What I Love About Being a Romance Author!

       By Alyssa J. Montgomery

The World of Romance Writing: How do I love thee, let me count the ways...

Even with some downs among the ups, my life’s been pretty darned good. It’s been made all the richer by being a romance author. Being a published author is the realisation of a dream and I think a fabulous lesson for my kids to see that I kept at it and with perseverance, the dream became a reality. And, there are so many great things about this element of my life that I probably can’t even think of them all but I’m going to list five broad areas that make this gig so great.

1.      Friendship – The romance community is wonderful. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a group of up-beat, positive people who all love a HEA ending and who are able to empathise because they feel deeply?
I don’t know of a single romance author who doesn’t feel for another author who has a rejection letter or who doesn’t feel a sense of elation knowing that a fellow writer has got ‘the call’. I’ve made fantastic friendships with romance readers and authors both in Australia and internationally and it’s been a great journey. The RWAustralia conference, ARRA events and the Booklovers Convention are highlights on my annual calendar.

      2.      Escapism – After a busy clinical day as a speech pathologist, often working with children who have severely delayed speech and language/communication development, I love to escape by reading or writing a romance. As a reader, it’s that guaranteed feel good HEA ending and as a writer it’s holding the magic wand (or keyboard!). I can control the outcome for my characters and I know that no matter what hardships they face, I’m going to wave the wand and give them their deserved happiness.

    It’s a great creative outlet and a lot of fun.

3.      Satisfaction – How satisfying it is to see a story take shape, to come up with some sassy dialogue, some satisfying sex, a resolution to a problem that seemed insurmountable? Then there’s the thrill of having a story accepted for publication, the unveiling of the cover, the reviews and ... the sales!!
Just knowing that someone is out there reading the story is satisfying but when readers take the time to write and tell me they’ve enjoyed the story/series and can’t wait for the next release, or that they were able to lose themselves in one of my stories during a particularly challenging life event they were facing, makes me very happy.

It’s also been amazing and something of a thrill to see that the stories are being read in so many different countries of the world.

4.      Development – Having mentioned reviews above, yes most are satisfying. Even the reviewers who don’t like the story can leave reviews that are satisfying IF they lead to development. I’ve had some great comments from reviewers that might have been a negative, but that I take on board, weigh up, and – often – I can see their point of view and try to tighten up my writing as a result.
It’s been really satisfying for me to have the opportunity to develop as a writer through critique groups/partners, working with professional editors, attending workshops etc. I really enjoy the opportunity to revise a story and make it stronger.

5.      Giving Back – I’ve already mentioned how supportive the romance writing community has been to me, and now as a published author with fifteen titles under my belt, I’m at the stage where I feel I can offer support and some critiques to other authors. I loved presenting a workshop for the South Coast Writer’s Centre last year on plotting and am more than happy to help other writers in any way I can – particularly if it helps them achieve their publication dream.
I’ve also managed to turn two book launches into fundraisers – for the South Coast Autism School and for the Queensland Eye Institute.

    What do you like about being a writer? 

Love to love everything about this romance writing part of my life.

Love to learn how to develop my skills as a writer.

Love to laugh with all my friends in the romance community.

STOP PRESS: Alyssa's next title, "Five Dates with the Billionaire" is scheduled for release from Escape Publishing on the 4th of November.