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Love in the Time of Self-Publishing
How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success
Christine M. Larson
- 288 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Love in the Time of Self-Publishing
How Romance Writers Changed the Rules of Writing and Success
Christine M. Larson
About This Book
Lessons in creative labor, solidarity, and inclusion under precarious economic conditions As writers, musicians, online content creators, and other independent workers fight for better labor terms, romance authors offer a powerful exampleâand a cautionary taleâabout self-organization and mutual aid in the digital economy. In Love in the Time of Self-Publishing, Christine Larson traces the forty-year history of Romancelandia, a sprawling network of romance authors, readers, editors, and others, who formed a unique community based on openness and collective support. Empowered by solidarity, American romance writersâonce disparaged literary outcastsâbecame digital publishing's most innovative and successful authors. Meanwhile, a new surge of social media activism called attention to Romancelandia's historic exclusion of romance authors of color and LGBTQ+ writers, forcing a long-overdue cultural reckoning.Drawing on the largest-known survey of any literary genre as well as interviews and archival research, Larson shows how romance writers became the only authors in America to make money from the rise of ebooksâincreasing their median income by 73 percent while other authors' plunged by 40 percent. The success of romance writers, Larson argues, demonstrates the power of alternative forms of organizing influenced by gendered working patterns. It also shows how networks of relationships can amplifyâor muteâcertain voices.Romancelandia's experience, Larson says, offers crucial lessons about solidarity for creators and other isolated workers in an increasingly risky employment world. Romancelandia's rise and near-meltdown shows that gaining fair treatment from platforms depends on creator solidarityâbut creator solidarity, in turn, depends on fair treatment of all members.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: Why Romancelandia Matters
- Part II: Romancelandia Rising
- Part III: Romancelandia in the Digital Age
- Conclusion: Romancelandia Reboot: The Future of Care
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix 1: Interview Participants
- Appendix 2: Methodology
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index