The ‘Do’s and Don’t’s’ of the Author/Reviewer Relationship

RWchat romance writer chat reviews graphic

We appreciate when reviewers and librarians chime in during #RWchat to share their insights, so we’re thrilled to share this post from Maria Rose on how to build a good relationship with book reviewers. Also make sure to check out Frannie’s post on Making the Library Your *Fan(girl).

 

Hello everyone! My thanks to Alexis Daria for inviting me to write a guest post for RWChat on the topic of book reviews. Hopefully it will give you some insight into the reviewer perspective of what should be a positive and mutually beneficial reviewer/author relationship.

A little bit about me: I’m a long time reader of romance and in 2014 I started writing reviews for Goodreads (a book review site owned by Amazon) and book sale sites. I now write for 3 main review sites as well as guest review for others. There may be other reviewers with different perspectives than mine, but these are some of the issues I’ve seen come up with authors and fellow reviewers that I think are worth discussing. Note that my thoughts relate to non-professional book review sites/blogs, not RT, Library Journal, Kirkus etc.

Whether you are a new or established author, self-published or traditionally published, everyone can benefit from having their book reviewed. As part of a marketing plan, reviews can help bring visibility to your story, your name and your brand. Here are some tips to make your book stand out in the crowd.

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Coming July 2nd… The “Starving Artist” and Other Damaging Creative Myths

Graphic by Alexis Daria

We studied those “Starving Artists” in school. Those creative types lauded for making self-sacrifices and mining their depression for the sake of their art. But this leads to a damaging stereotype: we’re not great creative minds unless we’re shrouded in misery. No. We can use our life struggles to help us write, but suffering is a not a requirement to write good books.

Come chat with us about how you combat artistic stereotypes. Sunday 4pm PT/ 7pm ET.

See you then!

What’s in a Name?

romance writer chat name tag graphicThis week on #RWchat, we’re talking about heroes and heroines, and today’s guest post comes to us from LaQuette. We asked her to talk about the thoughtful and meaningful names in her Queens of Kings series. Take it away, LaQuette!

 

Hello, I’m LaQuette, your friendly erotic romance author, embracing my crazy…one character at a time.  Speaking of crazy and characters, I’m here to talk to you about my process of name selection for the crazy folks running around in my head.

I was attending a reader/writer event last year when a reader by the name of Shona asked me a thoughtful question about my characters.  She’d read my romantic suspense series, The Queens of Kings, and asked, “You named the Amare family members, Hunter, Law, Free, Justice, True, and Heart.  How did you come up with such unusual names, and what if any significance did the selection of those names have?”  If I didn’t mention that I have smart and perceptive readers, let me tell you now, my readers are the business.

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Coming June 25th… Heroes & Heroines

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Graphic by Alexis Daria

Our main characters are tricky to create. What kind of people they are – whether they follow a trope or not – they’re the foundation of the romance. How the plot and the relationship develops is entirely dependent on who they are. Come chat with us about how you make decisions about who your MCs will be.

Next Sunday 4pm PT/ 7pm ET.

~Robin Lovett

Balancing the External Plot: Take the Lead

romance writers chat graphic what do they do besides kissThis week on #RWchat, we’re discussing the non-romance plots in our romance novels. In other words, what do the characters do other than kiss? Yesterday we heard from C.L. Polk about Witchmark. Today, Alexis Daria talks about the external plot in her upcoming debut, Take the Lead.

 

How did you come up with the non-romance plot?

I’m a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars, and I was originally inspired by some of the stories they tell through their dances. I made a list of routines like the one in the video below, with the intention of using them as writing prompts.

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Balancing the External Plot: Witchmark

romance writers chat graphic what do they do besides kissThis week on #RWchat, we’re discussing the non-romance plots in our romance novels. In other words, what do the characters do other than kiss? Author C.L. Polk talks about balancing a mystery plot, a fantasy world, and romance in her upcoming novel, Witchmark.

How did you come up with the non-romance plot?

I knew I wanted to write a romance plot, but I really wanted them to have an adventure while they fell in love even though Tristan and Miles are from very different worlds. It took a long time trying to put the pieces of the story together because it’s a mystery that reveals terrible secrets at the end. I had some images firmly in my mind, like Miles’ tiny office at work and Tristan’s townhouse full of mirrors. The story didn’t come together until I had a vision of Miles being horrified, watching his fellow soldiers marching in their victory parade. When I figured out why, all the pieces fell into place, and I was ready.

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Coming June 18th… The Non-Romance Plot

romance writer twitter chat june 18th the non romance plot

Graphic by Alexis Daria

It’s not only about the love story. We have to put other stuff in our plots and in our character’s lives besides romance. How do we round out their experiences and our stories? How do you come up with an external plot that’s both separate and complimentary to the romance driving the story?

Join us to chat about it next Sunday 4pm PT / 7 pm ET.

Coming June 11th… Author Responsibility

RWchat June 2017 author resp

Graphic by Alexis Daria

We romance writers have a responsibility to readers to get things right. There’s a lot of power in what we write – the power to educate, inspire and change lives. How we navigate subjects like representation, safe sex, healthy relationships and beyond is important.

Come chat about how we do this, the decisions we make and why, on the next #RWChat, Sunday 4pm PT / 7pm ET.

~Robin Lovett