The Romance Readers
- Romance readers range in age from 18 to 82.
- The average romance reader is 39 years old.
- 45% of romance readers are college educated.
- More than 50% of romance readers work outside the home. Average household income is $40,000. (Forbes)
The Romance Industry
- Romance sales in 1992 were approximately $885 million. (Publishers Weekly)
- In 1994, 73% of all mass market paperback books were popular fiction. (Publishers Weekly, 4-29-1996)
- Romance novels accounted for 84% of all mass market fiction titles published in 1994.
- 177 million romance novels were sold in the U.S. in 1992.
- Publishers Weekly sales figures show that six of the 18 fiction titles selling 1.5 million books were romance novels, and another 17 romance titles sold more than a million copies in 1991.
- Waldenbooks reports that the sale of hardback romance increased 212% in 1992.
- Book advances range from $500 to $5,000 for a first book.
Romance Book Distribution
- Independent distributors, who stock books in grocery stores, drug stores, airports, etc., account for 56.1% of romance sales.
- Major bookstore chains (i.e., Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble) hold 15.7% of the romance market, followed closely by book wholesalers, such as Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bookzine and The BookSource with 13.9%.
- The remaining sales are attributed to Canada (8.7%), books sold directly from publishers to independent book stores (4.2%), and "Other," including foreign, direct mail, etc. (1.4%). (Publishers Weekly)
- The Book Industry Group (BISG) 1995 Consumer Research Study on Book Purchasing, an annual report comparing the latest study of the book-buying habits of the American public, found that 21% of Americans buy their books at independent bookstores, 25% get them at bookstore chains and another 18% get them through book clubs. Other areas where Americans buy books include discount stores (8%), warehouse/price clubs (6%), food/drug stores (4%), mail order (4%), used bookstores (4%), and other unlisted locations (10%).
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