One thing we do know—Publishing moves in cycles. If one looks at current bestseller lists, romance in one form or another is dominating the lists just as it did from 1970-2005 when it became absorbed by the YA market for 15-20 years. But romance is back again and probably will dominate the market for many years to come. Some of this is because Fantasy and Romance have moved into many other genres. It’s not just epic, grimdark which has dominated the Fantasy market for years and years. Think The Night Circus, The Once and Future Witches, Uprooted, Tress, The Book of Doors, even literature like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and then books like The Magicians and pastoral fantasies where the stakes are low and not about saving the world. Books that are about working men and women and not Kings and Queens. Think of women’s fiction with elements of magic realism. There are countless books. Also think of how historical fiction is strong now because that is related. Also, how we tell stories. It is true, that 21st century fiction is changing and while I love Dickens and Wilkie Collins, I also love weird and whimsical books like The Night Circus and Piranesi.
What I want to explore is how romance is cyclical and resonates with many readers right now, from teenagers to grandmothers. To see how the fantastical element is mainstream and it’s no longer just high stakes but also found families in a small town, conflicts in an academic setting, even inside a bookshop. And many times, some form of romance is there to help it out. Today, romance novels of all forms are stronger than ever. Just look at the term, Romantasy that I previously spoke of. Someone suggested that it was created to take Sarah J Maas out of the Fantasy genre so other fantasy novels could thrive in the Goodreads Reader Choice Awards. I don’t doubt it, but I think it might have been the surprise hit of Fourth Wing. It doesn’t matter though. Romance has spread into the mainstream. It’s in literature, fantasy, science fiction, and even horror. While it’s not been documented, a good way to examine this evolution is to look at Goodreads nominations and winner since 2009. To look at the votes and to look at bestseller lists across the board. Even the Locus lists are dominated by romantic fantasy, both Adult and YA. The jest of this is that Fantasy novels of any kind with a romance in it are doing better unless an author is well established in their field and even Nora Roberts is on the fantasy bandwagon.
People are buying the books. And markets are determined by readers. Booksellers are businesses. Yes, they love books. Yes, they buy books that people may never read. But in the end, it’s about readers. What readers care about. Readers move the industry.
I am not doing this to tell anyone what a good book or bad book is. That’s not me and I am a writer. My comments and so-called scores are about what the author wanted to do and what they did do. Maybe what I thought could have made it better, maybe my interest in how they did something beautiful. Or what they lost along the way. Writing a book is very hard work and seeing it published is an accomplishment. It’s highly competitive and a risky business. I am not here to tear down authors. I love authors. Writing fiction is such a crazy choice in life. You have to be an optimist to do it, you have to be a person who is tenacious, you have to be a dreamer.
— All this is to do something different. To think differently. To see differently.
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