| What Do Romance Readers Want? |
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| This survey is a result of the tremendous response I got to a recent article on my Bella site about the changing focus of the romance industry. It got me to thinking: what do romance readers want in a romance novel? If you'd like to participate in this survey, copy and paste the questions and your answers into the body of an email and send them to me at romancenovels@bellaonline.com by April 30. **I'm extending this deadline to May 7, so please continue to complete your surveys!** If I get enough replies, I'll be compiling them into an article for the site in May. I won't use any personally identifying information in the article, but may use some quotes from the surveys. Thanks for your interest! |
| WHAT DO ROMANCE READERS WANT IN A ROMANCE NOVEL? |
| 1. What subgenre of romance do you read most often: -short contemporary -long contemporary -historical (which time period/location?) -paranormal (which?) -inspirational -erotic romance -other(please explain) 2. How many books do you read in a week? A month? A year? 3. How do you shop for romance novels: -by author name -by reviews -by reading the back cover or inside blurb -interesting covers -recommendations from friends -other (please explain) 4. What other types of fiction do you read? 5. What percentage of your reading do romance novels make up? 6. Have you read any of the new "chick lit," a la "Bridget Jones" novels? If so, will they replace a percentage of your romance reading? If not, are you interested in reading them? Why/why not? 7. Why do you read romance novels? 8. Would you be upset if a book marketed as a romance novel didn't have a happy ending? 9. Rank the following in order of importance from most important to least important in your decision to purchase a romance novel: -price -author name -cover art -quality of the book (ie, binding sturdy, typo-free, etc) 10. What makes a book a "wallbanger" for you? 11. How many romance novels do you currently own? 12. Have you had difficulty finding new romances to read in the last year? A little about yourself: 13. Do you work: -full-time -part-time -not at all 14. Are you a reader only, or do you also write? If you write, what genre? General comments on the state of romance novels: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! |
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