Meet Lori James & Cassi Carver of ARe
Cassi Carver will be taking pitches for ARe at the conference. The post below is by Lori James, ARe Chief Executive Officer
What’s Hot in Romance?
Advances and innovations in digital publishing is a popular topic at the moment, as it should be. Many readers continue to feel the effect of a struggling economy. The growth in digital sales seems to have peaked in the US, and there’s been much turmoil in the publishing industry. Despite recent changes, one thing has remained the same. Romance continues to be the highest grossing commercial fiction genre. At All Romance eBooks (ARe) we continue to carefully watch this rapidly shifting market. With over a million titles, a half-million registered customers, a quarter of a million authors, and ten years in business, ARe is in a unique position to monitor trends in the industry.
AllRomance.com, our flagship site, is distinguished by its robust search and granular breakdown of romance sub-categories as well as its exclusive “heat index”. These design features coupled with our proprietary algorithms, the integration of mechanized learning technology, good old-fashioned curation, and community-sourced recommendations ensure readers are able to find the perfect book boyfriend.
Gone is the day when romance readers are satisfied by the simple story of boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl live happily-ever-after. Today romance is also about werewolves falling in love with girls. Sometimes it’s about two or more boys falling in love with a girl. It’s even about boys falling in love with boys. Formulaic is out. Edgy is in.
Because All Romance stocks titles from over 5000 publishers, from Big 5 to smaller indies to the latest break-out self-published authors, there is something for everyone. Through our Publishing in Partnership program, we bring best-selling original fiction not only to our customers, but those who shop at other retailers as well. Our data-driven approach to publishing means we strive not merely to know the market, but to anticipate the market and ride emerging trends.
Want to know What’s Hot in Romance? Attend our California Dreamin’ session this spring and Learn how to maximize online discoverability, find out what genres are trending, discover current best practices, and see how ARe has leveraged their data-driven approach into a successful retail and publishing business.
Lori James is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of All Romance eBooks, LLC (ARe). The company owns AllRomance.com, which specializes in the sale of romance eBooks, OmniLit.com, which sells both fiction and non-fiction eBooks, AReCafe.com, a rich community-based social networking platform for passionate bibliophiles, and ARe Books, which publishes original romance fiction in digital and print formats. Lori writes romance under the pen name of Samantha Sommersby and urban fantasy in collaboration with Jeanne C. Stein under the name of SJ Harper. Lori lives with her husband and terrier, Olive. They currently split their time between homes in downtown San Diego and the California Mountains by Big Bear Lake. On the rare occasion when she manages to set aside some play time for herself, you’ll most likely find Lori reading a book, at the movies, or out wine tasting.