The Top Ten Ways to Be a Great Romance Writer

10. Read, read, read. Read every romance you can get your hands on, no matter what subgenre. The more you read, the more you’ll understand the market. You can’t be a great writer unless you read a TON of books.

9. Join Romance Writers of America. A good support group is critical to being a healthy writer.

8. When you’re ready, find a critique group or partner. But make sure they’re right for you. Just because someone is multi-published doesn’t mean they necessarily know what is right for your work. You need encouragement and people who genuinely want to help you improve. If everyone has the same comments, however, you probably need to look at what they’re suggesting.

7. Try to write every day, even if it’s just a sentence.

6. Set goals for yourself and follow through on them. Check your progress on those goals periodically.

5. Reward yourself when you’ve met certain milestones. Celebrate your success!

4. Submit your work to publishers. You can’t sell if you don’t send it off.

3. Learn from your mistakes. When you get rejections, take a day off to wallow in your misery and then figure out what you need to fix in the manuscript.

2. Don’t rest on your laurels. You’re only as good as your latest book. As soon as you’ve mailed one book, start another one.

1. Believe in your dreams. The path to publication is a long, tough road, but persistence is key. In almost every writers group I’ve ever been in, the ones who haven’t given up are the ones who have sold. If you want it badly enough, you’ll get there.