It is so helpful to look at this perspective. I am currently writing my dissertation on reading romance and relationships (specifically, using romance as an adjunct to sex and couples therapy), and it’s meaningful to me to hear that it doesn’t matter- legitimacy comes from its readers, not ages old statistics. Would love to connect with you some time to talk romance.
Great article! It’s amazing to me (though it probably shouldn’t be) that this narrative took hold from such ancient / unreliable non-data.
This is not an ad I swear… but have you ever taken a data stroll in Publisher Rocket? That’s the closest thing I can think of to being able to see sales figures in real time regarding keywords used in Amazon book sales, how the ranking works, and average monthly earnings. If nothing else I find it utterly fascinating to see what people are searching for and precisely what it yields.
It is so helpful to look at this perspective. I am currently writing my dissertation on reading romance and relationships (specifically, using romance as an adjunct to sex and couples therapy), and it’s meaningful to me to hear that it doesn’t matter- legitimacy comes from its readers, not ages old statistics. Would love to connect with you some time to talk romance.
Fascinating! Love the Mean Girls memes. 🩷 We definitely don't need to justify reading romance with bad data.
Note to Shelf Love: Thank you for saving me from spreading bad data in my upcoming book, "Write & Sell a Well-Seasoned Romance."
I so appreciate this deep dive! I'm new to your newsletter so feel free to kick me to the archives, but have you delved into the claims from NPD/Circana about romance growth in 2022 and 2023? https://www.npd.com/news/press-releases/2022/romance-is-the-leading-growth-category-for-us-print-books-this-year-npd-says/ https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/92735-book-sales-continue-to-slow-down-in-first-half-of-2023.html
Great article! It’s amazing to me (though it probably shouldn’t be) that this narrative took hold from such ancient / unreliable non-data.
This is not an ad I swear… but have you ever taken a data stroll in Publisher Rocket? That’s the closest thing I can think of to being able to see sales figures in real time regarding keywords used in Amazon book sales, how the ranking works, and average monthly earnings. If nothing else I find it utterly fascinating to see what people are searching for and precisely what it yields.