Traditional Romance?
Posted by Mark Alders on Thursday, December 3, 2009
Under: Thoughts on Writing
Is traditional romance dead?
Well, according to Lori James of All Romance eBooks (fast becoming one of the largest online sellers of eBooks) Yes...traditional romance, is on the decline. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy and girl live happily-ever-after is fast becoming...well...boring and readers are turning away from such stories in droves.
Best selling romances these days (and romance is by far the biggest seller in the eBook market) are Vampires and werewolves falling in love with girls. Sometimes, two or more boys falling for the same girl is hot. Even boys falling in love with boys is in high demand.
That means that paranormal, shifter/werewolves/vampire and gay fiction are hot right now, and the hotter the sex scenes the hotter the seller. Now hot sex doesn't mean porn, far from it. It just means more direct language without purple prose and behind the scenes stuff. When a boy is in bed with a girl/vampire/boy/whatever, the reader wants to be there, too. Feel what the character is feeling, be involved, share emotions and above all, know what's going on. Really, how scenes like that should be written anyway. We write the rest of our novels experiences what the characters experience, so this just makes sense to me.
According to Lori, traditional romance is down 22% So which category saw the most increase aside from werewolves and gay and multiple partners? Well, Rubenesque (girls with curves) is also hot. In fact edgy is in and formulaic is out!
I have experienced this eBook romance phenomenon myself first hand.
My debut novel, Call of the Hunted, did okay, but by the time I got to my second book, The Pauper's Prize, sales were great. The Pauper's Prize made it into the top ten in sales at eXtasy and is now in the final round of voting at the Rainbow Awards. My short story, The Cadet's Officer has done the best. Reaching the top 5 in sales at eXtasy and number 1 in sales for sci-fi romance at All Romance eBooks! Hopefully my next release, Shadows of the Mind, in February (in time for Valentine's day) will be just as well received *grin*
I made a conscious decision to publish the eBook way a long time ago. I'm glad I did.
Well, according to Lori James of All Romance eBooks (fast becoming one of the largest online sellers of eBooks) Yes...traditional romance, is on the decline. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy and girl live happily-ever-after is fast becoming...well...boring and readers are turning away from such stories in droves.
Best selling romances these days (and romance is by far the biggest seller in the eBook market) are Vampires and werewolves falling in love with girls. Sometimes, two or more boys falling for the same girl is hot. Even boys falling in love with boys is in high demand.
That means that paranormal, shifter/werewolves/vampire and gay fiction are hot right now, and the hotter the sex scenes the hotter the seller. Now hot sex doesn't mean porn, far from it. It just means more direct language without purple prose and behind the scenes stuff. When a boy is in bed with a girl/vampire/boy/whatever, the reader wants to be there, too. Feel what the character is feeling, be involved, share emotions and above all, know what's going on. Really, how scenes like that should be written anyway. We write the rest of our novels experiences what the characters experience, so this just makes sense to me.
According to Lori, traditional romance is down 22% So which category saw the most increase aside from werewolves and gay and multiple partners? Well, Rubenesque (girls with curves) is also hot. In fact edgy is in and formulaic is out!
I have experienced this eBook romance phenomenon myself first hand.
My debut novel, Call of the Hunted, did okay, but by the time I got to my second book, The Pauper's Prize, sales were great. The Pauper's Prize made it into the top ten in sales at eXtasy and is now in the final round of voting at the Rainbow Awards. My short story, The Cadet's Officer has done the best. Reaching the top 5 in sales at eXtasy and number 1 in sales for sci-fi romance at All Romance eBooks! Hopefully my next release, Shadows of the Mind, in February (in time for Valentine's day) will be just as well received *grin*
I made a conscious decision to publish the eBook way a long time ago. I'm glad I did.
In : Thoughts on Writing
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I am Mark Alders, writer, intactivist, post office worker, and all round nice guy...except when someone steals my chocolate! I am a proud Australian, and as such use different spellings and have some weird phrases, too. Hey, perhaps that's why I write some damn weird shit!
I can't change who I am.
So when you read one of my books, enjoy the ride, but please don't say I can't spell. I spell how I damn well feel like it! LOL Naw seriously, I spell like an Aussie...do forgive me because we are a breed unto ourselves. Where else can a place have 11 registered public holidays and no one has any idea what they are for except to have a BBQ and down some beers!
If you do find a genuine error in my work, please let me know so I can speak with my editor...also, as an addition to that, offer chocolates as well. Lots of chocolates.
*hugs*
Mark
