See who's reading romance: The 2009 RWA Reader Survey

Romance Writers of America recently posted its (May) 2009 Reader Survey, a web-based survey of romance fiction readers. Here are some facts uncovered by the survey on our favorite genre's current readership:

74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008.

The core of the romance fiction market is 29 million regular readers.

24.6 percent of all American [sic] read a romance novel in 2008, versus 21.8 percent in 2005.

29 percent of Americans over the age of 13 read a romance novel in 2008.

Women make up 90.5 percent of the romance readership, and men make up 9.5 percent.

The heart of the U.S. romance novel readership is women aged 31–49 who are currently in a romantic relationship.

Pop over to the Readership Statistics page of the RWA website for more information on today's romance readers, including purchase behavior and some surprising tidbits like this:

45.1 percent [of survey respondents] were not aware that authors receive no royalty payment for the purchase of used books.

Mean judges in RWA's RITA contest?

Last year my second romance novel, A Family Forever, was a finalist for one of Romance Writers of America's coveted RITA awards. This year I entered my third book, A Season of Forgiveness, in the contest. It didn't final, but it came close.

For those unfamiliar with the workings of the contest, each book is scored by five judges who rate it from 1 to 9, with 9 being a perfect score and 1 meaning (not that RWA actually says this in its judging guidelines) that the novel was written by a moron, edited by a chimpanzee, and printed by an inebriated individual on a broken press that left out every third page. Books that score in the top ten percent of their categories--up to a maximum of eight books in each category--move on to the final round of judging.

Yesterday I received my RITA scores in the mail. Here's how the five judges scored my book (bear with me--this will get really interesting in a minute):

8
9
9
8.8
6.5

As you can see, my book made a good showing. Three judges thought it was pretty darn amazing, one it was fairly amazing, and one thought it was better than average. Because there were eight finalists in my category (Inspirational Romance), we know there were at least 80 books entered. According to my score sheet, the distribution of total scores for the books entered in my category was as follows:

Lower half (about 40 entrants): total score of 35.7 or below.
Second quarter (about 20 entrants): 35.8 - 38.6.
Top quarter (about 12 entrants plus the 8 who finaled): 38.7 and higher.

My final score was 41.3. RWA doesn't reveal what I'd have needed to displace the lowest-scoring finalist, but if the judge who awarded my book 6.5 points had instead given it a 1 or a 2 (or possibly even a 3--I stink at probability and statistics), there's an excellent chance I would now be one of the happy eight.

See? I told you this was going to get interesting.

Here's what the RITA score sheet says:

RWA applies a standard deviation method for determining finalists, which means that if the lowest score for this work was found to be outside the range limits, the lowest score was replaced by the average score to determine the final score for this manuscript.

Let's imagine that my 6.5 was a 1 or a 2. Because that score would be found outside the range limits, it would be tossed out and the other scores would be averaged. The low score would be then be replaced by a tidy 8.7, bringing my total score up to 43.5--which, again, might very well have tossed me into the finalists' circle.

I've been thinking about this since exchanging e-mails yesterday with an author friend who mentioned that one RITA judge had given her book a 1. Because my friend's other scores were much higher, the 1 was thrown out and replaced, as described above.

I'd like to believe that giving the lowest possible score to a book by an author of my friend's calibre was some kind of mistake, but my friend thinks that judge hoped to scuttle her chances of becoming a RITA finalist. If that's true, the judge wasn't terribly clever. Rather than dragging down my friend's total score, the nasty judge boosted it.

I know a lot of very good writers who have found ones and twos on their books' score sheets. It has happened to me, as well, although my first book didn't receive high enough scores from the other four judges to have finaled even after the "nasty" score was dropped. But in a scoring system of 1-9, shouldn't a 1 be reserved for those rare cases when a book is so amazingly awful that you wonder who in the world made the unfortunate decision to publish it? Sure, judging books is a subjective business, but there's a difference between a boring or disappointing book and one that shocks us because it is so poorly written.

Why are so many RITA entrants receiving these low scores? Could some RITA judges be attempting to covertly punish authors they hate? I'd like to think we're all behaving like professionals, but the judges remain anonymous, so who knows?

Signing off from RWA Dallas

Good morning from Dallas. The RWA conference went out with a bang last night with a gala awards ceremony followed by a dessert reception. No, I didn't win the RITA for Best Inspirational Romance. That went to the lovely and talented Tamara Alexander, who richly deserved it. I came into this thing knowing I wasn't going to win (my friends jumped all over me every time I said that, but as proud as I am of A Family Forever, I just never believed it was the best book in that bunch) so I was determined to enjoy being a finalist--and I certainly did that. Being a RITA finalist is a huge honor, and I'll never forget (and I'll never let anybody else forget!) that I was accorded that honor for a book that will always be very dear to my heart.

This has been my best conference ever, and also the busiest. I'm sorry I wasn't able to blog more, but friends, I came here to experience the conference, not sit in my hotel room and blog about it. I'm glad my hunk o' burnin' love has been here since Friday afternoon because now he knows more about what goes on here and why it's so important to my writing. In addition to gleaning information about the workings of this business and picking up some writing tips and loads of encouragement, the networking with other authors and editors is just invaluable to me. Every time I have coffee with a writer I admire or meet with my editors, I learn something I can use when I go back home to write.

As of this morning, I'm on vacation. Except for Tuesday, when we'll travel to Killeen and Ft. Hood to do some research, my husband and I will spend this entire week visiting family here in Texas. I don't know what kind of internet access I'll have, so expect this week's blog entries to be few and far between. I'll be back at my own desk sometime next Monday.

Have a great week, everyone. And thanks for reading No rules. Just write.

This conference is killin' me

Yesterday was so busy I didn't have even a minute to power up my computer. Things are going great here in Dallas, but I'm about ready for it to be over. We start early in the morning (breakfast at 7:30), go to meetings and workshops all day, and then have parties each night. Last night was the glitzy Harlequin party. As always, the floral decorations were gorgeous (orchids everywhere!) and the food was wonderful. (Wish I'd tucked a couple of those cute little white-chocolate truffles in my evening bag!)

One of yesterday's highlights was attending the afternoon reception for RITA and Golden Heart finalists. Champagne and nibbles were served, and I had a wonderful time chatting with my fellow finalists in the Inspirational category. They're all very sweet, wildly talented women, so it will be easy to be happy for the winner.

I have actually worked an afternoon nap into today's schedule because whether I win a RITA award or not, I'll be partying again tonight. One last time. Until next year, when we do this all over again in San Francisco.

Thursday at the RWA conference

One of the great things about the RWA conference is that each attender gets a fat notebook containing all of the handouts for every workshop offered here. Today I missed a workshop I meant to attend, so when I have time, I'll take a look at the handouts and decide whether I want to buy the CD.

Today's luncheon speaker was both entertaining and inspiring--just like her writing. After noting how often romance writers are ridiculed for writing "trashy books" instead of "real" and "important" books, Lisa Kleypas went on to give examples of how reading romance novels encourages and empowers women. Insisting that romance novels satisfy a woman's need to believe happy endings are always possible, she related the story of how her family lost all of their worldly possessions to a flood some ten years ago. When Lisa went shopping for their emergency needs, she filled a cart with the expected T-shirts and socks and toothbrushes--then added a romance novel because that, too, was an emergency need. Every head in the room nodded in understanding. Romance novels give us hope by reminding us of the awesome power of love.

I write inspirational romance, so I'm doubly aware of that. I get to write love stories between men and women while also showing those heroes' and heroines' deepening relationships with God. I can't tell you how much I love my job!

This afternoon the Steeple Hill authors and editors met to discuss the direction our lines (Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense, Love Inspired Historical, etc.) are headed. I was delighted but not at all surprised to hear that our phenomenal growth continues unabated. The editors told us what's been selling the best and what they're looking for, and the authors got to ask some questions. I love this annual catch-up session and came away from today's meeting with some new plans for my writing.

That's all for now. I'm off to put in a brief appearance at a party, but I hope to have my head on the pillow by midnight. Tomorrow will be another busy day.

RWA Dallas: I'm already tired

It's nearly midnight here in Dallas, and I'm beat. But I didn't want to let the day go without blogging, so here are some quick notes:

Early yesterday evening, my sister picked me up at the airport and we enjoyed an early dinner at The Oceanaire. We loved the shrimp and crabmeat cocktails, the fried green tomatoes, and the stuffed halibut. (Note to the pastry chef: Your key lime pie was delightfully tart, but remember that a little gelatin goes a long way.)

This is my sixth RWA conference, so arriving at the hotel was a little like showing up at a family reunion. After I checked in at the front desk, I didn't even make it to the elevator lobby before seven or eight people had grabbed me for hugs. Now my sister thinks I'm famous.

Today's Faith, Hope & Love mini-conference was fun and inspiring. My second book was up for the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest, but didn't win. (I'm taking home a certificate for third place in my category.)

After the mini-conference I picked up my registration packet for the main conference, which begins tomorrow. I've already reviewed my schedule for the next couple of days, and it's pretty much as I posted yesterday.

My hotel room is nothing special, but there's a lovely lavendar-scented soap in the bathroom, so I am going to have very clean hands for the rest of this week.

The free books are already beginning to stack up in my room. I have nine so far, and will probably take home three times that number. Good thing I wised up this year and brought two suitcases instead of one.

I found out today that the RWA website has just been revamped. Check it out. One great new feature will be the live coverage of this Saturday's RITA and Golden Heart awards ceremony. The winners will be posted as they are announced. Very nice for those who can't be here but are hungry for news.

That's it for me. Look for more tomorrow.

7 quick, foolproof steps to suitcase-packing

I know I said I'd post my RWA conference schedule today, but I've changed my mind and will post that tomorrow. Since so many of my writing friends are at this moment stressing over what and how to pack for the conference, I thought I'd share the technique I've been using for years.

Packing for the RWA conference in Dallas is going to be a fairly involved process for me this year because in addition to needing four days' worth of "business casual" and two fancy evening outfits, I'll need more than a week's worth of vacation clothes. (My hunk o' burnin' love is planning to meet me in Dallas at the end of the conference; we'll spend that next week in Texas visiting relatives and doing book research.) So I'll be dragging two suitcases this year.

Good thing I have a foolproof method for packing without overpacking and without forgetting a single thing. Here it is:

1. Pack the night before your trip. I'll explain in a minute why that's such a good idea.

2. Think about what you'll need that first night at the hotel. Put your jammies and other stuff in a pile on your bed. Now go over your nighttime rituals and add whatever toiletries and other things you'll use.

3. Think about the morning of your first day. Put the toiletries and makeup you'll need in a pile on your bed. Now consider your schedule and choose an outfit for that day. Put it on the bed along with the shoes, unmentionables, and jewelry you'll wear with it. If there's a party that night, the next pile on your bed will be party clothes (including shoes, jewelry, and evening bag).

4. Mentally walk through the rest of your week and make piles for each day and evening. Next, make a pile of emergency clothes: a light sweater, a go-with-everything shirt in case you spill coffee on one of the others, a pair of comfy jeans, etc.

5. Now make a pile Other Stuff: business cards and promotional items, a charger for your cell phone, a plastic trash bag for soiled clothes, a box of granola bars for midnight snacking in your hotel room, etc. Again, try to think through one day, one event, at a time. Will you want a camera for Wednesday's book-signing? A notebook to take to the workshops? A swimsuit or workout clothes? Put all of those things on your bed.

6. Time to drag out your suitcase. Put your shoes aside for a moment and pack all of your outfits in the order you'll wear them. Next, put all of your toiletries and makeup into one small bag. Put your jewelry into another small bag. (I have cute little bags for just those purposes, but Ziploc Freezer Bags are lighter and less bulky and you can see at a glance what's in 'em, so you might want to use those.) Now tuck in your shoes and everything else and close the suitcase. You're packed!

7. On the morning of your travel day, you should find that everything you need for showering, doing your hair, and applying makeup is in your travel bag. That's good. Just as though you were in the hotel, use things right out of your bag and then put them back.

Congratulations. You have just done a run-through of tomorrow morning's get-up-and-get-dressed routine and you haven't forgotten to pack a single thing!

Gearing up for the RWA conference

I've been blogging "lite" for the past couple of weeks because I was hustling to meet a book deadline (a long synopsis and the first three chapters of my September 2008 book, At His Command.) Yesterday, at last, I got that puppy in the mail. Now I'm shockingly behind on my e-mail and other internet chores, but it could take a while to catch up because I'm fixin' to (as they say in Texas) head to Dallas for the annual Romance Writers of America Conference.

I now have two days to pull my schedule together, make business cards and decide what promotional items to take (I can usually be counted on to provide a snazzy purple pen and some Dove chocolates to anyone who asks), pack my clothes, and teach my flowers how to water themselves while I'm gone. I'll be leavin' outta here (as they say in Texas) on Tuesday.

Yes, I'll be blogging from the conference. I'm always a little surprised that so many people are interested in such posts, especially as I'm not certain how representative my conferences are of the typical romance writer's experience. I'm not big on attending workshops, for example, and there are always well over a hundred different workshops offered at this conference, which usually draws more than 2,000 writers. Most of my time is spent networking, which is basically just seeing old friends and making new ones. Of course, those friends are my fellow writers and editors, and we have juicy discussions about the craft and things like trends and marketing. I've heard some writers complain that the annual RWA conference is an expensive way to see friends (it costs me about $2,000 a year for registration, airline tickets, and accommodations), but the conference is a once-a-year business expense that enables me to keep my finger on the pulse of the industry I'm involved in.

When I sold my first book in the spring of 2002, I immediately joined RWA. Since then I haven't missed a conference (Denver, New York City, Dallas, Reno, Atlanta--see proof of my attendance in the photo up there on the left). I don't participate in any other writing conferences, so this is a big deal for me; the only time all year I get to see my writer friends and my editors face-to-face.

Some people make detailed schedules for the RWA conferences, while others just drift with the current. I don't offer any advice on that except to suggest that you ask yourself exactly what you want to take away from the conference and then plan accordingly. Newbies often seem to feel that they must be everywhere and do everything, but I'm telling you, kids, that's just not possible. You can't do everything at the RWA conference any more than you can see Disney World in two hours.

I usually make up a fairly detailed schedule before I leave for the conference. That's necessary in part because I arrange to meet so many people for meals and coffee. But if you're a first-timer heading to the conference, please, please don't worry about not having any friends there. We're all writers, so plunk yourself down at a table and ask a couple of strangers what they write. Trust me, you'll make friends fast because we writers would talk to brick walls if we thought they'd care to hear about our novels.

Tomorrow I'll post my conference schedule. Stay tuned.

On the unfathomable mysteries of book-publishing

There are writers out there who know their novels are good enough to sell, but who find the publishers aren't biting. They twist their brains into knots trying to figure out why so many poorly-written, predictable novels are snaped up by acquiring editors when their manuscripts don't even get a full read. Those people and many others will find some eye-opening quotes in yesterday's New York Times article about the shocking cluelessness of the book-publishing industry. The article pretty much spells out that deciding which books to buy (or not) is no more exact a science than picking winning ponies at the race track.

There are quite a few eyebrow-raisers in the article. I'll quote some of them:

Publishers...put up Web sites where, in some cases, readers can sign up for announcements of new titles. But information rarely flows the other way — from readers back to the editors.

“We need much more of a direct relationship with our readers,” said Susan Rabiner, an agent and a former editorial director. Bloggers have a much more interactive relationship with their readers than publishers do, she said. “Before Amazon, we didn’t even know what people thought of the books,” she said.

Why not? How hard would it be to ask?

Most in the industry seem to see consumer taste as a mystery that is inevitable and even appealing, akin to the uncontrollable highs and lows of falling in love or gambling. Publishing employees tend to be liberal arts graduates who enter the field with a starting salary around $30,000. Compensation is not tied to sales performance. “The people who go into it don’t do it for the money, which might explain why it’s such a bad business,” Mr. Strachan said.

That's an interesting observation. But it's a "bad business" all around, as few published authors are able to make a good living, either. I lay that at the door of publishers, who make money purely by accident and who lose it by sheer stupidity. That's some business model you've got there, friends!

Eric Simonoff, a literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit Associates, said that whenever he discusses the book industry with people in other industries, “they’re stunned because it’s so unpredictable, because the profit margins are so small, the cycles are so incredibly long, and because of the almost total lack of market research.”

Why haven't publishers made any discernable effort to get a handle on what makes readers buy some books and not others? How is selling books different from selling potato chips or running shoes? Can't somebody interview a few bookbuyers and find out why certain books are bestsellers and others aren't?

They could, but they don't. I mean, they really don't. There is no business in the world like publishing. Here's more:

The industry does follow trends to pursue growth, but when it comes to acquisitions, methods have not changed much in hundreds of years, says Al Greco, a professor of marketing at Fordham University.

IT’S the way this business has run since 1640,” he says. That is when 1,700 copies of the Bay Psalm Book were published in the colonies. “It was a gamble, and they guessed right because it sold out of the print run. And ever since then, it has been a crap shoot,” Professor Greco said.

“It’s guesswork,” says Bill Thomas, editor in chief of Doubleday Broadway. “The whole thing is educated guesswork, but guesswork nonetheless. You just try to make sure your upside mistakes make up for your downside mistakes.”

Yet publishers still stubbornly avoid doing even the most basic market research.

Some experts wonder if book publishers might uncover more [successful] books...if they tried harder to find out more about their buyers and what they want.

“The Newspaper Association of America has a staggering amount of data on people who read newspapers. The book business has, basically, nothing,” said Professor Greco. “They’re not going into the marketplace and doing mall intercepts and asking people, as they leave the bookstore, ‘What did you buy? Did you find what you’re looking for? What motivated you to choose that book?’”

An exception is the consumer research gathered by the Romance Writers of America, a writers’ association that publishes a regular market study of romance readers. It reports survey information on, for example, demographics, what respondents are reading, where they are getting the books and how often, and what kind of covers attract them. Romance authors and publicists use the information to create promotional campaigns.

Most publishers, though, continue to gather data on sales and not much else, though past performance is certainly no guarantee of future results, even from the same author.

I've always found the RWA stats interesting but not particularly helpful, as the depth and breadth of the surveys is limited by financial considerations. But at least the romance writers are trying to figure out what people enjoy reading and why. The publishers are doing nothing at all.

Unless gazing into crystal balls counts as market research.

Thanks, Harlequin!

My neighbor just stopped by to deliver a package that was left at her house by mistake a couple of days ago. Inside the box was this delightful suprise from CEO Donna Hayes and the other PTB at Harlequin Enterprises: eighteen Godiva truffles (my favorite!) with a note congratulating me on "our" book's nomination for Romance Writers of America's RITA Award.

Do I have a cool publisher, or what?

Now, if only Starbucks delivered....

Woo-hoo! I'm a RITA finalist!

I was aware that finalists for Romance Writers of America's RITA awards for published novelists (and Golden Heart awards for unpublished writers) would be contacted by phone today and given their good news. Yes, I entered the contest, but I never dreamed I would get one of those calls, so even though my answering machine isn't working right now, I dragged my hunk o' burnin' love to the local garden center to buy some flats of pansies and primroses to pot up for the back garden. When we returned home, the phone was ringing.

My second book, A Family Forever, is a finalist in the Inspirational category of the most prestigious award in the romance industry--and now I'm too tickled to think straight. So to finish this post, I'll fall back on what I wrote here on the blog on March 24 of last year:

I wouldn't dream of calling any of my romance-author friends today without first ascertaining that they have both Caller ID and Call Waiting. That's because today is the day the calls go out to the finalists in the mother of all romance-writing contests, Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Awards. Today romance novelists everywhere will bite their nails and mutter, "Ring! Ring, darn you!" to their silent telephones. And by tonight the romance-writing corner of the blogisphere will be buzzing with news of who did or did not get a call informing them that their book had advanced to the final round of judging.

What's a RITA? Simply the best-known award in the romance industry. Entered romance novels are judged by panels of published romance authors, and winners in thirteen categories are announced in an Oscar-style evening (glittery gowns, spotlights, presenters cracking lame jokes, trembling winners thanking their editors and their agents and their spouses and sometimes, God) at the close of the annual RWA Conference.

How do you win a RITA? First, you publish a romance novel. Then you fill out a contest form, write a check for $40, and mail five copies of your book to the RWA offices in Houston. They'll send your books to the contest judges, all of whom are published authors and RWA members.

Does a RITA win mean your book was the best published all year in your category? Assuredly not. A RITA win means your book is very, very good. It does not mean your book is "the best" of anything. Here are some facts to back up that assertion:

1. If a book is not entered, it can't win. While books may indeed be entered by authors who aren't RWA members, it's a fact that not every author--member or not--will enter her books. So while this contest is a huge deal in the industry, it does not determine the absolute best romances published, but only spotlights some of the great ones.

2. If even one of the judges in the preliminary round gives your book a low score, you're out of the running. We authors like to believe we always behave professionally when judging books, but we're still human. We have bad days and we have personal biases. Sometimes those things affect our judgment even when we don't realize it. And a single judge can prevent your fabulous book from winning a RITA award.

3. If your book makes it to the final rounds and one of those judges gives you a low score, same deal. You lose. The RITA will be awarded to the author whose book scored the highest in your category.

As you can see, it is entirely possible for a wildly popular, beautifully written, gonna-go-down-in-history romance novel to be overlooked in the RITA contest. But what is not possible--and here's the real value of the awards--is for a poorly crafted romance novel to win. A book of inferior quality just isn't going to make it past two separate panels of judges. But for argument's sake, let's say that in the crapshoot that decides which books are sent to which judges, one stinker of a book somehow ends up being evaluated in the preliminary round by several of the author's sorority sisters. Yes, the book will advance to the finals. But what are the chances of its being judged this time by several more of the author's biggest fans?

What does a RITA win mean? It's a huge affirmation of a book's quality. This July at the awards ceremony in Atlanta [make that Dallas for 2007], the entire industry will sit up and take notice of the thirteen winners as one at a time they climb the stage steps, their sequined gowns dazzling in the spotlights as the coveted golden statuettes are presented in front of more than 2,000 authors, editors, and agents.

Congratulations are definitely in order for the 75 or so finalists who will be getting those thrilling phone calls today.

Romance documentary to air in Canada

Heads up, Canadians. On Thursday, March 8 at 8:30PM EST, you might want to tune your TV sets to the BRAVO! Canada channel for a documentary on the romance industry, "Who's Afraid of Happy Endings?"

Part of the footage was shot at the annual Romance Writers of America Conference held in Reno in the summer of 2005. (Longtime NRJW readers may recall that I blogged from there.) I mention that because the film crew was highly visible and several of my author and editor friends who read this blog (they know who they are) found themselves in front of the cameras.

Over at Teach Me Tonight, the excellent Laura Vivanco (who also reads this blog, but that's not the only reason I call her "excellent") has posted some detailed information and quotes about the documentary and includes a link to a video clip featuring Nora Roberts and Debbie Macomber. Click over there, even if you won't be in Canada on Thursday night, because it's interesting stuff.

No word, yet, on when the documentary might air in the U.S. But bookmark Laura's post and check back, because she has invited viewers to share their impressions of the program.

Judging contests . . . or not

Last week I received another e-mail asking me to judge a writing contest. As always, I declined.

I don't judge writing contests. I can't judge writing contests.

I am mildly dyslexic, wildly impatient, and I have the attention span of a six-year-old the day before Christmas. Trust me, you do not want me reading your manuscript or your book and assigning it a score.

I would make a very poor contest judge, even if I tried hard. But here's the thing: I am not going to try. I can't think of any reason why I should. I have better things to do with my time than force myself to read, all in the name of fairness, books that do not fully engage my interest.

This attitude shocks most of the romance novelists I hang with. I have been accused (even by my friends, who say it nicely, but who still say it) of having an unprofessional attitude. But come on. My publisher doesn't give a flip whether I judge writing contests or not. So don't tell me that judging contests was part of the deal when I became a romance novelist. Judging contests is not the mark of a "professional" romance novelist any more than wearing a pink feather boa is.

And please don't tell me that if a writer enters Romance Writers of America's RITA contest (which I did last year) she is obligated to judge a couple of categories. Authors pay money to enter that contest; the entry form says nothing about promising to judge. If it did, I wouldn't have entered (I'm all for giving judges a break on their entry fees, however; that seems fair).

Yes, I can hear some of you now: "It's a moral obligation." Well, sorry, but I don't base my morals on public opinion, and I'm getting really tired of hearing other romance novelists drop heavy hints about things that are Done or Not Done in This Community. Girls, this is not high school, and I don't have to join the club and wear the sweater if I don't want to. Also, I'd like to point out that while only RWA members may judge the RITA contest, one need not be an RWA member to enter it. Bearing that in mind, doesn't that whole "moral obligation" argument begin to sound a little silly?

And please don't suggest--unless you want to hear me laugh--that I should judge contests because I owe something to the genre. The genre has done nothing for me. What success I've had in writing romance, I owe not to some nebulous concept of "the genre" but to the grace of God.

One of the ways I express my gratitude to Him is by offering encouragment to my fellow writers. That's part of what this blog is about. And in addition to having posted pages and pages of specific writing tips on my website, I have been active in several online writers' communities over the past three years, especially this one. Also, anyone who e-mails me with a question or comment will always get a quick, personal response.

I'm doing what I like to do and what I'm good at, helping other writers in my own small ways. I'm not particularly interested in whether the scorekeepers in the romance-writing community think I'm doing enough or doing the right things. I would like to believe that all contest judges are people who enjoy judging and who are good at it, but I often wonder how many have simply caved under pressure from their peers to "do their part".

I'm always flattered when someone values my opinion enough to ask me to critique a manuscript or judge a published book. But I'm afraid I must decline all offers to ride on the contest-judges' bandwagon.

Thanks for understanding. Even if you don't.

---

UPDATED FEBRUARY 3, 2009

For the next few days, this page will be getting hundreds of clicks because Romance Writer's of America's e-mail newsletter is linking here. I'd like to point out that my post is now almost four years old, and while my sentiments about judging contests have not changed a bit, I have for the past three years judged RWA's RITA contest. That's because I've been entering my own books, and any RWA member who enters and who does not volunteer to judge other categories of the contest risks having her own books tossed out if too few judges sign up. In that sense, many RITA judges have not volunteered for the job. They have been coerced.