On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel That Sells (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Michaels is a RITA Award-nominated author of more than 75 romance novels, and she distills everything she has learned over the years into this useful writers' guide. After a short summary of the genre and a survey of the different kinds of romances, Michaels explores the process involved in writing a captivating love story. From creating convincing characters and understanding conflict to writing good dialogue and crafting an entertaining plot, On Writing Romance provides plenty of practical details and useful examples to help aspiring writers get started. Michaels even includes a concise guide to submitting a manuscript to a publisher and to marketing one's own work. A good basic introduction to a potentially gratifying pursuit suitable for most public library collections. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

In On Writing Romance, award-winning romance novelist Leigh Michaels talks you through each stage of the writing and publishing process. From the origins and evolution of the romance novel to establishing a vital story framework to writing that last line to seeking out appropriate publishers, everything you ever wanted to know about writing a romance novel is here.

In addition to a comprehensive breakdown of more than thirty romance subgenres, including such categories as historical, inspirational, Regency, and sweet traditional, you'll discover how to:

· Steer clear of clichés and stereotypes by studying the genre

· Craft engaging and realistic heroes and heroines readers will adore

· Convincingly develop the central couple's blossoming relationship

· Add conflict by utilizing essential secondary characters like the "other woman"

· Use tension and timing to make your love scenes sizzle with sensuality

· Get your characters to happily-ever-after with an ending readers will always remember

Plus, read a sample query letter, cover letter, and synopsis, and learn how to properly prepare your romance novel for submission to agents and editors. On Writing Romance has everything you need to leave readers swooning!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582974365
• ISBN-13: 978-1582974361
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,788 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a beginning writer in the uk, February 4, 2007

By	Ms. L. M. Pardoe (uk) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a superb book. I don't think I've ever learnt such a lot in such a short space of time and enjoyed it so much than when reading this.
What singles this book out is it's attention to detail and thoroughness. Michaels guides us all through the process from deciding to write a book, to which sub-genre suits you best, summarising all the different aspects of how to write each, straight through to editing and presenting, to writing a synopsis and query letter.
Each chapter takes one aspect of writing a novel, such as plotting, characterisation, dialogue, love scenes, sexual tension etc. and explains it in easy to read language. Then she goes on to use excerpts from different authors, together with more explanation, to illustrate each point. Its very effective and must have taken ages to compile, as she's used a wide variety of authors from both the UK and America.
Her writing and her chosen excerpts are so easy to read that it's very easy to follow, I can quite see why she`s won so many awards.
I enjoyed it so much I just wanted to hole up somewhere and read the whole book straight through, soaking up every word. There's a lot of it (257 pages) and it's quite densely printed, but that doesn't make it difficult to read because the text is broken up by subtitles, bullet points and boxouts.
As a novice writer myself I couldn't recommend it highly enough and will treasure my copy for many years to come.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay manual for beginners, September 1, 2008

By	Jennifer Kydd (Antioch, TN USA) - See all my reviews

While this book contained excellent information, I believe the writer intended her audience to be beginning writers. If you've been writing seriously for any given period of time, the information conveyed here is repetitive. In fact, most of the information could be found on the Internet. If you're an intermediate or advanced writer searching for perspective, I'd suggest looking for another manual.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel That Sells, January 6, 2008

By	Benita Williams-Pagoria (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is filled with good instuctions and serves as a excellent reference that you can use when starting to write your novel as well as a refresher as you continue with other books or novels.

Although my manuscript was already finished before I brought this book, I wanted to compare my manuscript against the expertise of a professional. I found out that I was a writer on the right track and it also alerted me to important points that I overlooked which only makes me a better writer.

If you want to be better at your writing, add this book to your collection.

Benita Pagoria