So you want to make a living writing romance?  Can’t blame you for that one!  Imagine sitting in your favorite location in your home and weaving stories that not only entertain people and allow them to escape for a few hours each day but also making a good living at the same time.  People write for different reasons. Some write to cleanse their soul, some write simply because they like to, some dabble with writing because they want to express themselves and hey, if they write a book and sell it then great. 

You are different.  You want to write romance novels and you want to get paid lots of money to do it. 

Good for you!

In order to make that happen there is one thing you MUST have.  Ready?

Passion.

You must have passion for romance novels. Not the kind of passion we talk about when we talk about our relationships – that’s for your romance novel characters!  The kind of passion you need is the passion to write romance. 

Why Do You Need Passion?

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For every type of book written, there is a genre that it fits into. A genre is essentially a category.

For example, when you look at television programs you see that there are science fiction, comedies, dramas, animated, which may also be comedies too. And most recently the reality genre has been added to television. The same holds true for books. When you understand genres, how they work and how to position yourself, you are on the cusp of making a living writing romance.

In the beginning…

In the beginning there were, and still are, two main categories of books, fiction and non-fiction.

We’re dealing with fiction here so we’ll set non-fiction aside.

Within the fiction category there are a number of genres including:

• Mystery
• Thriller
• Suspense
• Science Fiction
• Horror
• And of course Romance

Since romance is the single biggest seller of any fiction category and we’re looking to make a living writing, and according to data published in the August 2009 RWR, a magazine published by the Romance Writers Association, 74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008, then we’re going to focus on romance writing because that’s where the money is and quite honestly it’s where the fun is too.

The Romance Genre

Within romantic fiction there are a number of sub-genres and their popularity comes and goes. For example, most recently the vampire, shapeshifter, paranormal sub-genre has been quite popular. Additionally erotic romance has really taken off due to the internet. People can download erotic romance ebooks and read them without having to face potential embarrassment at the bookstore during checkout.

A year or two ago, Chicklit was all the rage and Christian romance seems to be holding on as a popular genre too.

In addition to each sub genre, which includes but is not limited to:

• Romantic suspense
• Historical romance
• Erotic romance
• Contemporary romance
• Medical romance
• Inspirational romance
• Paranormal romance
• Regency romance
• Young adult romance
• Time Travel romance
• Romantic comedy

And so on and so on and so on….

There are subgenres within subgenres. For example, you can have a futuristic, time travel erotic romance.

Kinda mind boggling, right?

So what’s the key to choosing the right genre? The genre that’s going to make the most money? The genre that’s going to be the start of a long writing career?

Choosing the Right Genre

To choose the genre that’s going to make it possible for you to make a living writing romance you need to combine strategy and creativity. Pay close attention to the industry. If you see a popular genre waning then there is still time to capitalize on it but it may not be the career launcher you’re looking for. However, if you are able to catch the wave as it’s rising or even at its peak then writing in this genre is ideal.

You also want to be comfortable, and perhaps even happy, writing in this genre. For example, if you detest football but you’ve decided that books with sports heroes is going to be the next rage then your writing career isn’t going to be much fun.

Finally, you might be wondering where to find industry information and how to know if the next big thing is really the next big thing. Consider joining the RWA, Romance Writers of America.  They’re the largest industry organization for romance writing.

Additionally, grab the most recent copy of Writer’s Market and read what publishers are looking for. Rest assured if they publish that they’re looking for time travel vampire stories, they know what they’re doing and time travel vampire stories are selling. Visit publisher websites to stay on top of what they’re looking for and visit the bookstore to see what’s predominately on the new releases table. In my bookstore Romantic Thrillers and Vampire/Paranormal Romance seem to be the big seller.

Finally, to capitalize on the genre of the moment it pays to have a writing system, a template to work from or a strategy that helps you write quickly. Many popular writers write several books a year under several pseudonyms. They love writing, they’re committed to writing, and most importantly, they have a system.

One of the keys to being a successful romance writer, and by successful we’re talking about making a living as a romance writer, which is more than publication it’s continuous publication and writing books that sell, is to stay on top of the industry and to always look for ways to improve.

Here are the top three romance writing resources to help you make money writing romance!

#1 Writer’s Market. This sizable book isn’t cheap, the deluxe edition runs about $50 at your local bookstore chain and it’s issued every year, which means you’ll be forking over a lot of money as time passes. However, buying the newest edition is important because it’s your single best resource for industry changes and information. You can also subscribe to Writer’s Market and have industry changes and updates emailed to you. Subscription prices are:

• Complete WritersMarket.com Monthly subscription for $5.99 a month
• Complete WritersMarket.com 1-year subscription for $39.99
• Complete WritersMarket.com 2-year subscription for $54.99
• Novel & Short Story Market One Year Subscription for $19.99
• Literary Agents One Year Subscription for $19.99

Writer’s Market organizes book publishers by a number of categories including what and how they publish. It also organizes agents by a number of categories and provides you with valuable information, like how many books they sold last year. Purchasing this book annually helps you stay on top of the romance writing industry, it puts everyone in the industry at your fingertips, and just flipping through it is inspiring – all the potential markets for your romance writing career.

#2 RWA, Romance Writers of America. Romance Writer’s of America is the single biggest writing organization around, with more than 10,000 members and 145 chapters. They are dedicated to advancing the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy.

Membership is $85 annually, there is also a one time $25 processing fee, and includes monthly delivery of the RWR – a magazine style newsletter filled with industry information, chapter information, contests and workshops and articles on craft, career and more.

RWA chapters also have annual dues however they’re a great place to mingle with other romance writers, published and unpublished, learn more about craft and career and gain the opportunity to meet agents and publishers in the romance industry. Becoming a member of RWA is a motivating and profitable step to take because in this business, like any other, sometimes it pays to know people in the industry.

#3 We’ve talked about a book, an organization and now we’re talking about a romance writing course. The Writing Romance for Love and Money online course is your A-Z template for writing a successful, profitable and published romance novel. Think about authors like Nora Roberts or Amanda Quick. Both authors write several books each year and they write several more under a variety of pseudonyms, which means they’re writing six or more books a year.

That’s a book every two months or 8-10 pages a day every day and that doesn’t account for editing and revisions. These are busy romance writers! How do they accomplish so much in so little time? They have a system, a template so to speak, that works for them. Writing Romance for Love and Money is your template. You still have to come up with the ideas but that’s not hard, right? You probably already have tons of ideas waltzing around in your head. What you need, and what this wonderful romance writing resource provides is the step-by-step template to get the job done.

As a reviewer for Romantic Times Book Reviews and a published author I can tell you these three resources are the key essentials to starting your life as a profitable romance writer. If you want to make a living writing romance, start here. Annually, I renew my RWA membership, I buy the newest Writer’s Market and I have the Writing Romance for Love and Money sitting on my desk open to the point I’m working on in my current WIP, work in progress. They are great resources and they work.

When it comes to writing romance, there is an information overload. There are literally thousands of books, courses, and ‘experts’ on the subject. It’s too much! The good news is that many of these books, courses, and experts can be instantly eliminated. Not because they don’t have any value but because they’re not what you need or want right now.

About two thirds of these resources focus on a niche topic. For example, how to write dialogue, how to set the pace of your novel and so on. Another large chunk of them give a large overview of the topic. For example, writing erotic romance, which is fine but is often too vague.

What you need, if you want to get to the nitty gritty and get your romance novel not only in the works but published and bringing in some money, are resources that offer a customizable step-by-step. I say customizable because your story is unique and you’ll need some wiggle room to make it the compelling, and bestselling, story you know it can be.

Step-by-step resources are ideal because you can almost write your book as you read the material. Unfortunately, there aren’t many step-by-step resources that are worth your time and money.

I’ve heard great things about Gotham Writer’s Online courses however the $395 cost may be a bit too much for some and the course is online over a ten week period. The pro to this type of course is that you will get feedback from course instructors. Additionally, it is a comprehensive course that covers:

· Introduction to the Romance Novel

· Character

· Conflict

· A Love Story

· Storytelling

· Point of View

· Dialogue

· Setting, Background, and Research

· Revision

· The Business of Writing Romance

The other course, a company I’m personally familiar with, is the American Writers & Artists Institute, How to Write for Love and Money course. AWAI puts together amazing courses! It’s a learn at your own pace package that covers romance writing A-Z with the emphasis to get published and make money. They offer a 30 day money back guarantee (this is what first convinced me to try their programs) and they’re a very supportive group of people willing to answer questions and help guide you to that first book sale.

There are also several good books on writing romance but because the romance industry changes so rapidly, it’s important to get a book that covers the basics. Even a Romance Writer’s for Dummies type of book is great for an introduction into the genre. If you’re brand new to the genre, my suggestion is to grab a few from the library to learn the basics and then to dive into one of the courses mentioned above.

Happy writing!

READY TO WRITE YOUR OWN ROMANCE NOVEL … AND GET IT PUBLISHED?

This $1.63 billion segment of the publishing industry with over 50 million readers is practically desperate for fresh voices. Editors in this market publish over 2000 titles per year. They don’t need writers with fancy degrees who only want to write the Great American Novel. They need volume… and they need to keep their readers happy. Find out how you can join this exploding genre by using an easy system for success that will have you turning out titles, even if you’ve never written a word in your life… Click Here