Romance Writing as a Career by Sariah Wilson
Romance Writing as a Career
Sariah Wilson
Growing up, I didn’t know anyone who was an actual writer. I loved books and reading more than just about anything—it was how I spent most of my free time. But I never really considered the possibility that I might be able to write a book and become a writer myself. It never seemed like a real career path that someone like me could have.
I changed my mind so many times about what I hoped to be when I grew up. At various points I wanted to be an actress, a teacher, a professor, a lawyer, a doctor, a therapist…I cycled through an extensive list on a regular basis, but always came back to teaching.
When I went off to college, I really envied my friends who had their career paths all figured out. They were going to become architects and math professors and nurses and dance instructors. They knew exactly where they were headed and how to get there. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, so there were a lot of expectations of what I’d become and how I would use the opportunities given to me.
I majored in history, but knowing what I know now, I probably should have majored in anthropology. I wasn’t as interested in the dates and timelines, but rather how the people lived and what their day-to-day lives were like in the past. My senior year, still not knowing what I hoped to be when I graduated, I had to take six history classes and it nearly killed my love of reading. All I did was read dry historical textbooks day in, day out, and write papers about them. One of my professors called me in to talk about my final paper and told me that I was a really good writer and that I could possibly do something with that someday. I’d had teachers tell me before that I was good at writing, but I thought lots of other kids probably got told exactly the same thing. I asked her whether she thought I could write historical romances (as I adored historical romances), and I remember how startled she was. She told me that she wanted me to do serious, academic writing. Nothing frivolous like writing romances.
I disagreed with her assessment but stayed quiet. I had that fleeting moment of wondering whether or not I might be good enough to write the kind of book I loved reading, but again, it seemed like a pipe dream. Not the sort of thing that could ever be possible for people like me. It certainly didn’t feel like something that could be a real job.
Through a series of events years later, I found myself in a position where I felt like I should write a book. I did so much research, and all the professionals seemed to be kind of discouraging! It was almost impossible to get published in the first place, and even if you were published, it was even harder to make a living doing it. I’ve always been a stubborn person, and I decided that I was at least going to try.
I started off submitting to a niche, regional publisher. It seemed to be that you had to be published to get an agent and had to have an agent to get published, so I thought that maybe if I could get published on my own that it would open a door for me. The first feedback I got from the manuscript I submitted was so positive, it made me believe that I could really do this. I could write a book and have it be my career. My mom, a voracious reader herself, was so proud of me. I remember her telling me that even if I never wrote another book again, how proud I should be that I managed to write one. That it was something I could share with my kids and my grandkids.
My experience with that first publisher wasn’t great, and I had a couple more kids and it took up all of my time. I felt like I wanted to get back into writing. I was fortunate in that we weren’t depending on me making money, because I stayed home full-time to look after our four children. It became something I could work on here and there. I self-published a YA romance that despite having good reviews, didn’t get much traction. Again, I questioned my choices. Could this be a career for me? I knew as the kids got older that I would want to work and accomplish things on my own, to live up to those expectations that I’d had for myself.
I wanted romance writing to be that career. I just had to figure out a way to make that viable. It took about eight years after writing those books for that small publisher until I was able to get a contract with my dream publisher—Montlake, which is an imprint of Amazon Publishing. I didn’t have an agent and used another program they sponsored, called Kindle Scout, to get my foot in the door. I made connections with people who introduced me to the people in charge at Montlake and helped me to get that first contract with a huge, international publisher. I started off small, without an agent, but I was able to make writing romance my job.
And it’s the best job in the whole world.
—
is the author of THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE (February 1, 2023; Montlake). A passionate believer in happily-ever-afters, Sariah and her own soulmate live in Utah with their four children and the two family cats. Her belief in true love has inspired many other standalone novels including CINDER-NANNY (2022), ROOMMAID (2020), THE SEAT FILLER (2021) and THE PAID BRIDESMAID (2022), and several bestselling romance series, including End of the Line (THE FRIEND ZONE, JUST A BOYFRIEND); Lovestruck (#STARSTRUCK, #MOONSTRUCK, #AWESTRUCK); Ugly Stepsisters (THE UGLY STEPSISTER STRIKES BACK; PROMPOSAL), and Royals of Monterra (ROYAL DATE, ROYAL CHASE, ROYAL GAMES, ROYAL DESIGN). You can connect with Sariah online at sariahwilson.com.
True love requires a little research and development in a funny, heart-racing romance by Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of The Paid Bridesmaid.
How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant, and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams—who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play.
All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after—if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.
Blame it on chemistry. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and occasionally combustible. If Anna and Marco are really falling in love, who are they to argue with science?
come by in his truck and asked if I needed help. He had been my knight in a white Ford.
He could have called for someone else to come and assist me, but he’d stayed and made sure that I got off safely. He had asked where I’d gone to school and I told him USC, as they had a great cosmetic chemist program. He had made an unfunny and semi-inappropriate joke about USC’s mascot, which I’d felt obligated to laugh at because he was being so nice. We had a great conversation after that and I’d fallen fast and hard for him.
“Oh! Right!” he said, but I saw in his eyes and heard in his voice that he had no idea what I was talking about. It had been a seminal moment for me, and he hadn’t registered it at all.
My heart squeezed painfully and I put my hand against a window for support.
His phone beeped this time and he looked at it. “I have to go. I’ve got to find someone. I hope I don’t get lost. It’s pretty dark in there!” He said it in a teasing tone.
I should have kept quiet. I already felt like such a fool, but I had to go and make it worse. “May the light of Earendil guide you.”
Craig gave me that look, the one I’d seen so many times throughout my life, and I wanted to kick myself. Still not able to stay quiet I added, “You know, to be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go—”
But he was already walking away throwing a “bye” over his shoulder. So much for that dance. And when was I going to stop making Lord of the Rings references to people who had no idea what I was talking about?
Part of my imaginary scenarios had included Craig loving the movies as much as I did. At the very least, I’d hoped he’d watched them.
None of this was going how I’d hoped. I stood there, shivering slightly as the cold started to seep in against my skin, wondering what I should do next.
A few minutes passed and I finally went back inside, feeling very unsure. Someone tapped on the DJ’s microphone. It was Craig.
And he was standing next to a woman who looked like she’d been drawn by a very randy fifteen-year-old boy. She was perfection. Blonde hair, perfect curves, gleaming skin and teeth.
Craig had his arm around her. They looked like Ken and Barbie.
My stomach dropped to my knees.
“Excuse me!” he called out. “If I could have everyone’s attention!” The dull roar of the partygoers quieted down.
“Thank you! This will only take a moment. Since both of our families are here, and the employees of this company are like my second family, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve asked Leighton to be my wife and she said yes!”
The whole room broke into applause and cheers, but I just stood there.
Craig was engaged.
Engaged.
The waitress from earlier walked by with an entire bottle of champagne. “Can I have that?” I asked her.
Sariah Wilson is the author of THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE (February 1, 2023; Montlake). A passionate believer in happily-ever-afters, Sariah and her own soulmate live in Utah with their four children and the two family cats. Her belief in true love has inspired many other standalone novels including CINDER-NANNY (2022), ROOMMAID (2020), THE SEAT FILLER (2021) and THE PAID BRIDESMAID (2022), and several bestselling romance series, including End of the Line (THE FRIEND ZONE, JUST A BOYFRIEND); Lovestruck (#STARSTRUCK, #MOONSTRUCK, #AWESTRUCK); Ugly Stepsisters (THE UGLY STEPSISTER STRIKES BACK; PROMPOSAL), and Royals of Monterra (ROYAL DATE, ROYAL CHASE, ROYAL GAMES, ROYAL DESIGN). You can connect with Sariah online at sariahwilson.com.
Category: On Writing
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