small Rant

I was puttering around some study groups this morning -- periodically I go into all of them and snoop just because I can (and no one has updated their blogs yet, so I have nothing else to do) -- and I came across a reference to someone, once again, stating that they are planning on writing a category romance in order to get their foot in the publishing door with the implication that:

1. Romance is easy to write; and
2. Anyone can get published in romance.

That said, I have also hesitated to return to one of my crit groups because a member who had taken a long hiatus has now returned. She is a talented literary writer with an acerbic tongue and an intense dislike for the pablum that is romance writing. Because of this, I'm not entirely certain that I will be comfortable in there any more, which is a shame because I love the rest of the folks in there.

I know I've ranted about this before, but it still gets my goat.

Writing romance is no easier than writing anything else. You still need decent characters, interesting plot and good grammar (though I've seen dozens of books published with one or more of these "requirements" missing).

And, if the person I'd referenced above took the time to look through some of the "aspiring romance author" blogs, she'd see how many folks are out there writing and submitting and NOT getting published.

I don't read literary novels... I'm not wired to enjoy them. I had several shoved down my throat in English lit classes, and every one of them was a wall banger for me. I finished them because I had to, but never found one that kept me awake reading until 2 a.m.

I love reading genre novels: romance, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy. You know, all the stuff that's panned in the "real" writing world.

I read a blog this morning that compared the garbage he's been reading in the literary community to (said with a sneer) chick-lit. He called it "lit-lit" and it wasn't a compliment.

But doesn't it say something that the biggest selling genre of books out there is romance, following closely by mysteries? People have enough darkness in their real lives, they need happy endings in make-believe.

Or at least I do.

And writing them isn't easy.

Grrr....