In writing romance novels, you may need to find the right community. Many sources exist to give you a chance to interact with aspiring and published writers and find guidance and instruction for your craft. This is not a complete list, but it includes some places to start from and guidelines for finding more resources. 

Join Writers’ Romance-related and Otherwise Organizations

These are some organizations in the U.S. you can check out:

Romance Writers of America (RWA), 16000 Stuebner Airline Rd., Suite 140, Spring, TX 77379; phone 832-717-5200, fax 832-717-5201; Website: www.rwanational.com. They are a major organization in North America for published and unpublished romance writers. They publish a monthly magazine and hold an annual conference featuring workshops taught by editors, agents, and published authors.

Novelists, Inc., P.O. Box 1166, Mission, KS 66222-0166; fax 913-432-3132; e-mail: ninc@kc.rr.com, Website www.ninc.com. They cater mostly to published authors, but you don’t need to be a published author to join. They also publish newsletters and hold an annual conference for fiction writers.

National League of American Penwomen, Pen Arts Building, 1300 17th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-1973; phone 202-785-1997, fax 202-452- 6868; e-mail: info@americanpenwomen.org, Website: www.americanpenwomen.org. This organization promotes women’s participation in the arts, having over a hundred local branches in the U.S. and sponsoring writers’ workshops and conferences.

Associating With Writers in Conferences and More

Writers’ conferences are situated all over the world and run throughout the year. Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine and many universities sponsor such events in the U.S. Some are just for romance writers, while others include multiple genres. 

Informal local writers’ groups are also an excellent option for socializing with other writers. You can check your local college library or check online on Facebook or Twitter to know of any of these groups in your area. 

You can book an appointment with an author or editor through these events. Ensure you request your date with an editor who handles the type of book you’re writing and be prepared with a project to pitch or specific questions to ask.

Search the Internet

Here are a few tips for searching the web to find publishers, writers' magazines, and any other resource for your romance writing needs: 

Use well-defined search queries. Try to narrow your search to get the best results. When your search contains more keywords, you get more specific search results. You can exchange one word for another if the first one doesn't give the desired results. For example, you can change “writers” to “authors” and see what you get.

Check out the links. When you find a helpful site, check for the links they recommend and follow them. You will get valuable resources this way. These sites could be the page of your favorite author or a publishing agency, and they may provide e-mail addresses you can write to for efficient advice and information.

Here are also a couple of resources you can find on the internet:

Publishers: You can check out the sites of major publishers, they may provide a link to their submission guidelines and procedures, or you can get this information and more from their about page or contact us page. Browse through the list of their recently published novels to get an idea of what they are looking for. You can check out these companies’ Websites for more information:

Harper Collins’ Avon imprint: www.harpercollins.com/hc/aboutus/imprints/avon.asp

Dorchester Publishing: www.dorchesterpub.com

Kensington Books: www.kensingtonbooks.com

MIRA Books: www.mirabooks.com

Penguin Books: us.penguingroup.com

Ballantine Books: www.randomhouse.com/BB

Bantam and Dell imprints: www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell

St. Martin’s Press: www.stmartins.com

Warner Books: www.twbookmark.com/index.html

Writers' Magazines: Several magazines can provide you with practical writing advice and are available for you to subscribe to or purchase on the newsstand. Here are a few of their Websites you can check out for subscription information, access to articles, and other resources for writers:

The Writer: www.writermag.com 

Writer’s Digest Magazine: www.writersdigest.com.

Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine: www.romantictimes.com.