Spotlight on Editing for Romance Novels

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

—Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

That’s what romance is about—bringing two perfectly matched souls together. (After tossing all kinds of obstacles in the way to keep them apart, of course.)

If you’re looking for help with your romance story, you’ve come to the right place. Sweet or spicy, mild to wild, we can help guide your journey to the finish line—whether that’s finding a traditional publisher, or publishing yourself, or even adapting your book into a screenplay for Hollywood.

Big Love 

Romance has always been big, but recent growth has been spectacular. Print sales numbered 18 million in 2020—and over 39 million in 2023. Romantasy print sales alone more than doubled in the first half of 2024, led by the likes of Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas. In the last five years, the number of romance bookstores in the US has risen nearly 1,000%. Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us spent a romance-record 100 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and was made into a 2024 movie that earned $350 million at the box office.

And while it make take a while to sell 800 million books like Danielle Steele, the occasional newcomer gets off to a great start—E.L. James and her Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, for example, which sold 125 million copies. (And actually started out as fan fiction based on Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series, which has sold 160 million copies.)

On the ebook side (or more specifically, Amazon Kindle ebooks), 72% of the top-100 Amazon bestsellers of 2024 are romance books—and more than half of those authors are self-published (including Lucy Score, who publishes her own ebooks). There are now over 100 romance categories on Amazon, with more coming all the time to help readers find the tropes they love.

Connecting With Romance Readers

Some readers are all about the tropes, and stick to books that hit their favorites, time after time. Others stay with particular subgenres. Still others are mood readers, who dive into whatever romance strikes their fancy at the moment.

When writing (and promoting!) your romance, it’s important to know your subgenres (contemporary, historical, rom-com, fantasy, thriller, billionaire, mafia, small-town, etc.)  as well as your tropes (enemies to lovers, forced proximity, office romance, star-crossed lovers, happily ever after, and so on), to ensure you reach the right readers for your particular work.

There’s also the matter of steam level—are you doing sweet romance, or spicy? And, if spicy, how spicy (explicit) do things get? Readers have their own preferences and want to know what to expect going in.

At the same time, even if you’re doing four-pepper (high-spice) romance, you may not want to cross the line into “erotica,” because platforms such as Amazon tend to make those books invisible to readers who aren’t very specifically searching for erotica.

If you choose to include open-door sex scenes, they need to impress seasoned spicy readers. And if you’re writing sweet, you need to keep the relationship romantic and interesting without the spice. Which is harder? That depends on the writer.

Even more than other genres, romance is driven by strongly written, compelling characters, and character relationships. At the same time, your plot has to be memorable enough to help you stand out in a crowded field. You have to hit your chosen tropes, but in a way that seems somewhat fresh and different from all the other books that make use of those tropes.

Story and characters need to be believable, but not predictable; romantic but not clichéd. Readers want the chemistry, but they don’t want to see the formula that makes the chemistry work.

And you need to decide whether you want to pursue a traditional publishing path, or “go indie” and do it yourself. Each approach has its pros and cons. Ultimately, you want your readers to put you on “autobuy”—meaning anything you write, they automatically buy because they know you won’t disappoint.

We Can Help

We can help you get it right, with all of that. Our lead Romance specialist Jacqueline Sinclair is a published romance author (multiple books under another name, starting in 2024) who got her start writing for television, and then moved into books. She knows the genres and the tropes—and how to deliver all the feels. She can help develop your story from the start, provide feedback on a current draft, or help with revisions.

And if you’re looking for a final line edit/polish, or pitch/promotional copy, her real-life partner John Marlow can help you with that. The two of them often work together on adaptations, and met when their screenplays were both honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscar people). John is a published author as well, and literally ‘wrote the book’ on adapting stories for Hollywood. He also serves as TED’s indie (self-publishing) consultant.

Editing and Publishing Support for Romance Authors

Candid, constructive editorial critiques for complete manuscripts, book proposals, and unfinished works-in-progress

Substantive, in-depth guidance on revision to bring out a manuscript’s full potential and prepare for final copy editing.

A high-level, hands-on edit to polish prose, perfect language, and bring out the best in your narrative voice.

A pre-publication edit focused on error correction, consistency of formatting and usage, style-guide compliance, and preparations for digital typesetting or submission to literary agents and publishers.

Expert guidance on query letters, synopses, book proposals, and submissions outreach to literary agents and publishers.

Education, planning, and editorial support for self-publishing authors.