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You Can Pick Your Friends… A Guide to
Writing the Romance Right For You
By Jenna Petersen
So, you want to write a romance but you don’t know
what kind you want to write. Well,
let’s look at the kind of romances out there:
·
Historical Romance – Most historical romances published by
mainstream publishers are set between the year 1100 – 1900.
Most publishers haven’t yet expanded into the early 20th
century yet, though you may find a few that would accept romance set before
1910. There are varying levels of
sensuality in these books. Popular times include Medieval, Regency (1800-1820) and
Victorian. Settings are usually
England or America. Usually 90,000
– 120,000 words.
·
Straight Regency – Straight Regency novels are set between
1811-1820 (the actual time of the “Regency”. They do not have the sensuality of straight historical
romance. They would be considered
“sweet”. They follow the lines
of comedy of manners most of the time. Think
more Jane Austen than Jane Feather. Only two mainstream publishers buy these.
Shorter. Approximately
65,000-75,000 words.
·
Single-Title Contemporary – Like historical, these can have a
variety of settings and tones. Romantic
suspense and humor seem to abound currently.
Length: 90,000-120,000 words. You
may also find science fiction or fantasy elements in some lines (LoveSpell by
Dorchester).
·
Category romance: Published
by Harlequin/Silhouette. These
books fit a line and each line puts out between 4-6 books a month.
Each line has its own flavor and length, so you’ll want to be sure you
understand the lines and read the lines before you write one.
Varying lengths per line between 55,000-80,000.
Well, now it should be easy, right?
You’ll just write an historical. No,
wait, someone said historicals are dead. Better
write something different. Well,
you’re not sure you can write 100,000 words.
I know, you should just write a category romance.
Everyone knows category romances are easy to write and sell.
You’ll whip one out… 55,000 words should be quick enough to do.
You’ll send it and within months you’ll have a contract.
Here’s the wake-up call.
Whoever has been spreading the nasty rumor that category romance is
“easy” to write and “easy” to sell, please stop. A category romance may be shorter, but the writer still has
to include conflict, great characterization and all the elements of great
fiction. Not only that, but she has
to do it with less space. If
anything, writing a really wonderful category romance is harder!
I certainly don’t think I could do it.
Let me just tell you these two facts:
· Writing a category romance is just as hard as writing any other kind of book.
·
Selling a category
romance is just as hard as selling any other kind of book.
Now that we have that clear, you may be asking yourself
what you should write. Here is my
advice. Write the book that is most
interesting to you. If you really
want to write dark, sensual historical romances set in the Victorian period, but
you decide a humorous contemporary will be easier to sell, your voice is not
going to fit well. And you aren’t
going to be happy.
Aside from which, if you do, by some miracle of God,
sell that humorous contemporary, there are few editors who are going to be happy
when you tell them you want to completely switch gears and write that book of
your heart. Most will want you to
write a few more books like your first in order to grow your audience and help
them recoup their investment.
And yes, you do need to know what the market is like.
But you should never write to please the market.
As an unpublished author, you can never have a clear picture of what is
hot. The books your see on your Borders shelves today were bought
a year or more ago. The market is
cyclical and will come back around even if you’re writing a time or place that
isn’t hot. Historical is dead,
Westerns are dead, Dark voice is dead… well, next week contemporaries,
Regencies and Humorous may be dead.
That said, you must know there are certain elements that
probably aren’t going to sell in a romance at any time.
An abusive hero, even if he’s redeemed, is not savory to readers or
editors. Certain times… like
Biblical… have never traditionally sold.
If you write one, be prepared for a battle to get it read.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t write that book, but be realistic
about its chances for success in the market.
So often I hear from writers who are looking for
shortcuts. “Tell me what kind of
book to write that will automatically sell.”
The answer is, the well-written one.
The one that lands on the right editor's desk at the right moment in time.
The one that captures a certain something and just can’t be put down.
Those things can happen in any book you write.
If you want to sell a book, go out and write the best damn book you can. Write it with your heart and your soul, edit it with your head and a mean red pen, and send it out with your hopes and dreams. And then go back and do it again. There are no magic words, except for the ones you write.
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