E-Readers Anonymity Boosts Romance Novel Sales

Personally I found the tone of this and other recent coverage rather patronising. Basically saying shame sells romance ebooks, not business savvy and good stories. My full rant is here.

Oh and sexiness has a lot to do with sales, no mistake. Sometimes even some of the authors seem to be a bit in denial about that side of it.

Its interesting to know that when I track what is bought through my amazon ads (a generic ad that goes to amazon with my referral and doesn't point toward a specific product), that there is nearly a neat 50/50 mix of religious ebooks and erotica being bought.

Oh and sexiness has a lot to do with sales, no mistake. Sometimes even some of the authors seem to be a bit in denial about that side of it.

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Word.

I hadn't thought about e-readers making this contribution. Good news for sales, even if it doesn't help to legitimize the writing.

veinglory said:

Oh and sexiness has a lot to do with sales, no mistake. Sometimes even some of the authors seem to be a bit in denial about that side of it.

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<-- not in denial. I am very conscious of heat levels and how sex plays into marketing. That said, I like to believe that despite some of what's on the market, it's not all sex and a strong plot with sexy interaction will be just as marketable as a sexfest.

The implication that people are ashamed to be seen reading romance or erotic romance is troubling for me, and I hate hearing people say they don't admit to reading it or it's their 'dirty little secret.' I do admit there are some books I wouldn't want to be seen in public because i don't feel the covers are appropriate for public viewing. A nude model is one thing when I'm at home, but when I'm somewhere with children present or around a more conservative person who would be embarrassed by the image, I don't feel comfortable pulling the book out. (I do live in a very conservative town.)

Personally, I believe romance/erotic romance is such a driving force in ebooks because:

1) erotic romance e-publishers were at the forefront in developing and marketing the ebook industry

and

2) romance and erotic romance readers tend to be avid readers. They tend to buy more books and read faster than readers of many other venues. My best guess is this is because romance and ER tend to be more escapist than many genres, allowing readers to devour a book and move.