Friday, May 13, 2005

Who Reads Romance Anyway?

In 2003, sales of romance novels reached 1.41 billion.
48.8% of paperback sales in 2003 was romance.

37% of readers read only
“single-title”
romance
18% of readers
read only
“series”
romance
45% of readers
read both
single-title and series
romance
So who reads romance?
Woman ages 35-44 make up 25% of the readership, followed by the age group,
25-34 wo make up 21%, followed by 45-54 year olds at 17%. It seems like the age of romance readers have matured. Only 8% of readers 20-24 are said to read romance novels.
And here are some helpful stats as well:

Selling Points Romance Readers
Consider When Selecting a Novel:

1st most important
Description on back cover
2nd most important
Personal “flip through” of book
3rd most important
Word of mouth
4th most important
Author Name
5th most important


Character Traits Romance
Readers Enjoy in Heroes:

1.Muscles
2.Handsomeness
3.Intelligence


Character Traits Romance
Readers Enjoy in Heroines:


1.Intelligence
2.Strength of Character
3.Attractiveness


Settings or Sub-Genres Romance Readers Enjoy
91% of readers
romantic suspense
80% of readers
contemporary romance
78% of readers
exotic-locale-set
romances
(such as the tropics)
65% of readers
colonial America-set
romances
64% of readers
American-West-set
historical romances
61% of readers
inspirational romance
53% of readers
historical romances set
in Scotland
49% of readers
medieval-set
romances
56% of readers
historical-set romances in
England
39% of readers
futuristic or time-travel
romances
37% of readers
paranormal romances

Something to keep in mind when you sit down at your computer to write that next romance novel.

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