About now you have the image of Marilyn Monroe singing the song and you’re thinking “what does this have to do with romance writing?” As a new romance writer (from here out self-proclaimed ‘newbie’), I think this song is a perfect explanation to sum up the benefits of membership in the Diamond State Romance Authors.

And this blog, ‘Diamonds in the Rough’ is being revived to inform those who are interested in not only finding a group dedicated to the success of each of its members, but also a group who offers advice, support, fellowship, and opportunities.

Ok, so you probably want SPECIFICS rather than just taking a newbie’s word for it. Without boring you with a long synopsis on my road to romance writing, let me sum up my experience as a DSRA member in a few short sentences: I started seriously writing romance in August 2007. I now have 7 manuscripts of various lengths under my belt, as well as two publications. Now, there is NEVER any guarantee that membership in any organization will ENSURE your road to publication, and if any organization tries to tell you otherwise – run in the opposite direction. With that said, it DOES help to add an amazing support system to your bag of ‘road-to-publication’ tricks.

So back to specifics. The Diamond State Romance Authors is a group dedicated to providing a network to help anyone serious about writing any form of romance to succeed. (I mean, we’ve all had our run-in with Karma and you know how she is.) So if you are a romance writer of any genre, and live in Arkansas (or anywhere for that matter), you should consider joining DSRA. Some of our membership benefits include:


* On-line Critiques twice a month
* Plotting boot camps with industry professionals
* In-Group challenges
* Goals groups to keep you on track and offer support
* A vast availability of resources on anything from finding the right word to finding an agent
* Field trip opportunities (which we will be discussing some of our past field trips on future posts on this blog).
* Monthly meetings in a convenient location
* Monthly brainstorming sessions before meetings
* Craft-Improving workshops held during each meeting
* And friendship with people who understand not only you but also all the other voices in your head.

So if you’re looking for a place to feel involved, or interested in finding an organization that is serious about assisting each of its authors along a path to success, then you’ve found the right place. Because, as the song says and if you’ll excuse a little play on words, ‘Diamonds are really a WRITERS best friend’. Please feel free to email me at shada_royce@yahoo.com with any questions or comments you may have regarding membership or this blog. Thanks for reading and be sure to visit each of our author’s websites!

Shada Royce
Diamond State Romance Authors
Vice-President of Membership

4 comments:

Shayla Kersten said...

Great post, Shada! And the Diamonds have greatly benefited from your presence. We're so glad you found us!

Anonymous said...

very nice post. I am so glad we have you!

And you have those pubs because you have a great voice!

Sandra said...

Shada, your enthusiasm is contagious. Your post makes me want to roll up my sleeves and get busy right now!

wendy said...

It does sound like a great writing group to belong to - and I love the word play. I also love the blog design. It took no time to load and yet two huge ani gifs are a part of it. The page looks brilliant.