[ SECRET POST #4059 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4059 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 22 secrets from Secret Submission Post #581.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Romances can be so frustrating. On the one hand there have been amazing romances, and I actually do buy the argument that romance novels have been, in some ways, positive for women because they talked about all sorts of things, were aimed for women, often written by women, and were a mostly-acceptable way of a woman to feel in touch with her own desires (or just figure out what they might be).

OTOH, there's some godawful romances out there. In the days of a mostly Harlequin ruled landscape, romances were a packaged product, and whether it was unique or had amazing depth didn't matter very much. The publisher controlled the content, and if they said they wanted a cowboy baby romance within six weeks, the author had damned well better get it written. They were known quantity, often a bit drecky, and very corporately driven.

And of course there were different romance authors who managed to do things a bit different, creating more depth and compelling characters, and finding an audience despite all the perils of working in the industry and a one-flop-and-you're-done mindset from publishers.

Nowadays there is indie romance and a lot more variety. But damn, there's some awful shit out there now too. And some of it involves literal scamming (so-called authors manipulating things behind the scenes so they can "get their letters" aka hit a bestselling list, without actually selling things people want to read). But there's also genuine things that some people read that are, to my mind, really stupid and awful. The billionaire trend can just die already. Those shitty billionaires with their BDSM dungeons can burn in hell already. Not to mention the fucking stepbrothers, the biker gangs, the piles and piles of shit that people continue to read.

It disgusts me. I can't stand het romance unless it's awesome, and I don't look anymore; it bores the fuck out of me. At the same time, I've gotten picker and picker about lgbt romance as well. So yeah.

But here's the thing about romance: romance readers love the genre, even when there are flaws. They manage to find authors they like (and there are good ones out there for a variety of tastes--things that don't fit the stereotypes at all, even if those authors are less well known).

Readers of romance love emotions, happy endings, and they are loyal to the genre because it's their escape, sometimes their "guilty pleasure." They're tired of being told that it's stupid to like things that girls like. They just go on reading, the bulk of readers, the book-a-day readers, who have learned that pretentious pieces of shit are always going to look down on them, and they don't have to let that control their lives. They're protective of "their" authors and share with one another when they find new, awesome books. And many of them have been burned by really shitty stuff in the past, but they keep on looking for books and authors to read and love, because they love it.

If you love watching TV shows, you don't give them up just because you've run across some shit. You keep looking for new ones (or go back to old faves) because you just like that stuff. Well, romance readers are the same.

It's interesting to think about, and I have many of the same feelings about romance that you do. The history and psychology of romance is fascinating. At the end of the day, romance readers are prolific. And many of them will forgive a lot if the author can make them care about their characters and give them a happy ending (and, sometimes, some satisfying sex scenes--depending on the type of romance). Prolific, not terribly respected genre, loyal and hungry readers...the have been abuses through the years, and still are. But readers keep on going, and writers keep on going, too.

I would say it's a place to cut your teeth as a writer, but I don't actually believe that. I no longer believe romance is particularly easier to write than other genres, because there are rules and audience expectations that need to be met, just like anywhere else. And to do it well takes work (and often being prolific as well as hitting the right notes). Anyway, I no longer think well-written het romance is easy to do, that's for sure! But a lot of people seem to think it's an easy way to make big bucks writing cliched dreck.

BTW, Love Between the Covers is a great documentary on romance authors and readers, on Netflix, I believe. Definitely recommended; I learned a lot and I thought I already had a handle on things in that world!