Writing from the heart

The lure of romance (novels): Romances make up the most popular book genre in America, with more than $1 billion in annual sales

For romance novelists, work always means living happily ever after

In this story: America's favorite fiction Optimistic, feminist works 'Terrific icebreakers' RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Todd Leopold
CNN.com Books Editor

(CNN) -- To many people, romance novels are a joke. The covers are stereotypically adorned by muscular men and healthily endowed women, both with long, beautiful hair, often in a desperate, longing clinch with a plantation house, or castle, or sunset in the background. And, to the uninitiated, what's sometimes on the pages inside may seem even more laughable: clichéd dialogue, contrived situations, and always -- always -- happy endings.

Who writes this stuff, anyway?

You might be surprised. And you might be even more surprised at what they think of the genre.

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Take Cheré Coen, for example. A longtime journalist, Coen -- who writes under the name Cherie Claire -- started reading romance novels when her first child was born. Not only did she become hooked, she also found an avocation.

"I wanted entertainment with substance and found that romance did the trick," she recalls. "Since I loved to write and wanted a creative outlet, and screenplays (an earlier attempt at writing entertainment) weren't working for me, romance writing fit the bill nicely. I haven't stopped since."

Coen isn't alone. There are 8,000 members of the Romance Writers of America, and probably many more outside the organization. Most write for love, not money: only 2,000 members of the organization have ever published a book, and many of those work for fairly low advances -- perhaps $5,000 -- on contracts that require them to crank out several novels over the course of two or three years.

But what they do write is very well received. Romance books are the most popular type of fiction in America, with more than $1 billion in annual sales. More than 40 percent of all popular fiction books sold are romance novels -- more than mystery, suspense, and detective novels combined. The most popular authors, such as Nora Roberts, can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

And, despite its reputation, the genre isn't monolithic.

First of all, romance novels are generally divided up into two groups, "category" and "mainstream." The former are the series books that come out each month; the latter, which are designed to appeal to a broader audience, stay on the shelves for as long as they sell -- like any other book. And yes, all romance novels have a happy ending -- who wants their romance to end in break-up or divorce? -- but there are historical romance novels, chaste romance novels, screwball romance novels, even futuristic romance novels.

The genre is maligned, says Carol Buckland, a "Larry King Live" producer who writes under the name Carole Buck.

Romance writer Nora Roberts, author of "Tears of the Moon," says the genre is popular because "somewhere out there is someone who is going to make you happy and that's what everyone wants"

"I don't have a lot of spare time as a reader and I don't want to waste what little of it there is on 'poor' books," she says. "I read romances regularly because they are entertaining, uplifting, escapist in a positive way and empowering. They are good fun! And I'd stack the top writers -- Nora Roberts, Jayne Anne Krentz, Linda Howard, to name just a few -- against anybody writing popular fiction."

Romance novels are an easy target, she continues. "I think the 'literati' have a problem with happy endings. And, let's face it, there is a long tradition of belittling women's fiction. (But) romance writing explores the profoundest of human emotions -- the relationship between men and women. Perhaps the destination in each book seems the same -- the "happily ever after" of a loving commitment -- but each journey to that destination is as unique as the author writing it."

Roberts, who has sold 100 million copies of her books, sees the popularity of romance books as proof of people's optimism. "The divorce rate in the United States is -- what? like 45 percent? But what's the remarriage rate after that?" she said in a July interview at the Romance Writers of America conference. "You have to keep trying because ... somewhere out there is someone who is going to make you happy and that's what everyone wants."

Some romance authors view their books as feminist works because the woman always wins, gets her man, improves her life and overcomes obstacles, often with the help of other women.

"Romance books are the only books you can read where the woman always wins, and that's very powerful to women," says Susan Elizabeth Phillips, bestselling author of 13 books, including "It Had to Be You" and "Kiss an Angel." "Women are not victimized in them."

So how do you break into the business? It can be a slow process -- not to mention a draining workload -- but once you've had some success, you're in.

Coen notes that publishers, a conservative breed, can take seemingly forever to respond to queries. "One publisher had my manuscript for eight months and I had met with this editor personally at a conference," she recalls. And, she adds, "You don't get rich and famous from one book."

But after her work started selling, her publisher, Kensington, was quick to ask for more ... though with certain conditions. "When my publisher contracted me to write a historical series of three books, I had to write them within 14 months to make a launch of the new line," she says. "So I wrote three books back-to-back, each one taking four to five months apiece to write. Usually, I prefer eight months to a year."

There are the rewards, of course -- usually in the form of meeting people. Coen writes historical romances featuring Cajun characters and settings, and notes that -- once she won over skeptical readers in her native Louisiana -- she still receives glowing letters from Cajun country. Buckland once traveled to Japan as a media fellow and found her books, some of which had been translated into Japanese, were "terrific icebreakers."

"Many people I met requested copies -- including several elite journalists," she says. "And since I was researching the role of women in the Japanese media, the romance writing often helped bridge into discussions of women's challenges. ... I guess love is a universal language."

While both Buckland and Coen would love to be able to devote more time to their romance writing, neither has a desire to quit her day job. Still, writing about love does have its perks -- not the least of which is that dream of all writers, holding a published book in their hands.

"Conditions are not as glamorous as people expect them to be," says Coen. "Chances are you make a little money, you may not sell another book or get it made into a movie and you can't quit your day job for years. ... (B)ut there is nothing like seeing your baby on the shelves. And if you persevere and keep writing, it does pay off."

Now, that's a happy ending.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Romance Writers of America

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