The HEA Cafe

This past weekend, I visited a bookstore and asked the bookseller about their romance section and whether the store would be implementing the face-out program that another bookstore is allegedly planning on rolling out.

The bookseller responded in a cordial, pleasant manner, which is something I find all the time at most bookstores although I’ve heard horror stories from other authors. I’m not sure why my experiences are always positive, but they have been. However, I do admit that some experiences are more positive than others. But I digress. Once the bookseller and I had finished discussing the pros and cons of facing books out, I asked her if she read romance. An expression of “oh boy, here it comes” swept over the seller’s face as she semi-rolled her eyes at me and responded that she used to read romance more than ten years, but that she didn’t any longer.

So I grinned and said, “You know, romance has changed a lot since you read it last. The heroines aren’t wimps who let the hero do all the work. Women are portrayed as strong people and in a lot of cases they’re kick-ass heroines.”

I could tell she still wasn’t convinced because she sort of shrugged and indicated she preferred fantasy and sci-fi. I immediately remembered the line from one of my favorite movies, “Give me a word, and I can show you how the root of that word comes from the Greek language.” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my fav romantic comedies on DVD). It’s like that with romance writers. We cover EVERY genre, and there has to be someone she’ll enjoy reading. So I said, “oh you must love Linnea Sinclair since you like sci-fi.”

From that point forward, the bookseller was like candy in a child’s hand because she looked at me with a “Who?” expression. So I immediately flooded her with the names of authors I knew who wrote fantasy and sci-fi, and in between breaths I mentioned eBooks. She didn’t want anything to do with that, and I knew to hedge my bets. I just had to convert her to the wonders of sci-fi and fantasy romance and once we had her hooked, we could reel her in with the format type later. Seduction is a gradual process, not a wham bam, thank you ma’am act.

I proceeded to write down the names of sci-fi and fantasy romance writers I knew of and gave them to her. I also took down her email and promised to send her some information on a local sci-fi /fantasy conference coming to Richmond soon. When I left, the bookseller knew my name and even though she might not read my subgenre of romance, I’m betting she’ll remember me because I showed her that readers can find romance in whatever their favorite genre is.

IMHO, the key to breaking down barriers is to apply romance to something the other person likes or believes in. Will it always work? Nope, but it’s worth a shot because a) you might actually convert someone to the romance cause and b) at the very least you’ve made a positive impression on the bookseller and hopefully that will roll over to your benefit when your next book hits the shelves.

Monica

Monica Burns - http://www.monicaburns.com
Dangerous — Behind the mask lies love, a dangerous, deadly emotion
Come Enjoy a Paranormal with that Ahh…Sensation