By: Sandra Madden
https://sandramadden.com/
Thank you, Marcia for your kind invitation to blog. So much
to blog about!
Recently I participated in a Friends of the Library Romance
Novelist panel in St. Augustine. I was one of 5 participating panel members who
were veteran romance writers. One of the questions put to us was: How has
romance writing changed? How has your writing changed?
In so many ways … on so many levels!
When most of us began writing romance there was only one way
to become a published romance author. First, you wrote a book (usually 100,000
words or more) and then mailed the manuscript, along with a self-addressed
stamped return envelope, to the publisher. These were heavy manuscripts! The
first thrill was getting it to the post office. The second came after a long
wait. We waited, at least six weeks, for a reply. (During the wait it was a
very good idea to write a new novel. Rejection happened. A lot. One well-known
author confessed she could have papered her office walls with the rejections
she received in the beginning.)
If and when your book was accepted, the publisher owned you.
Owned your name, your publishing rights and became the major marketing expert
for your books sales.
It’s quite different today. Now we send our manuscripts
and/or proposals via e-mail. Quick and easy. Or not - rejections remain part of
the business.
Today there is self-publishing. A traditional publisher is
no longer necessary to see your book in print. But smart self-published authors
hire formatters, cover artists and editors, just for starters. It’s not
inexpensive to publish a book. And every
author no matter how they are publishing, by self, traditionally or via small
press becomes an in-house marketing department.
When I started writing romance over twenty-five years ago I wrote historical romance and my first published novel, “Liberty’s Bride,” took place in St. Augustine during the revolutionary war. (I was not living anywhere near St. Augustine at the time.)
I wrote nothing but historical romance for several years. A
history lover, I loved the research!
But after years of writing in one genre I slowly moved into
another.
My new release entitled “Murder at the Blue Oyster Grill,” happens in September, 2023. As you might guess, it’s a cozy mystery heavy on the romance and humor, and published by The Wild Rose Press. It’s quite a change from what I was writing at the beginning and I’m enjoying the change that began with “The Paradise Key Caper.”
Change is inevitable in every industry, every profession,
every life.
Davie Bowie sang about it…”Ch,ch, changes.” And Heraclitus
wrote, “Nothing endures but change.”
So what changes might be ahead in the publishing industry
and for romance writers? AI,
perhaps? Will my next book be titled, “Robots
in Love”? Or has it already happened.
