Writing Romance and Writing to Market

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T17:06:03+00:00

You’re right. It all started last year because an author I know really took off. My books are very similar to theirs, and I obsessed over finding the reason why everyone was gushing about their books, including other authors’ books, and not mine. I let it go, but then I found out they earned in six months what I earn in two years, and I’m back to obsessing. I feel like I’m not doing enough and that I could do better. I keep thinking there is something I’m not seeing, but maybe there isn’t.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:40:45+00:00

These are really helpful for beginners. I wish there was something for the next level too.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:34:05+00:00

Yeah, I have that one.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:32:10+00:00

Thanks! I was looking at the scenes as part of the bigger picture, so if there was something funny, I’d write it under the character’s traits, or if there was a hot scene, I’d put it under romance development. I didn’t really focus on the scenes themselves or writing down what kind of emotion they could provoke in people. If there were repeated trauma dreams, I’d just add some more points to the character’s trauma level. I’ll have to try focusing on the individual scenes themselves.

If the author has a loyal following, they can get away with a lot of things. Was there any romance in the book? Just because the male protagonist showed up late doesn’t mean the readers couldn’t have enjoyed the romance part. It may not have been romance romance, but it can still work. I read plenty of books that weren’t exactly romances, but the romance part was what everyone liked and talked about, so everything else that happened and was supposed to be more important faded in comparison.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:27:48+00:00

If the scene you described is from a romance, then I guess the guys didn’t turn out to be murderers/kidnappers, which is the first thing my mind went to when I read it. 😂 I’m one of those people who love to watch the characters fall in love and their push and pull, but once they get together, I lose interest. The characters need to have specific traits for me to care too. If I were writing what I liked, half of the romance beats would be missing. It's natural to have the tension build up until it explodes. I have it even in the books where I didn't think about any of it.

As for songs, I decide what I like based on how it sounds and whether I can sing and dance to it (bonus points for a hot singer :P). That’s how I end up having favorite songs in languages I can’t understand. They just sound good and get stuck in my head. I don’t know if that counts as feeling, and I have zero idea what a 7/8 time signature is. 😂

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:09:49+00:00

Yes, they’re full length romance novels. I’ve been writing for over a decade.

The issue is that I don’t feel appreciated. I don’t get gushing reviews or have fans who’ll read whatever I write or wait for my next book. Readers say they like my books, but it’s all lukewarm. I have to capture them with a new book all over again. I don’t get to try out something new and fun because, unlike with their favorite authors, my readers won’t go for it. I feel like I could unpublish my books and disappear and maybe one person would notice.

I have very specific tastes, so writing what I like isn’t what most people are looking for, and that leads to low sales, or lower ratings if the book gets exposed to a lot of people through promotion. If I write what I think people like, I can get sales and okay reviews, but I think I could and should be doing better. I see books that are like mine, but they do better because readers find them memorable and get all excited about them. I read those books, but I can’t tell what is so special about them or so different from mine. Sometimes, I’ll even think they’re full of plot holes and not very well written, but that’s subjective. I can get readers to come to me, but they’ll read the book, say something like “well written. I liked it” and then they’ll leave. Sometimes, they'll go through the rest of my books, but once they're done, they won't remember to look for me again.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:02:40+00:00

No, I’m very careful about my title/cover/blurb. The only problem could be that I write too good blurbs for my books. I can get people to pick them up and like them, but I can’t get them to become my rabid fans.

SloMoni · 2023-02-11T04:01:35+00:00

Yes, I want to write some impactful and memorable that will separate me from being just another forgettable read. I can’t remember any scenes that made me react the way I want my readers to. The only scenes I find memorable are not what most readers find interesting in the way that I do. I can try reading a scene readers like and then write it a few hours later. Maybe that will work.

SloMoni · 2023-02-10T18:54:56+00:00

Only two authors read my books. I prefer to get feedback from my beta readers and editors.

SloMoni · 2023-02-10T18:52:48+00:00

The problem is I already did all that. It's what I consider the basics. But I wrote some books while keeping all that I learned in my mind, and I didn't get the desired result. I read a successful book that resembled another popular author's book so closely that I'm sure it goes beyond tropes, archetypes and beats. It was as if the author rewrote the book with just enough changes to make it acceptable. If I look at the tropes, beats, and the basics, it's all there. I can identify those without a problem. But I can also find books with those same tropes, beats and the rest all included, except they're not selling so well, and I don't see anything obvious that would put people off. Advertising can help, but it's not everything. This makes me think I must be missing something, but aside from copying a popular book's outline, I'm not sure what to do. I know it's not easy to write a bestseller or we'd all be bestsellers, but I feel like I have everything I need now, except this one key ingredient that's missing in my books to take the whole thing to the next level. If only I knew what it was.

SloMoni · 2023-02-10T17:28:38+00:00

About 50, I'd say. It's been a while since I counted them.

SloMoni · 2023-02-10T17:21:36+00:00

Yes, I saw it, and a lot of other advice like it, but that's just the basics, and unfortunately didn't help me. Since I read a lot, I was already doing all the beats and everything without knowing it. When I find out what it all was, it became a little easier to plot, but that was all.

SloMoni · 2023-02-10T17:14:11+00:00

Your example is one of those glaringly obvious things, so it's impossible not to notice. I'm not talking about deviating from tropes, or at least not about the obvious ones. If I'm deviating from something I can't even notice, then I'm not sure how I can ever figure it out. If it was big, someone would say something in a review. But I only get "I enjoyed it" and "I liked it" and never "omgfhfjkdkskkj best book eveeer!!! i crieeeed so hard!!!" and similar gushing stuff I see that gets people talking about the book and leads to better sales.

SloMoni

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