Romance Writing

© Rob Parnell

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 preferred 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.

It's worth thinking about.