THE MAGAZINE OF THE ROMANTIC NOVELISTS’ ASSOCIATION | SUMMER 2018 PACKED WITH THE LATEST NEWS, VIEWS AND EVENTS! WELCOME PRESIDENT Katie Fforde Welcome to Romance Matters CHAIRMAN Nicola Cornick [email protected] It seems hardly five minutes since the fabulous evening celebrating the Romantic Novel Awards. It was an honour VICE CHAIRMAN Alison May to be amongst all the talented shortlistees, the humble and RNAVicechair@romanticnovelistsassociation. delighted winners and to bask in the gloriously positive aura of org the literary giant Jilly Cooper – a night to remember featured HON SECRETARY & MINUTES on page 8. SECRETARY Julie Vince You’ll also discover some craft features in this issue – Julie [email protected] Stock on Time Management, Anna Belfrage and Christina HON TREASURER Sally Calder Courtenay on Writing Through Time. Coincidentally a plea for more articles on author [email protected] techniques, industry trends and updates, echoed back following the results of the membership survey conducted by Vice Chair, Alison May. However, my greatest editorial HON MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Gill Stewart resource are my readers … you ARE the experts … so please get in touch with ideas/ [email protected] articles and offers of help – email [email protected] And talking of member articles, check out the cracking piece by Julie Cohen, page 15, RoNA ORGANISER Celia Anderson discussing the vocabulary we use about one another in a professional context and how RONAAwards@romanticnovelistsassociation. org these adjectives resonate with the wider world in not always the most positive way. I’m now carefully considering how I describe my writing colleagues, who of course are still RNA SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOG lovely but I’ll use that word only when it’s appropriate. CO-ORDINATOR Julie Stock And finally, I’ve been given the opportunity to interview Jilly Cooper for the magazine [email protected] and I’m sure you all have some brilliant questions for her. So please email me at the RoNA SCOREKEEPER Alison Knight address above with your question and I will happily put it to her on your behalf. RONArecords@romanticnovelistsassociation. Have a wonderful summer and if you are lucky enough to be attending conference, org write to me about that as well! NEW WRITERS’ SCHEME Immi Howson [email protected] Adrienne x PARTY ORGANISER Sue Merritt [email protected] PS Details of the 2019 Romantic Novel Awards – see leaflet enclosed! ROMANCE MATTERS HON Adrienne Vaughan, Editor, Julie Stock, Deputy Editor, Immi Howson & Natalie Keene, Copy Editors NEWS EDITOR Adrienne Vaughan, RomanceMatters@ romanticnovelistsassociation.org DESIGN Resolve Creative, [email protected] LIBRARIES LIAISON Katherine Garbera librariesliaison@romanticnovelistsassociation. 6 14 org RNA CONFERENCE ADMIN Jan Jones 4 TO MARRY A PRINCE 17 TIME MANAGEMENT [email protected] 8-13 ROMANTIC 19 WRITING THROUGH TIME RNA PRESS OFFICER Katrina Power NOVEL AWARDS [email protected] 23 BOOKENDS/DIARY 16 REMEMBERING ENQUIRIES: PLEASE GO TO THE REBECCA LEITH RIGHT PERSON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND NON-RECEIPT OF MAGAZINE TO MEMBERSHIP DEADLINES AND DELIVERY FOR ROMANCE MATTERS SECRETARY PLEASE Issue Deadline for copy Inserts by Delivery Romance Matters is the official magazine of Late Summer 2018 22 June 13 July August the Romantic Novelists’ Association. The views Autumn 2018 24 August 5 October end Oct and opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the attributed authors and not Winter 2018 26 October 9 November December necessarily those of the association as an entity. Please note that all inserts can be downloaded from our website and you can check diary dates, details about the shortlist for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the RoNA Rose Award Romance Matters is printed on paper from and much, much more on our website at www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org sustainable sources. 2 | ROMANCE MATTERS | Summer 2018 www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org 11NEWS11 Membership Survey – Feedback! BY ALISON MAY At the start of the year we launched our Membership Survey, where we asked RNA members to tell us about themselves, their writing careers, and Words associated with romantic what they want and value from the fiction. RNA. The survey is now complete – thank you to the four hundred of you who took the time to participate – so what did it tell us? About Romantic Fiction for women. That idea that this is a largely We’re aware that, for some people, The headline here is that Romantic Fiction female space was seen as something to these questions felt unnecessary and remains a phenomenally popular genre. celebrate but also as a tag that has been invasive, but as an organisation we took Our members reported average career used to belittle the genre. the decision that it is important that we sales of three quarters of a million copies understand how the RNA is performing in sold, showing that many of our authors are About the RNA terms of being inclusive to writers from all hugely successful and have made very good You told us you feel that both the backgrounds. At present members describe incomes from writing romantic fiction. membership fee and conference represent themselves overwhelmingly as white, However, more than a third of published excellent value for money, and conference female, heterosexual and cisgender (e.g. not authors who responded reported income was a clear favourite amongst our events transgender). We have a range of ages within from writing in 2017 of less than £1000. both in terms of career development and the organisation but no respondents were Even within a very popular commercial the social element. There were also lots of under 24, and less than 5% were between 24 genre it’s clear that many authors struggle positive comments about the local chapter and 34. This suggests that if we want to be, to make a living from writing. network which remains the backbone of and remain, the gold standard organisation Questions about perceptions of Romantic who we are as an organisation, and is the for writers in our genre we do have some Fiction also threw up some interesting main or sole regular contact with the RNA work to do to ensure that younger writers, results. Both authors and publishers describe for many members. LGBTQ+, male writers and writers from ethnic what our members write with a broad range Members were less convinced that the minorities see the RNA as an association that of terms – commercial women’s fiction, Awards Ceremony and Summer and Winter is relevant and welcoming to them. contemporary women’s fiction, historical Parties represented good value for money, We also asked about disability and romance, saga, romantic comedy, feel and there was a clear feeling in favour of long-term health problems. Nearly good fiction, emotional fiction, and many more events being held outside London. This 20% of respondents had some form of others. That shows the breadth of the genre is something we’re already looking at for the disability. We’re looking at how we can which is a huge strength. It also presents Summer Party and it’s likely that our Summer provide better access information for a challenge for the RNA. How do we talk event will be one where we try a few our events to ensure that those members clearly and concisely about what we write, different formats and locations over the next feel confident about attending if they when what we write is so varied and diverse? few years to try to improve the value and wish to do so. It was also clear that many members are relevance of that event for our members. conscious of negative perceptions around Romance Matters and the ebulletin were Thank you to everyone who romantic fiction. Comments were made that also popular with members, with a feeling responded to the survey. the genre is seen as lightweight, formulaic, that both could be developed further to It’s given us a huge amount of information and is not taken seriously. On the positive include more content and more industry that we can use in our PR, in planning side though, the genre was also described and writing craft articles and news. events and in deciding what the RNA’s as feel good, escapist, relatable, commercial, priorities should be in the coming and emotional. Comments regularly linked About Us years. If anyone has any questions both the negative and positive perceptions We also asked questions about the gender, about the survey or results, please to the fact that romance is seen as a ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious just let me know – RNAViceChair@ genre written predominantly by women beliefs and disabilities of our members. romanticnovelistsassociation.org www.romanticnovelistsassociation.org Summer 2018 | ROMANCE MATTERS | 3 11NEWS11 A Royal Wedding? Now there’s a story … COMPILED BY KATE JOHNSON Few things can be more inspirational to a romantic novelist than a royal wedding … and with our own royal wedding centre stage earlier this summer, a number of very talented RNA members have stepped How (Not) To Date A Prince up to the plate to deliver a selection by Zoe May (HQ Digital) of superb, matrimonial themed reads “I’ve certainly gone through phases when relationships featuring, of course, a chivalrous, dashing were the last thing on my mind and I channelled and no doubt handsome prince. some of that into the character of Sam in How (Not) Author Kate Johnson has gathered To Date A Prince,” says Zoe. “I felt that with the royal up some of these wonderful novels to wedding this year, having a heroine cover such demonstrate just how timeless this romantic an event would be the perfect way to show her trope is, and how generation after generation coming around to love.” of readers still love a right, royal wedding! A Royal Wedding by Jeevani Charika (Bonnier Zaffre) “When Prince Harry released his statement the attention of Prince Benedict – playboy asking the press to rein in the racist aspects of prince and sixth in line to the British throne.