Womens Fiction Books:
A Lucrative Market

While I tend to read more fantasy and suspense than anything else, womens fiction books are also on my reading list.

Women read more than men do and buy more books. Of all the fiction genres out there (the main ones), this one holds one of the top slots for sales. As much as 40% of adult fiction sold in the U.S., and 60% of the adult fiction paperbacks is made up of women's books.

This is a 24-billion dollar industry.

Want a cut?


It's Not All Romance Anymore

The publishing and marketing industries have not necessarily caught up to the changes in our society. Womens fiction books are still mostly filed either in the "romance" section, or in "general" fiction, making it difficult to find, much less define.

Romance is still a large portion of women's market. (Who doesn't love a good love story?) Senior Editor Micki Nuding from Harper Collins/Avon explains modern romance this way: "The woman is the star of her story and her changes and emotional development are the subject."

Other women's fiction, though, still has some themes in common. For instance, empowerment is basic to most of these books. They tend to be longer, though Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook is a good example of a shorter novel in this category.

The man in the story (poor him) gets shorter shrift. He's not the focus, so his story is only support for hers. In contrast, a romance will detail everything about the leading man of the novel.

Stories about sisters and women's friendships are currently popular (but watch writing for trends... they fizzle, eventually).

While you might think women's fiction = happy ending, these books don't always end happily. Usually, there's at least some sort of affirmation of life, however.


Men from Mars...

One of the biggest differences in womens fiction books from books aimed more at men has to do with how the two genders think and want information conveyed.

Tell a man a "women's" story, with all the details involved and he's likely to say, "Get to the point. What happened?"

Try to shorten the same story to a woman and she's liable to say, "Where was this? When did this happen? Who was involved?"

Obviously there are men who want more detail, and women who want less, but by and large the generality fits, and you have to consider it when writing for women.

Tap into the fears, the hopes, the dreams and fantasies of today's women, and you'll create a winner. You have to relate to women and their lives today, touch their hearts, confirm their knowledge of human nature.

If you can do this (and you don't have to be a woman to do so well - ask Nicholas Sparks), you too can get a piece of this publishing pie.


(For the editors in the bunch: As you may have read on other pages, the web is not as savvy as humans. It hates correct punctuation in certain situations, so... you'll see women's fiction books misspelled as womens fiction books. I beg your pardon for the seeming illiteracy. Believe me, it's not by my choice!