AboutCathy Clamp Expertise I'm happy to answer questions about any aspect of getting published through commercial publishers, ebook publishers and self-publishing I can help with writing a query letter and synopsis to an agent or editor. I can explain publishing terminology, acronyms and manuscript formatting. I can also assist with questions about verifying the credentials of agents/publishers and how to proceed once you've been accepted for publication.
Experience I'm a USA Today bestselling author of romance fiction in the Tor/Forge Books paranormal romance line. Along with a co-author, I've published eight novels (combination of mass market and trade softcover) since 2003, and have contracts for six more books through 2009. I've also published short stories in regional and national magazines as well as freelance feature articles.
Organizations Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Western Outdoor Writers, Horror Writers of America.
Publications Books: Tor/Forge Books, Western Reflections Publishing; Magazines: Rocky Mountain Game & Fish, Guns & Ammo, Fur-Fish-Game, many others.
Education/Credentials My educational background is limited to real life experience of publishing novels commercially for the past five years.
Awards and Honors USA Today bestseller, Waldenbooks Mass Market Paperback Top 20 bestseller, Nielsen BookScan Top 20 bestseller, Book Buyers Best Award for Paranormal, 2007, Romantic Times Best Werewolf Novel, 2006, Write Touch Readers Award, EVVY Best Historical Chronicle Award, The Lories Best Paranormal. Many others.
Expert: Cathy Clamp Date: 5/5/2008 Subject: Getting published
Question QUESTION: I have written a 120,000 word paranormal romance novel and am having a frustrating time finding an agent. All of them say 'interesting, but no'. I have sent to many of the agents on agentquery.com and have gotten poor result. I have revised my query seven times, sending out various versions and am simply at my wits end. What do i do to get an agent? The book is a head of a series and i know it will sell. Should i go e-publishing? I know nothing about that and am nervous about it. Would rather have an agent do it. Can you give me advice on what to do? Anythign will help! Thanks much, Durian
ANSWER: Hi, Durian!
Well, something you say here concerns me, so it ALSO might be concerning agents enough to pass. "First of a series" and "romance" don't mix unless each book is about a DIFFERENT pair of people (like siblings or secondary characters from Book 1 or such.) A romance must have the following elements (paranormal or otherwise: )
1. A love story that is the primary plot, which focuses on the romance for at least 50% of the plot.
2. The plot has to rely equally on the hero and heroine---in other words, the overall plot CANNOT be solved by just one of the protagonists. It must be a joint effort to solve the mystery (or defeat the evil, or whatever.) If one can solve the problem, it's not a romance.
3. A "HEA" or Happily Ever After, where the two primary love interests pair off into a satisfactory ending.
Finally,
4. Once you add in the "paranormal" to the romance, you will have TWO plot threads---and neither can be removed without causing the entire plot to collapse. For example, if you have a vampire heroine, but the romance doesn't RELY on her otherworldly nature, by way of romantic conflict or romantic resolution, it might not stand.
Does that make sense? If any of the above elements isn't true for your book, you might not have a paranormal romance on your hands---which might be why you're struggling to find an agent (because paranormal is HOT right now.) You might, instead, have an Urban Fantasy on your hands, which is a whole different set of agents.
I wrote up a post on a writer website that compared the elements of the two kinds of books. You might find it useful, as several of the people who chimed in are romance and urban fantasy editors. :)
Let me know if this helps any or if you have any other questions. :)
Cathy
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Yes, the series part means other characters. Brothers actually. And the main character is a man with several abilities of mind expansion that makes him 'inhuman'. The woman he falls for is human. Does that make a paranormal or an Urban? I guess i didn't know it could possibly be Urban Fantasy. And it does focus on the two characters love story probably more than 50% of the time, ending hea:) Do you think that is Urban? You're answer was very informative and made me think...i guess now i am just confused:) What do you think? And, do you think that maybe it might be too long for the current market?
Answer Yeah, probably paranormal romance, but you should make certain before you submit the full ms. that the paranormal aspect is an actual plot thread, rather than just that the hero IS paranormal. It's sort of hard to explain, but his "otherworldness" should play a key role in the romance, as well as in the plot---think vampire romance, where the hero/ine is DEAD. Sort of an issue in a long-standing relationship, dont'cha think? LOL!
120K is a bit long, admittedly, but if it takes that much to tell the story, then agents/editors will give you a bye on the length. 100K is preferable for most lines, except for the Silhouette Nocturne line, which is closer to 85-90K.
The biggest thing with paranormal romance at this moment is believability. You might consider a beta reader or someone to critique it. If it's gotten passed over more than a few times, you might have a gaping plot hole in there that's not obvious to YOU, because you're too close to it. Since the timing for this is PERFECT, what you might do is wander over to Brenda Novak's juvenile diabetes auction. Romance authors and editors have donated their time for critiques, full reads, etc. (including myself) to raise money for the charity. Some of them are pretty pricey, but there are some bargains, and you're helping a great cause! Here's a link to the "For Writers" section where the critiques and mentoring and such are located (and feel free to wander around and look at the gift baskets, trips and jewelry.) Maybe you'll find just the right person to give it a look! You might have to cut and paste this into your browser if it doesn't light up.
