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Welcome to the Reader & Author Gazette.
In this new publication, you can anticipate engaging content geared toward romance readers as well as education and enrichment for the author community. Founded in 1994, The First Coast Romance Writers, an independent, non-profit, writing organization, offers a place for like-minded folks to share ideas and fellowship with each other. One of the best aspects of FCRW is its encouragement and resources for both new and experienced writers.
Each month, the first half of this newsletter will focus on the incredibly diverse group of folks who love to read romance. We’ll spotlight authors and amazing books in every issue. We fervently hope you’ll come back edition after edition for fresh experiences and opportunities to hear about your favorite authors’ next release or a sale price on a book you want to purchase.
The second portion will feature authors in the FCRW organization or special guests invited to contribute. The best thing FCRW provides is encouragement for both new and experienced writers. Supporting authors and author education is the mission of FCRW.
More about the First Coast Romance Writers, we host an annual, nationwide contest the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, NERFA https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/contests-3, for published authors to compete for recognition. We also publish the Romancing the Holidays series, an anthology https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/anthologies, each year as an educational and fund-raising tool to help pay for our monthly writing craft workshops.
I’m Leah Miles, current president of FCRW, and an avid reader of books of all genres, particularly the ones with a happily ever after. I also write romantic suspense and love stories about characters who are dear to my heart. https://www.facebook.com/leahmilesauthor
Whether you enjoy writing, reading, or both, this is the perfect place for you if you love romance and crave a happily ever after. This is a journey we can all enjoy together.
Best regards,
Leah Miles, FCRW President
Newsletter.FCRW@gmail.com
FCRW meets the second Saturday of every month, virtually and in person* at the West Regional Branch of the Duval County library in Jacksonville, Florida. Beginning at 10:00 AM, our business meeting is immediately followed by (two) fifty-minute educational workshops relevant to writing, publishing, advertising, and other industry related topics. You can find workshop information on our website — https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com.
We welcome new members and visitors to all meetings, and there’s no cost to attend in 2022. In January 2023, we’ll begin requiring annual membership dues of $40 per person, or, if you prefer, you can simply pay $10 to attend one of our educational workshops.
*In person meetings will resume in the near future as well as continue to be offered online simultaneously.
Welcome to the Reader & Author Gazette by Leah Miles
FCRW President - https://www.facebook.com/leahmilesauthor
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 Hello Readers!
Does reading a romance novel make you happy? Then you’re in the right place. Please help the Reader & Author Gazette provide content that fills your desires. We have a few ideas but want to hear from you.
Click here for a brief survey.
The Reader & Author Gazette appreciates your thoughts. Let us know how we’re doing at newsletter.fcrw@gmail.com
Hello Readers! by Vickey Wollan, Reader & Author Gazette Editor - https://vickeywollanauthor.com
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Monthly Multi-Author Event
Starting on August 15, 2022 the Reader & Author Gazette will host a monthly multi-author event. We want to help readers find new authors and help authors find new readers. Come back next month to see Romance Anthologies. The event is still growing but already has 13 anthology novels, a couple of New York Times Best Sellers and many USA Today Best Sellers. Here is the schedule so you won’t miss your favorite romance genre:
Aug - Romance Anthologies
Sep - Women's Fiction / Mainstream Fiction with Romantic Elements
Oct - Paranormal Romance
Nov - Holiday Themed Romance
Dec - Inspirational Romance
Jan - Historical Romance / Regency Romance
Feb - Contemporary Romance
Mar - Romantic Suspense
Apr - Futuristic / Fantasy Romance
May - Young Adult Romance
Jun - Motorcycle Club Romance
Jul - Romance novella of any genre
Monthly Multi-Author Event by First Coast Romance Writers - https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/
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Romancing the H olidays – Volume 1
A dozen ways to fall in love at the holidays.
Come celebrate the holidays with these dozen unique romances, ranging from sweet to steamy and all ending with a happily-ever-after. This anthology of short stories, written by multi-award-winning authors, including New York Times best-selling author, Alyssa Day, will transport you from Labor Day and Halloween antics to Christmas and Valentine romantics.
Its stories will whisk you away into contemporary, historical, and paranormal worlds where love prevails. So, savor the authors featured in this enchanting book and bet your heart on some romantic cheer while you enjoy these twelve ways to fall in love.
Proceeds from this novel benefit First Coast Romance Writers, a non-profit chapter of Romance Writers of America that helps writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.
https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/anthologies/ |
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Front row: L to R - Vickey Wollan, Melody Johnson, Karen Renee and Maggie FitzRoy. Back row: L to R - Sara Walker, Leah Miles and Gloria Ferguson. Not pictured: Alyssa Day, C.L. Thomas, Debby Grahl, P.K. Brent, and Lia Davis.
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Looking for a Happily Ever After? How about fourteen of them?!
Romancing the Holidays, Volume 2 is a collection of romantic short stories all with the happy ending you crave. Genres include: contemporary, historical, paranormal, romantic suspense and young adult.
And what better time to find romance than during the holidays? Escape into these Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Three Kings Day and Valentine’s Day adventures, and swoon anew with each couple as they fall in love.
Proceeds from this anthology benefit First Coast Romance Writers, a non-profit chapter of Romance Writers of America that helps writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.
https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com/anthologies/
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Front row: L to R - Barbara Whitaker, Melody Johnson, Karen Renee and Vickey Wollan. Back row: L to R - Laura Salas, Sara Walker, Leah Miles, Gloria Ferguson and Maggie FitzRoy. Not pictured: Debby Grahl, Elise Darby, Abigail Sharpe, P.K. Brent and Candese Nieves.
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 Finding the best Writing App
Finding a writing program for your business is a serious challenge. Microsoft Word is the go-to for a lot of authors. It's been around forever and has proven its reliability. But it's a word PROCESSOR. Some authors are intimidated by the blank white screen staring back at them, and they need more guidance on scene structure and story building. So, I thought I would present you with some options OTHER THAN Word to get your manuscript down. These are all things that I've tried and learned from. I’ve been publishing for twelve years and have published almost 50 romances, so I’m always looking for innovations and ways to make my writing career a little easier.
Scrivener- A lot of people have heard about Scrivener. It's not a bad platform once you figure out all the bells and whistles. But there are a LOT of bells and whistles. YouTube has tutorial after tutorial to help you learn Scrivener. I could use it, but I was never a master, and a few times I screwed things up. Bad. Then I would have to go hunting for a video to see if I could fix my screw up. It was not user friendly. $50
Ulysses- This is a much more stylized writing app, similar to Scrivener, but more streamlined. Only for Apple users, though. It bugged me and I can’t even identify why exactly. I deleted it within a few days. $50
Papyrus Author- This is another writing app that puts a lot of tools at your fingertips. It’s well thought out, colorful, but it seems a little busy to me. Free plan can be upgraded.
Novel Factory is good if you're looking for concise and comprehensive scene by scene, act by act guidance. I'm not a great plotter, so it was wasted on me, but it did have some nice aspects. It delves, in depth, into the writing process. Sometimes you can lose the story in the process of all that business, though. It’s not as complicated as Scrivener, but it can be challenging. Plans start at $7.50 a month.
Plot Factory is more streamlined, and it has a dashboard to keep track of your manuscripts and your universes. It seems like an app that would be good for sci-fi writers, because you can build your universe inside, including having rules for your universe. It also has a nice word target function. I used it for a good while. Plans start at $9 a month.
I, personally, need to see my word target beside my writing, and the progress I make toward that target. So, I’ve been using a program that not a lot of people know of. It’s called Dabble. As soon as I downloaded it, I loved it. If you’re a writer who likes to travel between coffee shops and libraries, or meetings, this is a very handy tool. I’ve got it on my phone, my tablet and my laptop, and it syncs word by word. I can literally type in a word on my laptop, open my tablet, and it’s there. It’s so easy! It exports files in a snap, and I’ve never had an issue with it. I’ve written almost fifteen books on it, now, and haven’t found anything better to suit me. At $15 a month, I consider it a vital business expense.
Writing apps are very personal to the author. These are just a few versions I have experience with. Take the time to explore them and find the one that motivates you to get the words down!
Scrivener- https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS
Ulysses- https://ulysses.app/pricing/
Papyrus Author- https://www.papyrusauthor.com/plans/
Novel Factory- https://www.novel-software.com/buy-novel-writing-software/
Plot Factory- https://plotfactory.com/app/subscribe
Dabble- https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
Finding the best Writing App by J.M. Madden www.jmmadden.com
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author J.M. Madden writes compelling romances between 'combat modified' military men and the women who love them, but occasionally she writes spicy, angst-ridden love. An eternal optimist, she believes there is a soulmate for everyone, no matter what the situation or physical challenge.
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Studying the Craft of Writing
Renowned literary agent Donald Maass says writing fiction is a complicated art form that takes years to master.
I smiled and felt an instant sense of relief when I read that in his book, Writing the Breakout Novel. It explained why I hadn’t even begun to write as well as I wanted to, and that learning how to write better and better could—and would—be an ongoing goal for the rest of my life.
The idea that there would always be something new for me to learn and work to perfect was exciting.
Like many writers, I have bookshelves filled with books on writing by numerous masters of the field. But reading books on writing could only take me so far.
So I began to analyze the writing of some of my favorite best-selling authors to figure out what they were doing that made them so good. I’d underline sentences and paragraphs, then study the words and construction, then try to write sentences using the same patterns with different words. But that also only got me so far because while I could recognize and mimic good writing, I didn’t have a clear idea as to why it was good.
Now I understand why stellar writing is stellar. I have an in-depth understanding as to what successful writers are doing thanks to Lawson Writer’s Academy, which offers affordable month-long online writing classes for fiction writers. Available on the website https://www.margielawson.com/ and created by psychologist and writing coach Margie Lawson, the classes teach specific techniques, and through homework assignments, offer feedback by expert writing instructors and critiques by fellow classmates.
Margie suggests beginning with what she calls her big three: Empowering Characters’ Emotions; Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More; and Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues Like a Psychologist. Those three can be taken in any order, so I took the body language and dialogue class first, because I needed advice in that area. The techniques I learned were so eye-opening that I took the other two classes, and since have taken many others, including The Truth About Writing and Money (the publishing industry); Writing Dangerous Novels (romantic suspense, thrillers); Visceral Rules: Beyond Hammering Hearts (visceral emotions); Writing Action Scenes (since I was beginning to delve into romantic suspense); Writing Sizzling Synopsis, Deep Point of View; and Social Media for Authors.
Class lessons are released throughout the month in PDF format, which means you can print them out and keep them for ongoing reference. That’s also true for your homework lessons, which every class member can see, comment on, and learn from, based on the instructor’s feedback and comments.
Most monthly classes are priced at $100 or less, which I consider very affordable, based on other writing classes I have investigated. The academy also offers two week-long classes and some webinars.
I feel like I have received more than my money’s worth, as far as my writing skills are concerned, and will probably take other classes that interest me in the future.
But what I’ve learned has also made me a better reader. Now, when I read best-selling authors, I know exactly what they are doing that makes them so good.
That’s not to say that I’m there yet myself. But it’s a start.
Studying the Craft of Writing by Maggie FitzRoy
Reader & Author Gazette Author - https://maggiefitzroy.com/
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NATIONAL EXCELLENCE IN ROMANCE FICTION AWARD – NERFA
The purpose of the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award (NERFA) is to recognize and bring attention to the best romance fiction each year. We rely on the experts — romance readers like you — to help us accomplish this important goal.
The 2022 NERFA Finalist will be announced on July 24 on the FCRW website
( https://www.firstcoastromancewriters.com ).
Coming up next, Final Round Judging: August 1st – 31st, 2022.
Winners will be announced in the September 15th edition of this newsletter.
Contest Sponsor
The National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award is sponsored by First Coast Romance Writers (FCRW). FCRW is an independent non-profit organization for both published and unpublished writers. The organization is dedicated to promoting excellence in romantic fiction through monthly meetings and workshops where published and unpublished writers share knowledge about the constantly evolving publishing industry.
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Romancing the Holidays – Volume 2 
