Romance on the screen and on the page: Two Indicators

Key takeaways

Holiday rom-coms have been successfully mass-produced by networks like Hallmark, tapping into viewers' craving for festive romance.
The romance novel industry has seen substantial growth, particularly through self-publishing and author collaboration.
Despite the increasing diversity in stories, the romance genre still faces challenges regarding representation of marginalized voices.

Summary

The Economics of Holiday Rom-Coms

The episode kicks off with a light-hearted discussion about the formulaic nature of holiday rom-coms. Erica Burris and Wailin Wong explore how these movies have turned into a seasonal staple, diving into the history of television networks producing holiday films. They interview Bill Abbott, the former CEO of Hallmark Channel, who recalls how he recognized a large untapped audience for Christmas content back in the early 2000s. Abbott explains that Hallmark’s strategy began with only a few movies, but evolved into a "Countdown to Christmas" featuring over 30 new films annually, built on cost-effective budgets. The conversation touches on the importance of small-town settings and recurring characters that contribute to the success of these films, illustrating how they appeal to viewers' nostalgic desires for heartwarming holiday cheer.

The Rise of Romance Novels

The dialogue shifts to romance novels, where hosts Wailin Wong and Darian Woods investigate how they transformed from supermarket racks to mainstream literary success. Media scholar Christine Larson discusses her research on the commercial boom of romance novels following the advent of e-books. She highlights the era from 2009 to 2014, during which romance writers saw significant income increases compared to their peers in other genres. The discussion covers the impact of self-publishing platforms like Amazon, enabling authors to retain a larger percentage of sales. Notably, successful romance authors share insights about the supportive networks cultivated within the industry, allowing for mutual collaboration and success, although concerns regarding representation among marginalized communities remain. The episode concludes by emphasizing the evolution and growth of the romance genre, alongside calls for diversity within the narratives.

Show notes

On today's show, we have two stories from The Indicator, Planet Money's daily podcast. They just launched Love Week, a weeklong series exploring the business and economic side of romance.

First, hosts Wailin Wong and Adrian Ma fire up the gas logs and pour a mug of cocoa to discuss the made-for-TV rom-com machine, and how television executives learned to mass produce seasonal romance.

Then, Wailin and host Darian Woods discuss another romance medium: the romance novel. Once relegated to supermarket aisles, these books are now mainstream. And authors, an often-maligned group within publishing, have found greater commercial success than many writers in other genres. We find out how romance novelists rode the e-book wave and networked with each other to achieve their happily-for-now status in the industry.

This episode is hosted by Erika Beras, Wailin Wong, Adrian Ma, and Darian Woods. These episodes of The Indicator were originally produced by Julia Ritchey and engineered by Kwesi Lee. They were fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is The Indicator's Editor.

You can listen to the rest of the series at The Indicator's feed, or at npr.org/love

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Key takeaways

Summary

The Economics of Holiday Rom-Coms

The Rise of Romance Novels

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Show notes