Romance Novel Trends
Round Robin May 2018 topic: What changes have your seen in romance novels in the past decade? Is there a change in romance novel direction? Is there still a market for non-explicit sex stories? What is the next romance novel trend?
Back in 2006, I opened Freya’s Bower as a subsidiary of Wild Child Publishing. Wild Child had always been family friendly. Freya’s Bower would be our romance/erotic romance/erotica arm. At this point, erotic romance was booming. We published quite a few BDSM erotic romance written by members of the BDSM community. However, when we published it, it wasn’t quite accepted. Paranormal and shifters were popular, as were vampires and M/M. That hasn’t really changed that much, although the types of shifters has expanded to include ones not considered at the time. (Dragon shifters have become popular now. We had a dragon shifter series that sold really well.)
Of course, times have changed … some. Readers are still interested in erotic romance, but BDSM became accepted, but it’s not as popular. In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in ménage stories, but it has altered a bit. Now, it’s ménage M/M aliens having babies. (Yes, that’s happening, and there is an audience for it. At least, it’s not dinosaurs. This is not to say there’s anything wrong with that, merely it’s not something we would’ve imagined back then.)
We’ve seen the rise of the “new” genre NA (New Adult) romance as well as romance featuring “minority” protagonists (about time).
I don’t think erotic romance is going away, but there is definitely an audience for sweet romance stories. Readers not only buy it but actively look for it. The challenge becomes being found, but that’s the case with most genres.
If you’re interested in what the top romances are of 2018, here’s a list from Google.
Personally, I enjoy both sweet and explicit romance. My only requirements, really, are well-written, preferably third person, tight POV, and HEA. Or, at the very least, HFA.
What about you? What do you think is the new romance novel trend? Do you have a favorite romance genre? Would you rather read sweet or spicy?
I do write stories with romance elements. You can find my books here.
That’s an interesting take on the romance genre, especially from a publisher’s viewpoint, Marci. I’ve read all of the types of romance you mentioned although I’m not fond of vampire stories. My favorite romances are where sex and physical appearance are not the only attraction between a couple, but also a mind-to-mind and emotional sharing, understanding, and equality exists.
I like to think most of my stories are more about the mind-to-mind and emotional sharing, understanding, and equality, but I know that the first original attraction is physical.
I’m sorry I got off track on the topic. I’m not sure how that happened, but… LOL
Interesting aspect from a publisher’s point of view. Thanks for the input. I agree that a well written book, with tight POV is always my favorite. I want to fall in love with the hero, too so I want to be right in there, in the middle of it all. If there is a sex scene, I want to be turned on. If there is an event that makes my hero tear up, I want to “feel” his anguish. That deep pov is what does it for me.
Thanks for stopping by, Skye. Somehow, I ended up writing on a different topic. I found your blog post to be very interesting.
Marci, this proves it. Belief creates reality. I believed our May 2018 topic was about beginning and end and what’s in the middle, so that’s what I wrote about.
As for romance, if a book is about human life, it will have romantic attraction and conflict. However, more is needed to hold my interest, and I disagree with most people about the romantic myth (and they lived happily ever after). In my therapy practice, I’ve seen a lot of harm caused by the expectation that somewhere, there is the perfect partner for me, and if it’s not this person, I’d better do a trade-in.
🙂
Bob
Bob,
Romance novels are escape/fantasy, just like any other genre. Most people read them because they are guaranteed a happy ending, and life often doesn’t have those.
It’s not just romance that puts unrealistic expectations on relationships, but our culture and society. Perhaps humans aren’t meant to be monogamous and that’s just another construct of our patriarchal culture. I don’t know. However, there’s nothing wrong with reading and/or writing romance.
How I mixed up these topics is I did a quick search for Robin’s name in my inbox (because I was running behind) and an email popped up with this as the topic. It wasn’t until after I read one other participant’s blog post and went back through the emails where I found the original topic.
Regardless, if you don’t like the romance genre, you don’t have to read it. 🙂
I can’t figure any of it out. Before, as soon as I write something in a trendy genre it’s no longer trendy. I just write what I want to read now.
You have to write what makes you happy. At some point, they’ll figure out just how great of a writer you are.
I’ve given up trying to anticipate or even respond to trends. Like Jenn, I write what I want to read. The stories in my head come out the way they want to. I’ve tried to “force” things to be different, but then I hit major writer’s bloc. So now I just act as the conduit for stories, and they flow…when I get time to write, that is. I write contemporary erotic romance, with some books hotter than others. I have heroines and heroes in their twenties, all the way up to in their fifties, and they are a multi-racial group, since I like my world to be like the real one: multi-colored.
I didn’t participate in this month’s topic because my two jobs were keeping me too busy. I’m glad that I’m now getting the time to catch up on people’s posts.
There are people that can write the trends, but I’m not one of them either. I think you write what you love or inspires you.
Well, my post wasn’t the correct topic, but I’m glad I got a post up at all.