I’ve been sitting on this news long enough.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve sold my 2007 Golden Heart finalist manuscript, WHERE SHE BELONGS, to Five Star Expressions! Yes, you heard me, Cindy rather than Penny (that hog) finally has a new book coming out! In 2011. That’s next year. My new editor informed me that there was ONE (1) slot left for 2011—and it’s been allocated to my book!

If you’re scratching your head wondering, “I’ve never heard Cindy talk about WHERE SHE BELONGS before,” it finaled in the GH Long Contemporary category under the title, HER HOMETOWN MAN.

Okay, that’s all well and good, you say, but what’s Five Star Expressions?

Five Star is a hardcover library imprint, and Expressions is Five Star’s romance line. They also have a mystery line.

Little ol’ me, a book out in hardcover. Well, “library binding.” Which is a form of hardcover.

Five Star publishes almost exclusively for the library market. Which means my book won’t be stocked in bookstores, but bookstores can order copies at a customer’s request. The books are also sold on-line at places like Amazon.

I also don’t know at this point if “library market” includes Canada, but wouldn’t it be ultra-cool if one of my books finally appeared in Canadian libraries?

WHERE SHE BELONGS is a dramatic contemporary romance. The hero has a great sense of humor, but the book is definitely a bit of a departure from HEAD OVER HEELS and BORROWING ALEX. This book holds a special place in my heart. It’s about loss, forgiveness, and rediscovering one’s sense of belonging, and it’s set in a fictional B.C. logging town.

Andy, I know you can’t hear me (or maybe you can), but this one’s for you.

Carina Press editor Angela James blogs about why publishers don’t often send personalized rejections. Well worth a read.

My favorite personalized rejection over the last year? “Your story made it to our ‘perhaps’ pile, but sadly we can’t publish them all.” It made me laugh. The editor also apologized for the length of time it took to receive a reply, which is always nice. (No, it wasn’t Angela James!)

Do you have a favorite personalized rejection line? Paraphrase it for me, baby.

I’m halfway through formatting a requested manuscript to a publisher’s specifications. My eyes are literally crossing, so I decided to take a break. Remember back in the old days when you just typed up the manuscript and mailed it in? And the typesetters worried about formatting? It still works that way with a lot of publishers, but more and more publishers are asking writers to submit their manuscripts pre-formatted to their specs. Not “just” epublishers, either. Because I’m a Capricorn and prone to paying attention to details (when I feel like it), formatting a manuscript is something I don’t take lightly. If an editor is seriously considering two manuscripts, and one is wonderfully, perfectly formatted while the other is chock-full of mistakes, which do you think she’s more likely to acquire? I fool myself into thinking it would be mine.

So, what are my writer buddies up to? Any submission tales to recount? Can you identify with my formatting issues? Or is it something you don’t even consider when you submit a manu?

I haven’t totally familiarized myself with Windows 7. Formatting and submitting the manuscript has to take precedence. Now that I finally have all my old programs loaded (and it appears that all will work in Windows 7, although one or two might be tad glitchy), it was time to take a break from playing with the new operating system and get back to work. I’ve charged my new netbook, but I’m a long way from checking her out.

Oh, I have to buy a new scanner. Mine is too old for any Windows OS since XP. I’m giving it to My Liege…for his office (I like to call it his “hovel”)…in the crawl space. Yes, indeedy, my husband’s home office is in the crawl space. That’s where I worked between computers. It’s really quiet in there, but you can’t stand up straight. And the dog always wanted me to lift her in. Which of course I did. She laid at my feet beneath M.L.’s desk as I worked on his docked laptop.

Don’t ask my why his office is in the crawlspace. It’s not like I forced him to work there. Okay, maybe I did.

Once I get this manuscript off and have played with Windows 7 to my satisfaction, I’ll take some pictures of the hovel and post them for your enjoyment. I think I already have a picture or two somewhere in my files, but the eyes remain too crossed to go look for them.

I received my RITA books to judge today, and I’m a happy camper. Last year was my first year to judge, and I was sent 9 books. This year I was only sent 6 books. That’s much more manageable. Last year, even though I signed up to judge 3 categories, I received 8 books from one category. Not an ideal situation. This year, I have books from 3 categories, and some are different categories than I judged last year, so I’m greatly looking forward to it. 

I’ll dig in this weekend. I’ve ordered my new computer, but it won’t be here for two weeks. I also ordered a netbook as a belated birthday present from My Liege. He wanted to take me to an electronics store and help me pick one out, but I already knew what I wanted and it was just so easy to buy the netbook while ordering the new tower. I got a better deal by ordering both from the same supplier, too.

Now M.L. has to go out and buy me a little something extra, because it’s just not right that I should buy a birthday present for myself. Aren’t I clever?  

I’m back to editing the requested full manuscript. Today I’m on Youngest Son’s laptop. Yesterday, I was on M.L.’s. Y.S. has Word 2007, so I’m experiencing a learning curve, that’s for sure.

I found out the other day that the editor in Japan who bought the manga rights to HEAD OVER HEELS has left the publisher. The publication will go along as planned, except now I still have no idea—and probably never will—how the editor became interested in my book.

Dear Amazing Editor with Fantastic Taste:

Thank you for finding my book and contacting my agent in Japan, who contacted the scouting agency in New York, who contacted Amber Quill Press, who contacted me, resulting in the sale. While I regret that I will never know what prompted your request for foreign rights, I’m so glad you did! And, wow, your former bosses are efficient, too. I received the advance check weeks before the date stipulated in the contract. It’s sitting nice and cozy in my bank account. A completely rewarding experience.

I’m looking forward to seeing the manga version of HEAD OVER HEELS and am thanking my good fortune that we somehow-or-other crossed paths.

Best,

Subservient (in another lifetime) Writer

Dear Blog Readers:

No, you don’t get a letter, just an observation. Which basically amounts to that editors seem to play musical chairs as much in other countries as they do in the U.S. When you consider the factor of Being In The Right Place At The Right Time, I’m feeling very blessed.

So often, timing has worked against me. For once, it worked for me. Yippee-ki-ee.

Except now I’m feeling paranoid that maybe the original editor didn’t mean to buy my rights. Maybe he bought them by accident and got fired for it. Maybe I’ve inadvertently kiboshed his career!

Should I feel guilty?

I haven’t done one of these in a while…

That was one loooooooonggggggg weekend. Youngest Son arrived Thursday morning, and we just dropped him off at the airport again last night. Had a wonderful visit, and Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ Sunday went off without a hitch. Now it’s back to work! I’m happy to report that (I think) I’m finally getting a grasp on the revisions for my single title. My mind really struggled with them all of last week. It’s nice what good a little break can do.

I also entered Penny’s December ‘09 Secrets novella, KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT, in the RITA yesterday. The RITA was open to entries from major-a.k.a.-RWA-eligible publishers for the last three weeks, but just opened up to entries from non-vanity/non-subsidy-but-otherwise-non-RWA-eligible-publishers yesterday (ie. mainly e-pubs, which includes Red Sage now even though the Secrets print anthologies have been around for years and were always considered RWA-eligible or whatever the vernacular was at the time, until Red Sage opened an epub division and had to bow out of RWA-eligible status because of the whole low-advance thingie for the ebooks). I had no clue when I went to enter if the RITA was full up yet or not. So I was glad to get in. Not that Penny’s novellas tend to do well in the RITAs. They don’t. They get good (dare I say great, like 4 stars from Romantic Times?) reviews and my readers seem to enjoy them, but all that hot sex…that’s my excuse for them not doing well in RITA, and I’m sticking to it, LOL.

KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT began life as a sexy novella targeted to the now dearly departed Legendary Editor of Kensington Brava. In the first version, the sexual relationship between the hero and heroine didn’t begin until about 75% through the story, although there were lots of sparks. When that sale…didn’t occur (I won’t go into details other than that the editor no longer felt the love for the hero and the story concept)…I submitted the story as was to my first Secrets editor. She told me she loved it and was sending it up the line for approval—just when she was leaving her position to focus on her own writing career. Somehow, the submission went…awry…I was assigned a new editor and told to re-sub the story. I did, and received a form rejection. What a blow! After my first editor wanted to buy it, that set me back. So I emailed the new editor and asked for details, upon which she informed me that it needed to pack a lot more heat for her tastes, but that I could revise and resubmit if I wished.

I decided to do that, but first I wanted to try a new novella with her to make sure I knew from the get-go what she wanted. I wrote and submitted (and sold) the story that became Penny’s second sale and appeared in Secrets 26 last December. Then I finally submitted the revised version of KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT to my new (second) Red Sage editor. And then she left the house, LOL. Finally, I was assigned to the new Managing Editor, who bought the revised version of the story with one minor change to an early scene. So it was a long, hard battle to get that story onto the shelves. And it just goes to show how subjective publishing is, especially when you consider the difference in response between Secrets editor #1 and #2.

Why am I telling you all this, you ask? It’s my convoluted way of getting back to the subject of the RITAs. I have hope that KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT will do better in the contest than either of Penny’s first two novellas, because the H/h hold off on consummating their relationship until the 40% point. Erotic novellas don’t often final in the RITAs, and KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT is the least erotic of all three novellas Penny has sold thus far. Therefore, regardless of whether it finals or not, I expect it to fare better overall. Now watch, just because I came out and said that, it’ll do the worst of all three!

Well, I’m just glad the contest was still open to entries and that I made it in to have another kick at the can.

How about you? How’s your week faring? Any accomplishments or setbacks to report? (I know of someone with a major accomplishment, but I won’t out her as I understand she has some…paperwork to do first).

I had a post already published this morning, but just deleted it after hearing the very sad news that Kensington editor Kate Duffy has passed away. Kate played a major role in my first sale to Red Sage as Penny, because I’d initially targeted my first Secrets novella to her. As can so often happen in publishing, my manuscript went awry, shall we say. It had been over a year and I had not heard on the status. I was at an RWA conference—I can’t remember which one anymore—and just happened to mention my missing manuscript to another writer who knew what Kate looked like (I didn’t). Turned out Kate was walking our way!

The writer pretty much sidelined Kate, introduced us, and I asked about my manuscript. Kate replied quite frankly that if I hadn’t heard by now then the manuscript had likely been rejected. Later, she told me that the look on my face made her feel so guilty (this from the woman many considered intimidating). Because I asked, “But wouldn’t I have received a rejection letter?”

“Tell you what,” she said. (And, yes, I’m paraphrasing, I didn’t tape record our conversation). “I have somewhere to go after conference, but give me about three weeks and then contact me. I’ll let you know what I find out about your manuscript.”

Three weeks later, I was at home wondering when would be a good time to phone or email her when she phoned me. She couldn’t find the manu anywhere, it must have gotten lost, and could I email her another copy? I did, and she read and rejected it within 24 hours. By another phone call. But she didn’t just reject it, she told me why she was rejecting it. And she asked to see more ideas. In fact, she asked me to write up three ideas for her, and she’d choose which she wanted me to develop into a novella for submission to Brava. I did that. Meanwhile, I took her comments on the rejected novella, revised it, and sold it to Red Sage Secrets. Without Kate’s comments during that phone call, would I have sold that novella? I’ll never know.

Back to the three ideas. Kate called me back another month later saying she loved two of the three ideas, and she wanted me to write the full novella of one and then begin the second while she was considering the first. I wrote the full novella and submitted it. Time went by. A lot of time went by. A lot and a lot and a lot of time went by.

Eventually, we reconnected, but she rejected the full novella. Again, full of remorse about doing so. Very apologetic (I’d never experienced an editor apologizing to me for a rejection, and phoning me to make that rejection). So much time had passed, as can happen in publishing, between her approving the idea and looking at the full, that the idea no longer excited her enough to make a sale. But she asked to see another novella, a partial this time.

I did write that third partial novella for Kate. Time went by. A lot of time went by. A lot and a lot and a lot and a lot of time went by. Eventually, we reconnected, and she still loved the idea but wanted me to turn facets of the story upside down. So I did. Resubmitted. Time went by. A lot of time went by. Then I learned that she was ill, and I decided not to bug her.

Meanwhile, I revised the second full novella to suit Secrets, submitted it and sold it. It’s releasing in Secrets Volume 28 this December.

Kate made me laugh. She was very self-deprecating, and she had a dry wit that I identify with. That she took the time to phone me when she could have just sent me form snail-mail rejections said a lot about her character. And still does.

Goodbye, Kate. I’ll miss you. Even though I didn’t get a chance to truly work with you, I appreciate all the help you gave me. Now and always.

I’m feeling tons better, and life is slowly getting back under control. So, ta-da, one blog post before the weekend. Watch, now no one will comment because I said I wouldn’t be here again until next week.

Not getting any writing done, but on Monday I had a 90-minute long Skype brainstorming session with a former critique partner, and now I have a ton of excellent revision notes for SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE. Really looking forward to solidifying my approach to the revisions and digging into that book again. Will pass the notes by a writing friend who critiqued the full first, though. I have another manuscript I can work on in the meantime.

Guess what? I’ve already received, signed and mailed back the hard copy of the contract for the HEAD OVER HEELS manga rights. When I approved the contract via email (last week) and my contact in the Tuttle-Mori contracts department said I would receive the hard copy contract soon, she wasn’t fooling. I don’t think I’ve ever received a contract that quickly.

Also, I find it interesting that this contract was the easiest to understand and read of any I’ve ever purused for either myself or Penny. In other words, the easiest to read and understand contract from any North American publisher with whom I’ve dealt. The legalities are all in place, but not in a “foreign language,” to speak. They’re written in plain English. What a switch!