Events today have reminded me of the wonderful sisterhood shared by romance authors. There was a PROgress article I read in an issue of the Romance Writers Report (March 2004, Volume 24, Number 3) that sums it up nicely:
“An aspect of RWA that has always intrigued me is the mentorship offered by published members to unpublished-yet-hopeful members. In business, such behavior is an anomaly. It would be interesting to see hard data from psychological studies on romance authors in comparison with other professions to discover why we are such wonderful people.” –Mary E. McCall, RWA-PRO Chairperson
I had a question about the submission process of a particular publishing house. When I couldn’t get the answer I needed from the house directly I decided to contact two published authors from that house. Both of them responded within hours, answering my questions, forwarding my e-mail to the appropriate people, and offering their advice. I couldn’t believe how wonderful they were, how helpful and sincere they were with their assistance. Both of them wrote to me more than once, sharing their time (time they could have been writing, therefore valuable time) to assist me.
Later in the day I was surprised, pleased, and excited to discover links to my site on a couple other author’s websites. How wonderful it is to know that someone else is willing to introduce me to their fans and readers, sharing their moment of someone’s attention with me.
Truly, Ms. McCall was dead on in her observation. Only in the world of romance writers do we nurture others who could end up being our competition. We are thrilled when we hear about the sales of their manuscripts (Sure, we’re a little envious, but we’re still thrilled for them!) We showcase writing tips and advice on our websites, we display links for other writers, we reply to e-mails asking us how someone else can write romances too.
There are many reasons that I’m proud to be a romance author. But meeting and working alongside such wonderful women is one of the best reasons of all!
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