Header Promotion
Editor Pitch: Harlequin Intrigue
by Rae-eHarlequin on August 26th, 2009, 7:31am
We're at it again! And this time, we've got another of your favorite lines for you to send your edge-of-your-seat, heart-pumping, breathtaking romantic suspense entries too! Harlequin Intrigue is looking for YOUR manuscript and Senior Editor, Denise Zaza will be on hand to take your pitch!
To enter, send a 1-page dbl-spaced synopsis( not to exceed 250 words ) of your manuscript to Hosty Rae by November 4th
Five entries will be chosen by Denise Zaza and those will be announced on or around November 12th.
Pitches will happen November 18th, at 10 am edt. But read the rules below to ensure your entry can be accepted.
• NO multiple submissions.
• NO Attachments. Please include your entry in the body of the email. If your submission is sent via attachment, it will not be entered.
• You MUST be able to enter and post inside the eHarlequin.com chat room. If you are unable to use the chat room and your submission is chosen, we will be unable to offer you another venue option and it will be unfair to an entrant who is able.
• You MUST have a completed manuscript that is targeted to Harlequin Intrigue. Editors have the option to request partials or full.
• You MUST be available at the given chat time. As stated above, we will be unable to offer another venue or time option.
• Please include your member name, your full name along with your submission.
Awesome!!!
Thanks Rae!
Rae"
In the Pitch rules you have listed it says "You MUST have a completed manuscript that is targeted to Silhouette Romantic Suspense. Editors have the option to request partials or full." This Pitch is for Intrigue right? I'm thinking this is a typo.
Date with Destiny participant summer 2009
Pass the Plot participant Sept 09
Thanks DJ
We're having these two pitches in very close proximity to each other, so it was a natural typo. :)
Dee
Dee Tenorio
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
It's all good!
I typo all the time. Lacking that thing called an internal editor and having a reaction to coffee that makes my typing seem like a drunk person talking, I am most sympathatic to typo-isis. My CP has to put on her typo decripter when I really get chatty. LOL !Big hugs Empi.
Date with Destiny participant summer 2009
Pass the Plot participant Sept 09
very nice! thanks for this.
very nice! thanks for this.
Apologies
I'm a dork. I missed that in the template. Thanks for fixing, Dee.
Rae, the dork
Rae
Your post made me laugh; "I'm a dork" reminded me of the final scene in Sydney White (movie with Amanda Bynes, who is one of the young actresses I like) Yes, I watch high school and college movies...
Every time we say let there be in any form, something happens - Stella Terrill Mann
http://www.freewebs.com/empire76/
Empi..me too!
I watched that movie with my 12 year old daughter...loved it too!
Wow another pitch... what to do, what to do! So many ideas...so little time!
Marianne
Marianne Morea
My life is to create...to paint the colors of my dreams with the words from my heart.
...and now for another really stupid question...
"You MUST be able to enter and post inside the eHarlequin.com chat room." is one of the rules listed above. Are the forums considered the chat rooms or are they the blogs? Or are they something else completely and I'm missing it. I don't really do the computer chat thing all that well, and these forums are about the extent of my savvy....
HELP PLEASE!
Marianne
Marianne Morea
My life is to create...to paint the colors of my dreams with the words from my heart.
Marianne--I've made the
Marianne--I've made the chat room a link up in the header, so you can test if you can get in. It will load an applet where you type what name you'd like to be seen as in the chat room. You do not need a password. Click OK and it will take you in. If you can load it, can type and enter text, you can enter for the pitch. :)
Good luck!
Dee
Dee Tenorio
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
Intrigue podcast
Hi Rae,
Do you know when the Intrigue podcast will be available for download? I've checked all the podcasters (including iTunes) and it seems to be the only one missing.
Thanks
Gia
Gia
Alas, not quite sure when or if there is an Intrigue podcast in the works or not. But as soon as we know, you'll know. :)
Hugs,
Dee
Dee Tenorio
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
Bows to Dee
Thanks for fielding the questions.
Rae
PS I want to see Sydney White, just haven't gotten around to it and yes, I watch a lot of them as well. Some with my kids and some not--just because I like them. ;)
Good Luck..
Good luck to all those who plan to pitch. I'm aways happy when new authors join the Intrigue family...
Wayne - Intrigue Hosty
Wow - Three hosties in the
Wow - Three hosties in the room! I am hanging out here for a while. This is an awesome contest and a wonderful opportunity. Good luck everyone thinking about entering.
Wayne - I hope you live in an area away from all of the storms (Sorry geography is not my thing).
I'm ready!
I am so ready for this. Deadlines! I can do this.
I have an intrigue I would
I have an intrigue I would like to submit. I was planning on simply submitting it direct to Intrigue per their guidelines. Can anyone tell me what benefits there are to submitting through a pitch? My apologies if this is a painfully naive question.
I'm glad you asked first.
I am curious too.
marlyb
"Our aspirations are our possibilities." Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Nit
My two cents ... there are several benefits to submitting through a pitch. First, you most likely cut your waiting period short. In this contest, you will have feedback (whether you got picked or not) in Mid Nov. If you submit through the slush pile today, chances are you won't hear from the editor before then.
Secondly, if you get picked, you skip the queue. You speak directly to the editor who ultimately makes the request. At this point, you've gone much farther than the query + syn requested in a normal submission.
Third, the thread for contests and pitches brings about discussion, which sometimes brings up info, clarifications etc you can use to improve you work B4 it goes out.
PLUS, if you don't get picked for the pitch, you can always submit the normal way, so what have you got to lose, right?
Empi
Every time we say let there be in any form, something happens - Stella Terrill Mann
http://www.freewebs.com/empire76/
Empi
Thank you. That was very helpful.
I just want to clarify...
If a pitch is NOT picked, I'm afraid there usually isn't any feedback on it. But all the rest Empi says is spot on.
:)
Dee
Dee Tenorio
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
Next question...
Is the synopsis we send to Hosty-rae due exactly on Nov. 4th? Or earlier?
marlyb
"Our aspirations are our possibilities." Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Marly
It's due by the 4th, but you can send it in earlier. I keep it open until Midnight my time, but if your entry gets there before I open my email up on the 5th, then it still gets put in. The day of the 5th, I'll be copying and pasting and numbering all of your entries and putting them in a word document to send to Ms. Zaza.
Rae
Directions?
Dee-thank you for including the link to eHchat. For those of us new to chat rooms, it took me awhile to figure out how to get out. LOL
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
Caveat
I wish I'd have had time to do the pitch FAQ before I posted these contests, but unfortunately, my computer crashed and I wasn't able to save the questions anyone had asked or suggested in previous threads.
So, let me offer this to all of you who are entering this one. You do NOT have to tell me anything other than your synopsis. I don't need to know your writing history. The only thing I send to the editors is your submission. The entries are numbered. The only names on the pages are your characters. I don't judge them before they go to the editor, so you don't have to tell me that you hope I love your submission enough to send it through. If you submit, your entry gets sent. Period. The same applies to your writing creditentials. Worry about the other stuff if you're picked and you're in the chat room with the editor. K?
Rae
Thank you Rae! I must
Thank you Rae! I must admit that years ago, I was thinking of throwing in the towel and Rae kindly encouraged me to send it in. I've had requests since but no sales. I have no writing credentials, so when I do a query the old fashioned way, I mentioned my creditials for the story line, such as....on a farm, I grew up on one, etc.
Good luck to everyone who is putting together an entry.
Betty
Rae
Pitches?
Have a HI ms in the works that could easily be completed by the pitch deadline but I have a question. I pitched for this month's SRS blurb but wasn't chosen. Can I rewrite it and submit here or do you prefer subs that haven't been presented at all?
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
NB
Let me make sure I have this right. You want to rewrite your SRS and turn it in as an Intrigue?
Just because you weren't picked for the SRS pitch, doesn't mean you shouldn't submit to SRS the old-fashioned way. I hesitate to say yes--ultimately, you're going to do what you're going to do--because in rewriting the SAME story for a different line, you're stagnating yourself. Over the years, I have watched people do this and it drives me nuts. You're not learning or teaching yourself anything when you do that.
Rae
Thanks, Rae
I may be a touch prejudiced, but I think both stories have merit as they stand. Even though my entry didn't get selected for the pitch, it's well worth subbing the usual way. After I posted my question I debated whether or not to withdraw it. Thanks for the vote of confidence. There is still plenty of time for me to finish the HI I have on the go. Wouldn't want to start stagnating. It seems the more I write, the more I am compelled to write. lol
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
LN in NB -
I encourage you to just keep on typing. That is what I do. I had a friend I used to CP for. She is still regurgitating the same ms she has tried to sell for 15 years. She simply changes the character names and re-submits. I think I have the ms memorized by now. And she got mad at me because my ms was too icky into sex, so now we are not nearly as close as we used to be.
I found once I tried different styles, different tones and settings, I discovered what type of stories I enjoy wiriting and what kind I never want a contract to write.
Good luck with your entry. Sub the SRS and work on your intrique. Good luck!
I look back at the first few ms's I wrote years ago and grin. I wouldn't buy them as a reader, but they were important to me in developing as a writer. I also think that the emotion I put in those books gave voice to some things that I wanted to say, so it's all good, even though as I read it now, it is so bad. There are folks who sell their first or second. I hope I sell by the time I write my 100th.
I might not be the brightest lightbulb in the box, but once I get it through this thick skull, I got it. Some day, this writing gig is going to click for me. By then you will be published with 10 or so under your belt.
Thanks for the input BettyNeelswannabe.
I've decided to keep my SRS as is and sub it. I've been trying to write per different guidelines and series, trying to find my niche. For the book I'm writing now, I find I'm constantly rereading the guidelines before I write to make sure I'm still on track...should have them memorized by now! lol
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
LN in NB
Maybe you want to sit down and have a long, hard talk with you. Ask yourself, what do you like to read? What stories are you drawn too? Because if you're writing and constantly looking over your shoulder, that isn't any good either. Your words are going to leap off the page when you're comfortable. One of the biggest mistakes anyone can make--and trust me--I've done it, is just because there's an editor pitch or challenge with a particular line doesn't mean YOUR voice is going to fit there. If you're forcing yourself and the words, the book, the blurb, the synopsis are all going to sound forced.
There's always going to be contests/challenges on here. We plan to implement them a lot more in the coming year if all goes well and I want to do things that will help all of the pitchers. I want to make it so difficult for the editor in these challenges to chose. I want the women and the men who participate on the board to have the upperhand on some of the people who see the pitch via something else and participate in the pitch only.
If you listen to me and find out who LN is, the rest will fall into place.
That's just my two cents, you can take it for what it's worth.
Rae
Good advice, Rae
If only I knew! I read all H/S books except for nocturne.(Sorry girls, been meaning to but haven't got around to it yet.) HI, SRS, HM, SE, HR, HSR, HH, HP, SD, SHLI, Mira, Spice, Blaze, etc. I assure you, I enjoy them all! I'm not even sure if I have any favorites. They're all such good reads. If I have a choice, I'd usually go for either mystery or sexy. I do enjoy reading Presents, but more for the scene itself usually. I read for enjoyment. I write because I have characters and ideas running around in my head that won't leave me alone until I write their story. Maybe I'll do what I've always done...write and figure out where the story fits when it's finished.
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
NB and Rae
I must say that you've really been asking questions I'm sure a lot of us newbies have thought, and I'm getting such and education. Rae, I love your perspective on the Pitches. Anything you can do to help us get our stuff in front of an editor I'm all for it.
Date with Destiny participant summer 2009
Pass the Plot participant Sept 09
Wonderful advice, Rae!
I'd considered trying to submit to the SRS with an old ms, revamped, but knew it wouldn't really fit the line. I do have part of a ms (somewhere!) that I'd started with HI in mind, but we've moved, and not only do I have no idea where it is, I'm not certain I could finish it in time. So, Happy Submitting everybody! I'm going to finish my current wip and hope there will be a pitch that wil suit it soon! (If not, there's always the old-fashioned way...)
"Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it." Oswald Chambers.
Pass the Plot - 09-09
NaNo: 2577/50000
Hope
I really wished you'd find that MS. You, Jodie G. and now DowntimePam are some of my favorite unpublished authors. I find it really odd to be so looking forward to the next thing you all will write and it isn't published anywhere. Go figure???? I have to hang out on the posts to get your latest releases. LOL
Date with Destiny participant summer 2009
Pass the Plot participant Sept 09
(((((DJ)))))
Thanks, DJ! I really needed that! It's friends like you who give me the courage to keep plugging away at the works in progress.
"Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it." Oswald Chambers.
Pass the Plot - 09-09
NaNo: 2577/50000
Hope
Glad I could help. Work Work Work!!!
Date with Destiny participant summer 2009
Pass the Plot participant Sept 09
Have you ever been invited to a party...
And found that everyone but you seems to know each other? Whether you're 21 or 81, it's probably happened to you, and it can be kind of scary initiating that first conversation. So you might stroll around for a bit, listening to and not ‘jumping in' to the conversations before you get comfortable enough to join in.
That's kind of how I felt joining the Eharlequin message boards. I've been lurking for some time now, and I have to say it's been fantastic reading about other people's journeys, even though I don't post a lot of comments myself.
I'm a freelance writer, and it ain't glamorous. It can be fun and rewarding, but these days I feel the ‘tough economic times' where it hurts - in my pocketbook, sometimes even in an empty stomach!
My chosen profession is a fairly solitary one. I love to read too, but that's also solitary ‘escapism' for me. When I read the posting about people participating in the editor pitches only, and not on the boards, it kind of hurt. Perhaps you can see that, like a stranger being invited to a party, it's sometimes hard for a fairly shy person to ‘break into the mix', even in a cyber community.
I seriously, genuinely appreciate what I read on these message boards. It makes me feel ‘part of something', knowing there's other people out there who share my goals. Maybe I'm a more ‘silent' participant, but I still feel like I'm part of the community!
Sorry if that sounds like a rant...but thanks again to you all for sharing your input and goals.
Andi
You're all welcome. I don't
You're all welcome. I don't profess to have all the answers, I'm still learning with all of you, but I can tell you things from my experience and there's always plenty of them whether you're published or not. This isn't for sissies. It takes time and energy. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll want to pull your hair out. But yes, NB, write the book and then figure it out. Let your characters lead you.
Andi, I don't think you've said anything that any of us haven't felt on any given day in here. Even me! Somedays, I read for entertainment and don't dare comment because everything's been said and I feel silly saying, "what everyone else said." I, for one am glad you came out of lurking. I look forward to getting to know you.
Rae
And to chime in on Rae's
And to chime in on Rae's theme...I used to enter every contest coming and going, and I finally realized that while I love to read from all lines, I could never write an historical (it would be hysterical if I did) because I can not pick up the theme in my head. I also know that I have the best success writing home and hearth. Now I get some requests and my writing has come so far since I have narrowed down my target lines.
So write what you love to write and read them all.
Whew! Thanks Rae for understanding
Speaking of parties, I didn't want it to sound like I'm throwing one for myself (pity party, lol !)
There are so many things I read here that I'd love to respond to, if only to say I get how you guys feel. Unfortunately my work schedule is nuts just to make ends meet, meaning I eek out time to read, but generally there's not enough time to throw in my two cents worth. I'm hoping for positive changes someday, because I'd love to get past the damn cyber-shyness and get to know all of you on the boards.
Thanks again for hearing me out, Rae. Makes me feel a part of things.
Andi
Welcome, Andi!
Everythings been said so nicely and you sound exactly like me. I've written privately for years but didn't feel comfortable sharing. Finding these message boards and sharing with other writers makes life less solitary as a writer. Best of luck.
Lorraine
Participant in Writer's Challenge 2009
No pity party
I didn't think you sounded like you were having a pity party at all. I understand how daunting these boards/forums can be. Used to be that you could make your own thread. You'd always know the newbies, because the post was usually titled: Help! I'm new! I'm pretty sure that's what mine said. One of my most funny ( now ) moments was when we used to have a critique circle and you could post bits of your story and ask for help. Haha, that was when I learned maybe I didn't have it all figured out--writing that is. The comments and the fixes I had to make made me want to call to Toronto and ask for my book back. What I love about these boards is the commraderie and the friendships that you can make. Plus, we all learn together. A lot of the authors who write the books we love started out just like you and I on these very boards. How cool is that?
Confession time: The mistake I made was when one of my friends got a request I would either a. do EVERYTHING they suggested to fix the manuscript I was working on, because after all, they had the requests from the editors and I had the rejections or b. I'd drop what I was doing and try to go after the line that I heard the editors were looking at. In the almost nine years I've been a host, I've learned a lot. The dos and don'ts for any line. But more importantly, I learned that voice is everything and if you're cheating your true voice, you're cheating yourself.
By the way, I actually had an editor once tell me that while she loved the premise, she was reading a long and would stop, look and go, "where the hell did that voice come from?" Because I was doing a.
Getting everything you want to say into a one-page synopsis isn't easy folks, I can't do it. Not without help and a whole lot of hair pulling, so I admire any of you who are going to enter this contest/challenge.
Rae
Welcome, Andi!
Glad you decided to start sharing your writing journey with us! You're right: it's hard. If it were easy, everyone would want to do it.
LOL on the Voice, Rae.
DJ, I'll get back to work as soon as I can. Lunch is beckoning at the moment.....
"Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it." Oswald Chambers.
Pass the Plot - 09-09
NaNo: 2577/50000
Okay, let's party!
Thanks Lorraine and Hope for chiming in! And Rae, you rock
. I submitted an entry to the Desire pitch contest in June and it didn't work. I love Desires, but maybe that's not the right direction for this leetle voice inside my head. So I saved up my milk money and picked up an SRS and an Intrigue this past July and I like 'em just as much!
Writing romance fiction can sure be a winding road!
One thing I know for sure right now. We've got enough going here for a nice round of cyber-shooters lol.
Take care, guys. Hope - hope lunch was great! Lady Rae, I'll see you in the chat room...Lorraine, I do believe you're a Canuck too? Happy Thanksgiving!
Andi
Hello everyone!
I am not sure yet if I will participate in this pitch, but
I’m glad to see you guys again.
Andi, I’m new too. This is one of the friendliest places I
found online. If you want a thread where you can share your thoughts and that
isn’t pitch related, please check this one out:
http://community.eharlequin.com/forums/simply-series/catherines-mannly-m...
I’m participating in it, even thought is
overwhelming to chat with a few successful published writers. However, it’s so
worthy, besides being great professionals, they’re very generous with their
knowledge and experiences. Reading their comments, you might laugh a lot; in
times of crisis, we all can use laughter.
*waves to Andi*
ack - I FEEL new, and I used to be online all the time. Andi, it was great pitching with you today, getting to cheer you and everyone else on at the SRS pitch. I'm an 'old dog' at this and still feel like a newbie. Didn't read the 'only comes in to pitch to editors' post or I'd have probably felt like someone was pointing the finger at me, and this was my 1st pitch - lol. [Let me clarify - it's my first time to pitch to an editor and not just the wind - lol. I have submitted, just never got chosen before.]
I don't multi-task well any more. I get frustrated at the time involved to do my own blog. In short, the whole online thing can either keep me distracted for hours or frustrate me for days, so generally I just write and hope for the best. But I'm glad, glad, glad that I popped my head out to dig back into eharl. It's always nice to meet new friends, and (on a selfish note) it's nice just to feel normal when I read others' posts and think 'yeah, yeah...yep...know just how you feel'.
hugs...
Sunny Cole
~ say something worthwhile ~
http://authorlyncash.blogspot.com/
Happy Thanksgiving!
Glad that eharlequin put it on the banner so I'd notice it was Thanksgiving in Canada!
Looking forward to hearing who all got asked for a synopsis & partial (or more) from this pitch! Happy writing, everyone!
"Never say you will pray about a thing; pray about it." Oswald Chambers.
Pass the Plot - 09-09
NaNo: 2577/50000