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How to Write Short Romance Kindle Books: A Complete Guide to Kindle Publishing
*REVISED 2023 EDITION*Are you ready to share your romance stories with readers around the world?Then this is your chance to become part of the booming market for short digital romance fiction. The good news is that romance fiction is as popular as it has ever been. Just look at the Amazon Bestsellers top 100 paid list. It is dominated by romance titles.Writing short romance Kindle books is an ideal home-based business, with minimal start-up costs. You work where and when you choose, writing the kind of romance stories that you love to read – and then publishing them for free!What’s more, short fiction is fast to both read and to write. No more procrastination! You can create passive income from day one with short romance stories that only took you a few hours to write.This book guides you through an in-depth Step-by-Step on the key techniques that you need to start writing short romance fiction, which you can then publish on the Amazon Kindle platform.PART ONE. UNDERSTANDING THE AMAZON KINDLE MARKET FOR ROMANCE FICTIONROMANCE FICTION CATEGORIES AND NICHE CATEGORIESWHAT IS YOUR NICHE?WRITING TO MARKETTHE AMAZON MARKET FOR SHORT FICTIONWHAT ARE ROMANCE TROPES?PART TWO. CREATIVE WRITINGSTORY CRAFTHOW TO DEVELOP UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERSCONFLICT IN ROMANCE FICTIONDIALOGUE AND POINT OF VIEWSETTING AND SENSUALITYPART THREE. SELF-EDITING FOR ROMANCE WRITERSSTORYTELLING AND STORY STRUCTUREWHAT IS EMOTIONAL STORY STRUCTURE?STORY STRUCTURE FOR THE SHORT NOVEL AND NOVELLASTORY STRUCTURE FOR THE SHORT STORYPART FOUR. BUILDING AN EBOOKTHE PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF BUILDING AN EBOOKBOOK COVER DESIGN.TRANSFORMING YOUR MANUSCRIPT INTO AN EBOOKPART FIVE. PUBLISHING ON AMAZONKINDLE SELECTBOOK DESCRIPTIONS, KEYWORDS AND CATEGORIESPRICINGPRE-ORDERSPRINT FORMATS USING KDP PAPERBACKSPART SIX. MARKETING AND PROMOTIONPLANNING THE BOOK LAUNCHAUTHOR BRANDINGAMAZON AUTHOR CENTRALEMAIL LIST BUILDING FOR ROMANCE AUTHORSFREE MARKETING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUESPAID MARKETING SERVICESYour complete starter plan is written in straightforward language and each step has been tried and tested. I know that it works because this is the system that I use to create my own award-winning romance fiction!Learn How to Write Short Romance Kindle Books today – it could be the key to a new career and a brilliant entrepreneurial small business. Just take that first step!
- GenresWritingNonfictionRomance
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 6, 2015
222 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Nina Harrington
272 books60 followersNina Harrington grew up in rural Northumberland, England, within walking distance of both heather moorland, and wonderful wild sandy beaches.
She decided aged eleven, that her dream job was to be a librarian because then she could read all of the books in the public library whenever she wanted!
Many years later she took the bold decision to take a career break from working in the pharmaceutical industry to realise her dream of being a fiction writer. No salary. No contract - but following her heart.
That decision had put over 1.7 million copies of her romance books into the hands of readers in more than 28 countries and translated into 23 languages.
Some of these books have won international awards.
Nina loves to read both suspense and contemporary romance, and is still a total fan-girl when she meets her favourite authors at book-signings and conferences.
Nina has worked in the UK, France and Spain, and enjoyed wonderful holidays in countries such as Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Jamaica, India, Nepal, Mauritius, Reunion and Portugal, but is now settled with her husband in Jane Austen country in the south of England.
When she is not creating stories, which make her readers smile, without the aid of pharmaceuticals, her hobbies are cooking, eating, enjoying good wine, and talking, for which she has had specialist training.
Nina currently writes contemporary crime novels and series romance for the Mills and Boon Modern Tempted/ Harlequin KISS lines and Carina UK, plus non-fiction guides for other authors.
She decided aged eleven, that her dream job was to be a librarian because then she could read all of the books in the public library whenever she wanted!
Many years later she took the bold decision to take a career break from working in the pharmaceutical industry to realise her dream of being a fiction writer. No salary. No contract - but following her heart.
That decision had put over 1.7 million copies of her romance books into the hands of readers in more than 28 countries and translated into 23 languages.
Some of these books have won international awards.
Nina loves to read both suspense and contemporary romance, and is still a total fan-girl when she meets her favourite authors at book-signings and conferences.
Nina has worked in the UK, France and Spain, and enjoyed wonderful holidays in countries such as Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Jamaica, India, Nepal, Mauritius, Reunion and Portugal, but is now settled with her husband in Jane Austen country in the south of England.
When she is not creating stories, which make her readers smile, without the aid of pharmaceuticals, her hobbies are cooking, eating, enjoying good wine, and talking, for which she has had specialist training.
Nina currently writes contemporary crime novels and series romance for the Mills and Boon Modern Tempted/ Harlequin KISS lines and Carina UK, plus non-fiction guides for other authors.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 27, 2015
Good book
I wanted a book specifically on writing short story romances and this had the information I needed that being story structure in short fiction.
I wanted a book specifically on writing short story romances and this had the information I needed that being story structure in short fiction.
May 1, 2017
This was a good, quick resource for those who are wanting to write short romance. It covers the basics of what a romance book is, the different sub-genre, and essential elements to the story. It also briefly covers editing, format, and uploading the book to Amazon as a Kindle book.
This book is good as an introduction or for someone who wants a bit of a refresher on how to write romance ebooks, although the tips given can be applied to longer romance as well as publishing your book in print too.
This book is good as an introduction or for someone who wants a bit of a refresher on how to write romance ebooks, although the tips given can be applied to longer romance as well as publishing your book in print too.
January 3, 2016
This was an adequate guide, but not the best I've read so far, despite a price on the high end of the spectrum. Harrington seems to be writing toward a more advanced romance author, possibly even one who has already wrote/published a romance novel through traditional means. There were a few nuggets of truly unique information, but they were few and far between. Actually, I think much of the problem was how general the book stayed, not focused enough on the genre in its title. Still, if you have no idea where to start but want to write something for publication on kindle, this is a fairly thorough road map.
March 24, 2016
I found this helpful. It's a brief overview of writing in this genre at this length.
October 8, 2023
This book is directed mostly at newbie romance authors, whether they write short stories or long ones.
The book is split into five parts.
I already knew most of what was said in the first two parts, so I skimmed over them. There is information and comparisons, Amazon statistics, which are very ungrateful to present, since they change all the time, but kudos to Nina for trying to do that.
I took notes in chapters 13 and 14, where she mentioned the sequences and romance novel structure. That was very helpful.
You can see that she made a lot of effort for this book. It's not just words, there are tons of detailed pictures, screenshots, and cover examples.
All in all, I'd recommend this book to every new romance writer, no matter if they plan on publishing a short story or a full-length novel.
The book is split into five parts.
I already knew most of what was said in the first two parts, so I skimmed over them. There is information and comparisons, Amazon statistics, which are very ungrateful to present, since they change all the time, but kudos to Nina for trying to do that.
I took notes in chapters 13 and 14, where she mentioned the sequences and romance novel structure. That was very helpful.
You can see that she made a lot of effort for this book. It's not just words, there are tons of detailed pictures, screenshots, and cover examples.
All in all, I'd recommend this book to every new romance writer, no matter if they plan on publishing a short story or a full-length novel.
September 20, 2024
A good resource!
I have read several similar books recently, and this one is one of the least polished. The formatting, punctuation, and grammar are all over the place and not at all consistent throughout the book.
The first few sections seem fairly consistent with other works on the market, but the sections on the Launch Plan and Email List Building were very helpful!
These pieces of the process are mentioned vaguely, but Harrington breaks the two processes into actionable steps with great advice on how to get the most out of each portion.
I would rate the first 2/3 of the book 1 star, and the last 1/3 4 stars. So... ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars it is!
I have read several similar books recently, and this one is one of the least polished. The formatting, punctuation, and grammar are all over the place and not at all consistent throughout the book.
The first few sections seem fairly consistent with other works on the market, but the sections on the Launch Plan and Email List Building were very helpful!
These pieces of the process are mentioned vaguely, but Harrington breaks the two processes into actionable steps with great advice on how to get the most out of each portion.
I would rate the first 2/3 of the book 1 star, and the last 1/3 4 stars. So... ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars it is!
August 3, 2019
Naturally some overlap with Liz Fielding's guide.
Less practical writing examples, but a helpful short primer on Romance subcategories.
Overall prefer Harrington's approach on writing sex scenes, which is to build the couple's mutual trust so it makes sense for them to have sex and give them an actual reason to have sex (if you want to include sex at all).
Fielding has here a "find reasons why they won't have sex" approach, which I feel precludes the fact that not all Romance has sex in it.
Less practical writing examples, but a helpful short primer on Romance subcategories.
Overall prefer Harrington's approach on writing sex scenes, which is to build the couple's mutual trust so it makes sense for them to have sex and give them an actual reason to have sex (if you want to include sex at all).
Fielding has here a "find reasons why they won't have sex" approach, which I feel precludes the fact that not all Romance has sex in it.
April 28, 2018
I suppose if you're totally starting from square one or if you want a step by step guide to uploading a book to KDP, this might be a helpful guide for the bare bones basics. If you've read or listened to anything by Michael Hague or Gwen Hayes on story structure or taken any RWA classes, I'd pass on this one.
March 31, 2021
Very Informative
I love that this book gave step-by-step instructions for both writing story outlines and using the KDP platform. I wouldn’t have known where to begin with eBook formatting, so that was extremely helpful. The additional marketing recommendations were insightful as well.
I love that this book gave step-by-step instructions for both writing story outlines and using the KDP platform. I wouldn’t have known where to begin with eBook formatting, so that was extremely helpful. The additional marketing recommendations were insightful as well.
July 22, 2022
Maybe this isn't bedtime reading as I had to pick it up and put it down through several consecutive evenings so it felt like all of the market research stuff was a bit much. I don't know if I forgot why it was important or if it wasn't explained properly.
Beyond that, I found some great tips about character construction, cast dynamics, and story structure.
Beyond that, I found some great tips about character construction, cast dynamics, and story structure.
Read
December 18, 2022This was one of those books I grabbed to go through while in between writing my own books. Well written with a newer writer in mind, I still found some golden nuggets of information within the pages. If you're interested in learning about writing romance and the KDP platform then this is a good starter book.
October 28, 2020
Maybe the problem was my expectations. I expected to learn how to write SHORT romance books. There was little about that in the book. Instead, there was general info on writing, and info on formatting and publishing a Kindle book.
October 19, 2022
Extremely helpful
I've been playing around with writing books, so I thought why not short stories, this book helped a lot and hopefully one day soon I will be a published author. Thank you
I've been playing around with writing books, so I thought why not short stories, this book helped a lot and hopefully one day soon I will be a published author. Thank you
May 7, 2018
A quick read that would help out beginners.
July 2, 2018
There was nothing special about this book that can't be found online in the sea of blog posts on the subject, or from better written books on writing.
December 26, 2018
A competent, complete writing profile. Includes more than creativity but also business aspects of writing.
January 28, 2019
Great guide
Great guide for writing romance novellas. Breaks down the steps to self publish and market, too. Heaps of linked resources for further information.
Great guide for writing romance novellas. Breaks down the steps to self publish and market, too. Heaps of linked resources for further information.
June 25, 2019
Very good, short, didn't need to know how to compile ebooks and publish but the structuring lessons were good enough for me.
October 13, 2020
Complicated
She writes really well, but the long involved methods in how to upload a word document book to Amazon is off putting. Almost makes me want to produce only print books...
She writes really well, but the long involved methods in how to upload a word document book to Amazon is off putting. Almost makes me want to produce only print books...
October 30, 2020
Really a beginner's guide to writing.
March 15, 2022
A great overview.
July 5, 2025
Decent advice for beginning romance authors but really not the information I’m looking for.
November 29, 2017
I see a lot of writing advice books. Before I buy them, I go check their claims: number 1 seller? Sold 80k copies? Have they written anything at all other than half a dozen how-to books?
It’s amazing how many fail this simple check. Kindlespy will tell me sales numbers and if you are (or were) number 1 Amazon gives you a bright orange tag.
How nice to see a romance author who actually has a Mills & Boons contract, who has made some sales and has books in other languages as well.
*clicks buy*
Romance writing. The butt of every writing joke. The perceived poorer cousin. So many people report that they are often asked when they are going to start writing ‘real books’.
It makes my teeth hurt. I even try to erase the phrase ‘guilty pleasure’ from my lexicon. Why should I feel guilty over reading a book that you perceive to be less than some other book? I don’t. This is your problem, not mine.
It is quite hard to write a story where two people fall in love. It really is. Try it, if you think it’s so easy. And it’s damn hard to write good sex.
These days, romances are breaking new ground.
Exactly.
A lot of the how-to write books I have read don’t handle romance well. It’s different. There are two main characters for a start. Generally, you need to give them equal footing. The rules for thriller writing won’t apply to romance.
This is pretty short at 69 pages but I think it’s pretty good. Harrington even tells you what’s meant by ‘conflict’ for instance. She goes through structure, has a few external links, a few diagrams and pictures, and a lot of good basic advice.
There are some parts on actually doing the kindle publishing and uploading to Amazon. They’ll date quickly, but a lot of non-fiction does.
Great starter book and currently under a dollar.
4 stars
It’s amazing how many fail this simple check. Kindlespy will tell me sales numbers and if you are (or were) number 1 Amazon gives you a bright orange tag.
How nice to see a romance author who actually has a Mills & Boons contract, who has made some sales and has books in other languages as well.
*clicks buy*
Romance writing. The butt of every writing joke. The perceived poorer cousin. So many people report that they are often asked when they are going to start writing ‘real books’.
It makes my teeth hurt. I even try to erase the phrase ‘guilty pleasure’ from my lexicon. Why should I feel guilty over reading a book that you perceive to be less than some other book? I don’t. This is your problem, not mine.
It is quite hard to write a story where two people fall in love. It really is. Try it, if you think it’s so easy. And it’s damn hard to write good sex.
These days, romances are breaking new ground.
This diversity means that there truly is a romance story for every audience – and for any writer. Romance fiction offers writers very special opportunities to explore stories and characters which are as unique as their imagination can take them. (Kindle Locations 143-145).
Exactly.
A lot of the how-to write books I have read don’t handle romance well. It’s different. There are two main characters for a start. Generally, you need to give them equal footing. The rules for thriller writing won’t apply to romance.
This is pretty short at 69 pages but I think it’s pretty good. Harrington even tells you what’s meant by ‘conflict’ for instance. She goes through structure, has a few external links, a few diagrams and pictures, and a lot of good basic advice.
There are some parts on actually doing the kindle publishing and uploading to Amazon. They’ll date quickly, but a lot of non-fiction does.
Great starter book and currently under a dollar.
4 stars
Read
April 12, 2015Very short plotting book. If a new writer hasn't picked up a romance plotting book, I might recommend it. Has brief how to publish an ebook section.
November 17, 2016
Great book! I've had this for a while, I wish I'd read it sooner. Very helpful for the beginning romance writer, or for a romance writer who may be rusty after an absence. Recommended.
December 30, 2015
Very Helpful for those looking for practical advice
April 3, 2017
Informative
I found book to be informative as I am a romance writer. However, the book did drag on quite a bit, and I found myself skimming to get through it. Thank you for writing the book.
I found book to be informative as I am a romance writer. However, the book did drag on quite a bit, and I found myself skimming to get through it. Thank you for writing the book.
April 21, 2017
Excellent advice for writers
Want to write romances? This is your succinct guide and well worth following. Great approach and really easy to use.
Want to write romances? This is your succinct guide and well worth following. Great approach and really easy to use.
Read
August 29, 2017Pretty good advice...some of which I've heard before, though. I'm thinking the ebook she sells at the end of this ebook will be excellent.t.
This was worh the read. Just was expecting a bit more solid, step by step info. Def. Didnt feel id wasted my time..
This was worh the read. Just was expecting a bit more solid, step by step info. Def. Didnt feel id wasted my time..
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews