It's Kind of Like eHarmony

Whether or not I believe in the current characters HEA or HFN depends on a few things. It also depends on how well the author matched up the hero and heroine. An author can have all the ingredients in the novel that would make me believe these two belonged together. They have some shared interests. It could be as simple as the same t.v. show. Or that they both, deep down, want to save humanity or *insert a shared interest* There's chemistry between them. Maybe in some part of the process of falling in love they changed their status quo for the better.

I'm not one of those people who doesn't believe in love at first sight. I also don't get hung up on the timeline of when the characters first meet and when they fall in love. For instance, Agnes and the Hitman timeline was a week, MAYBE two, but I believed in their HFN.

So what do I believe this IT factor hinges on?

*WARNING THIS IS STRICTLY WHAT I BELIEVE IT MAY NOT HOLD UP IN COURT, UNDER A MICROSCOPE, OR ANY OTHER TESTS*

Do these characters not only compliment each other, but also challenge and/or encourages the other person want/need to be a better person. Could have someone else encouraged the change in the hero or heroine? I think this factor is why I'm drawn to write stories where the h/h are opposites, at least on the surface. There isn't a better way to change who or what you are than pairing up with someone who sees the world differently. You stop to smell the roses. The other person might say, "what roses I was drooling over the car that just passed."

Lastly, the theme of love makes you a better person is what resonates with me. Hence, my warning. A book where I don't believe in the HEA/HFN ending is dependent on the theme that resonates with me.

Why two people fall in love is as different as the MOMENT two people realized they were in love. It could be over a cup of coffee. The first date. A look across the room. Something about the other person moved their soul. Or, the other person cooked a fabulous meal just for that person in their life.

Love is one of those whimsical things that you can't describe, but you can show examples of it. Your examples may be totally different from mine.

Of course, I want to know what resonates with you? What characters are you drawn to read? What characters are you drawn to write?

Career-Minded: What does it really mean?, Part 2

If you haven't read the first part of this post, you can find it below.

I left off asking an ambigious question(s). That was my point. Success is in the eye of the beholder. Some qualities of a successful author is universal. Some are not. Each journey is different.

Yet these are the five things I saw when I sat back to look at the successful authors around me:

1. Most, if not all, had a fan base.

2. That fan base came from them writing several books.

3. Those books tended to fall into the same genre for a while.

4. They knew about the industry. If they didn't know they knew where to look.

5. They talked about writing as if it had split personalities--writing and Publishing.

There's more to this list, but I think these are the important ones. At least in my journey at the moment. Some of these may be instinctive for you. Like writing in the same genre. You love paranormal, so you write it and only that. You love historicals, so you write it and only that. *please refer to my last blog post to see how many different books I've written.*

The importance of separating writing (the creative act) and publishing(the business side of writing) cannot be stressed enough. I’ve found it easier to write when the door (the business, editors, agents, what my readers will like/dislike) is closed. I’m not alone in this. Matter of fact, Stephen King said in his On Writing how to- the first reader you have to please is you.

But, once you open that door, all bets are off. You need to open that door and think of your book as a product. That’s the purpose of the query and the synopsis. These are the tools you use to say, “Hey, this is why this book is great and you CAN sell it.” It becomes instinctive to think of your book in genre, word count, and the hook when you switch off the creative side. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this isn’t the business side.

Anyway, this revelation made me sit back and re-think what I was doing and how I was acting. I want to be the author in example number one. I want to have a career as a writer. That's going to take work, but I'm already half-way there. I have whimsy goals that need to be ironed-out and made into an actual plan. I need to stop being a slave to my muse. She can be all flighty only because she doesn't pay rent. And, I'm egotistical. Yes, I said it out loud. I want a fan base. One that doesn't consist of just my parents.

I was writing whatever came to me and submitting it. It never crossed my mind that once I sold *insert genre* that my publisher would expect more *insert genre* My mind jumped straight to the romantic suspense I wrote. I barely made it through that story and then I would have to write more than one? *Cue heart palpations* Now *insert whatever you aren't being business-minded about* and let it settle over you for a moment. Did you just have a few palpatations of your own?

Welcome to the club!

What type of author are you? What type of author do you want to be? If you want to tell me where I can put this post that's ok. The line is on the left, and the comment section is on the bottom.

*You can find more snark from me on my website: http://melissablue.net*

~Melissa Blue and I'm out~

What's Your Tagline?

I just updated our website with information for our newest published member, C.C. Wiley, and I really like her tagline. Passion and adventure worth fighting for. That got me to thinking about what our other authors' taglines are and if any of our pre-published members have thought about taglines. How important is a tagline to an author?

Our authors write in a variety of genres. C.C. is an historical author, so her tagline does her justice. The title of her first book is Knight Dreams, and I'm sure there will more such titles in her future. Stacey is an historical author but she focuses on westerns. Take a wild ride is perfect for her and her books. And in her video trailer she uses Unleash the West!, another terrific tagline. Our Melissa's tagline is Romance full of snark, which if you know Melissa, there's not a better fit for her stories.

How difficult was it for you to come up with your tagline? Was it a process that took months? Or did you just get lucky and it came to you out of the blue? Did you come up with several to choose from and that made it hard to pick one? Or was there no question when you found the right one, no further searching was necessary?

For those of you out there still working toward publication and if you have thought about a tagline, have you done research to make sure it's not used by someone else? Did you think it through as far as down the road if you consider writing in a different genre, will it still work for you then? Or is a tagline all that important to you now? Or even later when you are published?

I also noticed that several of our published authors do not have a tagline. Did you choose not have to have one? Or still thinking about it maybe? There's time to find one later? If you've chosen not to have a tagline, what was your reasoning at the time for that decision? Is it something you might rethink down the line? Or you just feel one isn't needed? Are you just undecided, still trying to figure out what the best tagline is for you?

Lastly, what's your opinion about how effective taglines are? Do they work? It's branding. If a reader, agent, editor, whoever sees it enough, will it stick so that they will remember you and buy your book the next time they see one in the bookstore, ask for your full manuscript when a partial or your query letter comes across their desk? Is it worth the headache going to all the trouble to figure one out?

Personally I like taglines. When it's the right tagline for the right author, I think they work. It's just an added extra something that makes up the complete package when it comes to your books. But that's just me. What about you?

Sandy