The challenges of marketing your romance novel
Romance rules are sales rules
After long but enjoyable hours of writing, your romance novel is finally done. Now the hard work starts. You have to find a publisher or, if you have one, you have to make sure your book reaches as many readers as possible.
This is where marketing comes in.
Biggest bestseller of all time
Romantic function is the most popular and best-selling genre. Romance novels generate over $1 billion in sales every year, according to a survey commissioned by the Romance Writers of America, and at least 75 million people read a romance novel every year (90% of them women.)
The best market for writers
That's obviously a good market for any writer to get into. However, with so many romance novels being published every day, it's even harder to get your book noticed, let alone read. How do you stand out from the kissing crowd?
In romance, you can use the same and well-loved tropes to ensure the book sells and finds a buyer. In your book, don't be afraid to turn a cliché into a fresh and exciting story.
How to write a good romance novel
It's easier to market your romance novel if you have followed the rules of the genre. All genre fiction - thriller, detective, science-fiction - fits within a fairly tight frame. Literary fiction is all about experimentation. That's why few people read Ulysses by James Joyce, even though it's supposed to be one of the greatest novels ever written.
What are tropes and why are they important?
Before you submit your novel to a publisher, or create your marketing plan, make sure that your book has all the required romance elements. These are called "tropes". If your novel doesn't have enough of them, your book isn't going to sell. You may not even get a publisher. You can always self-publish, but that makes it even more important that your book fits the genre.
The romantic hero
Take one of the most basic tropes of the romantic novel: the hero. Just going from the titles of over 15,000 Harlequin novels, the most common profession of romance novel men are doctor, surgeon, cowboy, rancher, sheriff, boss, bodyguard and, of course, knight, prince, and king.
Before publishing your novel, therefore, it's a good idea to go through the romantic fiction checklist. (Yes, that doesn't sound very romantic, but it's necessary if you want people to buy your book.)
Combine the elements using the following formula: <protagonist > must <verb > to fight <conflict > and / or win < goal <
You have to introduce the main characters in the romance novel.. Make sure your enemies are worthy adversaries who can be easily defeated.
The two main characters are also enemies in romance.. The romance is supposed to show how intertwined their paths are.
Here is a short checklist:
*Does your hero's profession fit one of the standard categories?
*Does your hero have a flaw?
*Does your plot include some challenge that the potential lovers have to overcome?
*Do your future lovers meet in the first chapter, at most the third?
*Was the antagonist introduced early in the book?
All these elements will be incorporated into your marketing plan. They will determine how you write your blurbs. They will inform the outline you send to publishers or to reviewers. They will even help your book designer - and, in romance, the cover is crucial to selling your book.
You should also have a strong but simple plot premise. This lets your book be summed up in one or two sentences. That makes it more appealing to both publishers and buyers. They know what they're getting.
Classic romance
For instance, classic premises include the plucky farmer's daughter who defines the wealthy investor who wants to buy the bankrupt farm and build a strip mall. Or the boat captain who started a charter business to live on the seas and avoid people, hired by a spoilt heiress who gets on his last nerve (and he on hers) until they get marooned.
The 5 foundations of romantic fiction
So before submitting your exciting manuscript to a publisher, check and see if these five basic questions are answered: (1) who they are; (2) what do they want; (3) who stands in their way; (4) what do they have to do; and (5) what's at stake if they fail.
I'm writing a romance novel.. You can only read 50000 words.. You'd be annoyed if you tried to drag him.. You'd be bored if the romance was dragging on and you didn't want to watch?
plan, a little or a lot.. I don't think there's anything like a plan to market a book of fiction, because i don't think there's anything like that:
How can I promote my romance novel?
Once your manuscript hits all the buttons, what's your marketing plan? Zoe Yorke, a 13-time bestseller who has written 50 books, usually steamy romances with military heroes, says there's no step-by-step plan.
However, some general strategies are always useful. Long before your novel is published, you should be on several online groups who read and discuss romantic fiction. Not only will this give you invaluable insights into what readers want, but you will have a set of reviewers ready to tell the world about your gripping love story.
You should also have a short and exciting synopsis of your book, as well as some blurbs. This will help publishers and readers decide if they want your novel.
Get a good editor
What there is, however, is a high demand. Read a lot of romance books, see what makes you like one story better than another. Make sure your manuscript has those elements. If you can, get an editor to do what is called a line edit of your book (this kind of editing is not looking for punctuation errors, but finding plot holes and making suggestions.)
Above all, keep on writing and publishing and readers will find you.
