Nicola Marsh - romance author

THE CALL

I've been extremely lucky with my journey to publication: I'd only been writing for just over two years before The Call came. When I started, I had no idea what a 'voice' was, so I wrote several different novels, trying to find my niche. Once I learned the trade secret to getting published (ie. write, write and write some more. Oh, and submit, of course!) I didn't look back. I found that once I started writing, I couldn't stop. It seems so natural that I wondered why I hadn't started earlier. And thanks to some great critiquing, I aimed my first novels at the HM&B UK market...and the rest is history!

So what was it like to get 'the call"? Unbelievable! I still pinch myself to this day, wondering if it actually happened. The date, 12th May 2003, is etched in the memory banks forever. Though my editor first called me on a Saturday night, asking for a few revisions which were due in 3 days. After getting over the shock that she called me from her home, I booted up the computer, did the revisions (which mainly consisted of deleting the love scenes, as she thought my voice was suited to the Tender line) that night and had them back to her two days later, just to show how keen I was. I got The Call to buy The Tycoon's Dating Deal a week later.

People have asked me hard is it to write and juggle motherhood - when I first came home from hospital, I would've answered "easy", as I completed two novels in eight weeks (between feeds, nappy changes and naps!) However, as the young man becomes more active, my writing has slowly dwindled to a crawl, though the ideas haven't.

I like to diversify my writing and try new things. In this business, you never stop learning. And I aim to be prolific in my writing career, both in category and single title. I know, sounds a bit ambitious but hey, I love a challenge!

HOW TO STAND OUT IN THE CROWD WITH YOUR WRITING

After hours of hard slog, blood, sweat and tears, you’ve finally typed ‘The End’ on your brilliant manuscript. Now, where to from here? Should you post it away to those editors eager to offer you a contract immediately? Should you give it to your mum/sister/best friend to read? Has it been critiqued/reviewed/edited to death?

If you’ve answered yes to all of the above, it’s time to polish your masterpiece and make it STAND OUT from the crowd to grab that acquiring editor’s attention.

STRENGTH

Your characters have been whispering their story to you throughout the book and you think you’ve done a fine job getting their tale down. However, have your hero and heroine got a strong individual voice of their own? Strong individual characteristics that make them different from your secondary characters? And most importantly, a strong emotional conflict to keep the readers turning the pages of your novel to the very end?

To gain perspective on your work and be able to objectively answer the questions above, set it aside for a few weeks before returning to edit. You’ll be amazed at what you pick up after distancing yourself from the story.

TIMING

We’ve all heard the saying “timing is everything.” Well, in the case of your story, it’s crucial. Make sure the story’s events are chronological and follow a natural time progression. There is nothing as distracting as flipping back the pages of a novel in confusion as a winter bride frolics in the autumn leaves with her new groom a chapter later! Huh?

Don’t make that editor stop reading your manuscript for a second. You want her riveted to your every word and flipping pages fast to reach the guaranteed happily ever after. And using her precious time to devour your story, the story she wants to buy!

ATTITUDE

Sassy, bold, brazen. Whichever term you prefer, make sure your heroine has it in spades - and then some! Catch phrases for the Harlequin Sweet line I write for are “it could happen to you” and “walk a mile in the heroine’s shoes.” Therefore, make your heroine someone likeable, identifiable and most of all, human. Give her endearing faults, funny traits, whatever it takes, just make sure she has loads of appeal that readers will love.

NOUS

How many times have we slammed a book shut after the first few pages in frustration? And all because the heroine is too stupid for words? Women today are strong-willed, street-smart individuals and if you’re writing a contemporary romance, your heroine needs to have these characteristics. Give her enough nous to stand up to that hero and give as good as she gets. Your readers will love you for it.

DEPTH

Give your story depth. Don’t pad it with pages of waffle such as unnecessary back story, boring internal POV and mindless dialogue which doesn’t further the action, all in the name of making a word count.

When in doubt, cut! If you’re bored with a particular paragraph, guaranteed an editor will be too.

Depth of characters will accentuate the depth of the story. Give your characters layers, make them as human as possible and allow them to leap off the page screaming “I’m here. And lovable!”

ORGANISE

Your manuscript is near on perfect and you’re itching to send it off. Whoa! Hold on a minute. Have you taken the time to check the publisher’s guidelines? Are the font, spacing and pagination what they’re after? Editors receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts a year and you want yours to stand out from the crowd, remember? Give yourself every advantage and make your story look as professional as possible.

UNIQUE

Is there one thing that makes your story stand out from the crowd? Is it a new twist on an old theme? An unusual take on a tried and true plot? A killer heroine? Whatever it is, highlight it. Whether it be in the first paragraph of your query letter or synopsis, make sure that editor takes one look at your highly original concept and says ‘gimme more’!

TRENDS

You’ve written the dream book, the one that flies from your fingertips onto the computer screen with little effort, your critique partner thinks it’s perfect and you have a gut feeling that this is ‘the one’ that’s going to launch you from writer to published author. Now, this book may be ‘the one’ but if the theme or premise of the book is out of date, an editor may have to pass in favour of another manuscript that highlights the trends of current bestsellers. The easiest way to keep abreast of trends is to read. May sound obvious but when I first started writing and targeting Mills & Boon, I hadn’t read one since I was a teenager. It just so happened my first book had a theme involving speed dating, a modern topic, and my editor told me when I got ‘the call’ that the unusual take on a modern theme drew her in from the start.

Another example is Bridget Jones’ Diary. This book/movie spawned chick-lit and the rest is history. So, as much as you want your book to stand out from the crowd, following that crowd every now and then isn’t such a bad idea!

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