Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published [Paperback]

Julie Beard (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: January 21, 2000

If you are an aspiring writer, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Getting Your Romance Published, written by a successful romance novelist, will teach you everything you need to know about this popular, highly successful genre. Including everything from plotting to characterization to approaching agents and editors, the book gives you a head start toward publishing your own novels.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Romances account for more than half of all mass-market paperback fiction sold. Two thousand romances are published each year. Ah, a land of opportunity, the writer is prone to think. Not so fast, Swifty. If you aren't already a reader of romances, chances are you'll never write a convincing one yourself. But if you genuinely love happy endings, Julie Beard (My Fair Lord) is here to help you become the next, well, Julie Beard. Embedded within chapters about writing and publishing and promoting your romance are all kinds of juicy tidbits about the romance biz. Beard discusses each romance subgenre in detail, disclosing typical story lines, the appropriate tone to use, and authors whose work is worth checking out. She talks about current trends (the biggest one at publication is the "cowboy-rancher-baby-bride" romance) and how to spot future ones (hint: keep your eye on popular culture). She knows what to include in your book--irresistible heroes and heroines, for starters--and what to avoid: nontraditional locales, rape scenes, sadomasochism, infidelity. She defines such terms as black moment, regency, and clinch ("the passionate embrace that typifies the traditional romance cover"). And yes, Beard says, even men can get their romances published--though it may be the one field in which they can succeed only if they are willing to take on a pseudonym of the feminine variety. --Jane Steinberg

From the Back Cover

If you are an aspiring writer, The Complete Idiot's Guide To Getting Your Romance Published, written by a successful romance novelist, will teach you everything you need to know about this popular, highly successful genre. Including everything from plotting to characterization to approaching agents and editors, the book gives you a head start toward publishing your own novels.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (January 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 002863196X
• ISBN-13: 978-0028631967
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #432,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for aspiring writers!, July 28, 2000

By 

Carolyn (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published (Paperback)

If you are interested in becoming a published romance writer, this is the best book I have read on the topic. Julie Beard is an excellent writer, so I knew this had to be a great book. Her advice is simple to understand and to-the-point. She gets right down to what is important and what isn't. The format of the book makes it fun to read, and the expert advice offered from other superb writers is helpful and informative. After reading The Complete Idiot's Guide, I felt inspired and motivated, and I still use it as a running workbook for my manuscript. She touches on just about everything I have thought about, from plot development to how to negotiate a contract. I applaud her ability to explain what sells and what doesn't, yet encourage writers to push the limits of what is currently popular. Even if your goal is to publish in another genre, The Complete Idiot's Guide gives great overall advice concerning characterization, dialogue, voice, conflict...all of the important aspects of creating memorable fiction. This is a wonderful book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in writing fiction. Thanks Julie!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published (Paperback)

Terrific! When I first read this book I'd just finished the first draft of my first novel, and while I was pleasantly surprised at parts of my work, whole sections of it were just plain sucky. I had no idea why some things worked and others didn't. I started by reading Chapter 14, Polish Until It Shines, and found the advice on using your strengths to fix your problems especially helpful. After being mesmerized by this chapter, I went back to page 1 and read the whole book. Golden nuggets were everywhere!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for writers and readers of romances alike, August 9, 2000

By 

Annette Autrata "autrata" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published (Paperback)

Make sure you read this book when you plan to write a romance, possibly before you even start. Julie Beard covers all aspects of the subject and keeps her tone light and encouraging. She also includes great references to publishers, resource books and organizations.

She mentions so many other authors that all have something unique to contribute, that I would have liked an alphabetical list and maybe their specialty and of course where they are mentioned in the book.

But even if you don't want to write a romance novel, you learn a great deal about why they are so fascinating, what their basic structure is and what separates the good ones from the rest.