Interesting article on the much maligned romance genre...

Reading a rather interesting article in Entertainment Weekly of all places about the critically maligned yet wildly successful romance novel genre, entitled A Billion Dollar Affair: Love, Sex and Money by Karen Valby.

As many of you may or may not know, I'm a rather eclectic reader, or diverse reader. Actually this is also true of music, art, theater, movies, and tv shows. Read every genre out there and I tend to binge.

( a summary of my eclectic reading binges )

At any rate the following bits in the article caught my eye, because they describe perfectly the insane stigma assigned to romance novels, a stigma that is oddly enough also assigned to fanfiction - which is also largely written for and by women.

The history of the romance novel is mired in glib judgement and literary ill-repute. Somehow in our culture men who read comic books are hip, while women, similarly drawn to stories of heroes and fantasies, are written off as pathetic. [Hmmm, I've read both and adored both, at various periods in my life. But while I know a lot of women who have read comics, not many men who have read romance novels or admit to it. Most likely the latter. Nah, our culture doesn't have gender issues.] "Romance readers have always been the one category of reader that has experienced shame when they've gone to the bookstore," say Angela James, editorial director for Harlequin's digital-first imprint Carina Press. "Not because they're ashamed of what they're buying but because of the person selling it to them. Whether by the look on their face or sarcastic, snarky comments. If you speak to any romance reader they will tell you that there have been times on the train or the subway where people see the book cover [and say.] 'Oh you read that?'

This is why I adore the Kindle - don't have to put up with that embarrassment any longer. There's nothing worse than hunting for the romance section in Barnes and Noble and jumping over the feet of the mystery and magna readers glaring up at you.
Or in some stores, you are lucky to find the romance section - it does not exist. Young Adult does now, but romance, not so much - although a few of the more mainstream or literary novels may be wedged in the literary section. This folks is why Amazon is beating the publishing industry and book selling industry bloody - Amazon makes it possible to access romance novels which are impossible to locate elsewhere. [Should be noted that I had similar problems with comics, often getting odd looks for browsing in the store - because a) I wasn't a guy, b) not a kid, and c) didn't fit the profile.]

Romance has long been the leading innovator in the book industry, and has become the second-largest book genre, just behind thrillers. Sales of romance novels, in all their permutations, exceed $1 billion annually in the US.

That did not, alas earn the long-ridiculed genre respect. "My mother is famous for saying, 'Do you ever think you'll write a real book?' says Sarah MacLean, a best-selling historical romance writer who's twice won the Romance Writers of America coveted RITA award for excellence and will publish her eigth book this December. [Odd, never read her - but I tend to like the less popular, non-mainstream romance novels.] "She's very proud of me, but in her mind if I'm this good at writing a romance novel, wouldn't I be able to write literary fiction?" She adds, " the challenge of outside perception is the same as with the chick flick: this idea that there's something less valuable about it because it's written by women for women about women.

It's hard to imagine another billion-dollar industry more dismissed by the critical mass. Okay, maybe porn. Stories propelled by erotic sex used to make mainstream publishers squirmy. Traditional publishers looked down on digital authors. [And the publishing industry wants to know why they are struggling and Amazon is winning? Hello!] Self-publishing was for losers. But romance publishers have historically led the book industry, tapping into markets overlooked by their elevated literary brethren. Beyond the noir-pulp business back in the 1940s, romance publishers were the first to fully embrace the mass-market paperback. Today romance novels account for 32 % of the entire paperback fiction market.) Romance was also among the first to plunge into the great unknown of digital publishing, years before the traditional publishing accepted that the ground under its stodgy feet was shifting forever. Digital romance sales currently make up a staggering 38 percent of all e-book sales. Now the genre's leading a passionate charge into the frontier of self-publishing.

I'd like to add that the romance genre has also been amongst the first to embrace the push-to-publish fanfic - where the serial numbers are ironed off. Which makes sense, because it's easy to do in the genre, harder in fantasy and sci-fi.

Did you know 46% of romance consumers read at least one book per week, while the typical American reads five books a year?

Romance readers are on average?
1. Between the ages of 30-54
2. College educated
3. Make at least 55K
4. 59% are coupled.
5. 84% are women
6. 16% are men.

Geographically in US? Most are in the Northeast, Pacific (California).

Regarding self-publishing? Published novelist Belle Andre couldn't sell any books and got yanked. So, she self-published a title that her publisher refused to put out, sending personal notes to fans urging them to seek it out on Amazon.She made more money on that book than on the one's professionally published. According to the article, she sold more than 4 million copies in self-published books.

The romance genre has multiple sub-genres, which apparently is an American publishing marketing trend not shared by other countries?

( sub-genres of the romance genre )