So, you have finally decided to put your inner story to paper and finally get the romance story out of your system. However, as a newbie romance author, you might be confused about how you can land a best-selling book in your first attempt.
Lucky for you – we have gathered a list of essential tips to help you write a best-selling romance novel. Read on to learn more!
Understand Your Reader’s Expectations
You have to understand that all books that fall into the romance genre must have a happy-ever-after and a happy-for-now ending. As a writer, you must understand what your readers expect from you. A happy ending is a common expectation for readers when reading a romance novel.
If you make a tragic ending to the novel, then it is definitely not a romance novel. Romeo and Juliet is not a romance book as no romance novels or books never end on a tragic note.
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Do Your Research
Before you even sit down to write the best romance story you have been holding inside, you need to research and find out which subgenre is in demand. This is exclusively true if you want to publish a romance book that will actually sell.
We aren’t referring to trend-chasing but writing-to-market. When writing-to-market, you aim to write a book that will stand the test of time. You may take classy ideas from the romance genre and turn them into something that you own.
Also, while creating those dynamic characters, you will be taking your classy ideas from what is in demand and turning them into your craft of writing. In contrast to writing-to-market, what most people do is that they go on Amazon and see what is selling right at this very moment.
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Subsequently, they hurry and write something of a similar kind and try to publish it while the trend is still hot in the market.
Don’t Chase a Trend
The essential problem with trend-chasing is that most of the time, when the authors complete the book, the trend has already passed, and people have moved to something else. Compared to this, when potential authors write to market, they write something that is sellable.
This way, they write something that is sellable today, next year, and so forth. This kind of book is not only easy to market but also easy to have to contain those keywords that attract those readers that the author has in their mind.
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That said, while there still might be no guarantee that you will be able to sell your book if you decide to market, your focus should always be on the whole package – the entire book experience, which includes the cover.
For obvious reasons, people will be judging your book by its cover, which is why you might want to hire one of the best romance book cover designers for the cover, and of course, your content must be awesome as well.
Write a Popular Trope
Now you might choose a popular romance trope, which is perfectly fine – however, you must integrate your own voice into it, which includes your own style, voice, and a troop of dynamic characters. It would help if you aimed at keeping your readers engaged by adding your own spin to the classic trope.
When we say “trope,” we refer to the type of story that your readers might expect from the genre. Some of the popular romance tropes include coming-of-age, coming out, Christmas romance, office romance, blind date, betrayal, frenemies, and so on.
As long as you keep adding your own spin to the trope, your readers will never get bored with it.
Portray Relatable Characters
Believe us when we tell you that no one wants to read a book about a protagonist – male or female – who has a perfect life. No one wants to read about a woman who just gets what she wants. Don’t portray your character as someone who has never had any struggles in life and whose entire life is wrapped in a pretty bow.
There is no such thing in real life, and you will want to portray your characters in the most relatable manner possible.
The truth is that most people’s life is a hot mess, which is why most of your target audience won’t be able to relate to a character living in a perfect world.
One of the most important aspects of romance writing is character development. Speaking of character development, you will have to bring your protagonist through an epic journey. In other words, it shouldn’t be easy for the protagonists to get what they want.
Typically, you will want your main characters to fight for their happily-ever-after. This way, your readers will be fully satisfied with the storyline. Without any growth happening in the story, your romance book will be a big flop.
Maintain a Suspense
An excellent book keeps your readers guessing until the very end. You must aim to write a romance novel that keeps your audience on the edge of their seats – refrain from immediately giving them what they want.
You will give it to them eventually, but never immediately, as it will drop the entire purpose of reading a book in the first place. You will encourage your readers to keep going by keeping suspense in the storyline.
And the eventual twist that you put in your romance book – that is what keeps the reader going until the very end. You will want to tease your readers and give them breadcrumbs, so they keep reading the entire book until the end.
This way, when you will get to the climax of your book, it will serve as the bog moment for them – it will also set your readers free as they will be part of the journey as much as the main characters themselves. It will be immensely gratifying for the readers to have the couple finally together. You get the point – you want to give your readers a reason to finish your book and keep reading the book till the very end.
