90 Books—What I’ve Learned

This month marks the publication of my 90^th book, The Baby Dilemma, the eighth entry in my Safe Harbor Medical series for Harlequin American Romance. As you can imagine, I’ve learned a lot about writing since my earliest books.

In revising older titles prior to releasing them as ebooks, I knew I’d need to update the technology (such as cell phones) and cultural references. But along the way, I discovered how much my writing skills have grown. Here’s a sample of the changes I’ve made.

A Lady’s Point of View. This Regency romance (set in the era of Jane Austen) was first published by Harlequin in 1989. The story involves a nearsighted young lady who gets on the wrong carriage and is mistaken for a governess—and decides she prefers that role to rusticating at home. I tell my writing students not to head-hop, or switch back and forth in viewpoint. Imagine my dismay on discovering I’d done exactly that in several scenes, and in a book that has the term Point of View in the title! Of course I rewrote those scenes. By the way, I’ve priced this ebook at 99 cents to introduce readers to my half-dozen Regencies.

By Leaps and Bounds. This 1990 story focuses on an injured ballerina striving for a comeback while falling in love with the policeman father of one of her students. Harlequin liked it so much they reprinted it in 2010. I figured all it needed for the ebook edition was a little updating. But when I reached the ending, I wanted more emotional impact, so I rewrote the last scene.

Unlikely Partners. I still love the premise of this 1987 romantic comedy. Shy librarian Sarah Farentino gets involved in solving a mystery with the handsome fiancé of a missing heiress and fears she’s losing her heart to a man who loves someone else. In revising it and the sequel, Capers and Rainbows (the story of the heiress herself), I made the writing much funnier. My comic timing and voice have improved more than I realized.

Some ebooks required only minor changes. These include the paranormal romantic thriller Touch Me in the Dark, my mysteries Danger Music and The Eyes of a Stranger, and my fantasy Shadowlight.  

By contrast, I decided not to reissue half a dozen other titles at all, because the premises seemed either out of date or just not exciting enough. If you’re curious, you’ll find a list of these titles at www.jacquelinediamond.com/books.

I now teach writing through LongRidgeWritersGroup.com, and have gathered my accumulated wisdom in the ebook How to Write a Novel in One (Not-so-easy) Lesson. But I learn something new with each book, and I hope that never stops!

The author of 90 published novels, Jacqueline Diamond writes the Safe Harbor Medical miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. A former Associated Press TV columnist and recipient of a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times Magazine, Jackie has put together writing tips in the ebook How to Write a Novel in One (Not-so-easy) Lesson. Please visit her website, www.jacquelinediamond.com, and follow her on Twitter @jacquediamond.