I’m so far thrilled that reviewers find this theme relatable.  All of us have a choice of whether to show our true face – or not. And I think this also applies to authors and their craft. It is a journey of self-awareness and courage to find your true writing voice or style, and be brave enough to release it to the world at large.

I’m no expert but here are my tips for finding that voice or style, based on my experiences. It took me a while!

NB:  for me (others may disagree), voice and style are very closely linked and I’ll use the words interchangeably here. I think voice is more an author’s tone. Style is more the nuts and bolts of how they write, such as short or long sentences, flowery language or not – but both are unique to the author).

Firstly… break the so-called “rules” if your heart tells you to. I recall messaging an established author once, when I first started out, asking them about grammar points and why they used a particular one in a certain way. They must have been baffled and just replied that they never thought about it – that was just the way they wrote. I was still at the stage of thinking I had to follow all the rules about writing I had learnt – point of view, show not tell etc. I eventually realised that it was fine to break them, from a position of knowledge. I blogged about that here.

I once received a review saying my grammar was bad because I had written the equivalent of “The kids and me went out,” instead of the grammatically correct “The kids and I went out.” Thing is, my voice, my style, is to write as I speak. I knew it was ungrammatical but it fitted the character. Reviewers can think that authors and their editors have missed all these so-called “mistakes” but more often than not – unless the reader has received a less refined early proof copy – this is not the case. The lack of grammar is probably due to the author creating a life-like, flawed character and by following their writing heart when putting pen to paper.

You need the courage to look people in the eye and stick to the values of your own writerly self, despite the criticism you may receive.

Secondly… don’t be afraid of not following the norm. One reader criticised me for speaking to the reader, within my prose, like in this extract from my 2013 bestseller,  Doubting Abbey (the words in bold).

“Within minutes of this announcement I had one of my funny turns. Unsteadily, I wavered from side to side, before my body went into spasm. There was no need to call the doctor. I’d suffered this before. The remedy was an afternoon in bed. Otherwise, I might have had to pull out of the show…

Sounded believable, didn’t it? And, sure enough, everyone in the orchard fell for my act, which was the only way I could cope with Edward’s terrifying announcement about me being some cookery teacher.”

The reader said that they’d been taught, in writing classes, that this was wrong. No, no, no! There are NO such boundaries. Okay, it’s a little unusual, but if your character wants to speak to the reader, why not? In my opinion it involves them. Makes them feel closer to the protagonist and story. It comes naturally to me to write like this now, I can’t fight it, it’s me being true to myself. It took a few years before getting published, but eventually I became confident enough to follow my instincts.

Thirdly... having said all that, there is one critic to listen to – your editor. Remember, a writer can never stop learning and should never become complacent. If your editor questions something about the way you write, consider carefully what they say. Perhaps your uniqueness does, at times, pull the reader out of the story. And also, if many reviewers make the same critical point, then take note. Remember, constructive criticism is an author’s best friend and I always appreciate the thought and time people put into commenting about my work.

Yes, we must follow our hearts but like in life, sometimes a little  moderation from our heads is necessary. We may have the biggest crush on Chris Hemsworth, (ahem, speaking purely hypothetically here ) but that doesn’t mean we should jack in our lives and marriages and head over the Atlantic to track him down! It’s the same with your writing heart – if it suddenly suggests, for example,  to include, ooh, say a pet stick insect’s point of view into your romantic novel, consider whether that will that pull your reader’s attention away from the main plot (and possibly send their finger straight to the delete button on their ereader!)

Finally... the extract below is from the acknowledgements in my #coffeeclub book. Don’t try to imitate anyone else with your writing – or in life. Often aspiring authors start off by trying to write like their favourite author, and that is fine whilst they are learning. But eventually, in time, as they grow in confidence and gain knowledge, they will reach a very exciting moment when their own style evolves. At this crucial point they must be brave enough to go with it.

To start with, the first time I met up with my publisher, in  London. I’d spent the previous sixteen years as a stay-at-home mum so was completely out of my comfort zone in this new business environment. It makes me chuckle now that I managed to wangle sandwiches in the offices instead of being taken out to lunch – I was like a nervous schoolgirl on a first date! After the formal part we did, in the end, go out for coffee and the day turned out to be fabulous. I surprised myself with an inner confidence. Now I really look forward to my trips down to the Big Smoke.

The second scariest thing… reading reviews. The first review for my debut book, Doubting Abbey, went up on GoodReads the night before launch. It was 3* which whilst not a bad rating, didn’t meet my perfectionist hopes. Tears were shed. I convinced myself that the book would flop and that I’d let everyone down. As it was, the book went on to be a bestseller and lots of readers loved the characters and plot. But for a while, I looked at each new review with trepidation. These days, my skin is much thicker and I realise that not everyone will like my work. And accepting that is part of my job.

Thirdly… ooh…. going to my first Romantic Novelists Association party. I imagined, in my head, that the chat would be all about literature and I was going to be outed as the least well-read person in the room. As it was, I couldn’t have been more wrong! Think Prosecco on tap, lots of laughs, a little gossip, and just banter and empathy about being a writer and books. I now adore meeting up with my writerly friends, who are some of the most generous, supportive people in the world.

Fourthly… managing expectations has been hard and thinking too much about them is scary – something I try not to do just before the launch of a book, like at the moment with Breakfast under a Cornish Sun coming out in July. I try to control those questions in my head like is my writing good enough? Will I let down my agent? How many copies does my publisher expect to sell? Will my readers love this story as much as the last? I’ve learnt just to take my career one book at a time and to try to be satisfied if a good number of readers end up being moved in some way by the story, regardless of rank or sales or income. I recently received a lovely message from a reader who couldn’t wait to get home to finish Game of Scones  and I couldn’t hope or expect for more than that.

Lastly…I guess, ironically, the scariest thing is finally achieving your dream. Is it really everything you thought it would be? For the most part, the last three years have been a whirlwind of excitement and thrills, with books selling well and an award won. Of course there have been difficult moments, as with any career, when I have thought of that phrase “be careful what you wish for”. Yet finally I feel like I have “come home” and am doing what I should be with people who “get” what I am about. So really, that’s turned out to be not scary at all.

1. Don’t be afraid of the colour pink. Pink clothes. Pink pastel book cover backgrounds. Pink cupcakes. Pink fonts. Here in the romance world we embrace this stereotypically sentimental colour. It derives from the House of Red – and I’m not talking wine, I’m talking HEART.

2. At the same time, don’t be fooled into thinking we are a slushy, gushy, glistening-eyed lot. You need real grit to write in this genre, because you are going to face criticism from people who don’t appreciate or understand it; who snort at the girlie covers and sneer at the Happy Ever After endings. Forget a rhino hide, you are going to need a skin made of steel. Years of subbing work and getting it rejected will help achieve this, so see every one of those returned brown envelopes as an important step forwards in your journey to becoming a resilient romantic author.

3. Drink Prosecco. Lots of it. That way your tolerance will increase to levels able to cope with intelligent conversation at the Romantic Novelists’ Association meetings, where people surreptitiously fill up your glass. Which they will.

4. If you aren’t already, become a fan of chocolate. When romance writers aren’t discussing their craft, or their latest romantic hero, this is a common topic of conversation. Us ladies – and gentlemen –  in red take our writing fuel very seriously.

5. Don’t expect to write about sex, without having to talk about it. I had a very, um, enlightening conversation at a recent romance party, which I couldn’t possibly repeat here. You may write “sweet” romance like me, but will eventually meet and mingle with writers who not only go into the bedroom with their characters, but leave the lights on! Whilst we love the colour red, there is no room for blushes in this world!

6. Finally, and most importantly, maintain your sense of humour! Writing is a serious business, and tongue-in-cheek comments about pink and Prosecco aside, once published you are effectively working for yourself. This means tax-returns, deadlines, setting short and long-term goals, upping your interpersonal skills to deal with editors and agents… In the face of bad reviews, slipping rankings or self-doubt, you are going to need a laugh. Yet don’t worry. You couldn’t meet a more welcoming, self-deprecating, witty, generous bunch of people than those from the romance writing community.