The romance industry is significant. Romance is the second most popular genre, capturing over fifty percent of the readers. But do you know the sort of reader that comprises that percentage?
The general perception is that the vast majority of romance readers are women. Sixteen percent of romance readers, however, are men. The age of the romance reader ranges from the teens to the nineties, with thirty to fifty-four years old making up the bulk.
The romance reader lives with a spouse or significant other and has children. They’re professionals who read romance to escape from stressed lives. They buy more than one novel monthly.
Data is essential to a marketer, which is what you become the moment you self-publish your novel.
In summary, your target audience is intelligent and demands a well-written novel with a realistic plot and believable characters. The worst misstep a writer can make is to write without knowing their audience. Breaking into an already glutted market is difficult enough without adding on the challenge of not knowing your audience.
Satisfying your reader’s expectations should be the focus when writing your novel because you won’t exist without them.