Did you
know that 55% of all books sold are romance fiction?
And that
worldwide, this 'industry' is worth about $2 billion a
year?
That's
incredible, don't you think? That roughly 3000 romance
titles are published all over the world every year - and
the readership is actually growing, even amongst men, who
apparently make up a whopping 22% of all romance readers.
According
the Romance Writers of America, a staggering 64.6 million
Americans read at least one romance last year. 54% of
them read up to five.
They say
that the 21% increase in romance sales in 2004 is mostly
a result of the big department stores carrying a book
section - people are more likely to buy books from
Walmart, Target and the Big W now that they offer
discounted A list titles to the general public.
Some argue
this practice is unfair to traditional booksellers but,
to me, it seems as though everyone gains if you can
encourage ordinary people to read more and buy more
books. Us writers can only gain too if there's more
demand for our services.
You may be
surprised to learn a few facts about the readers - and
the kind of romances they like.
For
instance, 40% of readers are married, between 25 and 40.
42% have a tertiary education or higher. 88% said they
didn't like the traditional M&B covers! 48% of
readers said they prefered romances that were also
contemporary thrillers - with lots of action, mystery and
suspense, even a murder or two. Not really what we might
expect at all! I mean, we have this image of romances
being slightly tacky, full of overwrought language and
heaving bosoms but...
...have you
read any recently?
I have. And
they do seem to be changing. The language is usually
fresh and fun. The characters are more rounded than they
used to be and the plots are far more sophisticated
nowadays.
I really do
think that if you seriously want to get published, you
should definitely explore this lucrative market.
Statistically you have a far higher chance of being
published in romance because the demand for books is so
clearly huge.
