#202. Student Spotlight: How Kara Kentley Turned a Messy Draft Into a Published Romance (and How You Can Too)

Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips

After years of rewriting the same sagging middle and juggling two confusing timelines, Kara Kentley discovered the romance structure secrets that transformed her messy draft into a published novel that sells daily.

Today I'm chatting with Kara Kentley, contemporary romance author of Another Summer and a Notes to Novel graduate, about how learning genre expectations finally helped her finish the book she'd been struggling with for years.

In this episode, you'll hear us talk about things like:

• [07:46] Why her 95,000-word draft had a "sagging middle" that lost readers halfway through (and the two-timeline problem making it worse)
• [11:55] How choosing one timeline and adding dual POV transformed her confused manuscript into a cohesive story
• [15:05] The relief she felt discovering romance novels have specific beats that happen in order—and how this became her roadmap
• [20”15] Kara’s nightmare writing conference experience (and what she learned about starting your book in the right place)
• [35:35] What happened when she launched without reviews or marketing—and still became #1 in her category for two weeks

If you've been struggling to finish your romance novel or any manuscript with structural problems, Kara's journey from pantsed chaos to organized success proves that the right framework can set you free. Press play to discover how romance structure could be the missing piece you need to finally type "The End."

🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:

• Kara Kentley’s website
• Buy Another Summer by Kara Kentley
• Join the Notes to Novel waitlist
• The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, & Sue Viders
• Travis Baldree’s article
• I Need A Book Cover

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👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.

Kapitel

1. Brutal Rejection at Writers Conference (00:00:00)

2. Podcast Introduction with Savannah Gilbo (00:01:42)

3. Kara's Writing Journey Begins (00:05:14)

4. Restructuring the Novel's Timeline (00:08:35)

5. Learning Genre Expectations and Character Work (00:16:19)

6. Conference Trauma and Recovery (00:21:32)

7. Deciding to Self-Publish (00:27:24)

8. Editing Process and Publication (00:34:52)

9. Book Launch Success Without Marketing (00:40:07)

10. Lessons Learned and Book Two (00:45:48)