Pro Writing Aid is hosting a conference. October 11th – 15th will be Romance Writers’ Week. The first four days are free to anyone who signs up but the last day, the 15th is just for those who are premium members of Pro Writing Aid.
I have been a Lifetime member since 2019 and I don’t regret it. The analysis and reports provided by Pro Writing are fantastic. There is even a setting to let them know you’re writing romance. Some of the programs assist with grammar, style, readability and structure. You can even check for overused words, words used incorrectly, cliches and passive voice. If you want to sign up for Pro Writing Aid and enjoy all the editorial benefits of this program plus have access to Friday’s fabulous line up just click the ProWriting link below.
https://prowritingaid.com/romanceweek?afid=6367
Isn’t it time you fired up your passion for romance? Writing it, that is? Fall in love with love and writing, join ProWritingAid and our line-up of authors, publishers, editors and more. October 11th through 15th, 2021 for our first ever Romance Writers’ Week.
You’ll join hundreds of other romance writers to learn what makes a romance novel swoon-worthy. Whether you’re writing contemporary, paranormal, historical, or speculative romance (or something in between), you’ll find practical, actionable sessions to help you plan, write, and market your romance story.
Learn from bestselling authors like Tia Williams, Talia Hibbert, Louise Dean, and Carolyn Brown, as well as romance writing experts from Pages & Platforms, Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Romance Writers of America, and more.
Romance Week Full Schedule
Monday’s Sessions
The Secrets of The Romance Genre
Presenters: Rachelle Ramirez and Anne Hawley from Pages & Platforms
Do you have an idea for a sizzling romance story but don’t yet know how to structure it? Got the perfect “meet-cute” (that charming/humorous scene in which the two people who will form a future romantic couple meet for the first time) and some scenes that don’t really entertain or work together yet? Want to introduce moments of heightened passion and emotional conflict into your writing? You’re in the right place. In this webinar, you’ll learn the romance story essentials so that you can create intrigue for your readers and have them recommending your story to others.
The Inside Outline: How to Outline Your Romance Novel
Presenter: Jennie Nash, Book Coach
The Inside Outline helps you define the foundational elements of your story before you start writing—which means understanding your motivation as a writer, considering your reader’s expectations, and making sure your story has a solid structure that will hold up inside and out from beginning to end. This clarity is what gives a novel its power and a writer their confidence. In this session, book coach Jennie Nash teaches you how to use the Inside Outline method to outline a romance novel your readers can’t help but fall in love with.
Romance Writers of America Panel: The Voice of Romance Writers
Moderator: RWA President LaQuette
Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a nonprofit trade association whose mission is to advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by increasing public awareness of the romance genre. RWA works to support the efforts of its members to earn a living, to make a full-time career out of writing romance—or a part-time one that generously supplements their main income.
Panelists include:
- Clair Brett
- Kenya Goree-Bell
- LaQuette
- Siera London
- C. Chilove
- Laura Alford
Tuesday’s Sessions
An Interview with Author Julie Cohen
Julie Cohen is a bestselling author of romance and book-club fiction. Her award-winning novels have sold over a million copies worldwide. She is a vice president of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and founder of the RNA Rainbow Chapter. Her bestselling novel Together has been translated into eleven languages and optioned for television adaptation. She lives in Berkshire with her family and a terrier of dubious origin.
An Interview with Author Dorothy Koomson
Dorothy Koomson is the award-winning author of 15 bestselling novels. Her third novel, My Best Friend’s Girl, sold 90,000 copies within weeks of publication and was chosen for the Richard and Judy Bookclub in the UK. Since then, her books have continued to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, been translated into over 30 languages, and adapted for television. Dorothy also hosts The Happy Author Podcast, where she demystifies the publishing process in a writing guide for aspiring authors and anyone who loves books.
An Interview with Author Carolyn Brown
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and Washington Post bestselling author. With more than 100 novels under her belt, she’s a RITA finalist, a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, and the prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, as well as a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Carolyn’s books have been published for more than 20 years and translated into 19 languages.
Your Five Plotting Non-Negotiables
Presenter: Dana Pittman, Bestselling Author and Editor
Plotter? Pantser? Plotser? Okay, we totally made the last one up. During Your Five Plotting Non-Negotiables, presenter and developmental editor Dana Pittman shares how every writer is a plotter and gives five must-haves to get from the beginning to The End of your writing project.
Copyright Law for Romance Writers
Presenter: Bob Pimm, Literary Lawyer
Romance writing isn’t all meet-cutes and happy-ever-afters. The legal side of writing is just as important as the words on the page. In this session, literary lawyer Bob Pimm will walk you through a basic introduction to copyright law, so you know where you stand. You’ll find out what copyright is and what is/isn’t protected by it, who can claim copyright, what you can do if someone violates your copyright, and much more!
Whether you’re a new writer or have been publishing for years, join us to learn what you can do to protect your creative output.
An Interview with Author Camille Perri
Camille Perri is the author of the novels The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy, both of which have been optioned for feature films with her attached as screenwriter. She is a former editor at Cosmopolitan and Esquire and her essays on queer identity and culture have been widely published. Camille holds a bachelor of arts degree from New York University, where she majored in English and gender and sexuality studies, and a Master’s degree of Library Science from Queens College.
Wednesday’s Sessions
An Interview with Author Elaine Everest
Elaine Everest, author of bestselling novel The Woolworths Girls and The Butlins Girls, was born and brought up in North West Kent, where many of her books are set. She has been a freelance writer for twenty years and has written widely for women’s magazines and national newspapers, with both short stories and features. When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place, her successful creative writing school in Kent, UK.
An Interview with Author Talia Hibbert
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Talia Hibbert is a Black British author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate. She writes sexy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation. Her interests include beauty, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm.
Romance and a Sense of Place: Home Is Where the Heart Is
Presenter: Louise Dean, Bestselling Author and Founder of The Novelry
Place is vital to romance. The setting you choose for your romance novel adds color to your plot and characters by tying intimacy to geography and giving your reader a place to land. In this session, award-winning author Louise Dean explores how you can use setting to create unique romance situations, how enforced proximity makes sparks fly, and why linking your setting to relationship development helps create a richer experience for readers.
Marketing Your Romance Novel
Presenter: Sue Campbell from Pages & Platforms
One of the toughest parts of being an author is tackling your own marketing. Too often, writers rely on tactics without having an underlying strategy.
Book marketing and mindset coach Sue Campbell of Pages & Platforms will help you understand the foundation of every good book-marketing plan. Sue works with award-winning and bestselling authors, traditionally published and self-published, to help them build an engaged audience, spread their message, and sell more books.
Indie Authors’ Guide to Indie Editors
Presenter: Jen Graybeal, Editor
Editors are the not-so-secret sauce that helps authors take their book to the next level. Everyone knows you need one, but finding the right editor for your project can be a challenge. Jen Graybeal has worked with indie-published romance authors for years and is sharing the top ten things you need to know about finding, hiring, and working with freelance editors.
The Five Principles of Creating Clarity in Your Romance Novel
Presenter: Hayley Milliman, Head of Education at ProWritingAid
As writers, we often spend too much time focusing on what our ideas are instead of how to communicate those ideas most effectively. If we don’t sharpen our sentences with our readers in mind, then our ideas will get lost and our writing will be less engaging.
In this actionable presentation, Hayley will walk you through five key ways to improve the craft of your writing. By the end of the session, you’ll know exactly how to tackle your work to make it more powerful for your readers.
Thursday’s Sessions
How to Perform a Story Edit on Your Romance Novel
Presenter: Kristina Stanley, Award-Winning Author and Founder of Fictionary
A story edit is the first step in the self-editing process. We’re not talking about copyediting or proofreading—that comes later. Story editing is what’s also known as structural editing. In a story edit, you analyze your story from a high-level perspective and make sure that the structure makes sense, the scenes are tense, your characters are engaging, there are no plot holes, and you haven’t left any subplots unfinished.
In this session, Kristina will help you make sure your story hits all the right beats in order to truly resonate with your reader. You’ll leave with practical advice you can apply right away to your story. Before you share your book with anyone else, you owe it to yourself to make it the best book possible. Learn how to story edit, and you’ll create a story readers LOVE.
The Three Elements of Electric Love Stories: Mind, Body, and Heart
Presenter: Mary Adkins, Author and Writing Coach
Mary Adkins is the author of When You Read This, Privilege, and Palm Beach. A native of the American South and a graduate of Duke University and Yale Law School, her writing has appeared in the New York Times and The Atlantic.
As a writing coach, she loves to help aspiring and established authors write through resistance and finish their books by finding a creative process that works for them and their lives. In this session, you will learn how to:
- Write a love story with complexity
- Layer love stories to enrich them
- Play to different types of love
How I Launched My Career as a Romance Writer on Wattpad
Wattpad is home to more than 90 million readers and writers worldwide and is the digital space where romance stories thrive. From teen love stories to Muslim romances, paranormal LGBTQIAP+ affairs, and everything in between, there’s a love-laden story for everyone on Wattpad. So, what does it take to launch your career as a romance writer on Wattpad?
Join us for an intimate virtual conversation with three successful romance writers who’ve had hit stories on Wattpad: How they did it, what they learned, and tips and tricks for success.
An Interview with Author Tia Williams
According to NBC News, Tia Williams “is a writer’s writer with a fashionista twist.” In 2016, her novel The Perfect Find won the African American Literary Award for Best Fiction—and garnered rave reviews. Tia’s latest novel Seven Days in June rocketed straight on to the New York Times bestseller list in summer 2021 and Reese Witherspoon chose it for her June book club read. Currently an Editorial Director at Estée Lauder Companies, Tia lives in Brooklyn with her daughter, her husband, and several half-written manuscripts.
An Interview with Kristen Zimmer
Kristen Zimmer’s first novel The Gravity Between Us, a contemporary New Adult Romance, was included in “10 of the Best LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride 2018” by USA Today’s Happy Ever After book blog and was Amazon’s #1 Best Seller in Lesbian Fiction and Romance for over eight weeks. Her second novel When Sparks Fly debuted at #1 in the same categories.
How I Got Published With Harlequin
Harlequin is the world’s largest romance book publisher. In this highly actionable panel, hear from a series of Harlequin writers on how they kickstarted their romance writing career and ended up published with Harlequin.
- Marcella Bell, Author for Harlequin Presents and HQN Books
- Carol Dunsmore, Author Communications & Events Manager
- Katie Frey, Debut Romance Writer for Harlequin Desire
- Sera Taíno, Debut Romance Writer for Harlequin Special Edition
The final day of the conference is open to ProWritingAid Premium subscribers only. If you’re not a Premium subscriber yet, don’t worry! Sign up before midnight EST on Thursday to receive your exclusive access.
Friday’s Sessions
Interview with Author Milly Johnson
A Sunday Times bestseller, Milly Johnson is one of the Top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK with millions of copies of her books sold across the world. In 2020, she was honoured with the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award and was a featured author in the Reading Agency’s Quick Reads and World Book Night campaigns.
A writer who champions women and highlights the importance of friendship and community, Milly’s characters are celebrations of the strength of the human spirit.
Q&A with the Publishing Team at Simon & Schuster UK
Presenters: Simon & Schuster’s Publishing Director for Adult Fiction Clare Hey and Commissioning Editor Molly Crawford
We are thrilled to have two of Simon & Schuster’s top publishing executives joining us for an interactive Q&A. Get your questions about how to break into traditional publishing answered by these two industry insiders.
Your Romance Editing Roadmap
Presented by: Hayley Milliman, ProWritingAid’s Head of Education
As nice as it would be, writing your romance novel isn’t over when you type “The End.” In fact, the actual work is just beginning. During the editing process, your novel will go from rough first draft to thrilling final manuscript. In this workshop, Hayley will walk you through the most important edits you should make to your manuscript to ensure it’s publish-ready.
Interview with Author Lyssa Kay Adams
Lyssa Kay Adams is the author of the Bromance Book Club series. She read her first romance novel in eighth grade after swiping one from her grandmother’s bookshelf and was hooked forever. After a nearly 20-year career as a journalist, her dreams of writing and publishing her own happy-ever-afters came true in 2015 with the release of her first novel Seventh Inning Heat, followed by the RITA-nominated novella Wild in Rio. Today, she writes full-time from her home in Michigan with a pesky, fluffy K9 assistant named Domino who spends most of his day snoring on her desk (that is, when he’s not burying things around the house).
Power Up Your Book Marketing Strategy with the BEN-P Method
Presenter: Siera London
Writing better books doesn’t equate to selling more books. Do you need a simple strategy to power up your book marketing plan and increase your sales?
This session offers a straight forward approach, the BEN-P Method, to build your author brand, reader engagement, professional network, and book promotion plan. The BEN-P method teaches you how to create a cost-effective annual marketing plan in manageable intervals.
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