Romantic fiction: the facts

What is romantic fiction?

Romantic fiction is the cross-genre genre. In the UK it appears under a variety of publishers’ labels including general fiction, women’s fiction, historical, romantic comedy, chick lit, sagas – even spooky – as well as romance. These are among the UK’s most commercially successful book categories.

It embraces Jilly Cooper’s 900 pages as well as the 187 of Harlequin Mills & Boon’s category romances which are published every month; multi-generational sagas and Regency romps; deeply serious meditations on life and flippant twenty–somethings’ metropolitan shenanigans.

The engine of romantic fiction is love and relationships. The bodywork is infinitely variable.

Romantic fiction’s heritage

The first modern novel in English (‘Pamela’ by Samuel Richardson, published 1740) was essentially a romance, a highly coloured tussle between love and virtue. (Both won.) First Fanny Burney, then Jane Austen honed the genre, leading their heroines through agonising mistakes to emotional understanding and a happy ending. The Brontë sisters added social isolation, madness and tragedy; Thackeray gave us the truly amoral heroine in Becky Sharpe. The modern genre was born.

Commercial credentials

Romance sells:

• Helen Fielding’s two Bridget Jones novels have gone Platinum i.e.: they have sold over one million copies in five consecutive years. ¹
• Cecelia Ahern’s ‘PS, I Love You’ (Harper Collins) was one of the best selling romantic novels in the UK in 2004, boosted by its appearance on Richard and Judy’s short list, shifting just under 400,000 copies over the year. ²
• A well-loved romantic author can sell more than 10,000 hardbacks within a week of the novel’s publication. ³

Romance travels:

• A successful Harlequin Mills & Boon author can expect to be published in 26 languages and distributed in more than 100 international markets. ⁴

Romance breaks the US:

• British authors Sophie Kinsella, Katie Fforde, Sarah Mason and Carole Matthews have found an enthusiastic American readership following their US releases.
• In the US almost half the paperback fiction sold is romance. In 2003 the genre generated sales of $1.41 billion. ⁵
• The queen of romance in the US is undoubtedly Nora Roberts who sold 2.5 million units in 2004. ⁶

The UK's best selling romantic novelist

• The top selling romance author in the UK in 2003 was Sophie Kinsella with 1.1% of the paperback fiction market. Terry Pratchett had 1.2%.)
• Her new paperback has sold over 100,000 copies in January 2005 in its first month, in paperback. Sophie's January sales are up to 10,000 units according to February 4th’s Bookseller (their source is Bookscan.)

Reading facts⁷

• More people are reading for pleasure than ever before. A survey in June 2004 revealed 65% now read for enjoyment compared to 55% in 1979.
• UK readers are now more likely to purchase rather than borrow books and book sales have risen by 19% in the last five years.
• In a survey by Penguin it was revealed that 85% of women find men more attractive if they are well read.

¹Nielsen BookScan  ²The Bookseller, BookScan  ³Times Online, 11th August 2004  ⁴Harlequin Mills & Boon
⁵Romance Writers of America, American Booksellers' Association  ⁶The Book Standard: BookScan Analysis Top 200 Sellers '04 
⁷Market Figures from the Literacy Trust