I have been rereading my stories: published ones, unpublished ones, ones I’ve published and then taken off ebook shelves to try to figure out how to write better. The first problem that stands out to me is my pacing is really rushed, especially in my earliest books. Corporate Fire particularly moved way too fast. A crit group colleague said Grace did not deserve Royce. I think that perhaps I didn’t allow Grace to develop slowly enough to show what was really going on in my head for her character. She is OCD and abrasive, but also is a hard worker, creative and a good friend if she allowed herself to be close enough to anyone to be a friend. She definitely needed more time to develop.
Another of my rushed stories I never published. Clearly, I was never happy with it, and I see now how ridiculous the timing of it made it feel. I did send it to a publisher at one point, and it was probably deleted right away. I’m currently working on it again. I’m only saving ideas and not any of the actual writing. I love the characters and idea of it, so maybe I will get it right this time.
To my surprise, Veteran Hearts did not feel rushed to me, even though it should. I think by the time I wrote that story, I was beginning to get a better sense of timing. The Beautician and the Billionaire is probably the best as far as pacing goes. What I don’t like about that book is resolving the romance before I resolve the mother daughter relationship. Every time I reread it I think the ending needs to be switched around.
The second problem is only a guess: perhaps the sex scenes are no good. When I read other erotic romance books, I think mine compare favorably, but sometimes I wonder if my books would sell better without them. Maybe rebrand to sweet romance rather than erotic? Go for a Halmark movie feel for my Holiday Cafe series?
What are your thoughts? Please comment on pacing and sex scenes below. I would love to hear from you!
