Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

Deb couldn't blog with us today, but I have a re-post of a great blog from 2013. Enjoy!   by Deb Werksman Editorial Manager Sourcebooks Casablanca I've been doing a lot of exploring in my personal life about men and women, masculinity and femininity. A great topic for a romance editor, don't you think? I've been reading books and listening to tapes by Allison Armstrong in addition to applying all the transformation I get from the courses I take at Landmark Education. As you may already know, one of my editorial criteria for the romances on my list is, "a heroine the reader can relate to." So I got to thinking about the balance between feistiness in a heroine and her femininity and to what degree a heroine needs to be independent in thought and action and to what degree her femininity (what Allison calls "a strong woman voluntarily vulnerable") empowers the hero to be the man he needs to be to fulfill one of my other crit...

For the first time ever on this blog, I’m going to review a book! I recently read H is for Hawk , a memoir about a woman who, while grieving her father’s death, decided to train a baby goshawk. (BABY GOSHAWK!!!!!!!) This is MABEL, the goshawk. Isn’t she beautiful? I adore hawks, let me just say—I see turkey hawks on my way to and from the office every day, and there they are up there, sitting on the lampposts, or cruising the air currents, with their sharp eyes, their magnificent wingspans, and their grace and deadliness. Shivers. Helen MacDonald had experience with falconry, so she knew what she was getting into. DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! I am completely satisfied with the vicarious experience of training a goshawk; I have no desire to try it myself. Helen’s writing is magnificent—brilliant, beautiful, poignant and deep. I wished at times that she had  not taken the book into sadness at every opportunity—there were many instances when I felt th...

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 ...

Here’s some interesting data about mass market paperback romance fiction sales at major non-bookstore retailers in 2014. These guys move a lot of units, btw, tens of millions every year.  Contemporary Romance is the largest subgenre right now  Romantic Suspense is going strong, with the biggest gain of any subgenre Historical Romance is up  Paranormal is up slightly Erotica is a very small part of the market Amish romance is booming!   The top 20 authors are up significantly Movie tie-ins are the biggest winners (Nicholas Sparks is considered a romance author here) Promotions that help readers find new authors based on authors they already like are very successful Lots to ponder here…here are some of my personal conclusions: It looks to me as though the subgenres are cycling much faster than they used to As the economy is stabilizing, people are happier to read contemporary romance—they can escape even into the world ...

Got questions? Post them today and Deb Werksman will answer them!

Amazing doesn’t just mean “really good.”  Here’s my definition of Amazing: Amazing is surprising, delightful, new. It opens up new worlds and is a product of true creation. It’s also universal. Amazing speaks to the human spirit.  What is your definition of Amazing, and/or:  ·          What is the most AMAZING romance novel you’ve read in the past month?  ·          What is the most amazing romance novel your best friend read in your last month?  ·          How about your mother? Your friend from work? Your Goodreads friend? ·          What is the amazing romance novel that you’ve heard about but haven’t read yet?            ·          What is the most amazing romance you’ve ever...

POP QUIZ (Please check all that apply, and please share your thoughts/questions/comments)—I want to hear from you, I want to hear what your readers are telling you, and I want us to shape the future together. 1) What do readers want next in paranormal romance? a. More vampires b. More shapeshifters (including mythical creatures like dragons) c. Reincarnation d. Ghosts e. Psychics/Telekinesis, etc. f. Fantasy/Futuristic/Sci-Fi g. Magical Realism h. Other, please specify:_________________ Comments about what you’re reading or writing in paranormal romance, what you wish there was to read, what your readers are asking for, and/or pitches for books you’d like to write/publish:_________________ 2) In romantic suspense, besides military and law enforcement, what do you buy, what do your readers ask for or talk about, what do you see working in the marketplace? a. Ordinary people caught in circumstances beyond their ...

I'm here at Novelists, Inc. and I'm struck once again by the power of community. We're here to talk about books, authorship, publishing models and the future, and the most exciting thing is that we're here to create the future together. Every author here has a unique path to success. Every author we publish at Sourcebooks has a unique path. A couple of days ago I read this marvelous blog post from Emma Dryden. Yes indeed comparison is the killer of joy. Every quarter at Sourcebooks we have a managers meeting and we all read a book on leadership or about our industry. Some time ago we read Tribal Leadership and what stayed with me all this time is the "five levels" of attitudes in a tribe or group (I'm paraphrasing). 1. Life sucks. (This is where people "go postal") 2. My life sucks. (Well, at least there's some hope.)...

PART ONE First, I must provide the answers to the questions I posed in my last blog . The magnificent Jane Ashford took a stab at answering these questions, and I’ve provided the answers below hers—way to go Jane!!!: Jane Ashford August 30, 2014 at 12:21 PM Taking a stab What is the median age of the romance reader? 4. 40ish First of all, my bad, because the stat I have is actually the average age, not the median age, and it’s 42 years old. What is the household income of the majority of romance readers? 5. $45,000 It’s $55,000 What is the education level of the majority of romance readers? 6. some college Correct! In what region does the highest percentage of romance readers live? 7. the South Correct! In what region does the second highest percentage of romance readers live? 8. the Midwest Correct! Where do the majority of romance readers buy their books? 9. Online They buy them in stores! First in Barnes & Noble, next Walm...

Just came out of Sales Conference, a full two days of talking about our books, our authors, our PR/marketing plans, our cover designs and looking at lots of data As I think about the data, it reminds me of  conversations I’ve had lately with authors, both Sourcebooks' authors and many others I meet at conferences, along the lines of “you are not your reader.” Now, it’s probably obvious that authors are also voracious readers. But authors are not necessarily the demographic of their readership. So here’s a quiz, and as I look at your posts and answers (feel free to pose questions too) today, I’m going to share some of the data I have about who the romance reader is, and what I know about her (yes, she’s predominantly a “she”). PLEASE ALSO POSE QUESTIONS—I THINK THIS IS A REALLY USEFUL CONVERSATION FOR AUTHORS TO HAVE, AND QUESTIONS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS ANSWERS SOMETIMES. 1   (Yes or NO) Do you think you and your core readership match in: ...

Enormous shout-out to all the authors who attended RWA Nationals this year and made it the BEST EVER! That includes our Sourcebooks authors, who are incredibly enthusiastic and full of energy. At our hosted signing, every single author ran out of books. We were thrilled to welcome some of our newest authors into the house at our author dinner, where the food was fabulous, the good cheer was flowing (and there was a conga line to prove it), and the ride back in Cinderella horse-drawn carriages was the highlight of a truly fabulous evening. We are grateful to all the bestselling authors who brought their wisdom, experience and valuable information to share with the entire community. And, we loved meeting aspiring authors who came to learn, to grow, and to perfect their craft. The Sourcebooks team had nonstop meetings with buyers, reviewers, agents, editors and industry professionals from around the globe, exploring innovative ways to connect ...

Each year at Book Expo America, I think that we can’t possibly top last year, but I’ll say once again that we had the best BEA in the history of Sourcebooks.  BEA 2014 In past years, agents have sometimes expressed surprise at Sourcebooks’ breadth (“I didn’t know you published Romance and Children’s Books, and Women’s Fiction, and Study Aids, and YA…”). This year the agents were thoroughly familiar with Sourcebooks and how successful we are.  We met with so many literary agents and other industry professionals who pitched many promising projects that we are actively pursuing. Everyone was very excited to meet with us and stay a while in our exceptional booth. Melanie and Suzanne Brockmann I saw that the agent community is working hard to keep abreast of and understand the numerous changes in the marketplace. Across the board, we all agreed that a robust and multifaceted publishing industry is best for everyone. This includes the importance of...