Thursday, February 13, 2014

How I Wrote and Published a Romance Novel in 25 Days #selfpublishing #amwriting

Remember my Steamy Story in a Month class with Mina Esguerra? The story I wrote, Taming Romeo, is now published and live on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.


Title: Taming Romeo
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Heroine: Evie Sanchez, medical student on temporary leave of absence
Hero: Romeo Garcia, Filipino soap opera actor on location in San Diego for three weeks
Primary Setting: Evie's family's Filipino restaurant
Trope: The One Who Got Away
Steam Level: Three
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I took the challenge twenty-five days ago to write a first draft romance by February 15th. At that time, I figured I would write a short story, not much more than 5000 words. Doable? Pretty much.

A few days later, I realized I had a lot more story than 5000 words. I documented my progress in a series of blog posts and before long, I had over 50000 words, a full fledged novel. I finished writing February 3 and put the story away to work on my other novel and look for a cover. However I couldn't stay away from Romeo and Evie and in a few days, I had already revised it twice.

My cover designer, Rebecca Berto of Berto Designs, surprised me by finishing the book cover in a few days. Well, heck, now that the cover was done, I figured I could publish it. Fortunately, when I called for beta readers, many of my friends jumped to read and two of them even edited for me. Of course I also edited and did three rounds of proofreading.

Could I finish this love story and release it by Valentine's Day? My beta readers and critique partners gave their opinions back in record time and I went on to revise my story two more times, take editing from several sources and proofreading along the way.

I format my own electronic files and that was the easiest part of the process. At 10:00 pm February 12, I uploaded to Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. No time yet for Smashwords, but I did order my Createspace proof today.

Jan 20 - start first draft
Feb 3 - finish first draft
Feb 6 - finish two revisions, format and send to beta readers and editors
Feb 7 - hire Rebecca Berto to do the ebook and print cover, proofread pass 1
Feb 11 - cover ready, edits done, two revision passes, proofread pass 2 [read backwards]
Feb 12 - last proofreading pass, formatting .mobi/Kindle, .epub/Nook/Kobo, and Createspace print, upload ebooks to Amazon, Kobo, Nookpress
Feb 13 - Ebooks live at vendor sites, approve Createspace proof and ordered it

Still to do: Smashwords and Apple formatting, blog tour, book launch posts

I'm still reeling from this schedule. I never set out to publish within a month, but with the help of my writing BFFs, my cover designer, editors and beta readers, I was able to do it. A big XOX to all who helped.

My 2014 motto: "Don't Say You Can't."

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and may all your Romeos be tame today. [Knowing Vera is free Feb 14 on Amazon, Taming Romeo is 99c]

Since I wrote and published Taming Romeo in 25 days, I am going to offer a free online writing class - "Romance in a Month"  where the participants, YOU, will embark on a journey with me to write a romantic story in a month. Sound exciting???

The class will start May 15, but I will start taking signups now. I'll form a private Facebook group to post the lessons and hold the class discussions and schedule a few Google Hangouts for participants to ask questions.

Please email me at ayala (dot) rachelle (at) gmail (dot) com or contact me at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter or the Romance In A Month Group page https://www.facebook.com/groups/romanceinamonth/ to sign up. The class is no pressure, fun only, and motivational. We will, as a group, inspire and support each other. There are no wordcount goals, nada. You may write a flash romance to an epic romance, or finish with an outline or synopsis. The important thing is to go through the experience together and know that you CAN do it!


4 comments:

  1. You rock Rachelle. I look forward to reading the book.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kim! Can't wait to see what you have coming next.

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  2. I'm in awe, Rachelle! You're amazing. Congratulations.

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  3. Thanks so much Carol. I always enjoy working with you. :)

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