People are talking…

…like I knew they would.

And I knew this, because, heck, I’ve done it too. Buzz wouldn’t be buzz if it didn’t make a noise. Fortunately, very little of it has reached my ears or computer screen. My friends who have heard the cattiness or outright jealousy have been kind/wise/dismissive enough to not report it back to me. My friends who have seen the more insidious sickly-sweet stuff are polite enough not to mention it, since they realize the last trip I need to go on is an ego-induced one.

What has come my way mostly takes the form of congratulatory notes followed up with “what’s your secret? How did you do it? Please, please please, let me in on the secret!” My response has always been the same: there is no secret. I had a really strong proposal, with a really high concept, for a really marketable series, and I was the person to write it, and now was the time to do so. Had any of those elements not been there, well, half of you wouldn’t be reading this blog. My hit rate has doubled in the last ten days. Lightning, folks, and to quote Professor Emmet Brown, you never know where or when one is going to strike.

My friend Barb Ferrer took time out of an awesome frothy rant to comment on the situation, and she said it very well. (She also said a lot of other things very well, especially about not taking rejections so darn personally. Go read it.) And the scared part has mostly given way to abject excitement – though the wheel might turn again. 😉

An acquaintance emailed me last week with, “You don’t know how much of an inspiration your story is.” Frankly, I think I’m setting a bad example for aspiring writers. I still beleive the same things I did last month — don’t query unfinished projects, don’t expect lightning quick responses, be realistic about the earning potential. My agent was running a discussion about queries on her blog the other day, and got a comment asking whether or not it was acceptable to query on a partial (see comment number 9 by a poster withteh questionable screenname of “Male Whore”). I shudder to think how many people are pitching unfinished projects to my agent, my editor, or any other agent or editor based on my situation. I know it’s happening. One of the first emails I got was from a writer who said she thinks she got a request becuase the editor in question was afraid of “missing out on the next big thing.” She got a request because the editor liked her pitch. Period.

Do you want to know what writers I think are an inspiration? There are way too many to name, but let me present two:

Julie Leto: No secret here. This chick is my mentor, and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to call her my friend as well. She’s an amazing writer, a savvy businesswoman, and the most lovable diva. This year she’s a RITA finalist, and her first single title is out. She helped launch a category line and has been building a large pool of loyal fans through years of prolific, sexy, page-turning romance novels. Her Harlequin editor thinks she’s a dream to work with. Her branding is so strong that she can write in a different subgenre (in this case, women’s fiction thrillers) and pull her readership right along with her because her books bear the same Julie Leto stamp: sexy, outspoken heroines and the men who love them. And through it all, she has remained very close to her RWA chapter, and is never, ever too busy to help out an aspiring writer, give a workshop to a bunch of beginners, judge a contest, or offer advice from her years in the field. I want to be Julie when I grow up — a great and prolific writer, one that houses are clamoring to work with, one who has a strong career base and a steady track record and a rising star; a great mom, and a great friend.

Marley Gibson: Another friend (see? I like to surround myself with people I admire immensely!) whose talent, perserverance and kindness blow me away on a regular basis. Marley has been thisclose enough times to down a perky buffalo, and yet she’s still kicking. Lines folded around her, committees went south, editors did the unthinkable, and yet, she’s not deterred. She’s still out there, still submitting, still firm in the belief that you can’t win if you don’t play. She plucked the idea for one of the largest chapters in RWA out of thin air, and devoted a year of her life to making it work, furthering the careers of several hundred aspiring writers in the process. I will repeat that for those of you who are skimming. Several Hundred. She’s an award-winning writer with an output rate that regularly puts me to shame, does not let personal issues get int eh way of her writing, and knows the industry inside out. She also pitched a friend’s project at a conference, then was kind enough to follow up with several lightning-fast critiques for said friend when she needed it. I can’t wait until that final duck gets lined up for her. I want to be Marley when I grow up: kind, creative, talented, prolific writer with an unquenchable passion… and she’s a gourmet cook, too.

There are more. There are so many more. I could do a “writers I admire” post every day. But I’m already begining to notice a pattern: good, prolific writers with great personalities who do and are going to have career longevity. That’s my inspiration.