Inspirational author Laurean Brooks, and I, are published by the same company. The Wild Rose Press helps with marketing/promoting by setting up chat days. Those chats are for all their authors, though the hot exotic books are set up separately.
When we attended those chat days, we were outnumbered by the sensual authors. Our G-rated content got buried beneath the onslaught of all those highly charged, sensually explicit excerpts.
We thought surely there had to be a better way to get our own books noticed!
We felt other authors who wrote the milder blend of romance must be feeling the same frustration. Outside of inspirational-only themed groups, we weren’t aware of any that dealt specifically with “gentle, chaste” reads. We wondered…should we take the leap?
Coming up with some firm guidelines, we thought we’d give it a try.
Our authors are an eclectic bunch. An exciting mix of inspirationals, historicals, mysteries, romantic suspense, sci-fi, and believable fantasies all carry that same common thread – a sweet, G-rated romance.
The success of TSRA is thrilling. It’s encouraging to hear others say, “I’ve been searching for a haven like this!”
We know that to stay within the guidelines and to ensure that everyone remains on “the same page” that some exclusions must occur.
Different authors who apply for membership state, “I am a sweet, and sensual author. But I would only promote my sweet books.”
While we appreciate their interest, it would be better if they read the guidelines completely. We are made up of authors whose romantic elements are classed as the sweetest, purest, G-rated romance. When they write the romance line in their stories, that kind of romance must be the ONLY kind they write.
Frequently, the question is raised, “Why should it be a problem if I write some other kind of book, as long as I don’t promote those?”
Here is the answer:
When our group is assigned for a chat day to post our blurbs, excerpts, etc., we always encourage potential readers to find all the details at our website. We leave a link. This is clicked on, and the author’s site is examined.
If a sweet/sensual/shapeshifter author directs a reader to their site, this person sees their sweet work, but they’re also alerted to the “more than sweet” reads. Even if that author has a different site for those books, they will leave a link.
So, in essence, their other works are also being promoted.
If we allow “sensual/shapeshifter/magical/vampire, etc.” writers to join, then we lose our distinctiveness. We become “just another” Yahoo group.
But that’s not why we started The Sweetest Romance Authors. We formed to be different. We formed to be unique.
However, I must add, we have a number of authors who write above the G-level romance. They’re here as readers only, and are wonderful about adding their support toward our goal.
We may be small in quantity right now, but as the saying goes, “a mighty oak started off as an acorn”. We’re progressing steadily. Our numbers continue to rise, and we keep discovering more ways to get “out there” to the reading audience.
Along with the Yahoo loop, we have two chats a month—one at a visiting site, the other at our own chat room where we host some incredible guests. Our blog is up and running, and the much anticipated advent of our newsletter is a reality.
