Mills & Booooooooooooooooooooon

[essayel]

Radio 4's Today programme always manages to make me smile. This morning one of the presenters was interviewing a spokesperson for Mills & Boon and asked lots of questions about the parallels between their huge success in the 1930s and their showing during the present recession, about the proposed redesigning of the book covers to try and attract younger readers AND do they have any plans to publish same sex romances?. I give the woman credit that she didn't fall silent or gabble but delivered a smooth reply that they try to keep abreast of all trends.

So - five years - ten maybe - and maybe there'll be M&B M/M on the newsagents shelves. I just hope to God the covers are a bit more inspiring.

Comments

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'm convinced they'll have to do it eventually - the fact that R4 was aware of the trend is very telling. M&B are planning a short story anthology with same sex stories in (still in the planning stage) so I do think that it's the thin end of the wedge, in a good way. It'll happen, it has to.

[beckyblack]

That's interesting about the anthology. Can't wait to see that.

[hyssop-and-rue.livejournal.com]

*goes 'guh' at icon*

Since seeing your post about hussars I've been drawing them. I'm such a sheep - baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Publishers aren't daft - they are in the business to make money and if people want to spend money on a particular type of story they will provide it.

My main experience of M&B was when I worked on a 'not quite busy enough' hospital switchboard and there were piles of M&B romances to read. Some of them were so dreadful that I sent off for the writers pack. I wrote 30K of a Regency romance before I realised what I was penning was wildly unsuitable [as well as not good enough] because I was far more interested in the developing friendship between the hero and the heroine's scapegrace younger brother. I always liked blokes best.

[beckyblack]

I just caught the tail end of the interview. The Mills and Boon lady was good, I thought. Didn't let them get away with being patronising or anything. I cringe when people get all snarky about Romance. Even if it's not your cup of tea it's inescapable that the books people sneer at, like Romance, pay for the rest of the publishing industry to exist.

I think M&B will do m/m eventually too. They're a publisher who knows how to give the readers what they want! Once enough readers want it to make it pay, they'll provide. Whether Harlequin could manage to do the same in the US is a different matter. I think it would be way harder for them to bring out a m/m line without a Christian Right backlash/boycott, where we Brits are mostly not bothered and just think, "To each their own."

[yakalskovich]

Yes, romance is very much not dead. I had to write a 2-page article about it for those book magazines I sometimes write for. My editor was terribly, terribly apologetic about it, but relied on my 'can pull off anything' fu.

I countered with interviewing our fearless leader from MM via IM.

Now, they might want more of that.

Also, I did mention m/m right away, in the 'such great variety' section of my article.

[beckyblack]

Here's the piece in case anyone wants to check it out - not everyone is around at 6:30 in the morning, I suppose. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8538000/8538536.stm

[katbeseroc.livejournal.com]

Romance is escapist fiction with happy endings (Litterally and figuratively). Escapism is very popular during times of economic recession because we all need a break from the daily grind.

You know the covers would be something just showing torso wearing an open business shirt showing washboard abs. Then some inanimate object to hint at the presence of another male like two cigars.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

I think that this (http://sexisnottheenemy.tumblr.com/photo/1280/163520221/1/BjOeUq1xCqyywce5vWM0cxGk) would be a lot more fun.