Romance Novels

Ahhh, Romance!

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

 

39310366862_cc1f8df7fb

 

Since we celebrated Valentine’s Day this weekend, I thought I would stick with that theme for this post, supplying the latest statistics for writing genres.

It turns out that Adult Romance comes in a close second to general fiction in popularity with readers.

Romance is eighth on the list of which genres agents request, but the American Romance Writers survey places it at number one.

However, there is no disputing that Romance novels make the most money.

Not to leave you non-fiction folks out, it looks like Memoirs are tops in all categories.

So, if you’re new to writing and just now deciding which genre you will write in, the advice is to simply write in the genre you like the best and are most comfortable writing in. 

If you try to follow trends, it is likely you will be disappointed. By the time you get your book written and published, a new trend will have been established.

Advertisement

And, the Winner Is…

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

 

14753462889_a662d736e3

 

I usually choose the subject for my blogs based on what I am most interested in at the moment or what I want to learn.

Today, I asked myself “Who is the best-selling fiction author of all time?” Here’s what I found out:

Topping the list with 4 billion books sold is Agatha Christe.

Behind her, is Wm. Shakespeare, who sold 2 billion books.

It probably wouldn’t surprise you that Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon, JK Rowling, and Dr. Seuss are also in the top ten.

Stephen King has sold 300 million books, Louis L’Amour sold 230 million, and James Patterson sold 150 million.

John Grisham has sold 100 million and is in the top 30, along with Nora Roberts, who sold more than 200 million and CS Lewis, with 100 million in total sales.

(Note: These are original sales. The resale market does not report number of sales for specific authors).

Most of the top sellers are in the Suspense/Detective/Thriller, or Romance categories. 

Most famous authors have written more than 40 books and are American or British.

The person who has written the most fiction books? Spanish writer Corin Tellado is credited with writing over 4,000 Romance novels!!!

Fascinating…daunting…inspiring.