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A Hero With A Past
He may be angsty, broody, moody or difficult. He’s often withdrawn and struggles with feelings he believes he must carry alone. Inevitably the heroine’s love will be the thing that saves him.
Ten things I love about a hero with a past:
1. He’s fallible.
2. A man of integrity who has fallen, taken a wrong path.
3. He owns his mistakes.
4. He may not be able to set the past to rights, but he wants to. He would give up his own happiness in an effort to make amends.
5. There’s a core part of his heart that is hidden behind walls he believes are impenetrable.
6. He’s wounded.
7. He will fight the possibility of loving or being loved.
8. The heroine is going to bring him to his knees when he realises that wall has crumbled and he has fallen in love with her.
9. Through his journey with this one special woman he will find the beginnings of forgiveness for himself.
10. When he yields to love he will do it with all of his heart, body, spirit and soul.
One of my favourite heroes with a past is Robert, from a Ruth Wind book printed some years ago. His past was subtly included in the story, referred to more directly towards the end, and it made him oh so true to the heroine and his feelings for her. I liked the fact that he wore his history physically as well as in other ways, that the reminder was in the mirror every time he looked at himself.
My own example of a hero with a past:
Luchino Montichelli in ‘The Italian Single Dad’ Jennie Adams (September 2007). He’s done something wrong and he can’t forgive himself or forget.
How the hero’s past actions impact on the heroine:
Luchino has done the one thing guaranteed to alienate Bella Gable, the same thing her parents did that hurt her sisters and changed all their lives forever.
Emma Darcy says ‘Strand your heroine up a tree and throw rocks at her’.
The same goes for both key characters in your story. The story has to be difficult. The characters must make a journey that will take them out of their comfort zones, and deep into their hearts and emotions. In the case of a hero with a past, if the heroine can’t forgive his actions, if they impact on her internal conflicts in a deep and personal way, the stakes go up. The rocks get bigger. The hero is stranded by the isolation of his inability to forgive himself, and her inability to cross the chasm and love him regardless.
Another fabulous angsty, broody, moody and difficult hero is Lieutenant Worf, the Klingon alien character from Star Trek Next Generation and Star Trek Deep Space Nine. I’m a Star Trek fan. I enjoy studying human nature as portrayed through the medium of alien cultures in a world far bigger than the one I know and live in and see every day. Worf is one of my all time favourite examples of a complex hero with issues, struggles, a core of integrity and wounds he rarely speaks of, yet they impact deeply on his life. In an episode of Deep Space Nine, Worf finally tells Jadzia of an incident where he acted inherently to his nature and killed a child as a result. He’s carried this pain for decades, never spoken of it, never been able to reconcile it or forgive himself for it.
Throw that depth of painful history at your hero and watch how it raises the stakes and the tension of your story. Throw in a heroine who’s sister was killed in just such an incident while she was unable to help her or stop it, and you have your seemingly irreconcilable conflict. Butt your conflicts up against each other. There are limitless other examples. Think some up and see how they might fit your story, and your own personal version of the hero with a past.
So You Want To Write Romance Novels.
If you want to write romance novels but don’t quite know where to start, how to go about the submission process or how it all works, perhaps this information will help you.
General Information about Jennie’s start in writing:
Jennie took her first steps toward writing for Harlequin by means of a correspondence writing course that covered everything from article writing to screen plays, short stories, children's stories, radio, and novel writing. This course resulted in the sale of a number of articles, short stories and children's short stories. The article writing skills Jennie learned are still valuable to her today. After completing the course, Jennie decided she wanted to try romance writing. She is a long time romance reader and felt she would enjoy writing the books she loves to read.
Studying the Craft of Writing:
There are a lot of 'how to' books out there on all kinds of writing-related topics. Check your local library. You may find quite a few on the shelves.
Some of Jennie’s personal recommendations are:
The Art of Romance Writing by Valerie Parv
The Idea Factory by Valerie Parv
The Elements of Fiction Writing Series
The Dreaded Synopsis by Elizabeth Sinclair
The other very important thing to do is to read widely in the romance genre. Current titles are best, as they reflect what editors and publishing houses are buying now.
Writing and Submitting Your Work:
Publishing houses provide submission guidelines. Check the publishing house website for details. For Harlequin submission guidelines, visit http://www.eHarlequin.com. Depending on the publisher or the line you are targeting at a given publishing house, you may be required to send first a query letter, query letter and synopsis of your story, or a synopsis and the first three chapters.
Jennie’s first few submissions (either of a synopsis or a synopsis and three chapters) received polite standard format rejection letters. From there Jennie moved to requests for the full manuscript. From there to requests for revisions. Jennie had several revised manuscripts ultimately rejected before she made her first sale to Harlequin in 2004. This process took a number of years before she reached publication. As Jennie writes for the Harlequin Mills & Boon 'Romance' line, her books are edited out of the Harlequin Mills & Boon offices in London.
What Sort of Romance Have I Written And How Do I Try To Sell It?
Where you submit your book will depend on whether or not you have written a category romance style of book or a single title style of book. To work this out, you need to study other romance novels and decide what kind is most like your novel, and then submit the story to the publisher of the book or books most similar in style, tone, length etc as your book.
Should I Get My Book Reviewed or Critiqued Prior To Submission?
Usually reviews of books are done once the book is in print, though you can certainly obtain a critique before then. I believe critiques are offered for a fee via the eHarlequin site and there are individuals who offer critiquing services privately as well. Some people also find critique partners through a writing group.
How will I Be Paid If I Sell My Book To Harlequin? How Secure Is This Career?
The closest description of the kind of work writers do for publishing houses in this way is perhaps 'sub contractor'. The publisher, even after buying an author's first book, is under no further obligation to continue buying their work than whatever the current contract states, though the company is very strongly in the business of growing authors into strong ongoing careers. Say for example you have a two book contract. That contract will say you are to deliver two completed manuscripts by certain dates, and that those manuscripts must be deemed suitable for publication by the publisher. At any time the publisher decides a manuscript of yours is not suitable, they may choose not to buy it and they are under no obligation to buy any others either. So it's not really an employment as such, but more an agreement to purchase a product provided that product is considered suitable, hopefully over and over again for many years!
Statistically speaking, there are thousands of unsolicited manuscripts submitted to Harlequin's offices each year by hopeful writers. On top of those manuscripts are all the stories written for Harlequin by its new and established authors, many of which are contracted to fill existing monthly slots. Each Harlequin line, e.g. Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Historicals, Harlequin Presents etc has a set number of slots per month and so anything the editors purchase has to fit within that set number of slots. Competition for those positions is strong. In terms of possible job options, that of a romance author, be it for Harlequin or another publisher, is something that in fairness can be risky. Some people enter their writing career and continue to build on that career successfully over decades. Others fall prey to the closure of lines, imprints and publishers, changes in the market, loss of interest in the style of book they write etc. The life of an author, financially speaking, can be financially rewarding, or precarious, and this is something anyone needs to take into account when considering this kind of work.
Having said this, there is absolutely nothing to stop you from trying, and no reason to believe you have any less chance of success than the next person.
Depending on the contract, some authors are paid an advance upon approval of an acceptable full manuscript, followed by royalties after the book is published. Others may receive their advance payment in portions over a period of time followed by their royalty payments. Rates of payment vary per author, line, imprint and book. Romance Writers of America provides some information in this regard in its monthly magazine, The Romance Writer's Report.
Do I Need A Degree?
In relation to the qualifications of Harlequin authors, I'm sure many do have degrees relevant to the field, but there are plenty who do not and I have never heard of an instance of Harlequin asking for this information from any of its authors. They want fabulous stories that suit their readership. All else is secondary.
Do I Need A Literary Agent?
It's not necessary to have an agent to conduct a successful career as a Harlequin author. People who write mainstream romance for other publishers such as Avon, Dorchester etc are better represented by agents. This is mostly because the Harlequin contract is a standard contract with very little room for negotiation so there is not a lot an agent can to do earn the perhaps 15% commission they charge. Harlequin employs editors to read manuscripts submitted to the house.
Where Can I Get More Information?
Romance Writers of America www.rwanational.org.
Romance Writers of Australia www.romanceaustralia.com.
Harlequin Books www.eHarlequin.com.
Mills and Boon Books www.millsandboon.co.uk.