The Power of Pixie Dust

Riders and Friends of Riders, meet Lizbeth Selvig, winner of RWA's 2010 Golden Heart for single title contemporary romance. For the past two years Liz has been serving as president of Midwest Fiction Writers, the Twin Cities chapter of Romance Writers of America. She's a terrific writer and a good friend. Heeere's Liz!

Thank you, Kathleen, for inviting me, it’s such an honor to be here. RWTTD is hosted by my favorite authors, many of whom also happen to be MFW chapter mates. To be asked to guest blog with people I’ve admired for such a long time is like getting invited to play for a day in the major leagues. It’s more than cool. It’s a little bit of a magical moment.

And magic is my topic today.

When I first got serious about writing, I read that success in this business takes 10 percent talent, 80 percent perseverance, and 10 percent pixie dust. “Isn’t that just the cutest sound bite to trot out when I’m richer than Nora?” I thought.

I didn’t believe the formula. I was a journalist, darn it. I’d been paid to write. Paid to edit. Not that I had delusions writing a novel would be easy—I had that much lack of arrogance. But surely my skill would wow editors and agents without the help of Tinkerbell or her pouch full of pixie dust.

Well, clap your hands for Tink with me, because I’m no longer that stuck-up, I-can-do-this-without-magic-thank-you-very-much writer. After this summer, I believe with all my heart in pixie dust.

The first sprinkling of it fell last November. It was a crazy month, and I didn’t get to half my planned writing projects. But, somehow, I got a Golden Heart entry ready and hauled it to the post office on time. That was miracle enough, but some of the dust must have wafted into my attitude. “This is a good story. This one could final.” That’s honestly all I kept thinking.

Which was seriously not like me. I’m that kind of backward-thinking self preservationist who always prepares for disappointment—as if imagining the worst will make it sting less if it happens. But not this time! This time, I was a model of highly un-Minnesotan-like optimism. The trade off for this positive attitude was that I was a pathetic wreck the two days before GH finalists were announced. I’m embarrassed now I was so loony, but (cue the tinkling chimes) pixie dust sprinkled over my silly self and, I was a Golden Heart finalist.

One new Website and two local paper interviews later, the RWA convention introduced me to my 60+ fellow finalists. It’s not just being nice to say I believed any one of us deserved a GH win. I sat at my banquet table on Awards Night without a speech ready (preparing for disappointment) until, at the last minute, something made me give myself a lecture: “Listen you, you could win and you’d better know what to say.” I’d barely finished writing seven bullet points on a paper scrap when they called my name!

I went home with a Golden Heart necklace for my book “Songbird,” six requests for queries and/or partials, and my sense of optimism intact. Interviews with two A-list agents had gone perfectly. One said she was looking for exactly what I was writing. When I queried her, she replied with, “This reminds me of (insert NYT author here).” I was convinced the magic dust had done its job.

But the pixies weren’t finished throwing stuff quite yet. I received an unusual e-mail I didn’t believe at first was real. Ostensibly from a senior agent at an established NY agency, most of her sig line was missing, and hers was not the sender’s e-mail. Needless to say, I went into research mode. To my astonishment and delight, she was not only legitimate, but had found and contacted me through my Website—after her own search.

All my A-list agents from Orlando, including the one who’d compared me to a NYT bestseller, declined offers of representation. But, my “accidental agent,” the delightful Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein of McIntosh & Otis,—who also happens to be named Liz, also loves dogs, also was slightly disappointed that I’d taken two doggy characters from my GH book, and also loves to talk on the phone—said she would be thrilled work with me.

You tell me. Perseverance? Or Pixie Dust?

The Golden Heart contest has changed my life. My 10 percent talent gave me the courage to write a book. My 80 percent perseverance got me to polish and send it in. But without that pixie dust, would I have gotten a set of judges that liked the story? Would my new agent (!) have found my Website? Would I be in the midst of awesome revisions and feel confident I’m on the right road to publication?

I don’t think so.

You might call it luck. Or guardian angels. Or kismet, karma, or the power of positive thinking. The pixie dust used on me was, I think, a combo of all those ingredients. I also believe I helped create my own magic. I made the Website, I sent the entry in ... I just don’t know who mixed everything together or who started sprinkling it last November.

What I do know is it’s super powerful stuff!

So--when have you felt the power of what could only be pixie dust in your life? What do you do to help make your own magic?

Winning the Gold

Kathleen here. It's been many years since I heard my name announced as the winner of RWA's Golden Heart Award for unpublished writers, but I can still feel the excitement when I recall that moment. I've invited two 2010 GH winners--both members of Midwest Fiction Writers, my local RWA chapter--to share their experiences. Next week you'll meet Lizbeth Selvig, winner in the Best Contemporary Single Title category.

Now meet Cat Schield, recipient of the Golden Heart for Best Contemporary Series Romance, whose HEA story is only the beginning...

I’m very excited to be wi th you today to talk about my journey to publication. In my mind, it’s a lot like sailing. Both can be fun. Both can be scary. You get bruised. You can’t control the wind or the publishing industry. You can only adjust your sails or what you are writing to take advantage of the environment.

Rarely can you get directly from point A to point B. Both journeys might require a series of direction changes in order to draw ever closer to your goal. Most of the time, long periods go by where nothing appears to be happening, but you’re making headway. Interspersed with the waiting are short burst of frantic activity when you change the boat’s direction or do a quick polish on that requested manuscript.

Why am I making this comparison? Because if it wasn’t for sailing, I never would have sold my first book.

In 2006 a sailing buddy of mine, Erik Westgard, pestered me to write an article on our sailing adventure in the British Virgin Islands. He’d been writing for magazines for years, but had his eye on the glossy pages of International Yacht Charters and Vacations. To my shock, they chose my article for their June 2006 issue. I was going to be published.

Despite having tried and failed to sell a book at various times over the previous two decades, this pub credit gave me reason to believe in my chances of become a published author. My voice had matured. My dedication had ballooned. This time around I was going to sell or die trying.

I knew contests were a good way to get feedback and bypass the slush pile. In the fall of 2006 I’d finished two manuscripts and started entering them in contests. A lot of contests. To my delight, I made the finals in the the first two contests I entered. I was on my way. Or not. The next few gave me some eye opening feedback. Undaunted, I fixed my problems and got my first request for a full in the summer of 2007. And my first rejection. Slow pacing and not enough conflict.

I began to study craft and revise. More contests gave me more feedback and more full requests. Late 2008, after receiving great feedback on all my rejections letters, I got a form rejection. At a loss for how to move forward, I decided a change of genre was in order. So, I started writing YA. But I never lost my dream of selling to Silhouette Desire.

When I pitched to Kevan Lyon at the 2009 Nationals, I had a book at Harlequin and a two time requested manuscript I’d never submitted. She looked at both. And signed me. The editor who’d asked to see A Case of Meddling, my Silhouette Desire targeted book, had left by this time, but the new associate editor was happy to take a look. And to provide revision notes three weeks later. Believing this might be the one, I quickly turned around a revised manuscript.

To keep myself distracted while I waited to hear something, I entered the Golden Heart. In the past I hadn’t had much luck, but this year proved different. Of the two manuscripts I entered, I thought A Case of Meddling had the best shot. I was wrong. The book that finaled was Fake Fiancee, Real Love. And to my shock, it went on to win the Golden Heart for series contemporary romance.

A month later, Kevan called to tell me we had an offer. A Case of Meddling will hit the shelves as a Silhouette Desire in July 2011. Dreams do come true. Sometimes you just have to be patient and believe.

Cat Schield lives in Minnesota with her daughter, Emily, and their Burmese cat. Winner of the Romance Writers of America 2010 Golden Heart® for series contemporary romance, when she’s not writing sexy, romantic stories for Silhouette Desire, she can be found sailing with friends on the St. Croix River or more exotic locales like the Caribbean and Europe. Contact her at www.catschield.com.