Digital publishing is still in its infancy. Developments are quick, and frequently surprising, because ebooks are breaking new ground. With anything new comes a desire to forecast and predict trends, but sometimes, when the pace is fast, there is a tendency to make assumptions rather than carefully analysing exactly what is happening and why.

The perfect example is the readership for romance novels in ebook format. We all know that romance is the strongest digital genre. But do we all know exactly who’s reading in the genre?

When I first began writing my debut novel Burning Embers, the culture of e-reading was far less established than it is today. I, like so many others then (and even now), assumed that e-reading was for the technology-embracing young; those who love gadgets and gismos; those without reverence for print books.

Then I got my own ereader, rationalising that I would use it only occasionally when a print book would be cumbersome (when travelling, for example), because I would never be parted from my beloved books.

Around the same time Burning Emberswas published in print, and in ebook format. Whom did I imagine reading the ebook? Certainly not a woman like me – and yet, in the months that followed, I realised that I was reading ebooks, a lot of them.

I began speaking with friends, and following stories in the news, and realised that a cultural shift was underway. Ebooks aren’t remotely just for the Apple generation; they are for everyone!

Last month, a particular news item caught my eye. The Guardian reported on a study by ebook retailer Kobo of its customers, which found that ‘the digital reading revolution is being powered by “prolific” readers who are predominantly female and over 45’. Here are the most interesting findings:

• Of the most active readers (those who spend at least half an hour a day reading ebooks), 75% are women, and 77% are aged 45 or older.
• The average prolific reader buys 16 print books a year and 60 ebooks. They read most days, for around 90 minutes.
• 16% of customers buy a book nearly every day.
• Romance is by far the favourite genre (more than double the sales of the next best performing genre, general fiction).

So why exactly is digital reading being powered by prolific women readers in their forties and beyond?

1. An appreciation of e-reader functionality. Many readers, myself included, have come to appreciate how portable the ereader is, and how intuitive it can be; for example, the capacity to change the font size (suddenly, the font in print books appears tiny in comparison). Easy linking to explore and/or purchase more books by the author or in a similar vein is also very helpful.
2. The ability to read voraciously. Unless you can afford to buy paperbacks at a pace to suit your reading (and have room to store them all), before the e-reader your best approach was to visit the library. But libraries cannot offer the range of an online bookstore, and nor can you always get the exact book you want to read when you want to read it. There’s a fantastic immediacy with ebooks, and that makes for prolific – and speedy – reading.
3. The range of books available. Even the best bookstore struggles to offer in print all the many romance books available online. The ebook romance reader is offered plenty of choice – and we women are all individuals, with differing tastes: we need the choice!
4. Frugality: Quite simply, ebooks are cheaper, and I believe that more mature women are less frivolous and more mindful of how they spend. In addition, the price of ebooks makes it easy to try new authors and new sub-genres, with the knowledge that if you decide the book isn’t for you, you can simply delete it.
5. The anonymity, and subsequent freedom, of e-reading. Last, but by no means least, e-reading allows women to read discreetly, without those around necessarily knowing their reading tastes and habits. Yes, I am thinking of the Fifty Shades phenomenon and the subsequent rise of the erotic subgenre, but I am also thinking about the simplicity of buying ebooks versus print books. Put simply: think how many print books a woman can bring home before her family questions her spending, and then think how easily a woman can fill an ebook library. The ebook is the ultimate self-indulgence – and mothers and wives and businesswomen richly deserve that!

What do you think of e-reading? Do you think mature women romance readers really are the backbone of digital publishing? I would love to hear your thoughts.