Romance publishing has a problem and no, its not how to mend all those ripped bodices.
So, they decided to investigate what the numbers actually looked like.
For many years the common refrain from publishers has been were working on it.
The Bodice Ripper
Every year we will track industry growth and see if that promise rings true.
Honestly we were shocked at how abysmal the numbers are, said Bea Koch.
We thought they would be bad, we didnt think they would be this bad.
The Bodice Ripper
They then researched the authors of those titles to determine what percentage could be considered people of color.
We were pleased with the amount of publisher cooperation for our first year, Leah said.
Of course we hope that participation will increase in the years to come.
The Bodice Ripper
The Koch sisters plan to conduct a yearly study to track improvement (or lack thereof) over time.
They also include a detailed breakdown of how they identified authors as people of color.
We have to start with laying out the facts.
This is the genre we love and have devoted our lives to.
We all need to do better, Bea said.
Were hopeful that by contributing this data to the discussion, we will start to see real change.
The Ripped Bodice
View their study and corresponding graphics above and below.
