Romance Writer's Sourcebook: Where to Sell Your Manuscripts (Romance Writers Sourcebook) (Hardcover)

~ David H. Borcherding (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Romance Writer's Sourcebook is a thorough reference to a nearly billion-dollar industry that accounts for almost half of the mass market fiction books sold--177 million books annually. Articles by writers, editors, and agents discuss genre trends (paranormal romance, time-travel romance, romantic suspense), the craft and technique of writing romance, and marketing romance novels. Successful romance writers share the stories of how their first books came to fruition and publication. The final section divulges information on online services, conferences and workshops, Romance Writers of America chapters, and the like. You learn, from top editors in the field's many imprints, that they've been seeing "way too many replicas of The Bridges of Madison County," that one should "read many books in the line to which you plan on submitting.... twenty or more, not one or two," and that one ought to "avoid heroes or heroines who are artists (musicians, painters, actors).... There's a built-in perception, right or wrong, that artsy people are dull and unromantic."

Product Description

Writers ardent about romance will welcome this newest addition to Writer's Digest Books' market book line. Romance Writer's Sourcebook combines how-to-write instruction with where-to-sell direction--information useful to both new romance writers and those who long ago embraced the genre.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; First edition. edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898797268
• ISBN-13: 978-0898797268
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,861,294 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for pre-published romance authors, January 8, 2000

By	Kimberly Borrowdale (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a truly marvelous book, packed with info for us yet-to-be-published romance authors. There's so much here that published folks might find the book useful, too.

Contents in brief:

"New Ground: the Evolution of Romance" and "The Groundbreakers" by Nora Roberts "Mind, Body, Heart and Soul: Creating Fully Developed Characters in Romance Fiction" by Suzanne Simmons "The Well-Chosen Words" by Evan Maxwell "Sense and Sensuality: Sexual Tension and Love Scenes in Romantic Fiction" by Stella Cameron "Happily Ever Laughter: Writing Romantic Comedy for Women" by Jennifer Crusie Smith "Magic, Myth and Metaphysics: Exploding the Boundaries of Romance" by Kristen Hannah Advice from the Heart: Romance Authors Share Their Secrets

(the above sections take up 80 pages)

Marketing Your Romance (including query and cover letter samples) Market Listings: separate listings for each series imprint, most 3 or 4 pages long; more info than one gets from just the plain guidelines.

(this section is nearly 100 pages)

Agents: 3 articles, plus 30 pages of romance agent listings, which include specialties for each agent, etc. Success Stories: "Anatomy of a Sale" for _The Warlord_ and _Mad About You_ (40 pages total) "First Sales" (8 titles discussed) (15 pages) Resources: Online Services Memoirs of a WebMistress by Callie Goble Organizations, Conferences and Workshops, including RWA chapters Contests Nonfiction Magazines and Publications of Interest About the Contributors; Glossary; various indices--the usual backmatter

The chapters on craft are superb. While reading Stella Cameron's chapter on sensuality, I realized why I'd been having such a problem with the erotic short story I'd been working on: I wasn't really into it, and I was trying to write the main sex scene checklist style--exactly what Stella warns against. Stella's suggested exercise helped that story get written properly.

Jennifer Crusie's "Writing Romantic Comedy for Women" gave me a lot of food for thought and some new ideas, as well. I'd never thought before about men and women having different ideas of what's funny, other than general comments about "The Three Stooges" being a guy thing. I'd love to be able to write humor, but I think it's one of the hardest types of writing there is--this chapter helps.

Another part of the Sourcebook I really enjoyed is the Success Stories, where eight authors talk about what led up to their first sales. These are incredibly inspiring to me. After I had the chance to seek out and read some of these first novels, I read the stories of their sales again. It's wonderful to know the behind-the-scenes details and to get reassurance that books aren't just churned out by machines in secret basements in Manhattan.

ROMANCE WRITERS SOURCEBOOK is a must for anyone considering writing a romance novel.

Kimberly Borrowdale Under the Covers Book Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Outdated, but still some good info, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

Romance Writer's Sourcebook is in serious need of an update. While the sections on craft, first sales, and anatomy of a sale are full of good information, the publisher and agent listings are outdated. It was a great reference when it was first published, but now it's just an okay book for a beginning writer.