By Tanya Wilde
Are you an aspiring writer with a love story brewing in your heart? Have you ever dreamed of seeing your name on the cover of a bestselling romance novel? While the journey from pen to publication may seem daunting, embarking on the path of writing and publishing your romance novel can be a thrilling, transformative experience that changes your life in wonderful ways!
What do you think? Are you ready for it?
Without further ado, here are three ways writing and publishing your romance novel can change your life if you just decide to take the leap.
1. You learn how to look inside yourself
So, this might not sound very appealing, especially if it terrifies you to think about what you might find when you do look inside yourself!
You draw upon past experiences. A hurt. A trauma. A joyful memory.
This is the beauty of crafting your characters and their stories. Every time you look withinside yourself, you grow and evolve alongside your characters. You heal alongside them. Or perhaps you just laugh alongside them. There is healing in laughter too! Your writing allows you to delve into your innermost thoughts and feelings on certain topics and help you make sense of them.
You learn something new about yourself with every story you write. Whether on a conscious or subconscious level.
And you apply it to your next book.
2. Learn to overcome fears
Not eliminate fears, just conquering them and conquering them again and again. Fear will always be a part of you. It’s natural. It’s human. And that’s not a bad thing! The only time fear might become a bad thing is when you allow it to rule your decisions.
I remember when I hit publish on my very first book.
Oh, all the butterflies churning in my belly! The fear of my book getting only one-star reviews. The fear of not having done enough. The fear of being laughed at. But that fear only lasted as long as I hovered over the publish button. The moment I clicked, the weight of it disappeared. Was it gone entirely? No. But having the weight cleared, my mind cleared as well. So what if there are bad reviews? So what if I get laughed at? So what if there are mistakes? I can just fix them.
With each book, there will be a new fear. Or the same fear. And with each word you write, with each book you publish, you overcome it.
There is strength in that.
There is magic in that.
3. You change the lives of your readers
You help them look inside themselves. You help them overcome fear. You hand them pages and pages of possibilities to draw from. If this heroin/hero can do it, so can I! You give them situations and themes they can relate to and feel less alone in the world.
You give them laughter.
You give them tears.
You give them book boyfriends!
There’s the Sweet Valley High book quote (at least according to my memory) I read when I was still in school. It goes like this:
And if I touch the heart of another, then my walk on this earth is more precious than gold.
This quote has stayed with me for years and years.
To me, this is what writing romance books is all about! Those little touches that span from your heart (and fingers) to theirs.
In conclusion, writing and publishing your romance novel is not only about just telling a love story; it’s about embarking on a journey of self-discovery, creativity, and personal growth. So, if you have a story burning inside you, don’t be afraid to pick up your pen, follow your heart, and share your love with the world through the magic of romance writing. Who knows? It just might change your life in ways you never imagined.
Speaking of which, if you have published a romance novel or several, how has that changed your life?
Tanya Wilde is an award-winning historical romance author with over twenty published books. When she’s not meddling in the lives of her characters or pondering names for her imaginary big, white greyhound, she’s off on adventures with her partner in crime. Wilde lives in a town at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains, South Africa.