For all you romance writers out there and anyone who wants to chime in. I just had a story rejected, and, no, I'm not upset, that's a common occurrence in this genre. But I keep trying. What I don't understand is this comment by the editor:
"there's too much "real people, with real problems"" The quotation marks around the real parts are his.
Ummm, aren't we supposed to write about real people who have real problems? This was a married couple and the wife had quit her job and opened a shop which her husband wasn't happy about. The editor did add that there wasn't enough conflict but unless they're beating each other up or shooting one another, how do you insert conflict into romance aside from arguments, slamming doors and stretches of silence as they work through their problem?
Now, in all fairness, I did add a touch of paranormal to the story and the resolution comes through the paranormal occurrence. So, I'm wondering if in mixing the two, maybe the reality got in the way of whoo-whoo?
I'm beginning to think that I'm never going to crack the romance market because I just don't "get" the type of reality they're looking for. For the most part when I read contemporary romance shorts I have this overwhelming urge to give the women a Gibbs smack to the head.
12 comments:
I like my characters to seem as if they could be real given the nature of the world they are in, but I seldom try to write real people in real world situations. Mainly because that's the world I live in so its not the one I necessarily want to visit when I read and write.
Since I write mostly crime, I like my characters grounded in the real world, Charles. Of course, it's not a world I actually live in, only bits of it :) I can see the advantages of writing fantasy though.
I wonder if by "real" he meant "ordinary." Perhaps he wanted there to be something different, something that set the couple apart from the "ordinary" husband and wife.
You're probably right, Jim, their argument was about money, which is really pretty ordinary. I hadn't considered that aspect. Oh well, back to the drawing board with the story.
The romance genre is tough to crack from what I've understand and read elsewhere, because its one of the few genres where you can't have the real world be part of the equation.
Probably the most formuliac driven genre known in publishing today.
Sandra, I'm not a romance writer, but I read a lot of romance as a teenager, and my guess (for what it's worth) is that romance readers don't want to be bogged down by real, everyday problems. Characters kept apart by schemers or war or overprotective parents is much more of a romantic fantasy than characters who break up because she can't stand how he leaves the toilet seat up. Hope that helps.
Maybe that's my problem, G., I love coloring outside of the lines too much!
Yes, I've read hundreds of romance novels, Barb, mostly historical. But I just can't seem to capture the fantasy of romance. Maybe I've just lived to straight forward a life to accept the fantasy aspect of romance.
Romance genre, eh? The other day I saw a paperback rack of romance novels ... and none of the men had heads. They all had gorgeous bodies (like mine**) but no heads. Perhaps your real people had heads.
(** I stole it from the gym; the guy wasn't using it.)
Fred, Did you see the post on The Lipstick Chronicles (in the past month or so, I'd say) about the romance writer (I think) whose heroine on the cover had three hands?! Hysterical mistake.
Jeez, Fred, it's romance, what do you a head for? :) And yes, that's probably what I did wrong, put a head on their shoulders. Oh my goodness, I just realized, I didn't describe his body or her heaving breasts! No wonder I'm a failure at this genre!
Hey Sandra,
I've had a romance editor reject a piece that was "too real."
Continued the editor, "Readers read to escape the concerns of their reality."
Stephen
Well, he's right about reading to escape, Stephen! The strange thing is in the mystery genre, we get nailed if we write something that people don't think could happen. Seems romance is just the opposite in some ways.
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