Michelle Styles's tips for the New Voices 2011 competition

The Mills and Boon New Voices 2011 Competition really gets  under way next month on 13 September when unpublished authors can start uploading their first  chapter. You can find out more about this brilliant completion at www.romanceisnotdead.com The winner will have her book published in a Mills and Boon series and gets a Mills and Boon editor for a year. And entry is free!

To help get people going with their entry, I thought I’d give a few tips.

1.       Do your research. Decide which series you are targeting and read a few of the debut authors as well as reading guidelines and listening to podcast.  Know the promise each series makes to the reader. Think about what themes you like to write about. Which series can you see yourself writing forty books for?

2.       Make sure you have sustainability. Even though the contest only requires the first chapter, try to write a complete draft or at least a partial. Many times my first chapters change after I have finished the book.  You don’t want to suffer from first chapter contest syndrome and remember you can submit the manuscript through normal channels afterwards. Yoiu want well developed characters rather than cardboard cutouts moving through plot points.

3.       Series books are short and don’t have much room for subplots. Make sure the meet between the hero and heroine (the incident which causes their world to change) takes place in the first chapter. Don’t go for a long set up. Hook the reader with the premise. Make her want to turn the pages and find what is going to happen next to this couple.

4.       Keep your chapter focused on the hero and heroine, rather than adding lots of secondary characters. The reader wants to know who to root for! Everything starts with strong  main characters. Make sure they shine in the first chapter.

5.       Make sure your heroine is empathetic  and the reader wants to spend time with her.  Give the reader a reason to identify with her the very first time she appears.

6.       Make sure the reader will fall in love with your hero instantly. It might take the heroine a bit longer BUT the reader does have to think yum rather than yuck. If your hero needs to be redeemed, show that he is capable of redemption.  Think Richard Armitage in North and South. The first time the heroine sees him, he is beating someone up. But  the viewer knows he is doing it because that man’s smoking amongst the cotton bales endangered the entire factory.

7.       Above all remember they are looking for a NEW author rather than a carbon copy of an existing author.  Work with your voice. Create the sort of characters you love rather than trying to create characters you think the editors want.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin and Mills and Boon. She writes in a wide variety of time periods including ancient Rome, Viking, Regency and Victorian. Her latest book To Marry A Matchmaker was published in the UK in July 2011 You can read more about her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk
You can also find her on twitter @MichelleLStyles

Seeing what a slush pile is like by Michelle Styles

Slush pile. Almost every author is there in the early stages of her career. Many myths are told about the slush pile but few outsiders ever get the chance to see it. However, Harlequin Mills & Boon is doing just that with its current competition -- New Voices.
One unpublished and unagented author of the  entries will eventually see her book published. Currently the entries at 263 and counting. The top ten finalists will be chosen by a panel of experts but every entry is on view to the public.  The reason for the competition is to highlight the New Look that the  M&B covers have and to demonstrate that Harlequin is ALWAYS looking to find new authors. Over the years, they have found that authors who started out as readers tend to be particularly successful.
This is your chance to pit your wits against the experts and to read the slush pile for this competition.
Which ten do you think should be chosen? You can make a list and see if you are right when the finalists are announced on 27 September. You can also rate the various entries and leave constructive comments. In other words, you can put your editor's hat on and see if you have an editor's eye.
One thing that has struck me is the diversity of entries and how some entries are in the wrong categories.
For example, Historical doesn't publish time slip or novels with paranormal elements. Paranormal does publish books with historical elements. Some entries in Warm and Cosy read like maybe they ought to be elsewhere.
 And there are some entries that clearly fall between two stools. Are they warm and cosy and aimed at the heart and family lines like Cherish or are they contemporary romance and therefore aimed at the new Riva line (this is the fun & flirty line which starts in January and is made up of Modern Heat  and those fun & flirty Romance authors like Liz Fielding, Jessica Hart and Nicola Marsh), Modern or Medical. And  what about the Passion lines such as Blaze and Desire?  Some of the contemporary romance entries could easily fit these lines.
So while the writing may be excellent, do the stories fit the lines? Can you tell which lines the authors have in mind or have they written and hoped? HMB publishes series romance which means the stories do have to fit one of the lines. Each line is a separate and distinct entity.
Sometimes, the writer's voice is excellent but the plot doesn't hold you as much as you hoped.
Then there is the short blurb. This would be the middle paragraph of the cover letter. Every entry has one and it is apparent that some authors have a better grasp of what is required. However, the grasping of what is required does not necessarily have any bearing on the actual quality of the writing.
All in all from my point of view, the New Voices Competition is an excellent insight into what an editor experiences when she picks up her slush pile. She has no control over what is there. She might recognise a name or two but what she is looking for is something that fits one of the lines and has an enthralling story that reaches out and grabs her from the first page.
There are many fantastic entries, a few that take your breath away and some that could do with a bit of work. More arriving each day. The competition closes on 22 September.
 10 will be chosen to go forward in the next part of the competition. But everyone who takes part will have a chance to learn and submit the traditional route -- ie the first three chapters, plus a one - two page synopsis for those lines edited out of London. And hopefully some of the comments, and seeing the mistakes that others make will enable authors to improve the quality of their eventual submission.
So even if you are not actually entering, I would urge everyone to take some time and read some of the first chapters. It is highly addictive and I do not envy the panel of experts who have to make the first cut! But then I'm an author and not an editor. But I can't wait to see who is chosen!

Michelle Styles writes Harlequin Mills & Boon Historical. Her next release in the UK is The Viking's Captive Princess (Dec 10) and A Question of Impropriety in NA market (Dec 10) There will also be a free online read on eharlequin starting on 15 November to celebrate the publication of A Question of Impropriety. You can read more about her books on her website.

Libraries, the RWA National conference and me -- Michelle Styles

Cara Summer and Michelle Styles photo by Malle Vallik

My head is still spinning from the RWA National conference which finished just over  two weeks ago. I really enjoyed going. The venue was excellent, the people great and the chance to learn about what was happening in the industry fantastic.  All I can say is that going to the RWA National made a believer out of me and I intend to go to the one in NYC.
Much has been written about the literacy signing which has to be seen. I did meet Kandy Shepard who also is a gregular blogger on Totebags and sat next Cara Summers who is indeed lovely and charming. But one of my favourite things happened earlier that day -- the librarians lunch follow by the meet and greet with librarians and  booksellers.
Now, I love libraries. Libraries have always been important to me. The one where I grew up with its top floor dedicated to children's books and the ground floor where the adults books were and where one fine day when I was about 12, I decided I was old enough to brave. I discovered the Harlequin section and haven't looked back. Then there was the library less than a half block from my great aunt's house in St Paul Minnesota where every time we visited, I was allowed to go and check out books. And my high school library which was in the old library of the Uplands mansion and had hidden panels that I discovered one lunchtime. My university library where I worked first in the checkout and then, joy of joys in acquisitions where I was able to catalogue new books.  And finally, there is the Lit and Phil which is one of the last subscription libraries in England where  the lower room is reputed to be haunted and the reading room dates from 1824.
I also have a great respect for librarians as they are the gatekeepers of a lot of knowledge.
Unfortunately public libraries are under threat both in the UK and in the US because they are a soft option for cutting when budgets are tight. However, it is in times like these that we need libraries more than ever. And as people kept saying at the conference, no one has yet figured out how to do a browsing application for online bookstores.
So despite the temptation of Disney World, I looked forward to going to the lunch. There, I sat next to Gail Link who won the RWA bookseller of the year (couldn't have happened to a nicer person!) and her friend Linda who runs a reading group for Las Vegas libraries. There were several other librarians and two other authors --Carrie Lofty and Jacquie D'Alessandro. Sherrilyn Kenyon spoke about her library experience and why libraries were important to her.
Among other things, her university library had the textbooks she needed and couldn't afford. And like me, she was also a library volunteer in her youth. Although unlike me, it seems she keeps her books in rather better order. I may have a good collection of books but they are not catalogued or shelved in any order.
After the lunch, Sherrilyn stayed and signed every book.
The meet and greet was also fun as first I watched the hordes of librarians strip the goodie room bare and then I was able to meet various librarians and booksellers, including the lady who runs B&L Books in Altamonte Springs Fl whose husband's family hails from the same town where my husband grew up. It is a small world. But we were all brought together by a love of books.
So while the temptation to sight see was great, I was glad that I took the time to celebrate libraries and librarians.
Writing Contests/Opportunities for Aspiring Harlequin Authors
I wanted to highlight two things.
1. Fasttracking for Medical Romance. The Medical Slush pile was low and they do need authors so until the 24 August, HMB are fasttracking all MEDICAL submissions. See eharlequin for more information.

2. The New Voices Contest -- Harlequin Mills and Boon are looking to find a new author for ONE of their lines. And by New Author they do mean an unagented and unpublished author, a reader of Harlequin Mills and Boon who finally gets up the courage to enter. There is a public participation element to the contest which starts on 6 September as once the finalists are chosen, the public will be able to vote. The winner of the contest will see thier book published.  You can find out more on the New Voices website. One of the things that HMB authors are doing to support the contest is to hold Masterclasses. KateWalker is holding on 26 August at Doncaster Library 10 -12 pm, and I'm doing 2 -- one at Knareborough Library on 1 September 7- 9 pm and one at Haltwhistle Library Saturday 18 September  10:30 - 11:30 am. For those who can't get to a workshop, there is going to be loads of help on the New Voices website.

Michelle Styles writes for Harlequin Historical Romance. To learn more about Michelle  and her books visit her website.

Getting ready to go the RWA National Conference -- Michelle Styles

It's official. I'm over excited. For the last six years, I have watched from the sidelines with envy as people reported back. I have combed the blogs for scraps of info and generally longed to be there.
This time I will be! The RWA National Conference in Orlando Fl!
Because I am bringing my new netbook, I will be doing news flashes on the Pink Heart Society blog and several of the Harlequin Historical Authors will be blogging on the Harlequin Historical Author blog about the events they are attending. So hopefully I will be doing my bit for those staying behind. (Or at least that is the plan...but I know that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions and I am one of the contractors in chief)
I have been to Romantic Novelist Association conferences before and so know how full on they can be but the RWA is supposed to take it to a whole new level.
In an effort to decide which workshops to attend, I have looked at the handouts. You do not have to be going to the RWA conference to see the handouts and they can be useful. If a workshop has a red title, it means it is the link to the handout. I know I have applied Susan Elizabeth Philips 6 magic words already to my writing and unfortunately Julia Quinn's workshop on dialogue clashes with something that I have to do, so I can't go to her workshop on dialogue but the handout looks excellent. And if you want to know about Steam punk -- what is it etc -- the handout for the workshop looks fantastic. But be warned, looking at handouts can make you determined to go to the conference...
There is the literacy signing which is open to the general public. Over 500 authors! I shall be signing but suspect my line will be short. I'm sitting next to Blaze author Cara Summers and If anyone stops by from Tote Bags and tells me, I will have cover flats to give away. But basically I will just be grateful to speak to people.
Besides the workshops and the signing, there are parties -- Thursday seems to be packed -- starting with a breakfast for Harlequin Historical authors, a keynote lunch with Nora Robert speaking, and going through to the legendary eharlequin pj party in the evening. And then on Friday, it is the Harlequin Author party proper. This year there is a rumour that they are going to be much tougher on gatecrashers...
But mostly I am looking forward to meeting people that I have only met via the Internet. So if you happen to be there and see me, please do come up and say hi.
I suspect by the end of the time, I will be exhausted (and will not have seen Disneyworld!)!

But before I go to the conference, I have revisions on my latest full manuscript to do. My new editor is wonderfully efficient -- not only have I sold a Roman set Undone (these are the sexy short stories that are made to be read in a lunchtime) this week but she has also given me some really good revisions.

And if all this has you excited about writing, Harlequin Mills & Boon are doing a global talent search with their New Voices contest. More details should be up on the http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/ website soon. Various authors in the UK are doing workshops in August to support the contest during August and September. My workshop at Knaresborough Library, North Yorkshire is on the evening of 1 September.

In the meantime, if anyone has any tips about surviving business conferences, please let me know.

You can learn more about Michelle Styles and her books at http://www.michellestyles.co.uk/