Feature on Kate Walker & 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance

This week we have author Kate Walker talking about her revised edition of 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance: An Emerald Guide!

As Kate Walker is doing a series of posts on writing craft and this Guide, do check her other posts:

Romance Book Haven

Revisions & Editions


Romance Book Paradise

Learning to Write



Kate Walker on the Web:

Facebook          Website       Blog



Over the years, I've run many workshops or courses on how to write romances for writers' groups, literature festivals, and other events. On these occasions, I'm often asked many of the same questions, and there seem to be a number of things that keep cropping up that would-be writers want to know.  

These are the questions that I try to answer in my teaching - whether it's a weekend course, a one-day workshop.  I also   get a lot of enquiries from would-be authors - would-be romance writers who  have read my novels and want to know how to succeed as a writer for one of the lines published by  Harlequin/Mills and Boon or any other romance  publishing company.  

When I answered those, I was usually writing the same things over and over so I kept a sort of form letter on my computer.  I realised that  so many people needed the same questions answering, the same writing problems explained, and the information needed to get further than just the few emails I was writing.  Because of this, I wrote the Straightforward Guide to Writing Romantic Fiction, in which I tried to answer the questions I get asked most frequently.

 But that book was just a  basic  - very basic  - summary of what is needed in a romance novel.  It was really only a summary of the essential things a writer needs to know.  I never actually planned to become a teacher - a creative writing/romantic fiction writing tutor.  Years ago, when I was thinking about the career I wanted,  the last  thing I wanted to do was to be a teacher. My mother was a teacher - the head of a local junior school - and that profession just didn’t appeal to me.  The thing  was that as life went on I seemed to be surrounded by teachers - I married a university lecturer, my best friend was an English teacher, even - much later  - my son became a teacher.  By then I had started giving some workshops on How To Write Romance  - or  done talks on my books writing for Harlequin Presents.  And I realised that while I didn’t want to be a teacher as my profession – I did enjoy teaching  - when I was talking about something that I loved – about writing and specially about writing Romance.

Then one time I was chatting with a friend – over email. I thought she would be a great writer for Harlequin Presents but she had a LOT of questions and uncertainties about that.  So I said – look the most important points about writing Presents are . . .  and I started with Point One – Emotion . . . At the end of that discussion I had  - in very rough form – a set of notes about  the ’12 Point Plan ‘  for writing romance.  I even taught an on-line workshop on that topic and it was really really popular. It also felt great to see that people had started to understand things that had puzzled them before. Others had realised where they’d been going wrong, mistakes they’d been making without knowing it.  Lots of people asked if I had a printed copy of the workshop.  I didn’t but I made up some pamphlets with the workshop in  and I took those to conferences where they sold like hot cakes. I realised so many people were helped by the workshop and I wanted to help more.

But I didn’t want to just write a formal ‘how to guide’.  On my courses we have a lot of fun. We talk – lots – we laugh –lots  - and we learn lots. So I wanted to write a guide to writing romance that was like my courses so I wrote the workshop again, adding more details, more advice, and I added the extra writing exercises at the end of each chapter –12 Questions to answer. Something to think about. Something to write. Because if you say you want to write – you don’t just read about it. You get on and write.  And that made the book into a workbook, not just a how to guide.

The original 12 Point Guide  was first published in 2004 and  it seemed that everyone had been waiting for it – and they found it so helpful. In that first year it won  2 awards from the Cataromance   site  - - the Reviewers’ Choice Award and the award for the most helpful book for writers.  I was thrilled when several newly published writers  - India Grey – Natalie Rivers – Natasha Oakley – Michelle Styles – all told me  that they felt  the 12 Point Guide had helped them on their way to publication. Since then there have  been almost 20 more.  

When the book went into its second edition  I  wanted to add a special section with advice from other authors – after all, my way isn’t the only way to do things!  So I asked around amongst friends who were fellow writers and I was so thrilled to find how many of them responded. As a result of their generosity in  sharing their experiences,  the From The Authors’ Desks section was  created and added a LOT to the original Guide.

But  there were problems with the distribution of the book.  Writers in America, Australia etc were having difficulties getting their hands on copies,  and when they did the books were very expensive. It was when the publisher was reluctant to produce ebook versions  that I decided to take things into my own hands. For a while I self-published the book, but still distribution internationally was a  problem. 

That was when my husband started working with Emerald Guides (he wrote a Crime Writers’ Handbook  for them with a friend who was a detective in the London Met) – and the publisher asked it he could take over the 12 Point Guide – and all the distribution.  I was delighted to have that responsibility taken out of my hands -  but I realised that before they could publish the book it really needed to be revised and brought up to date.  There were a lot of romance lines that were no longer published,  lines where the names had been changed . . .

So I revised the whole thing, added more details about how to submit by email,  tried to include all the new names for the lines-  but those can change so fast that I’m not holding my breath everything will stay bang up to date for ever!
The Guide is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write Romantic fiction. It gives a short introduction to all the essential skills needed to succeed, from initial research to the final submission of the  novel.

I  use this book all the time for my workshops and courses here in the UK  and I’m so happy to see it  being used by would-be writers internationally – and a whole new set of readers. I’m really hoping – keeping my  fingers crossed  - that  soon I’ll be able to add to my list of published authors who have been helped along their way to publication by this new revised edition. And I’m still really honoured by some of the reviews it’s had from  some of the best in the business.  

I’ll just quote one from a very special writer and a very dear friend  Michelle Reid:
The 12 Point Guide is “ a must-have for any aspiring romantic fiction writer. Brilliant . . . A page-turner all on its own.”

Kate Walkers 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance: An Emerald Guide


In this comprehensive guide, Kate Walker, an established author within the Romantic Fiction genre, covers all aspects of writing Romantic Fiction, offering budding authors invaluable tips on producing saleable works of fiction, following her 12 point guide.

Buy on:






26 comments:

  1. Sounds like a very useful guide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Liz - I hope it is useful -I wrote it to help would-be writers!

      Delete
  2. I'm sure other authors find it very useful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary - I've been thrilled to learn that more than a few authors say how much it helped them get published

      Delete
  3. A very interesting post and thank you so much for stopping by mine. I really appreciated the visit :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad you found this interesting Denise.

      Delete
  4. This sounds like a book worth having!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Christine - if you do decide to pick it up I hope you find it helps.

      Delete
  5. Good article, I will see if I can get the book on Kindle. Thanks for your kind comment on my blog. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Valerie - I'm glad you found it interesting. The book should be out on Kindle - my publisher told me it would. Thanks for visiting

      Delete
  6. Congrats on your book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lady Fi - thank you for reading.

      Delete
  7. Well done! I have not desire to write these, but I know many do!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jenn - you're right lots of people do want to write romance - but it wold be a dull world if we all wanted to write the same.

      Delete
  8. She didn't want to be a teacher but she must be really good at teaching or giving guide to people. The book sounds perfect for those who want to be a romance book writer :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tamago - yes, I sort of 'fell into' being a teacher of writing. I thin it's because if I'm teaching what I love that that shows through. So many people have told me that the book helps them in other forms of fiction too, not just romance.

      Delete
  9. Sounds like your new book is a great resource for romance writers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting, Sherry - I do hope it will be a great help to would-be writers. After all, that's what I wrote it for. ;-)

      Delete
  10. It's nice there are so many resources out there for authors :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello again Anna- I just replied to you over on the other blog - it's that 'herding cats' that is so memorable. I'd like to hope that my book will be a helpful resource for lots of writers.

      Delete
  11. Congratulations on the new and revised edition of the 12 Point Guide. I have the old one - well-thumbed, mind you. I always come back to it sometimes in the middle of a new ms or even before beginning a new story.

    I've found that reading it through refreshes my mind and make my goal toward creating scenes easier.

    And thanks for this series of craft posts. They are so very welcome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Janet. I think you must have one of the very earliest editions of the 12 Point Guide. I'm happy that it ahs been so useful for you. Thanks got letting me know - and I'm glad that the craft posts have been helpful too.

      Delete
  12. Thanks for sharing such great tips for writers! Hugs...RO

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will ensure that I bookmark your blog and
    will eventually come back later on. I want to encourage you continue your great posts, have a nice holiday weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like a book with a generous beginning. I know how busy writers can get and it's always nice to see writers who will pause a moment and share with new writers. Headed off to get my copy!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hurrah! In the end I got a web site from where I can in fact
    take useful data concerning my study and knowledge.

    ReplyDelete

You can discuss your romance novel addiction too!