I’m not sure why I finally decided to write my first romance a few years ago. It wasn’t like I had a ton of time on my hands and there were other projects that I was working on at the time. But, during the summer of 2019 one day I sat down and began writing my first book. Within 3 weeks I was done and had begun earning some money with it. In fact, I made about $560 and when those earnings hit my account two months later, baby! I was in love. Now, it’s important to point out that these results were unique to me.
I am by no means saying that everyone will get the same results.
But, I did want to share why I’ve begun writing and selling romance and you can too. It’s not easy, but it’s not as hard as people think and the internet has made it easier to get in front of the right audience for your books. It’s important to point out before sharing some tips that writing romance is a long-term project as a side-hustle. You should give it at least a year from writing your book and transitioning to the marketing and sales part of the process. This is not a quick side-hustle. Manage your expectations. And, if your book sales are awesome in the first year that’s awesome!
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Who Should Write Romance
I’m a lifelong whale reader of romance books. I began reading this type of fiction around 11 or 12 years old and still feel a certain sense of nostalgia for Harlequin novels in particular. If you’re thinking about writing romance, I don’t necessarily think you have to be a lifelong reader, but you do have to be a fan of the niche of romance that you would like to write. Your readers will be able to pick up if you’re just writing books to make money but aren’t a fan of the content. The cynicism will come through at some point in your work. Here’s who should be writing romance books:
- Fans of the genre
- Women from all walks of life
- Men from all walks of life
Pretty broad isn’t it? That’s because there are so many types of romances and so many freaking niches to write in. My point is that anyone can write a romance.
Why Write Romance as a Side-Hustle
I began writing romance books for a couple of different reasons and these may be similar to some of yours.
- I wanted to write books that featured leads that looked like me. I’m African-American and it’s surprising to find that it can be difficult to find books with a Black lead in the niches that I enjoy reading. *I enjoy all types of stories with leads of all types including werewolves, but I was thinking about where I could make a positive contribution while making money at the same time.
- I noticed that the niches I was reading didn’t seem to have enough books! I was burning through them at a fast rate and in romance communities specific to the niches I was reading, other readers voiced the same concern “We need more books”
- Writing romance was the complete opposite of what I worked on in my “day job” as a personal finance content creator. I got to lean into using my writing skillset in a completely different way.
How to Begin Writing Romance
It’s time to write your book. It’s my view that this is the most difficult part of the process. Why? It can be challenging to work through the self-talk that may keep you from working on your book. People worry about all of the wrong things in the beginning.
1.) Who will read your book? No one because you haven’t even written it yet.
2.) Will people buy your book? Who knows, but because you haven’t written one yet it doesn’t matter.
3.) How much should you sell it for? Again, if you haven’t written the book…you’re worrying about the wrong thing
Once you’ve decided to write a romance book, flesh out your idea if possible. There are different types of writing styles. But, if you have a basic outline of the beginning/middle/and end of the story it will help keep you focused as you work. The outline should also have the following details:
- The underlying conflict in the book or the trope of the story:
- Second chance romance-How did they end the first time around and how does this second chance happen?
- Enemies to Lovers-They hate each other! How in the heck does hate turn into love? What is the journey?
- Friends to Lovers-Have you ever fallen for a friend? What was the defining moment that changed things?
- Rejected Lover/Mate-This is a popular trope in the paranormal space especially within the werewolves niche. How does a rejected lover reconnect with the person who rejected them? Or, do they? Who is the person that they finally meet?
- Who is the audience for your book?
- Moms who need an escape?
- Single women who are looking for a reading adventure?
- Paranormal fans that people don’t take seriously?
- Underrepresented communities that don’t have enough books written about and highlighting their stories of love?
- Who are the main characters and what are the issues that they are dealing with related to one another and separate from each other.
- How long you would like…the book to be-I know you were giggling as you began reading that sentence. Get your mind out of the gutter LOL!
- Short-story with a range of words from 5,000-8,000 words. YES, people buy these books. I have. These are great to read when you’re in transit, during lunch or watching the kids soccer game.
- Novellette-These are a little longer and range from 8,000-18,000 words give or take. YES, people buy these books and them. This was the perfect length for my long commute. Many of my books are in this word count range.
- Novella-I also write quite a few novellas with words counts ranging from 18,500-50,000 words.
- For context-250 words=1 page.
- Maybe you start with a short-story because that’s where you’re at in regards to time, energy or belief.
- How you will write your book. What is the process that you’re using to get words on pages and make progress?
- Google Doc
- Voice Memo
- Collaboration with someone else
- Ghostwriter
- Via an app
- Create a flexible schedule or framework for when you would like your book done. Have a schedule will help you focus. The idea of the schedule is to keep you focused on taking action.
How to Sell Your Books
I’ve skipped a couple of steps because inevitably, this question will get asked-how can you sell your romance books?
First, I want to point out a few important details:
- Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a huge part of selling books organically-Know how to create blog posts, podcast episodes and social media content romance readers are searching for.
- You don’t necessarily need a large social media following in order to sell books.
- You don’t need a large marketing budget to sell your books in the beginning-start where you’re at. I was paying off debt when I wrote my first book and I didn’t really have money for marketing. I had to focus on marketing in a different way.
- I paid $15 for my first book cover and I made thousands of dollars with that book. I made consistent passive income for years and that money helped me change my online business. I also self-edited. Was it perfect? No. Did I get paid? Yes. Did my readers enjoy my books and leave reviews? Yes.
Now it’s time to talk about selling your romance book once you finally have it done.
How to Sell Your Romance Novels
All of these sales tips are long-term strategies. Why? ideally you will be selling these books for years. Think about it, once a book is published you can sell it over and over again. Stick to focusing on marketing and sales for at least a year. During the course of a year you will get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work as a sales process for your works.
- Create a website and sell from your site
- Use a platform such as Amazon/Barnes and Noble and other retailers to sell your books.
- Amazon Books
- Radish app (Or, other reading apps)
- Sell to your email list
- TikTok
- In-person events
- Online events
How Much Should You Price Your Book For?
If you haven’t finished writing your book, it will be hard to work though this question. I have the philosophy that all books should be priced regardless of length for at least the cost of a cup of coffee. I pay a little over $3 for coffee, so all of my books start at $2.99 and I plan on raising my prices soon.
A few questions to ask yourself before setting the price on your book:
- Where is my reader buying their books? My books are primarily on KindleUnlimited. I found that the majority of my readers are buying books from that platform.
- How long is the book?
- Book expenses and how many sales you need to make to recoup them.
- Earnings goals-how many books do you need to sell to achieve your earnings goals?
- What do your purchasing habits look like?
- Run a survey using SurveyMonkey-it’s free. BUT, be careful, do this where your readers are hanging out vs. where your friends are supporting you.
You can always change the price of your book after you test things out for awhile. Pricing is a key thing to consider because you need to consider how many sales would create a profit after taxes and money invested into the production of your books. There is a reason why I tell people to “Start where you’re at” I had the $15 to invest in a cover for my first romance book. I didn’t have money for an editor. I self-edited and the vast majority of my feedback has been incredibly positive. What if I had waited? I’ve made over $20,000 grand in book sales (total) for the following years 2019-2022.
It’s important to point out that I stopped writing and publishing romances in 2020 (COVID negatively impacted my ability to think creatively) and 2021 (was stressed out). I wasn’t marketing my books during those two years. That passive income coming in DURING A PANDEMIC was a wonderful feeling.
I’ve begun writing, publishing and marketing romance books again as of May 2022. I miss this part of my online business and am having so much fun with it. I’m looking forward to sharing my old and new stories. Don’t forget, once you’ve published a book you can sell it over and over again for years.
Looking forward to reading your books!
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