Kate Bromley: On Deciding When a Book Is Finished

Kate Bromley lives in New York City with her husband, son, and her somewhat excessive collection of romance novels (It’s not hoarding if it’s books, right?). She was a preschool teacher for seven years and is now focusing full-time on combining her two great passions—writing swoon-worthy love stories and making people laugh. Talk Bookish to Me is her first novel.

In this post, Bromley discusses an unexpected struggle when it came time to query agents for her novel Talk Bookish to Me: feeling like her manuscript was complete, and much more!

****

Click to continue.
****

Name: Kate Bromley
Literary agent: Kevan Lyon
Book title: Talk Bookish to Me
Publisher: Graydon House Books
Release date: May 25, 2021
Genre: Romantic comedy
Elevator pitch for the book: A bestselling romance novelist with writer’s block suddenly becomes inspired when she’s thrown together with her infuriating first love during the week of her best friend’s wedding.

IndieBound | Bookshop | Amazon
[WD uses affiliate links.]

I think I had just read such an intense amount of romance novels that I couldn’t stop wondering what I would come up with if I ever wrote a story of my own. Finally, I convinced myself to write my first chapter just for fun and haven’t stopped since.

(Three Keys to Crafting Chemistry Between Characters)

The initial idea came up about 10 years ago and I wrote a very amateurish version that’s a million percent different than the current version. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I completely rewrote the entire novel, specifically sharpening and fine-tuning the plot, and eventually turning it into what it is today.

Really understanding the whole publishing process was a learning moment for me. The journey from trying to get to an agent to then hoping you get a book deal was very interesting and exciting, and I don’t think I ever truly understood how much time, effort, and teamwork goes into taking a book from being written to being published.

(Forced Proximity: 50 Reasons for Your Characters to Be Stuck Together)

One thing that was surprising to me while writing this book was how difficult it was for me to feel like it was finally complete. I got so used to editing my book over and over again that when the time then came to start querying agents, I still felt like it wasn’t quite done. While I was writing, I kept thinking I couldn’t wait to be finished, but then once I finished, I kept thinking I should probably edit it one more time.

I hope readers get a love story that brings them laughter. To me, comedy and romance make the perfect combination, and that’s what I’m hoping to bring to my readers in Talk Bookish to Me.

To not give up on a story that you love. If I had taken this book at my first draft and accepted it as is, I’m sure it never would have made its way out there into the world. But something about this story kept me coming back and wanting to make it stronger and stronger. Edit after edit, I saw it slowly but surely becoming the novel I always hoped it would be, so if you believe in your story and it continues to call to you, then keep polishing that beauty until it’s everything you dreamed of.