Kwela romance-writing guidelines

(Sapphire Press)
Kwela would like to invite authors to submit romance manuscripts written according to
the following guidelines:

Typical format of a Kwela romance

• 30 000 words

• Roughly 10 chapters

Typical style of a Kwela romance

• Think Mills & Boon

• The story must be set in South Africa, preferably a big city like Johannesburg

• The story is told from the main female character’s perspective

• The story is told in the third person

• Both hero and heroine should be black South Africans.

The main female character (heroine)

The heroine is
o an independent, spunky, smart woman

o financially independent

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 o in her mid-twenties to early thirties

o extremely self-motivated

o determined to achieve success

o committed to overcoming past hardships.

The heroine feels

o financially responsible for her family.

The heroine has

o a strong spiritual base

o at least two girlfriends on whom she can rely for moral & emotional
support

o a modern outlook on life and on the role of woman in society.

The heroine likes to

o Visit local hotspots to see who’s who and to be seen.

The heroine should

o Experience personal growth and self-discovery

o realise her own worth and inner strength.

The main male character (hero)

The hero is
o Strong

o Intelligent

o good-looking

o slightly older than the heroine (late thirties to early forties)

o successful in his career

o more traditional in his outlook on life than the heroine (cause of

tension).

The plot
The main plot-line
o revolves around the heroine & hero’s struggle to build a romantic
relationship

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 o outside forces (at work or in their communities) try to keep them apart

o their own conflicting beliefs about modern society and the role of
women also threaten to keep them apart

Keep sub-plots to a minimum

o Only those that influence internal growth in the heroine should be
developed.

Romantic tension should be built up until a satisfying conclusion is

reached between the heroine & hero
o i.e. when all obstacles between them have been overcome and love
triumphs

One or two intimate scenes should be included (though only between the
heroine and the hero – no other boyfriends/lovers)

Target readers
• All those thousands of people who love Mills & Boon!

• Upwardly mobile black female readers

• In terms of typical South African readers, think of those who currently read
True Love, Move and Drum.

• Age groups: from teenagers to 50+, i.e. quite a broad group

In order to be able to write for these readers, the writer needs to get to know them,
so

a) go and buy some magazines

b) look at the current issues that are addressed in the magazines

c) get a sense of the aspirations and socio-economical status of this group.

In short, the reader is:

• Is proudly black, dynamic, ambitious, enlightened, mature and sexy

• Seeks empowerment through self-development, relationship advice,
career guidance and spiritual inspiration
• Respects and honours her cultural traditions
• Aspires to live a successful, fulfilling and dynamic life in a country that
continuously presents her with interesting challenges and
opportunities
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 • Generates her own income and seeks financial security and
independence, to realise her desires and enjoy her many choices as a
consumer

Guidelines towards a structure

Chapter 1
Introduce the heroine to the reader by placing her in her own day-to-day
environment and allowing her to interact with either family or her girlfriends or
both. Think of this as an introductory chapter. Give some description of the heroine
but not too much. It might be a good idea to introduce the hero briefly in this
chapter.

Chapter 2
Expand on the “normal” life of the heroine. Give some indication of the direction the
plot will take, i.e. introduce a new element to her life (hero or new circumstances).

Chapter 3
If the hero has not been introduced in chapter 2, now is the time to bring him to
introduce him – though chapter 1 is often best. This is also the time to indicate the
reasons for the conflict that will develop between him and the hero.

Chapter 4 – 8
Develop the physical & emotional tension between the heroine & hero, as well as
the conflict between them, caused by both outside forces and inner beliefs.

Chapter 9
Final build-up to the climax, which should be a confrontation between the heroine &
hero: conflicting viewpoints have to be faced and dealt with.

Chapter 10
Immediate aftermath of the confrontation and final romantic union.

Absolute no-no’s
• No disillusionments for readers

• No death of either hero / heroine

• No death of their ideals

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Renumeration:
Authors of manuscripts that are to be published have a choice as to how they’d like
to be renumerated. We can offer either a flat fee of R12 000 (ex VAT) payable on
publication of the manuscript, or we can pay a royalty fee on net receipts which
would be deemed standard in the South African publishing industry .

Format of manuscripts
Please send your completed manuscript to kwela@kwela.com. The manuscript
should be in one document (in Word), and be clearly legible.