SPA Girls Podcast – EP158 – Some Like It Hot ….Or Not
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This week we put on our flame retardant suits and discuss how to define the heat level of your story – and why it’s important to know.
There is no standard or uniform code to heat levels, so writers and readers can face a few challenges: what one reader may consider “hot,” another might consider “mild” or vice versa. With books there’s no certified ratings system a la the movies. And to further complicate things, if you’re looking at the hybrid route, publishers and agents also have different ideas about what constitutes a certain level of heat. Terms – especially sweet / clean can be used interchangeably by some folk, so take note of that when discussing cross promotions and newsletter swaps. We discuss (and agree with) Sylvia Day’s widely referenced article on sexy romance heat levels – see the link below.
Defining your heat level is all about meeting reader expectations and in the podcast we also talk about conveying the heat level by your cover, title, subtitle and blurb.
Important note: Happy Ever After Ending is still a requirement for your standard romance regardless of heat level
Talking of definitions, here’s our SPA Girls Spice Index as we define the different heat levels in romance:
- Clean = minimal sexual tension, no illicit thoughts, no kissing, no intimate touching, no violence, language, contentious subject material (note, lines between inspirational and clean are blurring
- Sweet = no sex on page – can be fade to black, sexual tension described and kissing allowed. Can still involve serious topics (eg addiction, abuse etc) as part of the story and focus is on developing the emotional conflicts between the characters.
- Sexy = romance story about the development of a romantic relationship with more explicit sex on the page. The sex is not an inherent part of the story and could easily be removed or “toned down” without damaging the storyline.
- Erotic Romance = stories written about the development of a romantic relationship through sexual interaction. The sex is an integral part of the story and relationship development, and couldn’t be removed without damaging the storyline.
- Erotica = stories written about the sexual journey of the characters and how this impacts them as individuals. Happily Ever Afters aren’t an intrinsic part of erotica, though they can be included. The focus remains on the individual characters’ journeys, not the progression of the romance.
Helpful links:
http://cathymcdavid.com/tell-me-the-difference-between-sweet-and-clean-romances/
https://www.sylviaday.com/extras/erotic-romance/
https://allthekissing.com/2018/05/a-romance-writers-guide-to-heat-levels/
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Episodes 100 – 200 List
200 What we’ve learned so far…
199 Interview with Adam Croft – Mindset and Marketing
198 Find Your Sparkle – with Julie Schooler
197 Hack Your Muse – with Kelly McClymer
196 Public Speaking For Authors – with Alena Van Arendonk
195 The Magic Pill – with Laura Van Arendonk-Baugh
194 A Day In The Life Of A Writer
193 Keep It Simple
192 Interview with Skye Warren: Money Mindset and Facebook Ads
For Authors (Part Two)
191 Interview with Skye Warren: Time Management & Advertising
For Authors (Part One)
190 Dragon Wrangling with Scott Baker: secrets for
Successful dictation
189 Interview with Patricia McLinn: Writing by the seat of
Your pants
188 Interview with Morgana Best: Writing & Marketing
Cozy Mysteries
187 Interview with Geoff Symon: Wounds & Crime Scenes
186 Interview with Natasha Bajema, WMD for Authors
185 The Writer’s Detective with Adam Richardson
183 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part Two
182 Facebook Advertising with Maria Luis ~ Part One
181 Learn dictation with Kilby Blades
180 Interview with Brian Meeks, Mastering Book Descriptions
179 Interview with Tara Cremin, Kobo Writing Life
178 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part Two
177 Interview with Larissa Reynolds – Newsletters Part One
175 Wrangling Facebook: How To Make It Work For You
174 How To Write A Regency Romance
173 How Do You Identify Your Writing Weaknesses?
172 Interview With Dan Wood, D2D
171 Interview With Serenity Woods
169 5 Goals You Need To Make In 2019
168 Jumpstart Your 2019 Marketing with 31 Quick To Dos for Jan.
167 Scheduling For Writing Success
166 Our 2018 Roundup
165 He Said, She Said: Creating Dazzling Dialogue
164 Interview with Steffanie Holmes: Reverse Harem
163 Interview with YA author Kelly St Clare
160 Amazon Excl v Wide – things to consider and how to market
159 Interview With Kathryn LeVeque
158 Some Like It Hot – Or Not. Heat Levels In Romance
157 Interview With Louisa George
156 The Kindness Factor: Helping You Achieve More and Stress Less
155 Editing
153 Characters: From Cookie Cutter to Kapow
152 Interview with Tina Dietz: Audiobooks
151 Interview with Grace Burrowes
150 Should You Prune Your Mailing List?
149 RWNZ18 Interview with Damon Suede & Geoff Symon
148 Interview with indie superstar, Bella Andre
147 Top Ten Traits for Success
146 Write Better Faster with Becca Syme
145 Newsletter Ninja Tammi LaBrecque
144 Looking After Your Creative Health
143 Interview with Carlyn Robertson from Bookbub
142 Personal Branding For Authors with Lauren Clemett
141 Ten Free Online Tools For Authors
140 Tempting Taglines & Heartstopping Hooks
139 Findaway Voices with Kelly Lytle
138 Get Your Writing Mojo Back
137 Interview with Toni Kenyon: facebook live & serials
136 Dealing with misinformation and change in Sp-ing
134 Interview with Kevin Tumlinson, Draft2Digital
133 Interview with Sara Rosett
132 Organization For Authors – how to keep track of your
research and book details without losing your mind
131 Interview with Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy
130 Critical Care: Leveraging feedback for success
129 Brand You
128 SAS Special: Interview with Johnny B. Truant & Sean Platt
127 Industry Insiders with Damon J. Courtney of Bookfunnel
& Christine Monroe of Kobo
126 SAS Debrief with Jami Albright
125 SAS Special: Interview with Michelle Spiva
124 SAS Special : Interview With Michael Anderle
123 Sports Psychology for Authors – Interview With Nate Vella
122 Using Sub Plots To Amp Up Your Writing
121 Interview with Scott King: Outlining Your Novel
120 Pen-names Pros, Cons and Possibilities
119 Reader Engagement with Nalini Singh
118 Writing the Small Town Setting
117 Handling Negativity and Naysayers
116 Tough Mindset Questions For 2018
115 Interview With Nicola Davidson: Sex and Sensibility
114 Tropealicious
112 Interview With Honoree Corder & Ben Hale: Write Like A Boss
111 Ten Health Hacks For Writers
110 Interview with Kathryn Burnett: Your Writing Audit For Future Success
109 Interview with Melissa Storm: What Readers Want
108 Interview With Zoe Dawson: Writing Across Genres
107 Interview With Dave Chesson, The Keyword King
106 Pros and Cons of Kindle Unlimited
105 Why YOU should do Nanowrimo
104 Ten Truths For New Self Publishers
103 Find 30 Minutes A Day EXTRA!
102 Your Christmas Presence: Maximizing the Holiday Season for Authors
101 The Writing Life: Interview with Katie Cross
100 100 Episodes! Retrospective with funny moments; changing AO title
SPA Girls Podcast – EP438 – Overcoming Procrastination – with Kathryn Burnett
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Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett. Kathryn is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, author and writing coach who has worked in the television/film/arts industry for over 25 years.
“It’s never been easier to put your work into the world and yet many writers don’t write as productively as they’d like to. They have the best intentions in the world but find themselves distracted, anxious about their work and deeply unsatisfied with their progress.” Kathryn Burnett
Kathryn offers practical tips for us all to:
✔️ Identify the red flags of perfectionism
✔️ Uncover how you are procrastinating and then how to deal with this
✔️ Why self-reflection is so important – ask yourself “Why am I not prioritizing my writing at the moment?”
✔️ Time blocking
✔️ Wrestling with doubts and demons
Resources mentioned:
Kathryn’s non-fiction book for writers – Productive Writer Guidebook
Julia Cameron’s morning pages in The Artist’s Way
Reedsy’s free newsletter for writers
About Kathryn Burnett
Kathryn Burnett has been a working writer for over 25 years and truly understand the challenges that come with creative work. When she’s not writing, she runs craft workshops and programmes under the Beginner’s Guide Writing Workshops umbrella – and facilitate an awesome subscription-based group called The Writing Room.
Sign up to her newsletter for regular insights, tips and workshop updates at www.kathryn-burnett.com
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