Once a secret indulgence, romance novels are coming out from under the covers

Once upon a time … romance readers were putting false covers on their Mills & Boons or secretly reading 50 Shades of Grey on their Kindles. But now they’re loud and proud, sharing their opinions on social media and spending big on paperbacks and e-books. Bookstores are putting romance displays front and centre to cater for their readers’ voracious needs.

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In a world plagued by disease, war, the climate crisis and interest-rate hikes, romance novels offer readers comfort and hope. So it may come as no surprise that 2020 was a bumper year for feel-good fiction across the publishing industry, in all sorts of genres. When people have extra time on their hands, and things are tough, they turn to reading for escape and entertainment.

Rachael Donovan, a publisher at HQ, a division of Harper Collins, explains the “comfort factor” that fiction provides. “Psychologically, if things are really scary, it’s nice to have a safe space to go to,” Donovan says.

With feel-good fiction, readers know they’re going to get a happy ending. “Ultimately, humans are creatures of habit,” Donovan adds. “We just want to be entertained and made happy. We want things that take us on the journey we’re looking for.” Romance novels, thanks to their happy-ever-after endings, always give readers this satisfaction, but with a few unexpected variables thrown in along the way.

In a keynote speech at the 2018 Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) Conference, Pantera Press publisher Kate Cuthbert said romance offered hope to women that their lives would be “well lived”. She posited that the themes and issues dealt with in today’s romance novels offered optimism for “personhood, careers, ambition, self-acceptance, self-love, sex, great sex, mind-blowing sex, sexual autonomy, bodily autonomy, lively and nourishing friendships, and passionate and enduring love affairs.”

Likewise, the genre reflects societal change as much as any other in literature. Safe sex and consent, for instance, are now expected in modern relationships and this is echoed in romance novels. In what romance writers affectionately call “Romancelandia”, their heroines are just like women in real life. They are not always naive, heterosexual maidens looking for a dominant alpha hero to “complete” them. Rather, they are well-travelled, often sarcastic, usually funny, powerful professionals who strive for meaningful careers and functional partners – whether they be male, female or other. And sometimes they’re looking for more than one at a time.

Author Clare Connelly believes romance novels are also a good reflection of society’s viewpoint at any time, and an opportune way to study society through the decades.

“You see this genuine human connection between two characters who fall in love and live happily ever after,” she says. “That’s so meaningful and important, and it transcends all cultures, time periods and sexual orientations. It’s about agency, self-expression, mutual respect, drawing your own boundaries and getting someone to respect them.”

Alex Adsett, a literary agent who heads her own agency for Australian authors, adds that romance novels are breaking down barriers. “There’s an awful lot of queer romance, and queer historical romance is one of my favourite things to read at the moment. But also trans romance, representations of different kinds of heroines and heroes, different ideas of what it means to be strong. There’s a diversity of authors writing all kinds of characters.

“Romance writers are making art that changes the world and pushes boundaries. They’re doing it in a way that makes people happy and empowers readers, and they’re making more money than any other part of the industry.”

However, Adsett admits she used to be “snooty” about romance. “I was thinking of those very dated old Mills & Boon books – that’s what I thought romance was. Even though I was drawn to the romances in books for as long as I can remember, it wasn’t until I hit my 20s that I embraced being a romance reader and discovered how rich and broad a canon it is.”

“Romance writers are making art that changes the world and pushes boundaries. They’re doing it in a way that makes people happy and empowers readers.”

ALEX ADSETT

Connelly believes the embarrassment some people feel about reading romance is a form of misogyny because these are mostly female-led, female-written stories. “Even the insults levelled at romance – that it’s formulaic, for instance – drive me crazy, because all genres follow conventions and there’s nothing wrong with that. Each and every romance novel is a different story, with different characters and conflicts.”

In the nine years since she was first published, Connelly has written 120 novels. She’s currently contracted to write four a year for Mills & Boon as well as self-publishing four annually.

There’s an assumption that novelists don’t make much money in Australia, but there are dozens of local romance authors making a living from their work, whether for a traditional publisher or through self-publishing. Associations such as the Romance Writers of Australia help them learn both the craft and the business so they can have successful careers.

Connelly says that being successful as a writer in Australia takes work and professionalism. “It depends on lots of factors, like any job. But there are so many people I know who are making a full-time living out of writing.”

Joining the RWA helped alleviate Connelly’s sense of isolation and satisfied her yearning for community and connection. Some of the people she met at her first RWA conference, such as Rachel Johns and Amy Andrews, both best-selling authors, initially became her writing support and are now her real-world friends. “It must be something about people who are drawn to write love stories,” says Connelly. “There’s an optimism and positivity inherent to them.”

Adsett agrees. “Romance writers love what they do. They love their heroes and heroines and swoon-worthy moments. And they are also well aware that this is a business. They are savvy, they are strategic and they make the industry work for them. When every other aspect of the industry might be going through the doldrums, romance just keeps on powering along.

“Romance authors have this extra awareness of how the art of writing intersects with the commerce of publishing. Working with authors with that strategic nous is so refreshing and exciting for me because we can really build a writing career in a strong way.”

‘Romance writers love what they do. They love their heroes and heroines and swoon-worthy moments. And they are also well aware that this is a business.’

ALEX ADSETT

In a commercial sense, Donovan agrees that romance as a genre is a hugely important part of the market and has been for many years. Her respect for romance writers is just as high. She describes them as “very businesslike – they share their skills and are very supportive of each other”.

Donovan, conscious that romance fans have huge appetites, sometimes reading between five and 10 books a week, is always on the lookout for new authors and new voices. “We can rely on readers wanting a regular pattern of publishing. We want a certain quota of our list to meet that readership.”

In terms of trends, Donovan predicts that rural romances will remain a substantial element of the industry. “We love to travel around the country, and read things that reflect us,” she says. “Australian voices will always be super strong. As long as people want Australian content, there will
be Australian romance, whether historical or contemporary.”

Donovan encourages readers to support their local authors. “Buy the books, borrow the books – there is no bad way to come to a book,” she says. “Get it online, get the audio book, whatever format is your favourite, support local writers and support genre writers in particular.

“If you’ve heard of a new book, if you’ve seen something that’s intriguing, or if someone’s mentioned something that makes you think, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t normally read that’, just give it a go.”

Adsett also urges readers to put their preconceived prejudices aside and take a chance on romance books. “The genre has some of the most exciting, fun, ground-breaking narratives you’ll come across,” she says. “If you really want to see where some of the innovative writing is, read some romance.”

The Romance Writers of Australia annual conference takes place in Sydney, 11 - 13 August.

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