do you mind reading romance written by a guy?

or do you feel like a typical man, even a writer, can't possibly grasp what it's truly like to be a woman, thus their female lead won't be as believable, hence why bother? now, i know guys write romance all the time under fake names, but is it usually pretty clear when that happens?

i ask because i'm trying to get my wife interested in writing a book with me. she's an avid romance reader, and i mean avid. i'd actually be writing most of it, pretty much under her direction. she'd write some, though, but probably mostly be the story's ongoing editor. basically, i'm cheap labour, research and can come up with alternatives for places she gets stuck in. in the end, i hope not to have done so much of it that i feel uncomfortable putting her name on the front cover and accepting a credit for helping (seeing my name in print is no big whoop for me, but, you know, in case i ever decide to seek publication for something else, it'd be nice to have that on my resume). plus, i need to her rein in my soap opera style of storytelling, lol.

good replies, thanks all. i'm trying to think about if it affects how a reader, not a writer, may make their buying decision, too, particularly in such a relatively huge field. and it's not about the story i'm worried about, rather the characterization. not that i write bad female characters, mind you, but that's not to say i couldn't make a critical error somewhere.

there was one book of my wife's that i picked up and read quite a bit of only because the male character was so ridiculous it was entertaining. of course that may and probably is the exception, but that one turkey of a book had me saying aloud, 'no man would *ever* do that.'

i think that opens up and interesting question (to me, at least), that being: do you think some romance writers idealize male characters to the point they're unrealistic? i mean beyond pirate rogue with a heart-o-gold turned mary sue by the end, rippling muscles and manes of gold flowing like glints of sunlight off rough waters (i don't even know where to begin with where i went wrong with that description, lol, both prose-wise and analogy-wise), are the males in these stories just a dream not only in their actions but their thoughts, too?

i ask only to be less ignorant.

no, not at all, and i deleted a sizable portion of my last post concerning females in these (albeit i really mean *all*) stories. except in chick-lit, they generally seem to share one of a few basic character bases. what turns me off in the 'romantic' genre is i don't know any women actually like that and, well, i feel rather removed from any realization that these are complex women. as to that specific book, i thought the female character was a crazy b!tch who reacted irrationally, but yet she was supposed to be 'understood' by other women. gawd, i hope that's not the case. all it really illustrated to me is that anyone can be published.

what i'd be afraid of is a male author writing from a female perspective being nothing more than an extended gripe about how women can be, or go so wishy-washy with the male character that he's no better than the worst cliche fantasy of what a man should be.

not just because i'm some dude, but i think they're just easier to write because our motivations and through processes tend to be on the simplistic side. basically throw in a couple of interesting flaws in with a male character and it seems most people are satisfied with that overall. caveman + aversion to killing + warrior poet = ...no one i've ever known, but a viable character nonetheless. but a female character, imo, is totally different. flaws just don't cover the character. am i wrong, does not the readership of 'romance' (here used as a catch-all) take for granted a lot of feminine characteristics which might escape a male reader and/or writer? for example, i know why the guy married to the most beautiful girl in the world screwed the skank at the end of the bar. because he's a guy. why the most beautiful girl in the world screwed the pizza delivery guy has quite a bit different set of motivations and psychological elements, i think, which, and correct me if i'm wrong, a woman is far more likely to grasp than a typical man. that girl tells her friend the story and she gets a knowing nod, that guy tells and buddy and gets asked, 'how was she?' the male character in a romance doesn't tell anyone because he's perfect, which basically negates any reason why the female character would share herself to begin with.

i think i've even cornfuddled myself with this one.

maybe then i would submit any ms as a collaboration.

my wife generally picks up historical romance, but she reads just about anything except paranormal romance. oh, i understand there's a wide selection to choose from, lol. and i've picked up some of her books and been very impressed. on the other hand, i'd be embarassed by some others to line my bird cage with. that's any genre, of course. i wish i could remember the name of that awful book i'm referring to, but there are probably several hundred romance books floating around here. her first choice are the kat martins and nora roberts. she breezed through all those, though, and is down to fabio (which i joke you just don't *say* fabio, you whisper it).

okay, okay, fabio is a guy. but, you know, he's got to be the exception if ever there was one. and i'd say other exceptions are proven writers dipping their toes in other fields for whatever reason.

were it just me and it being my first time, what are the realistic chances with an editor? worse than they already are, or it shouldn't make a difference provided i provide a good enough story?

ah. see, i never really considered until now whether or not an editor cared if it was a collaboration when it comes to unpublished authors.

well, that's good to know. my wife isn't a writer, though. oh, i think she can probably write very well once she started, but, you know, there's a learning curve. and i'm probably a better editor than writing myself, so maybe it'll work out. or cause a divorce. if you see me posting an 'application to be preyer's girlfriend,' you'll know what happened.