Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success

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Christine M. Larson

Love in the Time of Self-Publishing

How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success

Christine M. Larson

$54.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Princeton University Press
04 June 2024

Romance; Cultural studies; Media studies; Sociology: work & labour; Publishing industry

Lessons in creative labor, solidarity, and inclusion under precarious economic conditions

As writers, musicians, online content creators, and other independent workers fight for better labor terms, romance authors offer a powerful example-and a cautionary tale-about self-organization and mutual aid in the digital economy. In Love in the Time of Self-Publishing, Christine Larson traces the forty-year history of Romancelandia, a sprawling network of romance authors, readers, editors, and others, who formed a unique community based on openness and collective support. Empowered by solidarity, American romance writers-once disparaged literary outcasts-became digital publishing's most innovative and successful authors. Meanwhile, a new surge of social media activism called attention to Romancelandia's historic exclusion of romance authors of color and LGBTQ+ writers, forcing a long-overdue cultural reckoning.

Drawing on the largest-known survey of any literary genre as well as interviews and archival research, Larson shows how romance writers became the only authors in America to make money from the rise of ebooks-increasing their median income by 73 percent while other authors' plunged by 40 percent. The success of romance writers, Larson argues, demonstrates the power of alternative forms of organizing influenced by gendered working patterns. It also shows how networks of relationships can amplify-or mute-certain voices.

Romancelandia's experience, Larson says, offers crucial lessons about solidarity for creators and other isolated workers in an increasingly risky employment world. Romancelandia's rise and near-meltdown shows that gaining fair treatment from platforms depends on creator solidarity-but creator solidarity, in turn, depends on fair treatment of all members.

By: Christine M. Larson
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691217406
ISBN 10: 0691217408
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 04 June 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Christine Larson is assistant professor of journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her writing has appeared frequently in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other national outlets, as well as in such scholarly journals as Information Communication and Society and Media, Culture & Society. She is the coauthor of Influence: How Women's Economic Power Will Change Our World for the Better.

Reviews for Love in the Time of Self-Publishing: How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success

"""An intriguing study of how the staggering success of romance e-books has turned the publishing industry on its head. . . . An important story of how new trails can be blazed with persistence and imagination."" * Kirkus Reviews *"