From Dear Author:
The week of October 2nd through October 8th we will be featuring an interview and several reviews of an author that the Two Ja(y)nes and Janine love. Today marks the first of a three part series on Romance Publishers Promises to Romance Readers. Today’s articles addresses Advertising (the delivery of the promise), next week will feature an article on Branding (the promise), and finally we’ll end with What to Do When a Good Author Goes Bad (or when the promises are broken).
First up: Advertising (the delivery of the promise)
go forth and read…
I could be wrong, but I don’t think this is about the never ending debate of ‘What makes a Happy Every After’. Is it marriage and a baby makes three? Can a Happy for Now be a HEA? Can a couple end HEA without a ring? So forth and so on… I *think* we are going with:
Romance = HEA (YMMV on what that means )
Erotic Romance = HEA with steamy, throw the door wide open sex
Romantica = same as ER but trademarked to EC which some people ‘get’ and know and some choose to ignore
Erotica = Fiction story where the plot is driven by sex
Porn = sex, sex, sex, and sex no rhyme or reason, plot? what plot?
Personally I think all of the above are peachy and all have their fans. What I think the dear ja(y)ne’s are addressing is, well, what they say they are addressing…
Advertising and the way publishers choose to market their books.
Jane please correct me if I am wrong.
That’s exactly what I am saying. I have read in all the above categories and there is a time and place for all of them. But when I go to pick up a book label erotic romance or one that is shelved in the romance section, I expect it to end with an HEA! I didn’t realize that was a topic up for debate. I don’t expect to find Memoirs of a Geisha or a Red Dress Ink or anything else but romance in the romance section. That’s why bookstores have sections – so the prospective purchaser can easily identify the books they want to purchase.
Want to write a romance without an HEA? Great. Go for it. I may even read it (ie Time Traveller’s Wife) but don’t ask to be shelved in the romance section.