The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel: From writing the perfect love scene to finding the right publisher--All you need to fulfill your dreams [Paperback]

Christie Craig (Author), Faye Hughes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1598695371 | ISBN-13: 978-1598695373 | Publication Date: September 17, 2008

Every year, thousands of romance manuscripts are submitted to publishers, but only the best are eventually published. This simple guide?written by two awardwinning romance novelists?will show readers what it takes to break into this highly competitive market and will provide them the information they need to get their manuscript out of the slush pile and onto the bookshelf. Readers will learn how to do the following techniques: build a story from premise to plot; add a fresh twist to a classic storyline; create compelling characters; write sizzling sex scenes that carry an emotional punch; research agents and markets; write a story that an editor can?t reject; and promote themselves and their work. New writers, and even experienced writers, will find the solid howto information here invaluable. This is a musthave for aspiring writers who want to write the perfect love story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christie Craig is the author of several romance novels. She has contributed to four books in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and her non-fiction work has appeared in national magazines. Ms. Craig lives in Spring, TX. Faye Hughes is an award-winning author of seven romance novels. She lives in Camden, NY.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (September 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598695371
• ISBN-13: 978-1598695373
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want to write romance novels, this is a must read!, September 26, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel: From writing the perfect love scene to finding the right publisher--All you need to fulfill your dreams (Paperback)

How does an author get from the bottom to the top of the agent/publisher slush pile? There are many answers and most of them are included in The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel.

Some multi-published authors may find that this guide includes information that they already know. But I'd bet that there are nuggets that they will find new and interesting. The novice author (and that is who this book is directed toward) will find it a comprehensive book filled with useful information.

Authors Craig and Hughes start with the history of the romance novel and then head straight into an in-depth discussion of the genre and the various subgenres. I found this section fascinating and clarified many of my thoughts on the subject.

The meat of the writing of a Romance novel is in the Basic Structure chapter and includes story arcs, plot points, hooks, setting, etc. The important question answered in this chapter is calculating word count. There isn't an author living (I suspect) who didn't start their career wondering how to do the word count.

The information is vast and the authors discuss most things in a concise but in-depth manner. They will help the reader through the subjects of critique groups, brainstorming ideas, targeting markets, grammar, sentence structure, openings, dialogue and narrative, character sketches, pacing, writing drafts and so much more.

This 305-page book, including appendix and index, is a reference book the Romance writer MUST have in their library. It will save you time. And time saved is time spent writing that Romance novel.

Armchair Interviews says: A must-read, must-have reference book.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Grammatically Incorrect, October 25, 2009

By 

upfront_reader (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel: From writing the perfect love scene to finding the right publisher--All you need to fulfill your dreams (Paperback)

For an "Everything Guide" this book seems awfully light on information. Much of what is here is covered in more depth (and covered better) in other romance writing guides. And the authors commit some pretty glaring errors. For instance, on page 116 they claim that the sentence "Jane was listening at the door" is passive voice. That's just plain wrong. No wonder so many writers are confused about verb choice with "expert" advice like this floating around.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have, December 9, 2008

By 

John T. Payne "Jody Payne" (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel: From writing the perfect love scene to finding the right publisher--All you need to fulfill your dreams (Paperback)

This is a must have if you want to write not only romance, but any genre. I have a whole shelf of books about the craft of writing, but this is the one I turn to for everything. It is for the beginner and for those of us who have been writing for years.
If you can buy just one book this year, this is the one.