How to Write a Romance and Get It Published

by Kathryn Falk

LIke new, has a wrinkle at the bottom of the dustjacket, where mylar cover was put on.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Romance, Reference, Anthologies

400 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 1983

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

if u want some writing advice that is 100% wild plz read this book ... there is one part where they give a list of tips for if you're staring at the page and don't know what to write and the tips are "have a glass of wine, fuck your husband, wear your most seductive lingerie, picture tom selleck." this is the writing advice i never knew I needed !!! honestly now gonna write a romance novel just u wait

[Wordsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a tall stack of books on writing fiction I decided to survey, and it's worth commenting on. In sum: mostly great content, useless format.

This book is DENSE with information (well over 400 pages), but the format makes it hard to use. The content is primarily essays by established writers and letters to writers, organized roughly by theme. The appendices are straightforward and potentially useful for those looking for a publisher, e.g., but the rest is a jumble. Sometimes the essays are "here's where I get my inspiration," while others are "here's a super-helpful list of considerations for crafting your main character," or a Q&A with a publisher known for a certain sub-genre. Almost randomly interspersed are great resources like a bibliography of sourcebooks for different historical settings. But a list of "dos and don'ts" organized not by topic but by the author who submitted the blurb response is not particularly helpful. The loose format of authors' musings means that the same topic gets covered piecemeal in 30 different locations in 7 chapters. The letters, which are thick on meanderings and thin on useful content, are usually put in a faux-handwriting typeface that is annoying to read. The artistic titles make it hard to browse ("A touch of magic" could be ANYTHING). The scrapbook format would be great for an anthology, but it's rubbish for a how-to book.

This could instead have been an absolutely killer 5-star blog, with hyperlinks and a search bar tying everything together, with plenty of room to play with sharing letters to the editor, book reviews, excerpts from authors, and sentimental musings. In fact, dear editor, why not just move your content into the 21st century and republish this all online? Use either a website membership or, better, ad revenue (including from publishers, yes?) to fund the site. It would be great.

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, the book itself is written in a corny format with letters being written to the author by three wannabe romance writers, and then the author answers them. Not much value in that. BUT, responses from published authors are also included, and the information contained in the 8 appendicies, with lists of publishing houses, contacts, necessary reading, etc., keeps me from being too embarrassed about owning this book. Don't waste your money; find it at a library sell-off like I did.

[Lin Stepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this old classic rummaging in a used book store. It proved to be a great read - filled with contributions by well-known romance authors like Jude Deveraux, Janet Dailey, and Jayne Ann Krentz.
If you're thinking about writing romance ... this book has wonderful tips on plotting, style, dialog, genre classifications, publication, and promotion. Even as a published author, I found many great tips - and enjoyed the memories and advice of seasoned writers in the field

[Sally]

2 copies

[Willie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dated, but I was still able to find some helpful information.

[Cici Edward]

I little outdated but still filled with great tidbits.