Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: disapointing
Review: I only made it through the first 1/3 or so of the book, and skimmed the rest. I assume that I am missing some great gems of romance writing wisdom, but I kept wanting to throw the book across the room. There was some really bad advice, early on, which undermined the book's credibility for me. The bit that sticks out in my mind is where the author advises getting the biggest, fastest computer with the best screen out there to work on. Does she not know that text and word processing files are TINY in the world of 21st century computers? A high-power computer is wasted on word processing.

I admit, this has very little to do with romance writing, and yet there's a big section on equipment in the book, much bigger and more directive than it needs to be. Maybe that's the "Dummies" formatt/formula talking. Parts 2 and 3 are the sections of the book that focus on romance writing. I was not convinced by some of the author's advice in that section, either, though it wasn't as bad as the bit about the computer. I haven't written a romance novel yet, but I've read quite a few good ones which don't line up with the advice this author/editor gives.

The sections on manuscript format, again, are much longer than they need to be and would only be useful to someone who's never read anything on how to submitt a manuscript, and/or can't use the internet.

There must be a better how-to-write-a-romance-novel book out there. There must be.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding how-to book on writing a romance novel
Review: In my experience of Dummies books in general, they all fulfill beautifully a major requirement of the self-help genre: clarity. In specific, Writing a Romance Novel (WRN), as do all Dummies books, offers an outstanding table of contents, an extensive index, and an accessible layout that allows you to skip from topic to topic if you don't choose to read the book cover to cover. One thing that is unique in each Dummies book, though, is what it contains, and I can sum up the quality of this book's content in one word: superb!

I shamelessly confess that my shelves contain every book ever written on how to write romance, along with 50 or 60 books on writing popular fiction in general. Add to that dozens of other fiction how-to's I've read which did not merit "keeper" status, and if I haven't read everything ever written on how-to-write fiction, I'm pretty close. Based on all that reading, I would rank this book in the how-to-write-fiction genre at least in the top 5. And in the sub-category of how-to-write romance, I would rank it Number 1--that's how good it is.

Author, Leslie Wainger, knows whereof she speaks on the subject of what makes a quality romance novel: she's been editing romances professionally for 25 years, in the process working up from editorial assistant at Silhouette books to executive editor for Harlequin/Silhouette. Based on all that experience, she's provides in WRN exhaustive information on the qualities editors seek in publishable romance novels. There is something here for romance writers at every stage of their career, from raw recruits who've may not even be sure what constitutes a romance novel, to disciplined, experienced writers who've been plugging away for years and are close to selling their first romance novel. Many of the topics in WRN are essentials in any how-to book on fiction of any genre: characters, plotting, setting, research, and marketing your completed book. However, Ms. Wainger's take on each of these topics adds information specific to the romance novel in the form of practical, clear insights that are simultaneously down-to-earth and quite sophisticated. My particular favorites among the various sections of the book are Chapter 8 on author voice and Chapter 9 on unique character voices. These chapters contain the most profound understanding of how the author's voice impacts narrative that I've ever seen. In addition, Ms. Wainger offers extremely useful insights on feeding in research information and physical movements of characters in a way that doesn't slow the story's pacing. Finally, the all-important topic of love scenes in the romance novel is handled with insight and unblushing finesse.

In short, if you can afford only one how-to book on romance, make it this one. It's easy to read and packed with essential information on how to write a romance novel that has a very good chance of getting published.

Rating:
Summary: Breaking into the biggest genre in all of fiction.
Review: Why would you want to write a romance novel? Might it have something to do with the fact that Romance is far and away the best selling genre in all of fiction.

OK, so maybe you'll give it a try. Sooner or later you'll want to sell your work, and who better to sell it to than Leslie Wainger, the Executive Editor of Harlequin Books, quite likely the biggest romance publisher.

After twenty five years of being in the romance publishing business, she knows what the readers want. And what the readers want is what the publishers want to publish, and ... well need I go on.

The book is about what you would expect, more or less detailed instructions of how to write a book. It covers everything from getting started writing to what kind of paper to use to sending to a publisher. Basically it's all the rules.