Nothing gains respect like success. For the occasional snarky article on the success of romance in the current economic climate (which I'm not going to link to because why give them the hits?), there seems to be a distinct shift in the way the romance genre is being perceived and presented in the media.
For instance, I just watched the Nightline piece that I taped last night, and for all the clips of celebrities reading the naughty bits, the actual piece wasn't nearly as bad as some I've seen in the past.
I think Donna Hayes did a great job speaking about romance and its success. I particularly got a hoot out of her dismissal of male readership. Nope, don't care. Don't need 'em. Don't want 'em. So take that, male establishment! We can survive just fine without you (and by extension, your approval).
As a historical author, I also want to note that Ms. Hayes specifically mentioned historicals. That was a nice surprise.
I truly believe no single thing has garnered romance more respect than Harlequin's success in this recession. No author efforts, no RWA efforts, not the RITAs or romance's strong sales when other books were also selling well. Whether that respect lasts remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful that the romance genre is never going to be dismissed quite so easily ever again.
ETA: Watch the Nightline piece here.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7329822
5 comments:
Very good post, Margaret. I so agree with you. I respect romance, and I love it. I don't care if men like it or not. And I believe it will be around for a very long time, maybe forever!
I love romance writing and reading. I am not ashamed by it.
I want my HEA. :)
I'm glad to hear such good news about romance sales, but I really don't like the satirical way they read from the books, and of course they'd pick those passages, furthering the idea that romance is all about heaving bosoms. Urrrgh. I mean, why not read a passage where the heroine kicks somebody's ass? ( - ;
They generally go for the easy targets - the love scenes and covers. I'm used to it and generally just heave a weary sigh, I suppose thus making my bosom heave. Hey, it's not the romances, it's the reports about the romances that cause my bosom to heave! :-)
Thanks for posting it.
Personally I think Donna Hayes kicked ass.
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