I
was looking at data yesterday, and I came across this interesting info from the
RWA Romance Reader survey. The top ten tropes that readers love are:
(1) friends to lovers;
(2)
soul mate/fate;
(3)
second chance at love;
(4)
secret romance;
(5)
first love;
(6)
strong hero/heroine;
(7)
reunited lovers;
(8)
love triangle;
(9)
sexy billionaire/millionaire;
(10)
sassy heroine
We
also know that some demographics go with this, for example, mature readers like
the “second chance at love” trope, while younger readers prefer “first love.”
(This seems natural and obvious, doesn’t it?)
So, it occurred to me that, in a
subgenre that attracts a particular demographic (for example, romantic suspense
and historical tend toward the more mature readership), we could stick with the
tropes that this demographic favors OR, we could consciously focus on the
tropes that the other demo looks for, thereby cultivating that readership.
Either way, we (author and publisher) probably could be conscious about it.
I’ll be experimenting with this; I’ll let you know what I discover!
Thoughts?
EIther way makes pragmatic sense, certainly. Unfortunately, my favorite trope (as a reader) isn't listed—marriage of convenience. But now that I think about it, that's really the same thing as "friends to lovers"—at least, that's the way I like to see it resolved.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have trouble thinking of "sassy heroine" or "strong hero/heroine" as tropes. They can fit into any trope, can't they?
But certainly something worth thinking about.