Hi! Anyone writing romance?

[LilyWrites]

Hi. Used to be on Mumsnet yearssssss ago when my son was small, but forgotten all log-ins so started afresh. I'm keen to chat with anyone else who is writing, but fellow romance writers would be particularly great. I've been writing for years, currently on my fourth novel. It's always been a hobby but I've just started to query, sent a few out this week. Let me know if anyone is in a similar boat? :-)

Great that you’re querying! How many are you going out to? I’m just about to go out on submission, which I’ve been told is worse and even more nail-biting 😬

Oh, how exciting to be on sub! I wish you all the very best and huge amounts of luck - may you prompt a mad ten-way auction and have your pick of the best deals 😃
I have only sent a few queries - two to agents and two to small publishers so far. I have read up a fair bit and I think my query letter and synopsis are ok, but I want to see how these go before I do any more.
How did you find the querying process? I'd love to know a bit about your journey. What do you write? Thanks!

Modern romance or historical? I write historical. On my 13th novel. Good luck with submitting.

Hi, well funny you should ask, I write historical - have completed three novels set in the 1890s, but I'm currently writing a contemporary romance - it kind of came out of nowhere and I started setting some of it down just for fun and now I'm nearly 13k words in and I'm loving it. But historical romance is it for me I think. What era do you write? And 13th novel! Wow, that's hugely impressive!

My first six were Dark Ages (Arthurian post-Roman) and my next seven are Regency. Currently just had my third regency out (of four this year) and am writing the third of three for next year.

Wow . That is prolific! Hats off to you. I guess publishing at that speed you must be self-published? Amazing stuff!

I wrote in another genre but I would love to give romance a try. Life seems quite dreary at the minute and I feel like we need a little more lightness in the world!

No, not self published. With a US publisher who likes to put them out at about three month intervals. Keeps me busy!

Ha - thanks! I dream of an auction (v. v. incredibly unlikely tho). I found querying OK - I did it in a very methodical way by listing all agencies in the UK, then agents within them, then scoring them before targeting them (such a nerd). It's frustrating, but I've learned that it's ALL frustrating - trying to get an agent, then dealing with agents, then going on sub etc. Have you had anyone look at your synopsis and query? I found the synopsis incredibly hard! I write commercial fiction - usually with a romance thrown in!

Wow, the publisher are lucky you're able to be so prolific. I simply couldn't do it!

That IS methodical, I hadn't thought of scoring agents, but that's actually genius. And obviously it paid off! If you remember, I'd love an update when you get your deal so I can congratulate you!!
I haven't had anyone read my query or synopsis (which I found SO hard to do, can write a full novel, but ask me to do a one or two page synopsis and I wish for death!) Having other eyes on my work has actually been the hardest part of all for me. I love the writing, I love the editing, etc but finding betas or CPs is hard and the quality of the feedback has been really variable. And more than once they've just kind of tailed off and stopping corresponding. In my darkest moments I think it's because my writing must be that bad... I might look to pay an editor for a query package critique though, eventually, though too broke at present. Still mending finances after seeing DS through university.

Yes! Give it a try! There can never be enough romance 😃

Have you tried joining a writing group or doing a swap with another writer? I've been in a writing group for 10+ years and it's the best thing for me - you get to know the people and you trust their feedback. We always start by saying what we liked best about the piece, then go into constructive criticism. I don't let anything go out now without them slagging it off looking at it first

try joining Critique Circle which is an online writing group. You choose what to read and write an inline crit and gain points. When you have points you can post your own work once a week. The more you read of everyone else's work, the more return reads you get. And then you can form critiquing partners with writers who you find sympathetic. I belonged to it for years and learnt loads.

I've seen the site but never taken the plunge. That does sound very good actually - I will give it a go. Thanks.

You can do it for free (the basic membership) or you can pay, but not a lot. I very quickly found that the paid version was best for me. I have made some great authorly friends on there and even met up with a few of them. It's a really friendly, supportive site. You get back what you put in though, so you have to make a decent amount of effort. Plus take other people's opinions with a pinch of salt sometimes as they are all amateurs on there. But it's thanks to them I ended up published.

That's a great endorsement, if you feel it was what got you there! Yes, it's probably time I got myself on there. I just feel a bit defeated sometimes as I work full time and it is hard enough to find time and headspace to write, let alone also read in genre, and then read and critique other people! But no one ever said it was easy, of course.

Good luck. The other thing you can do if you are writing romance is join the RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) and join the NWS (New Writers' Scheme). You can then have your whole (or partial) novel read by an experienced writer and they will write a report on it on all the important points. More a developmental report than a line edit. Also worth doing. Doesn't have to be the full novel but does have to be from the start and consecutive chapters.
I'm in the RNA.

Thanks - definitely fancy the RNA. Need to save up for that. I think the critique part of it would be really useful. Did you have that when you joined?

No, because I was already published. But it's really good for those wanting to get published. I have a friend who is a member and has done the NWS route. She said she got very good feedback and it was worth the money. I guess it would also depend on who they got to do it for you, as they must vary. All of them will be romance fans though, which you might not get if you swap Beta reads with someone.
You could join some goodreads groups too - these can offer feedback in that you can do the aforementioned beta read swaps. Goodreads has some groups where people can swap reads but I doubt they are anywhere near as thorough as an NWS book report. I did that once only with my first ever book even before I had a publisher and basically all I received was a paragraph saying it was the only book she'd ever read on there that read like an actual book ready for publication. Which was nice, but not really very helpful.

Thanks, that's helpful. I will definitely go for the RNA thing - squirrelling money away as we speak towards it 😄It does sound like the feedback would be useful. I have tried a CP or two in the past but as I said in one of my replies they kind of die a death after a while and I do want more targeted feedback from romance readers/writers.
I actually got my first agent rejection yesterday, but she did say to submit any future projects to her, which sounded encouraging (though they probably say that to everyone!)

I had literally a ton of rejections before I finally got published and got an agent. In fact, I got the publisher before I got the agent. You just have to stick at it and hope you'll rise to the surface and get noticed. Even once you are published it doesn't stop being hard, because you are one tiny fish in a pool the size of the Pacific Ocean. You not only have to compete with other published authors but also with the immense shoals of self-published ones. It's the publicity side of it (and you will be expected to do some of that yourself even if you get a publisher) that I find so hard. I would much prefer to sit at home and write and not have to keep publicising myself and my books.
I wish you lots of luck (because even if you're good that's what it comes down to) with your writing. You need to have a good story to start with but then you need to catch the right person on the right day, and that's hard.

Hi, I hope you don’t mind a total novice joining the thread.

I am writing my first historical romance and have just taken Sarah Maclean’s Mastering Conflict class which has been very inspiring.

This is a really informative thread, the RNA’s NWS is of particular interest- thank you.

Welcome! So good to meet other people writing romance, and particularly historical, which I love so much. Hadn't heard of that class - was it expensive? I thought I'd only ever write historical, but funnily enough I am nearly 40k into my first go at contemporary, and it's feeling so much easier. I didn't expect it. It's kind of pouring out of me.
And yes, re the RNA, I've signed up for a reminder when the NWS opens again. I'm definitely keen to do it. Feedback is the thing I really need, and with that avenue, you know you're getting it from an expert in the same field.

Thanks for the warm welcome @LilyWrites

I loved the class but I know it was an absolute match for me and the type of books I love to read and wish to write. I think it cost the equivalent of £150. This is not an insignificant amount of money to me but I feel it was well worth it and I am pleased I went for it.

Sarah was very generous in answering questions for a month and gave really helpful resources for writing and historical research.

I’m glad to hear contemporary romance is working out well for you. It’s something I enjoy reading but, for some unknown reason, feel awkward writing.

I’ve also signed up to the notification for the NWS. What an opportunity!

I finish a fixed term work contract next month and will have 2-3 months to dedicate to writing and I’m determined to complete the manuscript for the first book completed and have the series plotted by then. I realise I am likely very naive! 😊