Sign in or 
Share this
Series Romance
Melanie Milburne
Annie West
Carol Marinelli
Paula Roe
Haylee Kerans - publishing co-ordinator Harlequin Mills and Boon
There are no orignial stories just original voices. There are recurring themes but characters are individuals.
Melanie Milburne - virgin moderator, Hayley Kerans is doing her Phd on the Polemics of Mills and Boon reading and is also the publishing co-ordinator for Mills and Boon, Annie West, Paula Roe and Carol Marinelli.
Why read a series romance? Readers know exactly what they are getting. The Desire line is less Alpha [more Beta?] than the forceful Presents male. The stories don't necessarily have to end in marriage. Just in love and always with a HEA. The books are usually about the heroes journey as the heroine is usually fine. Readers want the emotional experience and they have emotional expectations that they want the series romances to meet. There has been change of men in romance. In the future there will be lots more internal monologues for men. In books, the men are becoming more real. Men are “alpha” but sensitive. Stronger women who work are also a reflection of societal changes. The market is moving to more 30’s and 40’s as the protagonists. No longer is it made up of 18 year old virgins.
"Let's be realistic" says Paula Roe questioning "who really wants an Alpha male"? But fantasising about one is great. Annie West does want Alpha hero. The reader now has the privilege of the male and female point of view so can sympathise with either side.
The reader has seen a lot of change particularly since the 70's. This is a reflections of societal changes. Changes of religious beliefs, internet usage, etc. But central to the story is that the driver is the romance. Readers don't want the reality particularly during depressions and recessions sales go up. Mills and Boon/Harlequin will be entering the young adult market with a launch in July and it is already gaining popularity.
Media devalues the series yet the majority of romance readers have also read series romance. The biggest detractors aren't men but women who don't read romances. Who are the readers of series - 1% men and the rest are women aged from 12-65 years but predominately aged 40-75. For M&B the consumer average is 46 years old. They are the perfect 2 hour read and the greatest competitor is actually movies and television shows as opposed to other fiction.
Marketing of the titles is a very important part of the publishers work. There are key words in the titles that more or less guarantee a sale. Words such as "Greek/Spanish Billionaire, wife/secret/mistress. Cover design is very subjective and particularly hard with global books and global publishers. The back blurb is very important sometimes more so than the cover. At the end of the day the publisher will buy the manuscripts that will sell. The industry has a lot of gatekeepers. Agents, editors, publishers.
For new readers - the publisher is getting out with Facebook, sampling of ebooks, etc. Harlequin for 60th birthday this year is aiming at 1 bk for every US woman. Even publishers – its important to get younger readers. Very personal decisions but will take rists. E-books will change all this. Younger generation are very geared towards the ebook. Publishers are very conservative in picking up new technologies.Smart bitches had panel called smart women read e-books. Specialist retailers are very big drivers for the publishers. Publishers prefer them to Dymocks, A&R etc.
The question is why should readers have to justify what they read. Read and enjoy. Empower readers!
Annie West
Carol Marinelli
Paula Roe
Haylee Kerans - publishing co-ordinator Harlequin Mills and Boon
There are no orignial stories just original voices. There are recurring themes but characters are individuals.
Melanie Milburne - virgin moderator, Hayley Kerans is doing her Phd on the Polemics of Mills and Boon reading and is also the publishing co-ordinator for Mills and Boon, Annie West, Paula Roe and Carol Marinelli.
Why read a series romance? Readers know exactly what they are getting. The Desire line is less Alpha [more Beta?] than the forceful Presents male. The stories don't necessarily have to end in marriage. Just in love and always with a HEA. The books are usually about the heroes journey as the heroine is usually fine. Readers want the emotional experience and they have emotional expectations that they want the series romances to meet. There has been change of men in romance. In the future there will be lots more internal monologues for men. In books, the men are becoming more real. Men are “alpha” but sensitive. Stronger women who work are also a reflection of societal changes. The market is moving to more 30’s and 40’s as the protagonists. No longer is it made up of 18 year old virgins.
"Let's be realistic" says Paula Roe questioning "who really wants an Alpha male"? But fantasising about one is great. Annie West does want Alpha hero. The reader now has the privilege of the male and female point of view so can sympathise with either side.
The reader has seen a lot of change particularly since the 70's. This is a reflections of societal changes. Changes of religious beliefs, internet usage, etc. But central to the story is that the driver is the romance. Readers don't want the reality particularly during depressions and recessions sales go up. Mills and Boon/Harlequin will be entering the young adult market with a launch in July and it is already gaining popularity.
Media devalues the series yet the majority of romance readers have also read series romance. The biggest detractors aren't men but women who don't read romances. Who are the readers of series - 1% men and the rest are women aged from 12-65 years but predominately aged 40-75. For M&B the consumer average is 46 years old. They are the perfect 2 hour read and the greatest competitor is actually movies and television shows as opposed to other fiction.
Marketing of the titles is a very important part of the publishers work. There are key words in the titles that more or less guarantee a sale. Words such as "Greek/Spanish Billionaire, wife/secret/mistress. Cover design is very subjective and particularly hard with global books and global publishers. The back blurb is very important sometimes more so than the cover. At the end of the day the publisher will buy the manuscripts that will sell. The industry has a lot of gatekeepers. Agents, editors, publishers.
For new readers - the publisher is getting out with Facebook, sampling of ebooks, etc. Harlequin for 60th birthday this year is aiming at 1 bk for every US woman. Even publishers – its important to get younger readers. Very personal decisions but will take rists. E-books will change all this. Younger generation are very geared towards the ebook. Publishers are very conservative in picking up new technologies.Smart bitches had panel called smart women read e-books. Specialist retailers are very big drivers for the publishers. Publishers prefer them to Dymocks, A&R etc.
The question is why should readers have to justify what they read. Read and enjoy. Empower readers!
Vassiliki |
Latest page update: made by Vassiliki
, Mar 30 2009, 7:17 AM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by Vassiliki
3 words added 2 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
contemporary
fiction
marketing
romance
Series
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
