Make A Living Writing Romance

This is where you begin to plan.

(If you haven’t taken the first step, you can find the details here )

In this second step you’ll outline every single step you need to take to achieve your goal. Make sure the steps are realistic.

For example, if you say that you’re going to write 5000 words a day so you can finish two manuscripts this year but you work a full time job, have children and a family, and you need to sleep then this probably isn’t a realistic goal. Writing 1000 words each day may be more doable.

If you’re submitting to agents and publishers, create a plan to submit to one new agent or publisher each week or month.

Outline the steps you need to take to achieve success. Remember that you have 366 days this year (one extra leap day).

Every writer gets rejected. I just received a rejection yesterday on a book that I thought was going to make it through the process. It was looking good, and then it wasn’t.

It hurts.

You pour hours, days, weeks and months into a book and then someone tells you what is wrong with it (if you’re lucky) and why they don’t want to publish it.

And I”m not going to tell you that each rejection is one step closer to a yes or any of those cliche’s because honestly when you’ve just been rejected that’s the last thing you want to hear.

Also, it may not be true. You may never get a sale for that book. But you have a choice.

I’m weighing my choices right now. They are as I see them:

1. Shelve this book for a while and focus on my current WIP
2. Send it to another publisher and keep on keeping on.
3. Revise it based on the publisher’s comments and resubmit.
4. Hang it all up and go get an office job.
5. Self publish

Notice I’m not crying my eyes out, binging on junk food or getting a tattoo that says “Loser.”

I’m not into pity parties – they’re not productive.

While I did contemplate option #4 for a few seconds that’s not the choice that I want to make and it’s probably not the choice you want to make either. If you love writing, then write. No one can or should stop you. And it’s totally okay if you contemplate this option for more than a few seconds, just don’t take too long!

#3 is a viable option and if you get this type of offer I recommend taking it into serious consideration. Most publishers don’t make this offer unless they mean it. They must see something good if they want you to make changes and resubmit. (In my case, I don’t agree with one of the recommendations so I will not be resubmitting to this publisher. Their other comments made a lot of sense and I will consider those before I submit to another publisher.)

So that leaves me weighing options #1, #2 & #5. To be honest I don’t know right now and that’s okay. You don’t have to have an immediate reaction or decision. Sometimes it takes days for a rejection to fully sink in. And a few more days for you to find the response that makes the most sense for you.

Rejection sucks but it is part of being a writer. You don’t have to develop a thick skin but you do want to approach it with clarity.  If you feel bad about a rejection, that’s normal. Feel it and then let it go and move forward. Decide what you want to do and then do it. Take action! The only way to ever achieve your writing and publishing dreams is to take action.

I suffer from a strange combination of naivete and arrogance – the result means I rarely think, “I can’t do _____.” or “I’m too old to ____.” It never crosses my mind that I cannot do anything I set my mind to.

Or that age would ever play a factor in my success or failure. Of course I often learn later that I have neither the skills nor the experience to accomplish my goals first time through. This has led to some painful lessons.

It’s come my attention that many women suffer from the “I”m to old to publish” syndrome.

I have news for all of you beautiful women – you’re a better writer than your younger counterparts.  Why?

• You have more experience.
• You have matured to a point where you can see outside of yourself and embrace your characters fully.
• You have had the time to develop and confidently embrace your voice.
• And you know that success takes determination, passion and hard work and you have that to share in spades!

Don’t believe me?

Read this fun article in the Daily Mail – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1389272/The-Blue-Rinse-Bodice-Rippers-In-twin-sets-pearls-meet-ladies-Britains-steamiest-novels.html

Photo courtesy of Metin Armağan and Stock Exchange – http://www.sxc.hu/

Happy Saturday!

If you’ve been up to your eyebrows in your manuscript you may have missed a few things:

• A great post about something that happens a bit too often in the process of finding the right agent to represent you – http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2010/11/from-scared-client.html

• Voting is still going on for the Alien-Vampire Bunny Contest. Read the submissions and cast your vote -http://greyhausagency.com/Alien-Vampire-Bunny-Contest.html

• Harlequin is offering a nice promotion. Grab a few books/ebooks and catch up on your favorite authors – Save 20% every day at eHarlequin + get FREE SHIPPING on your order! Click here to claim free shipping, use code EHQNFREESHIP at checkout

• The 2010 Romantic Times Book Reviews Award Nominations have been posted. Find out if your favorite author is on the list – http://www.rtbookreviews.com/

• Christine Kane is one of my favorite bloggers. Read her fantastic post about how to get big things done in small windows of time http://christinekane.com/blog/how-to-get-big-things-done-in-small-windows-of-time/

• Read the Romance Recipe for Success at Redlines and Deadlines – http://redlinesanddeadlines.blogspot.com/2010/11/romance-recipe-for-success.html

Enjoy!

Erotic romance took off a few years ago and grew to support several ebook publishers like Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing and Total-E-Bound just to name a few. I also think it led the way to more epublishing in the romance genre in general.

Erotic Romance, coined Erotica by Ellora’s Cave aka Jasmine Jade Publishing, also opened up new subgenres for mainstream publishers like Harlequin which offers the Spice Imprint and the Harlequin Blaze category romance stories. (Additionally, if you like getting something for free, check out the free romance books and offerings with Harlequin’s Freebie Friday.)

If you enjoy reading and writing steamy sex scenes then Erotic romance may be the genre for you. It also mixes quite well with other genres like suspense, paranormal and of course contemporary.

However, writing a good erotic romance isn’t just about being able to write sex scenes. The genre is still quite popular and there’s a lot of competition. You need to be able to craft a compelling plot and enjoyable characters and then add the steamy sex where it’s appropriate.

One of the stumbles for many aspiring erotic writers is knowing when and where a sex scene is appropriate. The author’s info packet at Ellora’s Cave summarizes it best.

• “The sexual relationship must be integral to and an important element of the storyline and the character development. Sex scenes should contribute to furthering the plot or affecting the development of the romantic relationship or the growth of the characters.
• The story must include abundant and explicit sex and sexual tension, starting early and continuing throughout. Sex scenes must be described in graphic detail and explicit wording, not delicate euphemisms or purple prose.
• The story must meet the definition of a romance novel: the primary focus must be on the development of a romantic relationship, and there must be an emotionally satisfying committed ending for the main characters.”

You can find and download the author info packet at http://www.jasminejade.com/docs/AuthorInfo.pdf

If you’re interested in writing erotic romance one of the major advantages is that there doesn’t seem to be a single word count requirement. Most epublishers have a number of offerings varying from shorts, only a few thousand words, to extra long novels which run into the hundred thousand words or more. This gives you plenty of leeway to write your best story.

Have fun and check out the online erotic romance chapter of RWA – www.passionateink.org.

Happy writing!

Also check out:

and

Both are great books that are on my shelves and dogeared!