Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

By Anita Clenney We all know that the writing business is tough, whether you're just starting out and waiting for The Call or a veteran author, as I learned in my retreat this weekend at the published authors' roundtable discussion. Getting published opens up another set of fears. What if it doesn't sell? What if I can't write another book as good as the first? What if it gets bad reviews? How am I going to promote? What is I can't stay published? And for me a biggie was, what about booksignings? I imagined this nightmarish image of me sitting in a big bookstore, my face pale, looking like a deer in headlights as people walked through the door and past my little table. My experience was anything but. First, let me start with the day before. My dear friend and critique partner, Dana Rodgers and I headed to Boonsboro, Maryland, where Nora Roberts husband's bookstore is located. What a drive. It was gorgeous, the storms from the night before were fading away. And i...

The best thing about writing is the books -- not just the books I get to write, but the books I get to read. I've worked in bookselling all my life, so I've always had a good excuse to spend my time reading anything and everything. But writing has changed and enriched the way I read. There's no better way to learn the craft of writing than by reading good books. Through reading, I've had some of the best writers in the world of romance teach me how to put a story together, and each of my favorites taught me how to add the elements that make it stand out. So here's my syllabus for a course in romance writing, covering a comprehensive assortment of skills through writers with special strengths. Voice: Janet Evanovich. There's a reason why the Stephanie Plum series became a bestseller. The screwball New Jersey bounty hunter is a fantastic character, but what really makes the novels work is the way Evanovich lets Stephanie's unique personality shine through he...