The Romance Writer's Handbook by Rebecca VinyardMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"The Romance Writer's Handbook" by author Rebecca Vinyard offers aspiring romance writers friendly guidance and folksy wisdom to help them break into the popular genre of romance fiction. With over 2,000 new titles released each year, romance novels dominate the mass-market book industry. Unlike other genres, romance welcomes new writers, with editors actively seeking the next big names in the field.
In 49 concise chapters, this book serves as a quick course in writing romantic fiction for today's market. It provides practical advice to improve storytelling skills, covering topics such as creating compelling heroes and heroines, crafting engaging scenes and plots, and addressing various writing challenges, including point-of-view decisions and steamy love scenes.
It not only focuses on the creative aspects but also provides valuable information on the business side of writing, including goal setting, finding an agent, manuscript formatting, writing query letters, and more. It also emphasizes the importance of receiving and giving critiques, offers insights into writing a captivating synopsis, and provides guidance on building an author's website.
The book includes short interviews with bestselling romance authors such as Lorraine Heath, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Connie Flynn, Katherine Sutcliffe, Judy Christenberry, and Suzanne Brockmann, offering valuable perspectives from seasoned professionals. Additionally, it provides market information on mainstream publishers active in the romance genre and includes a helpful list of small presses and e-publishers.
This book serves as a valuable resource, offering practical advice, industry insights, and inspiration for aspiring romance writers who aim to write satisfying and marketable stories.
I appreciated that the book didn't focus too heavily on the publishing and agent aspects typically found in writing guides. It provided a solid and informative read, covering a wide range of topics. The interviews with different romance writers were particularly enjoyable, adding an extra layer of insight and inspiration. Overall, it is a book worth revisiting for its wealth of information and engaging content.
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