How to Become a Romance Writer
Romance writers explore the ways of the heart, delve into the human psyche and provide an escape for readers. This genre is popular across the world, so if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a romance writer, you really need to do only one thing to get started: write. Here are some helpful suggestions to get you going.
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Instructions
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Immerse yourself in reading romance novels, novellas and short stories, so you really develop an understanding of the genre.
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Hone your writing skills by writing every day. If you want to succeed as a romance writer--or a writer in any genre--you must constantly be writing.
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Develop an outline. While some people prefer not to work with an outline, developing an outline will allow you to know where your romance novel or short story is headed, which generally helps when you hit the midpoint of your story and get stuck.
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Create character sketches. No matter what you’re writing--novel, novella or short story--you must get to know your characters, and one effective way of doing that is to create character sketches for each main character.
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Start writing. One of the hardest things for a writer to do is to actually sit down and start writing, so get your story on paper without worrying about editing until you’ve actually got the first draft written.
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Set your manuscript aside for a week or longer to allow yourself some distance from it once you’ve finished the first draft. Distancing yourself from your manuscript will allow to see it through fresher, clearer eyes.
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Edit your work once you’ve had some time away from it. Remember the old adage in writing: writing is rewriting.
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Compile a list of potential publishers once you have a polished manuscript. Make sure you carefully read each publisher’s submission requirements so you know what you are required to send when querying publishers about your manuscript (see Resources below).
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Write a book proposal and prepare your manuscript submission so you can approach publishers about publishing your manuscript.
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Keep writing. Once you’ve finished your first romance story, move on to your next story or novel.
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Tips & Warnings
If you cannot find a book publisher to publish your romance novel, consider going the self-publishing route.
Exactly how you write your romance book or short story is completely up to you. Some romance writers prefer writing a draft straight through, while others prefer to edit as they go. Write whatever way works best for you.
Join romance writers' organizations so you can network with other romance writers, take advantage of classes to hone your skills and learn as much as you can about the industry (see Resources below).
