Romance Industry Statistics
Explore the results of Romance Writers of America's research on the romance fiction industry. These statistics offer insights to help you share in this billion-dollar-a-year industry.
Read the 2011 ROMStat Report
Popularity of Romance Fiction
(source: Business of Consumer Book Publishing 2012)
- Romance fiction generated $1.368 billion in sales in 2011.
- From 2007–2011, romance was the second top-performing category (based on consolidated ranking across the NYT, USA Today, and PW best-seller lists).
- Romance fiction sales are estimated at $1.336 billion for 2012.
- 74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008. (source: RWA Reader Survey)
Market Share of Romance Fiction
(source: Business of Consumer Book Publishing 2012)
- Romance fiction was the largest share of the U.S. consumer market in 2011 at 14.3 percent.
Romance Market Share Compared to Other Genres
(source: Simba Information estimates)
- Romance fiction: $1.368 billion in estimated revenue for 2011
- Religion/inspirational: $715 million
- Mystery: $709 million
- Science fiction/fantasy: $579 million
- Classic literary fiction: $467 million
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