The Romance Masquerade

No, I'm not talking about the silly thing found in historical romances where rich people dress up and wear masks. I'm talking about when romance books masquerade as something other than romance. These are the books that non-romance readers forget to sneer about.

Catherine Coulter, Jayne Ann Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Nora Roberts and Diana Gabaldon are a few authors I can think of whose books are often shelved outside the romance area. Sometimes in mystery or fiction. During my tenure at BN, I spent quite a lot of time of escorting a confused buyer from the romance section to the fiction section when they were searching for Jennifer Crusie books or any number of other "romances in disguise."

Anyone who has followed the blog for awhile knows that I'm not a fan of my local indie. But I did manage to find some romance there. Just not in the romance section. And invariably, it was a big name author. In my observation, big names in romance seem to more frequently warrant the general "Fiction" label from the marketing department for their books. Which in turn allows them to skirt the stigma romance continues to suffer under and sell more to a wider audience. (Women's fiction and chick lit offer great camouflage, too.)

Borders bankruptcy sending customers fleeing to indies? Doubt it.

I've blogged about my antipathy towards independent bookstores before. And the recent tweets on Twitter.com encouraging everyone whose local Borders are closing to choose indies have evoked a Pavlovian response in me.

Instant irritation with a "No Effin Way" close behind.

Even though my "local" Borders is 75 miles away. Even though I only shop there 4 or 5 times a year. Even though that store is staying open (for now). I am—almost irrationally—angry that indies seem to be gleefully celebrating the toppling of the big box chain. And I am all the more determined not to shop at an independent bookstore.

Indies have, by and large, created a culture of literary elitism that by its very definition limits its market. And, at least in my experience, they rarely carry what I read. Want proof? Take a look at the bestseller lists of regional bookseller associations. It's littered with literary fiction, mysteries, non-fiction. No romance. So I'm not about to seek out an indie bookstore (often located out of the way) just to have them order in books I'd like to read since they can't be bothered to carry them in stock and then have the salespeople sneer at me when I stop by to pick up my order. I will just transfer my book buying budget even further onto the internet. Or shift a greater percentage to ebooks. Or just shop at Barnes and Noble.

And, at least amongst romance readers, it's pretty clear I'm not alone. Not alone in experiencing sneering booksellers. Not alone in finding a hostile retail environment in independent bookstores. And not alone in scoffing at suggestions that I transfer my Borders book budget to a segment of bookstores that treats me and my fellow romances readers with disdain.

Borders bankruptcy is bad for readers. Romance readers in particular. And it is anything but positive news for indies. Even if they mistakenly think that they have something to gain here. They'd gain a lot more by reaching out to romance readers the way Borders does. By carrying books I want to read. By encouraging a love of ALL books, not just those they deem intellectually worthy.