LaConnie Taylor-Jones

My response has been and will continue to be the same. Why not?

I love romance! Plain and simple. Based on the 2006 report from Simba Information, revenue from romance fiction was estimated at 1.37 billion dollars. With the exception of religion/inspirational books, romance fiction outsold every market category with a whopping twenty-six percent. So, there are a lot of authors and readers who love my addiction to the genre, too.

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Have you ever wondered how a novel ends up on the big screen? Well, I asked myself this very question over the winter break when I took my daughter to see New Moon, the second book from the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.

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If a Gallup Poll was conducted today and people were asked to define the term romance, an overwhelming percentage would say it’s the collection of love stories, the genre. Although the term has several meanings, there’s one other definition I’d like to put on the table—the spirit of adventure.

Aaah…the spirit of adventure! Are you ignoring the still, soft voice of your inner spirits? You know the one, the voice that begs and challenges you to escape the comfort zone you’re in and strive for higher ground. None of else, and especially authors should ever permit the walls of complacency to close in around them.

Perhaps you’re at a crossroad in life, contemplating a new path. Even though circumstances are aligning in perfect sync in order to go in that new direction, you fail to seize the opportunity. Why?

I don’t believe any industry is as daunting as the world of publishing. Every day, authors are faced with decisions ranging from penning in a different genre to changing agents or publishing houses. Instead of embracing modification, they hide behind the shield of same-old, same-old. Why?

Maybe, just maybe the ability to embrace our romance, the spirit of adventure is because we fear change.

Let’s face it people, change is the most difficult concept for human beings to accept. It’s even more difficult for writers. Whether the reluctance to engage in our romance is due to procrastination, lack of effort, or fear of the unknown, those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities just might pass us by. Then we’re left to ponder the proverbial, ‘what if’.

I’m not a ‘what if’ individual—never have been. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve delved into some romances in my lifetime that have straight up bombed! Rather than dwell on my lack of success, I focused on the lessons learned, the experience gained. There are some things in life only our romance can teach us.

What romance lies dormant inside of you?

It took twelve months to complete the first draft of my manuscript. Five revisions and six months later, those three hundred and ten pages circled through the literary community in search of a home. Days turned into weeks and before long, twelve months had come and gone. My manuscript was still homeless. Finally, I received ‘the call’ in the fall of ’06 and thought I’d won the battle, right? Aah!!

The war hadn’t begun, yet.

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Here we go…again!

It appears yet another tell-all book is slated for our reading pleasure with the January 2010 release of “Game Change” by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Of course, this comes on the heels of Sarah Palin’s December 2009 “Going Rouge”.

Haven’t enough of these books landed on bookstore shelves? Remember when Scott McClellan dropped an atomic bomb on the world with his version of the White House under George W. Bush? And who can forget Barbara Walters recap of her ‘secret’ split-the-sheet sessions with former Senator Ed Brooks. Of course, Star Jones got busted in the process and fired back. Mind you, some of her anger was really directed at Al, who hinted his side of the story is on the way.

Folks maybe it’s me, but does it seem as though the publishing industry has become inundated with celebrities or wanna-be spot lighters coming from underneath every rock to share their stories? Not only do they land multi-million dollar advances, they’re on the television circuit before the book lands on the shelves, which by the way easily finds its way to the top of the NYT Bestsellers List.

Stay with me, people. It gets even better.

These books are published by the same publishers who’ve recently reported record losses resulting in staff reductions, moratoriums on manuscript acquisitions, and cuts to author advances and print-runs, or all of the above. If things are so bad in the industry, how is it they can cough up seven figures for three hundred pages of ‘he said, she said’, sponsor lavish events for their sales force, but send me and you a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ form letter for a potentially quality manuscript?

Somebody please tell me I’ve got this picture twisted!

Until next time – stay well and be blessed.