There are some who turn their nose up a little at romance novels, claiming that they aren’t sufficiently high-brow or literary. I’d have a little more sympathy for this point of view if it was shared by the majority; if romance novels were, like literary fiction, a small section of the market – liked by a few, but generally disregarded. But that’s most definitely not the case. The fact is that  romance is highly commercial: put simply, readers buy romance books. Many, many readers. Which is why authors continue to write romance, and publishers continue to snap up romance novels.

Here are some facts and figures I’ve come across about romance publishing which I found interesting:

• In the US, romance takes the largest share of the publishing market (16.7 per cent).
• Romance fiction generated $1.438 billion in sales in 2012 in the US, massively more than in other genres of literature, including religious/inspirational books, mystery novels, science fiction and classic literary fiction.
• Fifty Shades of Grey sold ten million copies in six weeks.
• The romance genre was more often at the top of bestseller lists in 2012 than any other genre.
• Romance readers buy more books per year than readers of other genres. They also borrow more from libraries.
• Back in 2007 (before ebook publishing took off), UK romance book sales amounted to 24 million, worth £118 million.
• Forty-one per cent of romance book buyers have been reading romance for 20 years or more.

Sources: www.rwa.org; www.rna-uk.org.

So, if you’re a romance reader, you’re a member of a family that’s:

• Big
• Loyal
• Committed
• Influential

And, of course, united! Romance novels have the power to unite through sweeping us away into a place of happiness and reminding us what’s really important in life. The British author Philip Pulman makes the point best: ‘We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.’