When I first started writing romance, I read many books by popular romance authors, trying to understand what made them popular. What was it about their books that appealed to readers? There were some whose success I simply didn’t understand. To me, their writing seemed average, their characters trite and boring, their plots predictable. It…
Author: Mary Gillgannon
Mary Gillgannon began writing historical romance soon after she discovered the genre. She loves how these stories allow her to portray the excitement and high stakes of past eras, yet focus on relationships and create a happy ending. She has written seventeen novels, including romances set in the dark age, medieval and Regency time periods, time travel and historical fantasy. Her books have been translated into Russian, Chinese, Dutch and German. She has worked at the Laramie County Library for over twenty-fire years and acquires adult fiction as part of her job.
The Death of the Mass Market Paperback
I read Publisher’s Weekly every week as part of my job. There’s always a little graph showing the ups and downs of book sales. Sometimes there is good news and overall sales are up. Sometimes sales are down. But almost every week there’s one figure that constantly declines, and it’s been doing so for years….
My Top Ten, Revisited
I recently came across a workshop presentation I gave many, many years ago on the “Top Ten Things to Do to Sell Your First Novel.” It was interesting to see what I thought were the keys to publishing success back then: 1) Finish your book. This seems obvious, but I still encounter writers who get…
Do you suffer from post-book depression?
I just finished a book. When I reach this milestone, I always think I should feel happy and excited, or at least satisfied. Instead, my mood seems to turn gloomy and anxious. Maybe it’s the panic of knowing I now have to send my baby out into the world to face criticism and potential rejection….
Writing Shorter
Romance Writers of America recently had an article in their online newsletter about the impact of e-books on the book market. As someone who buys e-books for a library (and helps people set up apps to access them), I can definitely say that even if sales of e-books are down slightly, the number of readers…