Romance Writing Tips: Are You Writing In The Right Subgenre?
2017 has been a tough year for many Romance writers. Sales have been challenged. Some reading buddies have been concentrating on other things (like politics). A few writing buddies are considering leaving this otherwise wonderful profession. They’re thinking about taking a break or walking away from it completely.
Before you make that decision, I hope you will ask yourself one additional question.
Am I writing in the right subgenre of romance?
When I started writing, I was told to write what I loved. I loved Regency Romances. I read all types of romances but that was my favorite subgenre at that time. I wrote a massive, absolutely awful Regency Romance. I had fun writing it. I thought it was good (at the time).
I sent it to an editor-for-hire who specialized in Historical Romances. He read it (winces) and then asked me what research I did for this story. I hadn’t done any. He asked me if I was interested in historical research. Other than the history of warfare, I’m not very interested in historical research. I certainly didn’t have an interest in gowns or food or any of those tiny yet important details.
He then asked why I was writing Historical Romance if I didn’t like a huge component of it. (He also said I didn’t have the voice for it but that’s an entire different post.)
That was the last Historical Romance I’ve ever written. It is the wrong subgenre for me. I could have forced myself to do the research and, if I had worked hard at it, I likely could have written an okay story.
But there’s no place in this crowded market for okay stories. And there’s no need to write okay stories, not if we can write wonderful stories, stories we were meant to write.
I explored a few more subgenres. Writing these stories was a blast. Some of them were published and reading buddies seemed to enjoy them.
Then I had a string of writing business disasters (almost all involved publishers). Combine that with not yet having a breakout hit and I was seriously considering writing only for me. Writers write. That is what we do. We don’t have to publish those stories, however. That’s a choice.
I wrote Releasing Rage for me. I poured all of my emotions and many of the things I loved into that story. Out of pure curiosity, I had previously talked with scientists and entrepreneurs about cyborgs, how they could be mass produced, how they could possibly have babies, etc. (Looking back, this was an obvious clue that maybe I should be writing Cyborg Romance. – grins) As I mentioned, I have a love for the history of warfare (especially strategy) and I incorporated that. I enjoy writing fight scenes and put some of those scenes into the story. There was sex, of course. I love writing sex scenes. I didn’t have any explosions in Releasing Rage but the potential was there.
Cyborg and SciFi Romance has everything I love writing in it and I don’t think it is a coincidence that this was the subgenre in which I finally found some reading buddies. There were other factors (like two of the top writers in Cyborg Romance being on a break) but being in the right subgenre definitely helped.
It also made me happier as a writer. I was writing what I loved to write, had found a place in Romanceland in which I fit. That’s magical and will likely sustain me when I go through another dry sales spell (because that WILL happen – it happens to every writer).
Before quitting or taking a break from the writing, consider looking at what you love to write, what you research for fun, what people say you write well, what you feel genuine joy writing. Are all of those components valued by reading buddies in a certain subgenre? Is that the subgenre in which you’re currently writing? If it isn’t, maybe that’s the true issue. Or maybe it isn’t but isn’t it worth at least investigating?
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Seeking Vector
A cyborg with a secret… A female seeking the truth…
Vector, the C Model captain of the Freedom, is a cyborg many warriors wish to emulate. He fights fiercely, leads with honor, has earned the respect and loyalty of his crew. But no being, not even a cyborg, is perfect. Since arriving at the Homeland, Vector has been hiding a dark truth about his past. If his secret is exposed, he could lose everything – his position, his ship, and his life.
Kasia excels at uncovering secrets. Half a lifespan ago, her curiosity placed her on the Humanoid Alliance’s kill list. Now she has accessed information the cyborg council would prefer remain hidden. Their warriors are hunting her and won’t rest until she’s dead.
When Vector arrives on her battle station, all grim determination, gray skin, and bulging muscles, Kasia knows he has been sent to kill her. That doesn’t stop her from wanting the dominant cyborg. She senses the savage nature under the male’s controlled exterior, sees the mysteries in his brilliant blue eyes, craves the roughness of his touch. She will risk all she has to experience his embrace.
Kasia braved the cyborg council’s ire for a reason. If she doesn’t convince Vector to act on the information she uncovered, the enemy could destroy his home planet and render every cyborg in the universe immobile.
Can a doubting C Model warrior learn to trust and to love before it is too late?
Seeking Vector is Book 10 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also a Cyborg SciFi Romance.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seeking-vector/id1280185990
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-vector-cynthia-sax/1127072529
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seeking-vector
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/746717
Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on Romance Writing Tips: Are You Writing In The Right Subgenre?
Knowing Zip WILL Be FREE
It is less than two weeks until Knowing Zip, our 2017 thank you short story, is released (December 1st). This story WILL be FREE. Making a story free is easy at Smashwords, iBooks, B&N, and many other booksellers. It is a bit more challenging at Amazon.
Amazon doesn’t allow books to be listed for free. The lowest price I can list it at is 99 cents. Please do NOT buy it at 99 cents. This is a thank you story, a gift from me to you for reading my other stories and being the fabulous being you are.
I have to list Knowing Zip at 99 cents and then ask Amazon to match the price at other booksellers. It might take them a day or a week or two weeks to do this. I have no control over this.
However, Knowing Zip WILL be available in mobi aka Kindle aka Amazon format at Smashwords immediately for free. You can also read it in HTML format there (reading it on screen like a webpage).
Consider reading Knowing Zip for free at Smashwords on December 1st and adding it to your Kindle library once Amazon changes the price.
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Knowing Zip
Abducted by the warrior of her dreams.
Zip is the last of his friends to find his female, the one being meant for him. He isn’t certain she exists until he hears her voice over a transmission. A self-proclaimed systems deity, he researches his curvy little human and discovers she dreams of being abducted by a big, strong warrior. Zip plans to make his female’s fantasies come true.
Ryssa wants one gift for her birthing planet rotation—to be captured by a warrior, preferably a tall, muscular cyborg with black hair, gray skin, and brilliant blue eyes. When Zip arrives on her planet, claiming to be her male, Ryssa assumes one of her friends has ordered the experience for her, and throws herself into the encounter, losing herself in Zip’s hot kisses, sensual touch, dominant embrace.
When the fantasy fades, will their love survive?
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Knowing Zip WILL Be FREE
Cyborgs And Expanding Worlds
I’ve been looking at my writing schedule for 2018 and I’m super excited. We’ll, of course, continue the Cyborg series. The warriors might have escaped from the Humanoid Alliance but now, they have different challenges. The Cyborg Homeland is crowded and the Cyborg Council wants to claim more planets. Finding viable planets is the assignment Vector and his crew are given in Choosing Chuckles, our April (at the latest) release.
We will also complete the Dark series in 2018 and we’ll start the expansion and re-release of the Warlord series. These two series, like all of my current SciFi/Cyborg romance series, will be connected. Hulagu, the warrior Kralj is training, is a Chamele, a Warlord in training. The Warlord series is also connected to the Cyborg series. In Seeking Vector, the Humanoid Alliance officers retreat to the Chamele border.
All stories will be written so reading buddies can read their favorite series in isolation (just the Cyborg series or just the Dark series or just the Warlord series) but for reading buddies who read all of my series, there will be characters and storylines crossing series.
Why?
Because all of these characters live in the same universe at the same time. I shared a tiny bit of the universe in Releasing Rage and have been slowly expanding our view of it. There are some exciting worlds and beings we haven’t yet met.
2018 will ROCK! I can’t wait to write these stories and share them with you!
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Seeking Vector
A cyborg with a secret… A female seeking the truth…
Vector, the C Model captain of the Freedom, is a cyborg many warriors wish to emulate. He fights fiercely, leads with honor, has earned the respect and loyalty of his crew. But no being, not even a cyborg, is perfect. Since arriving at the Homeland, Vector has been hiding a dark truth about his past. If his secret is exposed, he could lose everything – his position, his ship, and his life.
Kasia excels at uncovering secrets. Half a lifespan ago, her curiosity placed her on the Humanoid Alliance’s kill list. Now she has accessed information the cyborg council would prefer remain hidden. Their warriors are hunting her and won’t rest until she’s dead.
When Vector arrives on her battle station, all grim determination, gray skin, and bulging muscles, Kasia knows he has been sent to kill her. That doesn’t stop her from wanting the dominant cyborg. She senses the savage nature under the male’s controlled exterior, sees the mysteries in his brilliant blue eyes, craves the roughness of his touch. She will risk all she has to experience his embrace.
Kasia braved the cyborg council’s ire for a reason. If she doesn’t convince Vector to act on the information she uncovered, the enemy could destroy his home planet and render every cyborg in the universe immobile.
Can a doubting C Model warrior learn to trust and to love before it is too late?
Seeking Vector is Book 10 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also a Cyborg SciFi Romance.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seeking-vector/id1280185990
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-vector-cynthia-sax/1127072529
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seeking-vector
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/746717
Topics: Coming Soon | Comments Off on Cyborgs And Expanding Worlds
Releasing Rage – Cure For A Book Rut
We all get into book ruts. That’s part of reading.
I usually break out of a book rut by trying new-to-me subgenres of romance and writers.
Insomnia Book Club broke out by reading Releasing Rage. Woot!
“Releasing Rage by Cynthia Sax sounded a bit different from the books that I normally read. I have read plenty of paranormal books but never one that revolved around cyborgs. Maybe I got lucky with this book in particular but either way it got me out of the infamous book rut! The e-book was actually hard to put down. Thankyou Mrs. Sax!”
Read the full review here: https://insomniabookclub.blogspot.ca/2017/10/book-rut-officially-gone.html
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Half Man. Half Machine. All Hers.
Rage, the Humanoid Alliance’s most primitive cyborg, has two goals—kill all of the humans on his battle station and escape to the Homeland. The warrior has seen the darkness in others and in himself. He believes that’s all he’s been programmed to experience.
Until he meets Joan.
Joan, the battle station’s first female engineer, has one goal—survive long enough to help the big sexy cyborg plotting to kill her. Rage might not trust her but he wants her. She sees the passion in his eyes, the caring in his battle-worn hands, the gruff emotion in his voice.
When Joan survives the unthinkable, Rage’s priorities are tested. Is there enough room in this cyborg’s heart for both love and revenge?
Buy Now for FREE:
On Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Releasing-Rage-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B00ZOL1DRO
On Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ZOL1DRO/
On Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/se/book/releasing-rage/id1025933626?l=en&mt=11
On ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-releasingrage-1850041-340.html
On B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/releasing-rage-cynthia-sax/1122455646
On Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/releasing-rage
Topics: Reviews | Comments Off on Releasing Rage – Cure For A Book Rut
Seeking Vector – Science Fiction Romance Best Bet
Woot!
Seeking Vector was named one of the Science Fiction Romance Best Bets for October 2017!
“Author Sax’s world is dark, as I’ve mentioned before and some of the scenes of well-deserved cyborg payback against the truly evil HA members get pretty grim, but it’s balanced by how invested the reader becomes in the love story between Vector and Kasia.”
Read the entire post here – https://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2017/10/science-fiction-romance-best-bets-october
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Seeking Vector
A cyborg with a secret… A female seeking the truth…
Vector, the C Model captain of the Freedom, is a cyborg many warriors wish to emulate. He fights fiercely, leads with honor, has earned the respect and loyalty of his crew. But no being, not even a cyborg, is perfect. Since arriving at the Homeland, Vector has been hiding a dark truth about his past. If his secret is exposed, he could lose everything – his position, his ship, and his life.
Kasia excels at uncovering secrets. Half a lifespan ago, her curiosity placed her on the Humanoid Alliance’s kill list. Now she has accessed information the cyborg council would prefer remain hidden. Their warriors are hunting her and won’t rest until she’s dead.
When Vector arrives on her battle station, all grim determination, gray skin, and bulging muscles, Kasia knows he has been sent to kill her. That doesn’t stop her from wanting the dominant cyborg. She senses the savage nature under the male’s controlled exterior, sees the mysteries in his brilliant blue eyes, craves the roughness of his touch. She will risk all she has to experience his embrace.
Kasia braved the cyborg council’s ire for a reason. If she doesn’t convince Vector to act on the information she uncovered, the enemy could destroy his home planet and render every cyborg in the universe immobile.
Can a doubting C Model warrior learn to trust and to love before it is too late?
Seeking Vector is Book 10 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also a Cyborg SciFi Romance.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seeking-vector/id1280185990
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-vector-cynthia-sax/1127072529
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seeking-vector
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/746717
Topics: Reviews | Comments Off on Seeking Vector – Science Fiction Romance Best Bet
Writing Tips: When Should You Re-Read Your Manuscript?
Note: As always, this is my opinion. You are a different person, a different writer. If my advice doesn’t make sense to you, please don’t take it.
Reading should be fun. We should also enjoy reading our own stories.
By the time, my stories are loaded at the booksellers, I would fiercely disagree with both of these sentences. I would rather gouge my eyeballs out with a fork than re-read my story one more time.
Why?
Because I have already read it dozens of times. Sometimes I’ve read my story four times in the same day. I enjoy my stories but I don’t enjoy any story THAT much.
During Drafts
I read my stories in their entirety after each draft. That’s a given. Flow and emotion build between sentences, paragraphs, scenes are so important. These are best refined with full read throughs.
Editing
But after I send my story to my awesome editor, I only look at the suggested changes, right?
Nope.
I recommend reading the ENTIRE story after each round of edits. It is easy for sentences, paragraphs, scenes to be completely deleted during the editing process. All it takes is a cat walking across the keyboard or incompatible versions of Word or the track changes feature malfunctioning.
It also requires multiple sets of eyes to catch all typos. As writers, our names are on the cover and we’re responsible for the quality of our stories. Not our editors. Not our publishers. We are. Even with three plus rounds of edits and multiple sets of eyes, we won’t find all of the typos but we CAN try.
Formatting
The formatting stage is a dangerous time for our stories. Whether we format our stories ourselves (I don’t) or someone else (including a publisher) does this for us, errors can happen. HUGE errors.
Maybe all fonts disappear. Maybe the wrong writer’s name is on the copyright page (yikes!). Maybe paragraphs are accidentally deleted. A huge New York Publisher once deleted an entire chapter from one of my stories during the formatting process. No one, except me, noticed this.
Again, our names are on the covers so I suggest asking for a final formatted copy of the story before it is loaded at booksellers.
If there are multiple formats, I review each one, verifying that everything is okay. It is a pain in the ass and it takes time but these are our stories. They deserve that time.
Loading At Booksellers
This is another stage where I re-read my stories. I can’t do this when I work with a publisher. I have to trust they have someone completing this task for me (whispers – they usually don’t).
When I am self-pubbing a story, however, I always read the story from first page to the last page after loading it at booksellers. Again, I check links and copyright information and ensure all words are there.
Both Amazon and Smashwords give us options to look at our stories after we load them. We’re not given these options for fun. Booksellers expect us to do exactly this – verify our stories have been loaded correctly and can be read on their eReaders. We can’t test it on every eReader (that would require having every eReader) but at least we can assure ourselves the story works with one eReader, our own.
One of the many reasons I like pre-orders is I can review the stories before they go live, before readers see them. Because, yes, stories can load incorrectly.
When The Story Releases
I also always buy/pre-order copies of my own book and I’ll look at them quickly on release day. I might not have time to fully re-read them (because release days are hectic) but I will scan through the stories, ensure there’s actually a story and the bookseller didn’t send a blank file to reading buddies.
That happens. Frequently. The sooner we catch this issue and tell readers, the less one star reviews we’ll receive for this bookseller error.
At what stages do you re-read your stories? What kind of errors have you caught on re-reads?
Subscribe To My Monthly Newsletter: http://tasteofcyn.com/2014/05/28/newsletter/
Seeking Vector
A cyborg with a secret… A female seeking the truth…
Vector, the C Model captain of the Freedom, is a cyborg many warriors wish to emulate. He fights fiercely, leads with honor, has earned the respect and loyalty of his crew. But no being, not even a cyborg, is perfect. Since arriving at the Homeland, Vector has been hiding a dark truth about his past. If his secret is exposed, he could lose everything – his position, his ship, and his life.
Kasia excels at uncovering secrets. Half a lifespan ago, her curiosity placed her on the Humanoid Alliance’s kill list. Now she has accessed information the cyborg council would prefer remain hidden. Their warriors are hunting her and won’t rest until she’s dead.
When Vector arrives on her battle station, all grim determination, gray skin, and bulging muscles, Kasia knows he has been sent to kill her. That doesn’t stop her from wanting the dominant cyborg. She senses the savage nature under the male’s controlled exterior, sees the mysteries in his brilliant blue eyes, craves the roughness of his touch. She will risk all she has to experience his embrace.
Kasia braved the cyborg council’s ire for a reason. If she doesn’t convince Vector to act on the information she uncovered, the enemy could destroy his home planet and render every cyborg in the universe immobile.
Can a doubting C Model warrior learn to trust and to love before it is too late?
Seeking Vector is Book 10 in the Cyborg Sizzle series and is a STAND-ALONE story.
It is also a Cyborg SciFi Romance.
Buy Now:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Vector-Cyborg-Sizzle-Book-ebook/dp/B075FHBW87/
Apple/iBooks/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seeking-vector/id1280185990
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-vector-cynthia-sax/1127072529
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/seeking-vector
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/746717
Topics: Writing Tips | Comments Off on Writing Tips: When Should You Re-Read Your Manuscript?
