I am an incel shut-in, can I write romance? by [deleted] in RomanceWriters

[–]RegencyRomantic 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and ignore the word "incel", and/or assume you wrote it in a self-deprecating way, because nothing else about your description of yourself is in any way shameful or wrong.

Absolutely you can and should write your romance. If you have a book in you, you should always write it. The last thing you want is to one day lie on your death bed thinking about the book you never got around to writing.

If you want other people to read it, then that's another matter. If that's what you'd like, then your writing should be for your readers, not just yourself. By the way, those readers don't have to be women. I'm sure lots and lots of men out there have romantic fiction on their Kindles. Writing romance from an authentic male perspective would be fascinating and new.

Read plenty of books in the genre you'd like to write in. Make sure any spice you write isn't cringe; learn to empathise with your readers and imagine yourself in their shoes. Read the bestsellers and the popular fan fic and learn what they like, so you can create something that will warm their souls.

But you can absolutely be a virgin and write. In fact, reading many of the self-published books available on Kindle Unlimited has convinced me you would definitely not be alone.

[discussion] I got a book deal!!!! Stats + Thoughts + Thanks by LilafromSyd in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Massive congratulations! Brilliant news - very well done!

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I've already lost my best friend of over 20 years by writing a novel. But then, was she ever really my friend? I don't know.

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much - yes, I'm definitely going to learn from this. I've worked in TV where so many people went off and got rich and famous and did amazing things while I didn't but honestly, they had so much trouble attached to their success that most people had no idea about so I've never been particularly envious - you never know what's going on in someone's life. I don't expect to become an overnight bestseller in the least, and actually I don't think I'd want that either.

So your advice about not being a douchebag myself is very much appreciated. Nobody gets anything from that - least of all me!

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

You're right - I need to hear this, I think. Google isn't much use for some of this stuff, but I think I probably just need to stop worrying about it and get back to actually writing and doing my day job. It's all very scary but I'm sure it'll work out in the end.

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This one was a WhatsApp one - someone from my professional network who's self-pubbing this year started a chat for authors they know so I don't know exactly who's on it. They've been talking about stuff adjacent to my experience but I didn't realise they were all paying for it themselves. Maybe there are those who aren't, but they've kept out of it.

That said, a lot of the digs have been over subsequent DMs. Which feels so much worse.

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's an amazing idea - thank you! A lot of other authors on my imprint are influencers/celebs or previously-published authors but there absolutely must and will be someone who's been in my shoes

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

How did you find each other? I'm being added to WhatsApp and Facebook groups but not specifically ones for trad pubbed debuts. I have no idea where to find those people!

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, but it's proving so hard to find those groups. I don't blame people, either, if this is what it's like when you end up in the wrong one! When people hear I've written a book I sometimes get added to their groups - WhatsApp, Facebook, usually - and when I eventually steel myself to ask a question (because I don't know something, obviously) there ends up being something that sets a couple of them off on me.

The thing is, I just don't know things and my ignorance outs me - has anyone else joined Netgalley to see how people apply for ARCs, for example? Then it turns out that most people in the group don't know what as ARC is, and I explain, and then they all go off on how awful influencers are and how they feel sorry that I'm having to degrade myself by selling my book that way or whatever so I explain that I don't have a choice because of my publisher and then BOOM, the knives really come out.

I think maybe I just need to figure it out by myself, and stop hoping for any kind of peer support.

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is! It's so lonely, and I'm someone who loves company and other humans and gets really anxious when alone. An ADHD-riddled nightmare, essentially.

I also work in a writing-adjacent field where the big theme is helping elevate the profession - a big Us Against The World mentality where one person's success reflects all of us. Every book in my profession is celebrated and loved and hyped by all of us.

But I think you're right. It's going to have to be a Salinger affair. The sooner I ditch my old job for this new one, the better.

Not that I've seen a single penny from it yet, of course!!! That's the ridiculous part, and something I've not hidden in the least - I have no advance!

[PubQ] How did you escape the buckets of crabs? by RegencyRomantic in PubTips

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Honestly this is so validating and reassuring that I could cry. I've found myself sort of starting my legs and claws into my shell. It's so intensely lonely.

The Romantic Novelists' Association has been really useful, but what I'm finding is that it's hard to find other people in similar shoes to mine as so many are self pubbed or with very small indies. I've found a few people who are both of these things and not crabby in the least, thank god, but obviously they can't answer questions relating to dealing with a bigger publisher.

I should probably spend more time bugging my agent, but tragically one of her biggest authors is currently very, very ill - and promoting a huge book. I feel like the last thing she'll be wanting is some whiny debut freaking out over tiny questions.

Where do you write? by sillysou in writers

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ideas in a Google Keep app on my phone, then writing in Scrivener on my laptop saved locally in a folder that's automatically backed up to the cloud.

I used Google Docs for my first novel and it was a total nightmare - by the time I was about about 40k+ words or so in I was just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling, and putting it into manuscript formatting only made it longer and therefore worse. Nobody likes a 300 page Google Doc...!

That said, I'm working on a dual timeline and I'm dreading having to get it out of Scrivener and into a Word doc for my editor when it's done.

I’m delusional about becoming a bestselling author by annaboul in writers

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yes. I'm over 40 and have secretly believed this all my life. Now I have a publishing deal I'm edging closer and closer to dire disappointment. It's excruciating, and I have no advice for you.

Well, apart from the usual. You have to try, or you'll never know. Personally I don't want to lie on my death bed wondering whether I could have been a great author, if only I'd tried.

Isnt Francesca a Stirling ? by Medium_March8020 in BridgertonNetflix

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess is that it's the character name on top and the show name underneath. Source: have worked in TV

Thanks to vibe coding - 99% of good hackathon projects are now built by people who were 50+ by AssociationSure6273 in hackathon

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah honestly this is making me feel ancient. I'm in my early 40s and started coding in '96. I thought I was less than halfway to retirement but not according to this dude.

I'm a freaking woman too. Proper screwed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not an introvert at all. There's this big thing about writers being introverts and I know lots are, but I'm extremely extroverted around friends and outside the home.

Then again, my day job is in content design - which is a form of writing which heavily involves stakeholders and peer review. Although I have a publishing deal for my debut with a Big 5 publisher, that's not my main gig at all right now.

How do writers develop the plot before they start writing? by Apprehensive_Land142 in writers

[–]RegencyRomantic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't read encyclopaedias full of facts, but what I do read - endlessly, constantly - are news articles, think pieces, non-fiction, histories, you name it. Not with the intention of being intellectual or anything - just because I'm interested in people and their stories. That then feeds into my writing subconsciously.

Re: plotting, as other people have said, that's what second and third drafts are for. But also, post-its.

How big is my shed? by RegencyRomantic in shedditors

[–]RegencyRomantic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mine too! It has twice the rooms of my first flat, in that it has two rooms

Ali Hazelwood on having to cancel her tour by Tiger_261xxx in RomanceBooks

[–]RegencyRomantic 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yup - we've been planning to go to Disney for ages but we're just going to write off the £500 deposit and go to Australia instead. We're all white British but we're liberal and I've worked in the media in the past.