More on Romance novels

I always thought successful romance writers were well paid. Then I met Cheri the Archivist at the Minnesota Historical Society. She had a sister who wrote romance novels. She did it part time and only cranked out one a year and was usually paid $5,000 (1987 $) for each one. So that's why most writers churn out at least two a year. And why so many seem to follow the same formula.

One of the workshops at the Washington conference for Romance novelists (see last post) was called "High Concept," and consisted of a slide presentation on how to create instantaneous plots by choosing items from under the headings of:

Universal Themes, Classic Plots and Innovative Twist.

Think: Good vs. Evil + Twins Switching Places + Banshees.

This explains a lot. Some idiot probably used this device to come up with:

Think: Good vs. Evil + Jane Austin + Zombies.

It would never sell.

well, time to get back to writing my article on the Alans. See if I can find a bodice for them to rip. It's going to published in Russia.

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