1

By David Rothman

image Once e-books were mainly the territory of the science fiction fans, and SF still counts in e-bookdom.

But a New York Times piece has certified what we already knew. The big action these days is in romance—titles like Mistletoe Cinderella, shown here.

In Recession fuels readers’ escapist urges, Times staffer Motoko Rich writes:

Romance novels have…captured a larger proportion of the electronic book market than other categories. Whereas most publishers say that about 1 percent of sales come from e-books, Harlequin says that digital editions make up about 3.4 percent of its sales.

At Fictionwise, the e-book seller recently acquired by Barnes & Noble, about 50 percent of sales are romance books, said Steve Pendergrast, chief technology officer. “Romance readers tend to be voracious readers,” Mr. Pendergrast said. “The ability to instantly download and start reading is potentially more important to that audience than any other audience.”

The growing market for digital romance novels has attracted several newcomers, including tiny independent publishers like Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Ravenous Romance.

Because they have no distribution or warehousing costs, they can sell books even cheaper than paperback editions—Ravenous Romance, which specializes in erotic fiction, sells e-books for $4.99 each. “That’s the same as a fancy drink at Starbucks,” said Lori Perkins, editorial director. “At that price, who wouldn’t want a book?”

What’s more, as the TeleBlog has pointed out, you can read a spicy e-book during your lunch hour without your boss being any wiser. Only you can see the cover.

E-books per se are not the only angle of interest in the Motoko piece on the rise of romance in P and E. Ms. Rich even quotes a name familiar to TeleBlog readers—Jane, of Dear Author fame, who on occasions also shows up here.

“Given the general dismay and gloominess,” said Jennifer Lampe, a lawyer in Des Moines and avid romance reader who runs a book blog under the pseudonym Jane Litte at dearauthor.com, “reading something like a romance with a happy ending is really kind of a relief.

Congrats, Jane. But did you really want the Times to blow your cover, leaving you open to death squads dispatched by the unhappy subjects of negative DA reviews? Just kiddin’. Now if the Times will only start caring seriously about e-book standards and such issues as genuine ownership of books, topics also dear to Jane/Jennifer. 703-370-6540, Motoko. Give me a call sometime.

 
1