Ten lessons from romance writers

Monday, August 14, 2017 Permalink

Last week I mentioned I was attending the Romance Writers of Australia annual conference. It possibly surprised some given that I don’t write romance, and don’t really write (anything other than blog posts and book reviews) full stop.

However, as I’ve explained in the past…. I. LOVE. TO. WRITE. I love words. I love phrases. I love the whir and click as a sentence falls neatly into place. And hanging with people who ‘get’ that is a wonderful thing.

Having said that this was my first romance writers’ conference and a bit of a steep learning curve. Although I’ve done a heap of writing courses (including novel writing stuff) and been to a lot of blogging conferences, I knew little about ‘romance’ as a genre and recent and current trends. As a starter, for example, I discovered there are multiple sub-genres of romantic fiction. I kinda knew about the existence of historical fiction and romantic suspense but there are a stack more and then there are ‘category’ romances, which are your Mills & Boon type books. #Ithink

And though I blog about books it was great to better understand the various publishing imprints, how publishers ‘think’ and how they need to coordinate and massage their release lists, authors, current and industry future trends – as if playing a game of Tetris.

This morning while I was killing time waiting for peak-hour traffic to die down and hit the road home, I decided to do a quick brain dump of TEN THINGS which came to mind as I pondered on my RWA learnings. And here they are…. in no particular order.

1. Chick lit is dead. Deader than dead. Don’t mention the war chicklit. Having said that, of course it still exists and remains popular, but is branded romantic comedy or light fiction or similar.

2. Amazing authors are also amazing storytellers. And vice versa. Sadly I couldn’t stay for Kate Forsyth’s entire closing session (just 30mins of it) but she was bewitching. I know I’ve thought the same of other fave authors I’ve met recently… Nick Earls, Michael Robotham and Candice Fox come to mind. They’re charismatic in person and they can sure spin a yarn.

romance writers self published panel

3. Self publishing is about the numbers. And looks different for everyone. The session I attended with Chris Taylor, Clare Connelly and Rachel Amphlett (above) was probably my favourite and it was incredibly interesting and inspiring. The friend I attended the conference with, Jo Tracey, is self-published and I’m aware of how incredibly professional she is when it comes to her books. She pays for structural edits, copy edits as well as cover design and the like. Our panel varied in terms of what they do themselves vs what they outsource (editing, cover design, formatting etc). They suggested indie authors prioritise their expenditure but spend as much as they can afford to ensure their books look professional and can compete with the big publishers.

They all also noted (that) quantity is all-important and they recommended releasing three books a year. In a nutshell: not everyone is going to earn a six figure income from self-publishing but it’s reassuring to know that it is possible.

4. Sex scenes aren’t for everyone. It’s something I struggle with when reading romances. Some are too metaphorical and flowery. Others I find to be kinda crass. And what I learned is I’m not alone in thinking that. I attended a session on ‘finding and keeping’ your voice. And the overwhelming advice of that panel was that, although it’s important to challenge yourself and your writing, adopting a voice other than your own and writing about what you don’t know / don’t feel comfortable with will be obvious and uncomfortable for your readers.

I know (in the blogging world) we talk a lot about voice and authenticity and the same can be said for fiction. I think I’ve pretty much found my voice here (on this blog) and just need to work out how to translate that into other writing.

5. Print books are most certainly not dead. eBooks are popular but print books are here to stay and readers’ preferences are confusing and random (with young adults enjoying ‘real’ books and mature aged women downloading eBooks). Incidentally, the popularity of podcasts means that audiobooks are growing in popularity and I know I lamented my lack of audiobook for the 8hr drive to and from this conference. (Cos I still cannot find any decent radio stations around that Gympie stretch… only talkback radio, country music or religious stations. WTF?!**)

lessons from romance writers

6. Women of all ages LOVE TO DANCE. Well, in a nurturing and non-judgemental environment that is. Sadly I was too weary to stay for the Escape Publishing after-party following the Awards dinner on Saturday night but I did throw myself about wildly for two songs: Dancing Queen and Blame it on the Boogie. I decided my night was over and left when Mambo No. 5 came on. Which in retrospect was a mistake as that annoying bloody song was stuck in my head (earworm style) all friggin’ night and into the next day.

7. Don’t be shy. I have to admit to being fairly irreverent. I might swoon over Richard Armitage or Idris Elba but I tend to just assume people are all (foremost) people. I should also confess to not knowing a lot of well-known romance authors so some big names meant nothing to me, but I tried to make sure I said hello to authors I knew, had reviewed or met online. All were lovely and seem to appreciate the fact I said hi.

8. It’s hard to cross genres unless you’re a famous author and your readers are die-hard fans. Otherwise the advice was NOT to write a romance, then a thriller, then a dystopian fantasy novel. This was interesting for me as though I think I kinda have a voice, I don’t feel as if I have a genre…

9. Build your brand. Whether you’re pitching your novel to an agent or publisher or an established author wanting people to buy your books, having a recognisable name / brand is important, including an online presence. Understandably, YOU need to also sell your books, even if you’re working via a publisher and their PR peeps, so it’s important you can bring something along to the promotional party.

10. I need to be brave. One of the lovely authors at the conference – who I’ve met previously – had a conversation with me on the final afternoon and Miss V asked about my own writing. She’d watched my scary vlog recently in which I talked about wanting to do more with my writing. “Do it,” she said.

And an added bonus lesson for those playing along at home: do not attempt to brush your hair with your toothbrush as you will spent all weekend getting long bloody blonde hairs out of the toothbrush bristles. (I decided to wash my hair on Friday night before realising I’d forgotten to bring a brush or comb. I couldn’t get my hair to part or sit via deft finger stroking, so succumbed to my toothbrush for the parting process.

As for the next steps, I’m thinking I’ll pull one of my four manuscripts out of my drawer (well, find them in my Google docs, but the drawer thing sounds better) and try to get going while I’m still feeling motivated. I’m thinking of going down the self-publishing route… but just need to start writing. #JFDI

Any attendees want to share their learnings? Or – if you weren’t blessed enough to spend the weekend with me (ahem) attend – do any of these lessons surprise you?

It’s been a long time between link-ups but I’m joining up with Denyse and the IBOT team to share this post.

** Amended AFTER the drive home to add that I found a radio station (Zinc?) playing 80s music on the hour or so through on the Gympie stretch so!

45 Comments
  • Jo
    August 14, 2017

    My fave session was also the self publishing one – although the Amy Andrews round table was also invaluable. My biggest learning – just how much noise 400 women make in one area!

    • Debbish
      August 14, 2017

      Oh that’s true – the noise thing. I felt sorry for the speakers and dinner hosts having to quieten us down. We’re an excitable bunch. (I think that says something about our enthusiastic personalities!)

  • Janine
    August 14, 2017

    Sounds like you got a lot out of it Deb, they say every one has a book inside them, but whether you choose to let it out or not is another thing. Personally I’m happy being a reader, let the professionals do the hard work in the writing. I do hear you when it comes to some forms of “romance genres”. I steer clear of titles about highlanders and millionaires and those covers with a man and woman in a suggestive pose wearing next to nothing just turns me right off. I am no prude believe me, but they just lack any substance IMHO. I don’t want to read about their sex lives in graphic detail – I’m over that. Give me a good book with believable characters and a compelling storyline and I’m happy – I don’t mind sex in a book but there is a limit. There seem to be so many types of these books out there – are there enough desperate readers to keep them being written – obviously yes . Looking forward to hearing what other authors have to say.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Apparently Scottish historical romance is still popular (blame/credit Outlander) and some publishers mentioned a thirst for beta males rather than the stereotypical alpha male type character…

      Research also indicated a few years ago that single hot dads were popular with readers and it was interesting to see how some publishers packaged up a series in response and re-released some titles. Harlequin did something similar in conjunction with The Bachelorette a year or two ago apparently.

  • Kate W
    August 14, 2017

    Great post Deb! I think lots of what you took away is relevant to all writing, not just romance.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      True Kate and that was one of the reasons I went. I’d had a look at the program and realised a lot of the sessions (there were sessions on ‘writing the first lines’ as well as ‘pitching’ and relationships between author, agent and publishers etc) were broadly relevant.

  • Margaret Richters
    August 14, 2017

    Love your post and yes just get your manuscripts out and do it. I found ipod with my music only way to survive the drive to and from Brisvegas. Incidentally i drove to Brissy today tai chi demos at the Ekka tomorrow then home again.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      I’m actually due to head back to Brissy a couple of times in the next few weeks and think I have a 3.5hr each-way drive to Monto for work next week so I really need to get an audiobook for all of that. I like podcasts for walks etc cos most are about 30mins and perfectly timed. I find it hard to review audiobooks as it means I don’t usually have pen and paper handy to make notes…. I just have to hope I remember stuff (though it’s unlikely I will / do!).

  • Michelle W (@pinkypoinker)
    August 15, 2017

    What an enlightening post! It’s sounds riveting. I can’t believe the toothbrush story!

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Sadly I have several toiletry bags and this was one I hadn’t used since my hair was very short and I could finger comb/brush it. I’d used the crappy hotel shampoo / conditioner and my hair was all dry and just would not sit in its side part… hence having to use the toothbrush to part it and flatten that area.

      Of course I talked all of the next day about needing to buy a brush or comb but didn’t bother. My hair just went uncombed until I got home yesterday!

  • Vanessa
    August 15, 2017

    It sounds like a very informative conference. Sticking to a genre would be my downfall – I don’t want to. The book I’m working on for the rest of this year is a weird combination of non fiction and self help and memoir. But I have fiction ideas too. As usual, whenever I see/hear advice to be one thing, my brain stick “oh go stick it” haha. I am thinking of only publishing physical books. I never, ever read the ebooks I download.
    And it’s interesting that they say publish three per year… very interesting.
    I wish I could have someone do the marketing for me though. Any time I read about marketing I end up eye rolling so hard and disagreeing with most of the “rules”, so frankly I just try to ignore that aspect of my future and pretend it won’t impact me.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      I think the thing about self-publishing is that you need to build (and sustain) a following, so regular releases are imperative. I’m sure I’ve heard traditionally published authors also talk about the importance of having several books on those shelves in bookstores or in airports etc. (Akin to having an investment in real estate – the property in this instance being shelf space!)

      The first book I started (during a one year novel writing course) is a young adult novel – but probably a bit too close to home as it’s about an anorexic girl and I think the advent of the Netflix movie To The Bone, probably renders it redundant. And it was probably cathartic more than anything. Then I’ve got two romantic suspense (suspense) novels I’ve started, one of which has 50,000+ words via a NaNoWriMo) and then this romance novel I started last NaNoWriMo. (Or perhaps the one before.)

      I mostly struggle with ideas. I love writing and can be speedy and prolific but I don’t know what I want to write….

  • Lisa Ireland
    August 15, 2017

    I’m impressed that you’ve managed to get your thoughts together and write them out in some sort of coherent order. I’m still in a post-conference haze! It was great to spend some time with you and Jo over the weekend, Deb. The first RWAus conference can be daunting, but you sailed through like an old hand. Really hope to see you at the next one! L x

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Thanks Lisa and it was lovely to catch up with you again. I loved the camaraderie between authors there and had mentioned that in my pre-conference post so didn’t say it again here but you only have to look at social media to see how much everyone enjoyed catching up with writing friends. x

  • christinewells
    August 15, 2017

    Loved your round-up. I was so disappointed I didn’t get to meet you. Was sitting behind you in the Chris Taylor/Clare Connelly/Rachel Amphlett session and everything. Always love the RWA conference but having so many industry players like Google, iTunes, Bolinda etc gave it an extra lift.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Oh I wanted to meet you as well Christine. You should have tapped me on the shoulder! I really enjoyed the industry advice.

      I kept joking that the first panel session on the Saturday (re what publishers are looking for) reminded me of a scene from the TV show Absolutely Fabulous. In the episode Patsy is at a magazine meeting and the editors are talking about what’s ‘in’ and what’s ‘out’ (hemlines up, makeup in etc) and the publishers’ lists felt very similar… romantic suspense, small towns – rural and coastal, layered stories, beta males etc…

  • allisinclairauthor
    August 15, 2017

    What a great round-up of the conference! Like Lisa, I’m impressed you wrote such a comprehensive blog post as I’m still struggling to form a sentence as my brain is so overloaded! This was my 8th conference and I still get lots out of it. The stand out for me this year was to be brave – dream big, work hard, keep going. Oh, and audio readers will go with their favourite narrator, not author. That was new to me! Kate Forsyth is such an inspiration and I am so pleased I got to meet her and lots of other new-to-me people. I’m so glad you enjoyed your time!

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      I very much enjoyed my time though was incredibly brain-dead on Sunday night. I’d left the hotel to stay the night with family and was in bed at 8pm! I’m really not used to so much concentrating. And so much socialising. I really wish I’d been less-tired on the Saturday night and stayed out and danced longer. Perhaps next time.

    • Janine K
      August 15, 2017

      Alli, I agree that unless you get a good narrator for an audio book it can kill off your readers, keep it in mind when your books go on audio!

      • Debbish
        August 16, 2017

        Oh yes. I’ve not listened to many audiobooks but suspect the narrator can make / break a novel. As well as the quality of the recording. I was a bit disappointed in Favel Parrett’s Past The Shallows (from an audiobook standpoint). David Wenham did a great job of narrating it and I LOVED the book but the breaks between chapters were a bit strange and I got lost a few times.

  • Ingrid Ingrid
    August 15, 2017

    Despite not being a romance writer it sounds like attending this conference was well worth the time and expense for you!

    Ingrid
    http://www.fabulousandfunlfe.blogspot.com.au

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Oh yes Ingrid – good learnings re writing in general (about having an authentic voice, brand, platforms etc) and writing novels (pitching to publishers and agents, how to alternate pace to keep readers engaged). I actually hate others reading what I’ve written* so can’t imagine submitting something to a publisher so the idea of self-publishing appealed and I loved the positivity (and honesty) of that panel.

      And I do realise I blog and occasionally do newspaper reviews, but that’s a bit like submitting my stuff into the ether or nameless faceless peeps.

  • Jan Wild
    August 15, 2017

    JFDI indeed Deborah, leverage the inspiration whilst it’s warm.

  • Jan Wild
    August 15, 2017

    JFDI indeed Deborah. Leverage that inspiration whilst it’s warm.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Oh I know Jan. I want to…. I only work part-time so I’ve got no excuse for not doing more writing.

  • emforsyth
    August 15, 2017

    Some great insights, Deborah! Loved, loved, loved Kate Forsyth’s workshop on Friday! And another fave sessions was Lisa Chaplin’s (Melissa James’) round table.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      I really enjoyed Kate’s closing address but only got to stay for 30 of the 45mins. I can imagine her workshop would have been really inspiring!

  • Sydney Shop Girl
    August 15, 2017

    Great set of take home messages, Deb. I agree with the love scenes in romance fiction – it’s a fine balance and must be so hard to write too.

    SSG xxx

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Oh yes… one of the panels I went to talked about them a bit. It wasn’t the topic but more about the fact that IF you don’t feel comfortable writing them, perhaps you shouldn’t. One of the members of the panel has published over 100 books so it’s not necessarily problematic. I think the fact that there are so many subgenres and categories means there’s something for everyone.

  • Denyse Whelan
    August 15, 2017

    I so hope that this conference keeps you motivated and that you do get those manuscripts out and get cracking. I know that you love to write and this is evident here too. Come on, I say, it’s time! Book time. Loved the toothbrush story…oh dear. Thank you for joining in #lifethisweek 31/52 and next week’s prompt is “Selfie Time”.

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      I just laughed when I saw our local news and the fact some teenager held up a shop with a sharpened toothbrush. (Not that it’s funny, more that others are also using toothbrushes inappropriately!)

  • Amy @ HandbagMafia
    August 15, 2017

    I’m glad the term “chick lit” is dead. Could it be any more sexist and condescending? Sounds like a fun conference!

    • Debbish
      August 15, 2017

      Oh yes it was great Amy. Such a wide variety of people. Mostly women (of course) but of all ages and all backgrounds / looks and so forth. Of course there was the odd (ummm…) eccentric, but one gets that at anything I think.

  • Bronwyn
    August 15, 2017

    Great wrap up of the conference! Sounds so interesting.

    I totally thought “don’t brush your hair with your toothbrush” was a wise metaphor for sticking with the genre you’re known for! Until I read on!

    • Debbish
      August 16, 2017

      Hmmm…. perhaps I should have sold it as such! 🙂

  • lauraboon2014
    August 15, 2017

    Lovely post Debbie. One thing I would add is remember to get out and about and meet up with other writers, the fellow members of your tribe, for both comfort and inspiration. Attend book launches, library talks, writers centre events, conferences. There’s nothing better than knowing you are not alone in your dreams, loves and aspirations.

    • Debbish
      August 16, 2017

      Oh yes Laura! I know it sounds a bit wanky but I talk about such things as being ‘nourishing’ and it was one of the reasons I wanted to go even though I’m not in the midst of writing romantic fiction. Hanging with like-minded peeps is an amazing thing.

  • maxtheunicorn
    August 16, 2017

    My son just reinforced ‘great authors are great storytellers’ to me yesterday as they had a kids author talk to the kids at school. He said she recounted a story from when she was young and made it sound really entertaining 🙂

    • Debbish
      August 16, 2017

      Absolutely. Not all panelists / presenters at this conference got the chance to ‘tell’ their story as Kate Forsyth did, but I immediately flashed back to crime authors Michael Robotham and Candice Fox who I’ve heard speak recently and they were great.

  • Janet Camilleri (@middleagedmama1)
    August 16, 2017

    WAAAAA! about chick lit. I love it and think the term says it all! It has more substance to it than straight romantic fiction, in my opinion anyway, though it can still be light (does that make sense). Number 4 – OMG yes. I *hate* sex scenes. We all know what happens, I always skip through those pages … and LOL to Number 6, especially after my recent post: where can a Middle Aged Mama go to dance …

    • Debbish
      August 17, 2017

      Ah yes, chick lit still exists… it just isn’t called that. Like things that somehow end up with a bad reputation it’s been rebadged but is definitely still around! 🙂

  • Claire @ Life on Wallace
    August 16, 2017

    What an interesting conference! I’ve never really been into romance novels but the lessons seem to be relevant to most styles of writing. #teamIBOT

    • Debbish
      August 17, 2017

      Oh yes Claire, most definitely. I got a lot out of it!

  • Penelope
    August 16, 2017

    Great post. Thank you! This was my fourth conference, and every year there are a few sessions that are particularly inspiring (often a session I don’t expect to be that way). Agree with so many others that Kate Forsyth was great, and I loved Marion Lennox’s keynote as well. And I can never get too much craft! RWA is a really open, inclusive and welcoming organisation. Doesn’t matter what you write (or how often you do it) you will be treated like a writer (and feel like one!) by the end of conference. I hope you make it again next year, and best wishes with your writing (on the blog and in other spheres as well). Penelope

    • Debbish
      August 17, 2017

      Thanks Penelope. Interestingly I hadn’t planned to go to the self-publishing session. Rather I’d decided I’d go to a session with Sophie Hamley who I’d heard speak when she was an agent a decade or more ago (at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival), but at the last minute I realised I should step outside of my comfort (knowledge) zone a little and I am so glad I did!!!!

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