Are Historical Romances Dead? I Don't Think So! Scott's #MSWL

If anyone out there has studied fallacies, one of the biggest is a HASTY GENERALIZATION. The concept is pretty basic

Description: Drawing a conclusion based on a small sample size, rather than looking at statistics that are much more in line with the typical or average situation.

What I am seeing is that people apply this too often to many of the genres out there in the publishing industry when things get "tough to sell." Right now, it is the historical market.

Look, I am not going to sugar coat anything here. Selling in this market is indeed tough, but to say that the historical romance genre is dead is too much of a stretch. Let me start at why people are trying to claim this idea.

We can start with small things such as when Harlequin Historicals decided many years ago to quit selling in the North American market. This was BEFORE Covid. It was at this time when many of the stores were cutting back on space for books (and I mean all books) and filling the space with other items to sell (we're not talking about just bookstores here). Harlequin then started telling people "Do you see that North American sales are down?" Well, no duh! 

We also have a huge shift in general readership. Look, people for the longest time were just not reading, and I mean reading ANYTHING. So, if we want to base decisions strictly on numbers, you can see why people might want to selectively target historicals (and yes, ignore other genres).

Now we talk about how readers read today. They binge read (and watch). Thank you streaming services for this. People get on kicks for something and go crazy. So, when Bridgerton hit the TV screens, every author out there started cranking out Regencies.. This was already a hot genre and VERY consistent. But now, the authors flooded the editors desks with these soooo, obviously we can't sell these.

Is the market trying to find new time periods? Yes! There was a flex to WWI and WWII but it was really hit and miss. Editors and agents simply said it was dead. But... let me give you part of the reason for this that came up in a conversation I have had with some other editors and agents...

The quality of the writing is just not there. I have talked about this before, but with the rise of self-publishing, everyone felt that they could write (regardless of their abilities). People just were not working on their craft. Covid hit and everyone started cranking out their novels, and I mean "cranking out novels." The quality was just not there. One agent I talked agreed with me that we were just not finding anything that we A) fell in love with; of B) had the quality without a TON of re-writing and editing to even take to an editor. 

I think there is another issue here, and that stems from the editorial side of things. They see a something that is "hot" and then go out and buy a pile of books in the same genre (or in this case a time period) and then, when it doesn't last, they are stuck with it. See, we can't sell a Regency "but we'll just say historical" so therefore historicals are dead. 

Look, I have been saying, and I will continue to say, WWI and WWII are still the place to be. The success of programs such as Peaky Blinders is a good example!

I also think that people are in need of stories with more of a "Women's Fiction" feel and these time periods saw a huge rise in women in society!

But what we need are writers who can craft a quality story. Quit forcing the story. Just because you saw contemporary stories trying to do "Duel POV" doesn't mean you have to. Just because you saw people thinking that "DARK ROMANCE" or "MAFIA STORIES" are hot, doesn't mean you have to move those into the genre. Tell a damn good romance in a new time period. 

I am making this an All Call!

Stories must be 75K-110K.

Must be either traditional romance (focus on the relationship and have a HEA) or traditional women's fiction.

No time travel or duel timelines

My recommendation is personally, avoid first person (these will be easier to sell, trust me)

Watch the level of baggage and excessive drama in the characters.

Tell a damn good story and again, DON'T FORCE IT!!!!!!!

The Misadventures Of Super Librarian: Little Miss Crabby Pants Pours One Out: RIP Harleq...

The Misadventures Of Super Librarian: Little Miss Crabby Pants Pours One Out: RIP Harleq...: Y'all it's a dire timeline we currently find ourselves in and it's spilling over into Romancelandia. Word got out this week that...

This is a must read!!!!!

Honestly, get out there and buy ALL of the Harlequin Historicals You can get your hands on! Here is the link!

BUY BOOKS HERE!!!!!

Prove to them this is the biggest damn mistake of their life.

What To Do When You Get Stuck

We all get to a place where the writing just doesn't come out of our brain. It is the "now what moment." The damn curser just blinks in front of us on the computer screen taunting us, telling us we have nothing to say. We get it and the darn computer doesn't need to remind us.

I am right there with you. You have seen it with the gaps in posts here. It is simply me sitting here thinking, what can I tell you? What can I share with you? What can I motivate you with each day? I am constantly in awe of those people who can generate blogs and newsletters daily. If you want to see someone with amazing content (OK, she has a team helping her but...) A.J. and DISNEY FOOD BLOG has a daily (yes I said DAILY) newsletter that she puts out. I told my wife that a couple of days ago and she nearly fell off of the sofa. But yes, she puts out that much content. Again, she has a full team and she is covering the ENTIRE Disney universe and Universal Florida so there is a lot to cover but still... WOW!

So, what do you do? 

Here were some tips I picked up from Margaret Attwood on her Masterclass.

WALK - Yes, it does work. You get away from the computer and that exercise does get the blood flowing. 

IRONING - For me, it is cleaning the house. Again, it is the idea of doing something other than doing your writing. As you take that break and do something else, your brain will suddenly start throwing ideas at you left and writing. Now the key here is to keep a pad of paper with you and write those small notes down. DO NOT sit down and write. Write the note down and keep cleaning. You know that laundry won't get done by itself.

SLEEP - She openly admits if you put the idea in your head "briefly" before you go to bed, that relaxed moment during your sleep will help you find the answers you were looking for.

Do you see the pattern here? It is simple. Quit forcing it. You will find what you are looking for it you just give it a rest. I promise!

Always Look Forward

Publishing is an ever changing business. It is just one of those businesses where one day it can go one way and then the next day it will go another way. For authors, it is always a good thing to just keep looking forward and to always have multiple plans and routes available to take. 

Think of writing as your drive home from work. I am sure you know of multiple paths home, right? You have your standard route, but you have your alternate routes: the one you take for the good cup of coffee, the one for the grocery, the one to get the kids, the one for the heavy traffic days, the one for the accidents and so forth.

Well, the same goes for writing.

Things will change for you on your writing journey and you need to constantly be ready for that change. If you are only thinking of one path, you might be stuck. I have honestly seen too many author run into a brick wall when they think this way. Consider this.

They have one style of writing they do and they are determined to stick with it. OK, that might be fine, UNTIL... what happens if that style of writing suddenly goes out of fashion. Now what? If you keep on doing what you are doing, you will get no where. 

BUT... if you have a plan B, or a plan C, you might be a better place. 

Now, this is where an agent might come into play. No, this is not self promotion, but it is one of the things that we are here for. Remember, part of our job is to work with you on career planning. We are here to help create those "other options" to think about. Can you do this on your own? Sure. But sometimes, it is always good to have that second brain there with you.

So as you sit there with your writing, think about those other plans and routes with your writing. It might be a good thing to consider for your future.