Editorial Manager
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Several
times in the last few weeks I’ve found myself quoting a particular set of
statistics to my authors, so I thought I would share the info here.
This
comes from RWA’s website, from their data about romance readers.
38%
of romance readers are located in the South
26%
are in the Midwest
19%
are in the West
17%
are in the Northeast
This
is really, really important to think about as you think about reaching your
readers. The old saw “it won’t play in Peoria” has to be expanded to include
maybe Savannah, Little Rock, and Louisville.
This
doesn’t mean you have to locate your contemporary romances in the South or the
Midwest, but it does mean you’ll want to be sensitive to your readers’
locations, local cultures, and sensibilities.
Thoughts?
All
best,
Deb
Werksman
Well that certainly explains why so many romances are set in the southeast! :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, many contemps set in the northwest are emerging. I blame Debbie Macomber. I wonder what the statistic is for northwest readers.
All I've got to say is the people of Savannah, Georgia were the friendliest people I've ever met. While we were taking pictures of one of the old houses under renovation, two of the construction workers motioned for us to lower the cameras so we could take pictures of them while they gave us various poses in front of the house.
ReplyDeleteI told them we were romance authors and they had to remove their shirts for it to work. They laughed and said they were willing and made like they were going to remove their shirts. We had a blast in Savannah!
I enjoy armchair traveling through the romances I read. I don't want a travel guide but the setting enriches the story and allows me to get glimpses of places that I may never see with my own eyes. I like the variety of locales presented but I wouldn't want the stories to ALL be set in the same geographic region as I think it would get boring.
ReplyDeleteI live in the South and I read romance. Makes sense to me! But even people in Texas don't only want to read stories about cowboys and ranchers. There's room for every setting.
ReplyDeleteSomething I heard from some big name authors in other genres is that if you're going to be accurate, make ABSOLUTELY sure you're accurate. Because, if you make the slightest factual error, it will be thrown back in your face as long as you're recognized.If you can research something, so can your readers.
ReplyDeleteWell, what is wrong with us in the northeast!!! Too many book snobs I guess (sigh).
ReplyDelete