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| Falling in Love with Love: Understanding the Magic of Romances | |
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| The Power of Love | |
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| Love Is in the Air | |
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| Love Sells | |
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| Look Who's Reading! | |
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| Scoping Out the Competition | |
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| First Things First: What Is a Romance Novel? | |
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| You Gotta Love It (to Write It) | |
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| For Love or Money | |
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| Signs of Success | |
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| Aspiring Romance Writer's Checklist | |
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| Love Is Here to Stay | |
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| Rules to Write By | |
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| Empowering Message | |
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| New Spin on Classic Characters | |
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| Enduring Romance Fantasies | |
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| You've Come a Long Way, Baby | |
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| The New Millennium | |
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| Love Is a Many Splendored Thing | |
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| Periscope Down: Plumbing the Depths of Subgenres | |
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| Historical Romances | |
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| Contemporary Romances | |
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| Women's Fiction ... Bigger and Better Than Ever | |
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| Characters of Color | |
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| Beyond Reality (and Other Nifty New Trends) | |
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| Phew!!!! | |
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| Match Made in Heaven | |
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| Read, Read, Read! | |
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| Appearing in a Bookstore Near You | |
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| Narrowing the Choices | |
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| Making a Decision | |
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| Have Some Spine! | |
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| Ten Signs of a Great Romance | |
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| Creating a World of Your Own | |
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| Picture This | |
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| Putting It All Together | |
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| Testing the Creative Waters | |
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| If the Shoe Doesn't Fit | |
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| Oops! There Goes Another Trend | |
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| Hardcover, Here I Come! | |
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| Cinderella ... and the Rest of Us | |
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| Lover's Leap | |
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| Got Ideas? | |
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| The First Date (with Your Computer) | |
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| Romancing Your Calendar | |
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| Can the Critic | |
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| Make a Commitment--I Dare You! | |
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| Seven Aspects of Highly Affecting Romances | |
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| Plotting: Fresh Take on an Age-Old Story | |
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| Boy Meets Girl | |
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| The Plot Thickens | |
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| Between the First Kiss and "I Do!" | |
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| Analyzing Your Favorite Plots | |
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| A Plotting Lesson from Jane Austen | |
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| A Romance's Greatest Challenge | |
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| Flimsy as a Negligee | |
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| No Can Do | |
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| Classic Romance Plotlines | |
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| Writer's Road Map Versus Spontaneous Construction | |
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| Characterization: Heroes to Die for and Heroines to Cry For | |
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| The Heart of a Romance | |
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| Tea and Sympathy | |
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| Just Like You and Me | |
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| Respect Your Characters | |
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| Heroes We Love | |
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| Heroines We Relate To | |
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| A Case Study: Scarlett O'Hara Versus Melanie Wilkes | |
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| Nobody's Perfect (at Least They Shouldn't Be!) | |
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| Every Story Needs a Hero | |
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| Motivation: The Saving Grace | |
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| Consistently Consistent | |
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| Ready, Set, Goal! | |
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| Interview with a Character | |
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| Second Fiddles | |
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| Type Out Stereotypes | |
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| Character Checklist | |
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| Pacing: Timing Is Everything | |
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| Pacing at the Speed of Light | |
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| The Big-Bang Theory | |
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| Back Story on the Back Burner | |
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| The Time Bomb | |
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| Warning! Warning! | |
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| The Mary Higgins Clark Chapter | |
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| Scenes Within a Chapter | |
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| The Long and Short of Sentences | |
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| Tightening Your Prose | |
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| Be Your Own Guinea Pig | |
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| Pacing Checklist | |
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| Voice: Yours and Your Characters' | |
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| The Alchemy of "Voice" | |
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| Writing on the Wall | |
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| Distinctive Dialogue | |
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| The Narrator's Voice | |
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| Voice Checklist | |
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| Conflict: The Magic Ingredient | |
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| "I Couldn't Put It Down" | |
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| Creating Suspense | |
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| Pothole on the Yellow Brick Road | |
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| Turn Up the Heat | |
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| The Shortest Story Ever Told | |
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| It Takes Two Conflicts to Tango | |
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| The Crossroad Collision | |
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| The Black Moment | |
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| Move Over, Freud | |
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| Don't Leave 'Em Hanging | |
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| Beginners Beware! | |
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| Conflict Checklist | |
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| Emotion: Tugging at the Heartstrings | |
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| Finally! Men Who Talk About Their Feelings | |
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| Heroines Just Like You | |
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| Action and Reaction: Putting Feelings Before Plot | |
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| Show, Don't Tell | |
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| Reading Between the Lines | |
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| High Drama | |
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| Powerful Prose | |
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| Empathetic Environment | |
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| Good Diversions | |
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| Emotion Checklist | |
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| Under the Covers: Sex and the Single (or Married) Romance Writer | |
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| Love Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry for a Sex Scene | |
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| The Curse of the Bodice Ripper | |
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| Was It Good for You? | |
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| The Writer's Comfort Zone | |
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| Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Sex? | |
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| Sensuality Versus Sexuality | |
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| Do Your Homework! | |
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| Sensuality Checklist | |
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| After the Romance: Bringing Up Baby | |
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| Research Recap | |
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| Understanding Your Subject | |
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| The Three Faces of Historicals | |
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| How Much Research Should You Do? | |
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| The Path of Least Resistance | |
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| Delving Beneath the Surface | |
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| The Research Pyramid | |
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| The Intentional Researcher | |
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| Research Checklist | |
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| Until It Shines | |
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| It Ain't over 'Til It's Over | |
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| The Three "Rs" | |
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| Something's Wrong, but I Don't Know What | |
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| Resetting Your Setting | |
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| Cut! | |
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| How Do You Spell "Duh"? | |
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| Tips from a Top-Notch Talent | |
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| Revision Checklist | |
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| Feedback: It Hurts So Good | |
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| Oh, That's What You Meant to Say! | |
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| Mother Doesn't Know Best | |
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| Good Sources of Feedback | |
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| The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly | |
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| Give as Good as You Get | |
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| Editorial Feedback | |
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| Review This! | |
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| The Ultimate Feedback | |
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| Feedback Checklist | |
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| Hiring an Agent | |
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| Do I Need an Agent? | |
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| Four Reasons to Hire an Agent | |
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| One Reason Not to Hire an Agent | |
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| I'd Rather Do It Myself! | |
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| Great Expectations | |
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| The Perils of Pauline's Bad Agent | |
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| You're the Boss | |
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| The Vision Thing | |
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| Where Do You Find One? | |
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| Hot-Shot Agents | |
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| Which Comes First: Agent or Editor? | |
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| The Last Word on Agents | |
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| Agent Checklist | |
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| Finding an Editor | |
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| A Powerful Mentor | |
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| Do Your Homework! | |
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| Eenie, Meenie, Minie Editor | |
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| She Wants You! | |
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| What an Editor Is Really Looking For | |
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| How Do Editors Edit? | |
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| Power Shift | |
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| Editor Checklist | |
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| Submissions: Laying Your Heart on the Line | |
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| Hear Ye! Hear Ye! | |
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| How to Avoid the Trash Heap | |
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| "How-To" Know-How | |
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| The Importance of Being Queried | |
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| To Multiple Submit or Not to Multiple Submit--That Is the Question | |
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| Follow Up? Who? Me? | |
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| When All Is Said and Done | |
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| Submissions Checklist | |
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| The Writing Biz | |
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| You're Published, Now What? | |
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| Hurry Up and Wait | |
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| Gentlemen, Start Your Next Book | |
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| Second-Book Syndrome | |
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| The Honeymoon Period | |
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| An Exclusive Club | |
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| The Price of Success | |
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| The Hazing | |
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| You're in the Army Now | |
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| The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Multi-Book Contracts | |
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| New York Times, Here I Come! | |
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| What It Means to Be a Professional | |
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| I Wanna Hold Your Hand | |
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| Editorial Support | |
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| Advances and Royalties | |
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| The Cold Hard Realities of Cold Hard Cash | |
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| Money Matters | |
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| Taxation Terror | |
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| Is the *%!#! Check in the Mail Yet!? | |
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| Reasons to Keep Your Day Job | |
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| When Do I Get a Raise? | |
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| Making the Most | |
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| Acting Like a Professional | |
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| On Becoming a Pro | |
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| Signs of a Professional Writer | |
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| What Makes a Pro a Pro? | |
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| Write Like a Pro | |
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| Professional Affiliations | |
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| Code of Conduct | |
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| Open for Business | |
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| The Big Picture | |
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| You Can Get There from Here | |
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| Understand Your Strengths | |
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| Promotion Tips | |
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| Books, Books, Everywhere | |
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| Reasons Readers Buy | |
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| The Promotion Pyramid | |
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| What Works? What Doesn't? | |
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| May I Have Your Autograph? | |
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| The Publisher's Role | |
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| Nuts and Bolts of the Biz | |
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| Advantages of the A-Team | |
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| Mid-List Blues | |
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| The Harlequin Machine | |
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| Sell-Throughs | |
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| Gotcha Covered | |
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| What's in a Title? | |
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| Love's Raging Titles | |
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| Changing Marketplace | |
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| Alternative Markets | |
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| Romancing the Industry | |
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| The Good News | |
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| Because Writers Are Weird | |
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| Brave New World | |
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| The Conference Connection | |
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| It's Not What You Know | |
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| Can I Quote You on That? | |
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| Networking Checklist | |
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| The Last Word (Or Why You Really Can Do This) | |
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| How Bad Do You Want This? | |
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| Meant for Bigger Things | |
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| Take Risks | |
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| Bouncing Back | |
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| Pacing Yourself | |
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| Long-Range Goals | |
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| Dare to Dream | |
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| Writers Are Made, Not Born | |
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| Happy Ending, Happy Writing! | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Romance Publishers | |
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| Electronic Publishers | |
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| Writing Resource Books | |
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| Romance Reviewers and Publications | |
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| Writing- and Publishing-Related Organizations | |
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| Press Releases | |
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| Index | |