In my posts I've been dismissive of the romance genre at times, but certainly not because I think I'm better than romance authors. I'm hardly better than anyone (unfortunately). What's distasteful to me is that romance writing requires an adherence to formula. I realize that every genre has conventions, some more than others, but none more so than romance.
Additionally, I've read many online posts from romance authors bragging about churning out a novel every month. Excuse me? The most galling part is that they makes tons of money on them. I bet there are some really great romance writers out there, but sorry, there is no way a good novel can be written in a month. That's not art; it's commerce. More power to you if you're into selling widgets, but that's not why I write.
Which would I rather brag about ~ I wrote a great book that sold only two copies? Or, I wrote a book full of crap and it's a blockbuster!
I've perused a few pages of romance novels on Amazon, ready to prove my assumptions wrong, and while I'll get to the writing shortly, I've noticed some interesting tidbits:
1. Many do not provide free reading samples. I have never seen an "opt out" feature when I've uploaded my books, so I'm not sure how these writers accomplish that, and why don't they want anyone getting a taste of their novels? I want potential readers to know what they'll get once they click the "buy" button. And if I was so ashamed of my writing, I wouldn't publish the book in the first place.
2. Series are big in romance. From what I can gather, a writer settles on an umbrella theme and writes each book in the series accordingly. Mafia, hockey, captives (?); they run the gamut.
3. Romance novels are priced high. The genre is notorious for short works, at least shorter than a "regular" novel, so the pricing is obviously based on demand. Good for them, I guess.
The writing? Yikes! A woman gets into the elevator and he new boss pushes his way in before the door closes. Then he bares his teeth at her. Who's ever written, "He bared his teeth"? Is he a werewolf? Apparently not, from the context. It's goofy, but not in a fun way.
In another novel, a woman goes on for a full page about the different kinds of cookies she's baked for the holiday. This is the opening, mind you. Then she thinks about the "olive" man who's been haunting her dreams. Now, maybe she really likes olives; I like olives. I've never met an olive man; is he the grower or does he peddle olives from a pushcart?
Another starts out with the protagonist staring at and describing her crush's good looks; no offense, but he sound pretty generic with his "soulful brown eyes" and "thick, dark hair". This is all great, I guess, but the next few pages involve her talking about a class she's taking and how the professor was replaced with a new professor, and how the class was supposed to be easy, but it really isn't..and then page upon page regarding her interactions with the new professor, who's apparently a hard ass...and now you've lost the plot.
This is lazy, first draft writing. Prove me wrong. This is what comes from "churn". This is what comes from visions of $$$.
No, they're not all bad (of the ones I could preview). Some are well written, mainly the stand-alone novels. But a caveat: "well written" means they flow well, not that they start out interesting. The most common denominator of the snippets I've read is that they either meander or they're unfocused. As for the bad ones, the woman with her pages of cookies is obviously a frustrated baker, but she decided to write a book instead.
As someone who's struggled mightily with editing, I can tell when no attempt was made to edit a story. But the bar is lower (way lower) for romance than for any other genre. It's just true. Romance fans will read (and put up with) anything.They devour books like...well, batches of cookies.
Like with anything one can name, standards for writing have fallen. I won't blame self-publishing for that. While there are many genres I wouldn't read, I can spot good writing immediately, regardless of the subject matter. And bad writing takes two sentences, at the most, to recognize. Lots of self-published authors are very good (I'm one of them), but it takes practice and discipline, aside from talent. The previews I read don't possess any of those elements. I'll readily forgive a poorly written book from a beginner, but what I won't forgive are the mercenaries who publish slop ~ overpriced slop, mind you ~ and reap the rewards of massive sales.
A good writer (yes, even a good romance writer) has my admiration, but if you're one of those, be aware that the awful writers are dragging you down, because you're being spammed out of the market. I'd be open to trying to read romance, but after my little experiment tonight, no fucking way. Perception is the truth, and my perception is that I'd rather read a short story written by a third grader than the dreadful vomit of words I've forced myself to read.
Writers, some self-respect can go a long way!
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