How to indicate early that romance will be the main focus or at least an important part of a fantasy book?

Lundgren

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Or, to put the question in another way; if looking at the first page of a book in a secondhand store, that has lost its dust cover, what would indicate to you that romance would be the main plot or at least a very important subplot?

The reason I'm asking is that one of my WIP:s is either a romance in a fantasy setting, or a fantasy with an important romantic subplot. In my mind, it is the currently the former, as the fantasy plot is currently there to create a forced proximity between the FMC and MMC. However, it will be a bit into the story until the two former enemies will end up having to work together. So unless somehow hinting about it, it might easily look at the beginning as if it is only about the fantasy plot, or at least the romance will at best be a minor sideshow.
 

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I'm procrastinating, sorry for jumping in so quick esp. since I don't read much romance.

Why would there be no blurb in your case? That'd be where I'd expect genre.

If the question was "How to promise romance on page one" then I could imagine and brainstorm a bunch of lines that could go into the open... like a first line of "I swear I will never date another man as long as I live." Oh yeah, this is a romance. There's the contract and the promise.

But that's not your question, so as much as I want to brainstorm 12 more first-page lines that promise romance, I'll say that the few romances I've read (like three in my life, all cis-het) open with a woman who is dynamic and living her own independent life. That's the stamp I know of romance, with the appallingly low n-value of 3.
 
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lizmonster

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If I had to cough up a common denominator, I’d say the MC is thinking about relationships in the first chapter. It doesn’t have to be the only thing there - they might also be contemplating a major life change, or bemoaning the same-sameness of their life, or dealing with something entirely different but still having romantic partnerships on their mind. It doesn’t have to be entirely in a positive way - they might be glad they’re free of an ex, but perhaps a little wistful that there’s nobody in their life who will get right what ex got wrong, that sort of thing.

I don’t necessarily think it’s a doomer that they don’t meet right away, but if it’s Romance, we should meet both characters up front. Traditionally POV chapters alternate. And they should both be having thoughts about relationships, good or bad.

Free sample chapters will help you here. Find a bunch of your comps and read their first chapters. You’ll get a sense of it there.
 

Brigid Barry

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+1 to Liz and Woollybear.

Romantic subplots are standard fare. Regardless of what it says about me, I am more likely to assume that romance will be involved if the protagonist is a woman. Recent (but not recent enough to be a comp) reads didn't indicate on the opening pages that they were romances but that's what they were so I'm not confident what you want is actually possible?

Romance has to follow a specific arc. The love interests have to meet early on and spend time together. At the end of the second act they're in love (regardless of how they got there) which is followed up by a 3rd act conflict (internal or external) that threatens to keep them apart forever, the will they or won't they. At the end they have to be together, either in a happy for now or happily ever after. If they aren't meeting until halfway through or one of them dies so they don't end up together, then it's not a romance.

If it’s a subplot, that means there needs to be a main fantasy plot with its own arc.
 

Lundgren

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I'm procrastinating, sorry for jumping in so quick esp. since I don't read much romance.

Why would there be no blurb in your case? That'd be where I'd expect genre.
If this one ever see the light of day and becomes published, there would be a blurb, but I don't think the blurb should do all of the lifting. :)

If the question was "How to promise romance on page one" then I could imagine and brainstorm a bunch of lines that could go into the open... like a first line of "I swear I will never date another man as long as I live." Oh yeah, this is a romance. There's the contract and the promise.

But that's not your question, so as much as I want to brainstorm 12 more first-page lines that promise romance, I'll say that the few romances I've read (like three in my life, all cis-het) open with a woman who is dynamic and living her own independent life. That's the stamp I know of romance, with the appallingly low n-value of 3.
Feel free to brainstorm, but you have answered what I was looking for and more specific examples would probably not be of much help. Thank you. :)
 

Lundgren

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If I had to cough up a common denominator, I’d say the MC is thinking about relationships in the first chapter. It doesn’t have to be the only thing there - they might also be contemplating a major life change, or bemoaning the same-sameness of their life, or dealing with something entirely different but still having romantic partnerships on their mind. It doesn’t have to be entirely in a positive way - they might be glad they’re free of an ex, but perhaps a little wistful that there’s nobody in their life who will get right what ex got wrong, that sort of thing.
Both the first chapter of the FMC and the MMC will go into them thinking about relationships, but from how I currently envision it, only the FMC would have a line or two about it on the first page of the chapter. So I seem to be on the right track. Thank you. :)

I don’t necessarily think it’s a doomer that they don’t meet right away, but if it’s Romance, we should meet both characters up front. Traditionally POV chapters alternate. And they should both be having thoughts about relationships, good or bad.
Well, they will meet in his first chapter, just that she is in disguise and trying to get information of what's going on in the fantasy plot. She is aware of him, considering him "a loyal dog of the enemy" and he is aware of her false persona, which he considers to be a gold-digger whose only redeeming factor is that she spends some of her late husbands money on charity.

Free sample chapters will help you here. Find a bunch of your comps and read their first chapters. You’ll get a sense of it there.
Sound like a good idea. :)
 

waylander

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I think your choice of cover can give a good indication. If you have a smoochy couple with a fantasy-looking background then that sends a big signal that it is a romance in a fantasy setting.
 
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Lundgren

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Romantic subplots are standard fare. Regardless of what it says about me, I am more likely to assume that romance will be involved if the protagonist is a woman. Recent (but not recent enough to be a comp) reads didn't indicate on the opening pages that they were romances but that's what they were so I'm not confident what you want is actually possible?
I have a suspicion you're not the only one that are more likely to assume romance when the protagonist is a woman. That's why I mentioned I considered to maybe start with a chapter from the FMC's POV in the What's on your mind thread. :)

Romance has to follow a specific arc. The love interests have to meet early on and spend time together. At the end of the second act they're in love (regardless of how they got there) which is followed up by a 3rd act conflict (internal or external) that threatens to keep them apart forever, the will they or won't they. At the end they have to be together, either in a happy for now or happily ever after. If they aren't meeting until halfway through or one of them dies so they don't end up together, then it's not a romance.
Well, from that definition, still might count as a romance. Their paths do cross a few times before they have to work together. Just that I don't think in acts, and I'm currently not sure where their stumbling blocks will be on their part to HEA/HFN. 😅

If it’s a subplot, that means there needs to be a main fantasy plot with its own arc.
There is. If I would rip out all of the romance, it will still be a complete story, just in a sub-genre I'm not interested in if it stands on its own. If I would rip out the fantasy plot, the forced proximity part would vanish, and the "to lovers" part would evaporate.
 

Lundgren

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I think your choice of cover can give a good indication. If you have a smoochy couple with a fantasy-looking background then that sends a big signal that it is a romance in a fantasy setting.
Of course. But if I ever get this one into a publishable state, unless it is self-publishing, that might be out of my control.
 

waylander

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Of course. But if I ever get this one into a publishable state, unless it is self-publishing, that might be out of my control.
If your publisher thinks it is a romance-driven story then most likely this is the sort of cover they'll give you. You may even get a say in it.
 

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Readers depend on cover art and back cover copy to tell them what kind of story they're in for. Publishers know that.
 

mrsmig

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Which is why it's important to be prepared in case the publisher gets it wrong.

This is so true.

I had to fight with my first agent for trying to pitch my first book as YA because it was fantasy (because all fantasy is YA, don'cha know). YA was hot-hot-hot then, and I guess she thought it would be an easier sell, even though my protag was 20 years old.

Then I had issues with my publisher, who kept trying to market the book via romance outlets, even though it was clearly sword & sorcery and the romance element, while important, wasn't the crux of the story. The press did a lot of romance, and most of the publisher's experience prior to starting her own press was with a romance publisher. I think that was all she knew how to do.