Catherine Lanigan - Writing the Great American Romance Novel

Catherine Lanigan

For my beloved granddaughter, Caylin. This is my legacy to you.
Should there be a time in your life when you decide you want to write a romance novel and I am not around to help, this would be my guidance.

2006 Catherine Lanigan

All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan-American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

10 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1

Published by Allworth Press

An imprint of Allworth Communications, Inc.

10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

Cover design by Derek Bacchus

Interior design by Mary Belibasakis

Page composition/typography by Integra Software Services, Pvt. Ltd., Pondicherry, India

ISBN-13: 978-1-58115-455-9

ISBN-10: 1-58115-455-0

ISBN:9781581158380

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Lanigan, Catherine.

Writing Writing the Great American Romance Novel novel/Catherine Lanigan.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-58115-455-9 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 1-58115-455-0 (pbk.)

1. Love storiesAuthorship. I. Title.

PN3377.5.L68L36 2006

808.3'85dc22

2006016402

Printed in Canada

Many thanks to Tad Crawford, my publisher at Allworth, for believing in me and giving this book wings. My appreciation also goes to Jessica Rozler, my editor, whose capable hands helped to polish this stone to its intended brilliance. Thanks as well to Nana Greller of Allworths publicity department, who concurs with me that selling this book is just as important as writing it.

A book like this is a compilation of personal and professional experiences that money cannot buy, and time will not allow all such stories to be told. I have had many who have encouraged me along the way, and some have been stars of inspiration. For this humble writer, my teachers, many of whom have passed on, taught me to envision my future and that living the life of a scholar was a noble one. Sister Dorothy Smith, my college professor and head of the English Department at Nazareth College and who died in 2005, will always be that quiet encouraging voice in my head that never lets me abandon my novel writing. My high school English teachers, Mr. Shannon Reffett, Mrs. Jo Morgan Thornburg, Mr. Linneman, Mary Ellen McCain, Dorothy MacDonald, and Gert Vernkis (who, though not a teacher, taught me a great deal): whether on this side of paradise or the other, your encouragement rings loudly.

I also want to thank my agents both past and present who have continued to support my talent and become something more valuable in my life; you are my friends. Kathy Robbins of the Robbins Agency; Mitch Douglas of ICM; Kimberley Cameron of Reese Halsey Agency; Charlotte Breeze of CDB Literary Management; and, currently, Nancy Yost and Julie Culver of Lowenstein and Yost; Vicki McCarty of Flutie Entertainment; and Dean Schramm of the Jim Preminger Agency; and Jodee Blanco, publicist extraordinaire.

I owe much gratitude to the editors in my life who are my partners in collaboration and, at so many times, the electrical spark in my brain that I would call inspiration. At Avon: Page Cuddy Ashley and Ellen Edwards; at MIRA/Harlequin: Dianne Moggy, Amy Moore, Martha Keenan, and Karen Taylor-Richman; at Dorchester: Alicia Condon; at HCI: Peter Vegso, Alison Janse, Matthew Diener, and Amy Hughes.

And to my family: my son, Ryan Pieszchala, and my daughter-in-law, Christy Pieszchala; my mother, Dorothy Lanigan; my brother, Ed Lanigan, and my sister-in-law, Mary Lanigan; my sister, Nancy Lanigan Porter, and my brother-in-law, David Porter; my brother, Bob Lanigan, and my sister-in-law, Debbie Lanigan; all my nieces, Karen Lanigan Jaworski, Elaine Porter Perez, Elizabeth Lanigan, Meghan Lanigan, Maureen Lanigan, Cathleen Lanigan; and my nephews, Ben Porter and Sam Porter; and my sister-in-law, Susie Garrison. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your patience and love as I navigate this writers life.

And to Jed Nolan, my husband, my partner in life and in our careers. Your unswerving faith in me and in my writing sustains me every moment of the day. Your encouragement is more than just words; it is a song to my heart.

You have all been angels to me. No one could ask for more.

Chapter One
A Romance by Any Other Name Is Still a Romance

Chapter Two
Researching Your Romance Novel

Chapter Three
The Makeup of the Romantic Hero

Chapter Four
The Makeup of the Romantic Heroine

Chapter Five
Romance Story Structures and Outlines

Chapter Six
The Mechanics of Writing a Great Romance

Chapter Seven
Plotting the Memorable Meet

Chapter Eight
Writing the Love Scene

Chapter Nine
Marketing within the Story

Chapter Ten
Query Letters, Synopses, and Submission Packages

Chapter Eleven
The Publishing Process, Editors, and Authors

Chapter Twelve
Self-Promotion (or Please Dont Wear that Antebellum Costume to the Book Fair)

Chapter Thirteen
Building a Long-Term Career

Chapter Fourteen
In Spiritu

Appendices
Appendix A: Sample Professional Press Release

Centuries have passed since then, and today, the reading public still craves the romantic novel.