write something down because I’m so focused on the AT II contest or other life events?

Cases in point: 1) realized I’d neglected to pay my March assessments. Which resulted in a $100 late fee. 2) had mailed an entry form for a writing contest and paid the fee but didn’t pay attention to when the e-entry was due so I could follow up. Fortunately, the contest coordinator notified me that tho the mail delayed arrival of my form, it was postmarked on time so I could still send the entry.

Coming next week…another day as an extra on THE BREAK UP! Report to follow.

Still time to vote for FOLLOW YOUR HEART in the American Title II contest at http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle3.php.

YES!! Great news! FOLLOW YOUR HEART, my historical romance novel set in medieval England, made it to the final round of Dorchester Publishing/RT BOOKclub Magazine’s American Title II contest, run along the lines of the TV show American Idol.

Finalists have already survived four rounds of online competition: Best Opening Sentence, Best Hero/Heroine, Best Story Summary and Best Dialogue Scene.

Your vote can help me become a published author. I hope you’ll vote and tell your friends.

Two ways to vote now through April 2 for Round 5, Best Romantic Scene:
1) Visit www.romantictimes.com, then click American Title II on the left under Website Spotlights, or visit http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle.php

2) Simply send an e-mail to webmaster@romantictimes.com with FOLLOW YOUR HEART as the subject.

Thank you for helping me achieve my dream of becoming a published author. FYH couldn’t have made it this far without your votes.

Note: scenes contain explicit language.

Ruth Kaufman
www.ruthjkaufman.com

The Gainfully Unemployed face unique time management issues.

Do you get a vacation when 1) you’re not going to a day job? 2) you’re working for you?
Is a work week still Mon-Fri when there are always more pages/articles to write?
How do you not feel guilty/lazy when you take a week day off? Are non-paying but potentially valuable gigs work…such as the independent short film I’ll be doing one day next week?

Questions like these are why I’m keeping what I call a Success Journal…each day I record every accomplishment in a notebook. I see what I’ve done at a glance, and know that each day I am laying the groundwork for my future.