#RWChat at RWA!

July 19, 2017July 22, 20171 Comment

RWchat at RWA

The RWA national conference is in Orlando, FL, next week! From Wednesday, July 26th—Saturday, July 29th, a lot of #RWChat members will be there. Alexis Daria and Robin Lovett will be there, too. We’ve got FOUR #RWChat get-togethers planned so we can meet up and support each other. Big writing conferences can be exciting, yet daunting, experiences, so let’s help each other stay connected, inspired, and energized.

(For those of you who haven’t heard of the Romance Writers of America national conference, here’s the link if you’re interested in checking it out for next year.)

WEDNESDAY July 26th 8:00 P.M. Hang out! Come get your #RWChat BUTTON! We’ll be handing them out so we all know who our #RWChat friends are the whole conference. Location TBD—check Twitter! We’ll be in one of the restaurants/bars at the conference hotel.

#RWchat buttons!

THURSDAY July 27th 8:00 A.M. Wake up! Our first ever LIVE in-person #RWChat session. We’ll discuss how we set goals for the conference and how to stay focused and flexible when there’s so much to do. (Don’t worry, we’ll finish by 8:25 A.M.—in time for the 8:30 A.M. sessions to begin!) Location: Room Oceanic 4

FRIDAY July 28th 3:15 P.M. Check-in! We’ll meet and do a LIVE chat to assess how our conference goals are going so far and what plans we’d like to make for the final day. Location: Room Oceanic 4

SATURDAY July 29th 12:30 P.M. Wrap-up! We’ll chat about how to take everything you’ve learned at the conference and apply it at home. Location: Room Northern Hemisphere Salon E1

For those of you who will be there, we can’t wait to see you. For those of you staying home, we’ll be tweeting as much as we can to share it with you, and we’ll try to stream some of the live sessions. 🙂 Keep an eye on the RWchat Twitter and Facebook accounts!

Coming July 23rd… Community!

July 16, 2017July 16, 2017Leave a comment

Graphic by Alexis Daria

Next week we’re going to celebrate the awesome community that is you, #RWChat-ters! Come chat about the dependable support and empowerment in our creative community.

See you next Sunday 4pm PT/ 7pm ET!

ICYMI: Summer Goals Storify

July 16, 2017July 16, 2017Leave a comment

If you weren’t able to catch last Sunday’s chat on summer goals, RWchat co-host C.L. Polk created a Storify highlight reel. Since we’re past the halfway point in the year, participants checked in on whether they’re 50% of the way through their yearly goals, if they need to reassess (“Is this goal still right for me & my career path?”) or course correct (“I’m still aiming for this goal but I have to get back on track.”), and if it’s easier or more difficult to meet goals during the summer.

Join us for the next chat on Sunday, July 16th, where we’ll talk about selling your book!

ICYMI: “Starving Artist” & Other Damaging Creative Myths Storify

July 4, 2017July 16, 2017Leave a comment

If you weren’t able to catch last Sunday’s chat on damaging creative myths, RWchat co-host C.L. Polk created a Storify highlight reel. During the chat, we talked about creative myths like the “starving artist,” the “rich writer” (we’re looking at you Richard Castle and Carrie Bradshaw), and “selling out.”

Join us for the next chat on July 9th, where we’ll talk about summer goals!

ICYMI: Heroes and Heroines Storify

July 2, 2017July 16, 2017Leave a comment

If you weren’t able to catch last Sunday’s chat on main characters, RWchat co-host C.L. Polk created a Storify highlight reel. During the chat, we talked about our favorite character archetypes, developing backstory, and choosing names for our characters.

Make sure you also check out LaQuette’s guest post on selecting names that speak to the heart of your characters.

ICYMI: Author Responsibility Storify

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017Leave a comment

If you weren’t able to catch last Sunday’s chat on Author Responsibility, RWchat co-host C.L. Polk created a Storify highlight reel. During the chat, we addressed how much responsibility romance authors have in areas like HEA/HFN, safe sex, and representation, and shared gifs depicting our hopes for the evolution of the genre.

Coming June 18th… The Non-Romance Plot

June 11, 2017June 11, 2017Leave a comment

romance writer twitter chat june 18th the non romance plot

Graphic by Alexis Daria

It’s not only about the love story. We have to put other stuff in our plots and in our character’s lives besides romance. How do we round out their experiences and our stories? How do you come up with an external plot that’s both separate and complimentary to the romance driving the story?

Join us to chat about it next Sunday 4pm PT / 7 pm ET.

Coming June 11th… Author Responsibility

June 5, 2017Leave a comment

Graphic by Alexis Daria

We romance writers have a responsibility to readers to get things right. There’s a lot of power in what we write – the power to educate, inspire and change lives. How we navigate subjects like representation, safe sex, healthy relationships and beyond is important.

Come chat about how we do this, the decisions we make and why, on the next #RWChat, Sunday 4pm PT / 7pm ET.

~Robin Lovett

Coming June 4th . . . Romance Stereotypes

May 28, 2017May 29, 2017Leave a comment

romance writer chat RWchat romance stereotypes june 4

Graphic by Alexis Daria

Let’s face it, romance, in our culture, has a lot of stereotypes around it. People think they know what our genre is about, but in reality, most of them don’t. People assume they know what being a writer involves, but yeah, no.

What kinds of judgments and assumptions have you encountered from others as a romance writer? How have you responded?

Join us to chat about the genre we love on Sunday at 4pm PST / 7pm EST!

~Robin Lovett

ICYMI: Marketing Month Storify Links

May 28, 2017May 29, 2017Leave a comment

launch and release day graphic

In case you missed the live chats during Marketing Month, C.L. Polk (Witchmark, Tor 2018) made Storify links.

Our first chat was about newsletters and author websites. We talked about building your email list, creating newsletter content, and what info to include on an author site.
Check out the Storify recap on Newsletters and Author Websites.

Our third chat discussed ARCs and reviews. We were lucky to have a number of bloggers, reviewers, and librarians in attendance! The conversation covered building genuine relationships with bloggers, utilizing FB reader groups, and the role of publishers in handling ARCs — and how that differs if you’re indie.
Check out the Storify recap on ARCs and Reviews.

Our final chat covered book launch and release day. We asked participants to wear both their reader and author hats while answering. The chat addressed everything from cover reveals to release day buzz, from pre-orders to backlist, and everything in-between.
Check out the Storify recap on Book Launch and Release Day.

Did you make any changes to your marketing after these chats?

If you’re looking for more information, check out our other Marketing Month posts, including a guest post from Kristan Higgins!