DISCUSSION: The Hostility (For Lack Of A Better Word) Towards Romance, “Cliches,” and Trending Authors

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Disclaimer: At the risk of making a lot of people upset, I’m going to do this. I also want to say I feel almost compelled to because while there’s tons of topics about how awful/overrated/bad/toxic/etc. romance and the romance trending section is, there are very few topics (I think) that really allow for genuine discussion as well as a place for romance authors to state their own cases/make their opinions heard. I’m also going to warn this is going to get long so feel free to respond/read accordingly and I will have some questions to answer below to prompt discussion. I also know this is all over the place and I apologize. It was really hard to get my thoughts organized for this. I ask that everyone be open and respectful of people’s opinions as well.

When I first started getting serious about episode I really kind of understood why people seemed so hostile against the romance trending section (even as a romance author). It’s kind of like the favorite child. It gets featured more, it seems to get away with more, etc. However the more I’ve written and the more I’ve read the more things like this started to make less sense.

But All Romance Is The Same

Ah, yes, two people meet, story happens, love happens, etc. I get why from a distance it can feel like this is all “the same,” but there’s uniqueness in most stories if people would take the time to notice it.

But I Don’t Like Romance

Great! You’re perfectly allowed to not like a genre. I’m not the biggest fan of horror, personally. The only difference is I’m not making threads about how much I don’t like it/how upset I am that people are writing in it.

K&T (Yes, I Know I’m Biased)

I think I really felt the nail go down in the coffin when the K&T contest was announced/going on. Automatically before anyone had even had a chance to mention what their stories were about/ideas the thread was bombarded with: “Ugh, Romance again?” “Can’t wait to see what toxic stories arrive” and things like that. I’m going to point out that the last romance based contest was last year and that this one was romance because of the fact it was coming out in February which is when Valentine’s Day is. And people were still upset. That’d be like me being mad because there was a horror contest in October.
But the saga continues! Then winners are announced (and yes I’m biased) and there seemed to be hardly any actual congratulations and a lot of it seemed to border on people not actually being that happy for the winners.
And then someone started a hair template argument on a thread to congratulate winners. Though, I won’t go into detail on that. I just don’t get what the point was. :eyes::sweat_smile:
And I feel bad for basically complaining like this, because I’m so grateful and undeserving of winning, but I felt as if I couldn’t even be happy for myself because of this stuff/comments made and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels/felt this way. :confused:

It also kind of hurts not only as a romance author but as someone who’s simply just a part of this community who’s tried to be involved where I can see the difference between the k&t and magicka contests. Because the differences are astonishing. The K&T seemed to have so much anger towards it while Magicka is full of so much love and support. And I love that! I love that people are being supportive. I just wish the same courtesy had been extended. There’s a chance I’m maybe just reading too much into things/taking things too personal, but yeah… :sweat_smile:

Trending

I’ve also noticed a lot of anger/hostility/jealousy(?) towards the romance trending section. I want to clarify though, as someone who’s been in the trending a lot since getting featured on a shelf the romance trending is hard to stay up in (and it’s pretty much impossible to even get up there as a small author) so I don’t get why there seems to be this assumption that you just write a poorly written cliche story and automatically get 8 million reads. Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.

We Work Just As Hard

Okay, so obviously the amount anyone works is subjective, but there also seems to be an assumption that romance authors are lazy, that we don’t try, that we don’t even have to try, etc.
How wrong that is (for a lot of authors). I follow quite a few bigger authors on insta for example and even I don’t read their stories I can tell how invested/motivated so many of them are.

What if It Was A Genre You Liked?

I’m going to be blunt. If I made the kind of topics like I’m talking about against (let’s just say) comedy I would be virtually chased down (or maybe not? :sweat_smile::woman_shrugging:t2:). So, I don’t get for the life of me why there’s such an anti romance agenda that seems to go on here? I think it’s important to remember that even trending/popular romance authors are human and that there’s a difference between constructive criticism and straight up hate/anger/jealousy.

I Don’t Get Why They’re Writing Such Cliche Stories?!

Okay, how does this effect you at all? Seriously. Please let me know. If I choose to put a “bad boy” in my story how does it have any effect on you?
I’m all for more original content myself, but romance cliches are a bit more difficult because it’s such a popular genre so nearly everything in some way, shape, or form has been done. Romance has been around for a long time, people have been loving each other for a long time. As a result that means there’s been a lot done with the genre already.
But at the end of the day…what does it matter? If the romance author is proud of what they’ve written and they aren’t breaking rules then we should be happy for them. I get it’s hard because it’s what readers like and I know it makes other genres feel like they aren’t being seen, but that’s not our fault. I can’t help what people do or don’t want to read. I can only write the stories I’m inspired to write.

I really want everyone to discuss their opinions on this openly. Just please be respectful of everyone. :relieved:
Questions:

  1. Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
  2. Have you ever felt jealous towards the trending authors? Why?
  3. Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
  4. As a romance author do you feel the same way I do? (It’s okay if you don’t, I’m just curious).
  5. Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums?
  6. If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
  7. I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
  8. Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
  9. Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
  10. Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
  11. Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!)
  12. Additional Thoughts?

Final Blurb: I know this is really long, and I’m sorry. I also don’t want to offend anyone with this, so please understand this isn’t coming from a place of trying to cause division /arguments but rather from a place of wanting to express my own opinions as well as get opinions so I can try to hopefully understand this whole thing better. It took a lot for me to make this topic because of how kind of scared/anxious I am, but I really felt like I needed to. :heart:

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I agree so strongly, people always talk about how they hate those type of stories and I feel very bad for the authors of the stories

1.I love romance stories idc if they are the same or not, a romance is a romance but I do dislike it when the MC like embarrasses him or herself because I get a case of second hand embarrassment
2. I feel nothing but happiness for those authors, their stories are amazing
3. I don’t think the anger will ever go down, people just dislike Romance and they will never stop
4. I feel the Same was you do, I’m actually working on a story rn that’s romance
5. I think it does, if people are always getting upset and mad over their genre or story then that would make them upset and it isn’t fair towards them
6. I wouldn’t change anything, probably just more diverse stories
7. Not necessarily
8. No it is so unfair, another cliche that no one talks about are those vampire stories but no one ever addresses those, most people are just hypocrites because the people who dislike romance make vampire stories so it’s very unfair
9. Yes but people on forums will always find a way to dislike romance more then the rest
10. Yes/maybe I’m sure these people would not be saying this stuff to their face if they were right in front of them or directly messaging them
12. Honestly people on forums are just to hypocritical and it needs to stop

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I love romance stories but slow burn ones, I love to see how people fall in love with each other and figure out their feelings. Basically all the stuff before they finally get together.

Well I’m pretty new so I guess not really. I mean good for them, I do sometimes wish my story would have more reads but as I said I’m still pretty new and I wouldn’t really reagard that as jealousy.

Probably, in my opinion it makes sense to feature the other genres more too because they do exist in the app after all.

I do agree with most of your points, people should give stories a try before saying “not another cliche romance story”, you don’t know if a story is cliche or not without really having read them. I guess regarding the trending section it just a matter of opinion, personally most of the time I see those covers they just don’t speak to me.

No.

I’m not quite sure what you mean with that question but for me it would be great if I could just filter out every story filled with “erotica” :joy:

I think every “bigger author” is treated differently.

Not really, there are a lot of different types of romance stories and I don’t think it is fair to shove them all into one box. But I do have dislikes towards some type of stories too.

Idk.

I do think people probably talk about their stories a lot more freely.

I don’t know, personally It wouldn’t put me off of the forums.

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This feels like willful mischaracterization of the issues a lot of people on the forum have with the romance section. Yes, romance is my least favorite genre, but it’s not like I think people shouldn’t or can’t write it. Even with cliches- they are cliches for a reason.

But the problem is the content a lot of the popular romance stories contain; the issue is that a lot of them normalize, if not glamorize, abusive and manipulative behavior in an app that is geared towards young teenagers. Episode regularly buys and features stories that do this. Additionally, a lot of the romance stories have very little character development, which makes a lot of people less excited about reading them. Of course, an author can choose to develop their characters or not; it’s their prerogative. I don’t make a big fuss about not reading something that I no longer am interested in.

But I think you’ll also find that the people who dislike the trending romances because of their problematic aspects are as equally critical of the same or similar dynamics in a story of any other genre. The problem really isn’t “Weh I don’t like romance therefore no one should write or read it.” The problem is “our understandings of relationships as a society are harmful and unhealthy and these same types of dynamics are being perpetuated by authors who are making content for impressionable teenagers.”

There’s also a lot of issues around racist and misogynistic tropes, and because romance is the biggest genre, it tends to face the most criticism simply because it has the most stories. But all the other genres deal with the same issues and those of us who don’t like how many things are portrayed in the romance genre are unhappy with the same portrayals in any genre.

Edit: corrected “perpetrated” to “perpetuated”

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  • Do you like/dislike romance? Why? I like romance as a sub genre in a story. because I dont really like the slice of life stories romance usally. but a romance story with battale armor and dragons I love that

  • Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why? no

  • Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more? yes

  • As a romance author do you feel the same way I do? (It’s okay if you don’t, I’m just curious). I am not a romance author. and I dont partisipate in hate of the stories. let people write what they want. though I am straight forward so I can seem like I am against it sometimes. but I do feel like its the only genre episode really care about, I mean we do not even have a scifi genre. and thriller horror and adventure action have to share shelf

  • Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums? still not a romance author . even though all my stories do have romance in them its not the mane thing at all

  • If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why? maybe more realistic love stories. or at least no more love at first sight. and instead let the people have some things in common

  • I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently? yes. no matter genre big and small are threared diffrent

  • Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep? Not really, but sometimes you cant do anything about

  • Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)? they do actually. the reason romance get disccused more is because there is made so many more stories.

  • Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)? properly. I dont really see any big authors on the forum. or maybe I just dont know its them i am pretty bad at names

  • Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!) I am not a big author. but I become a big one I dont think I would be less active

  • Additional Thoughts? people should write what they want to write.

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Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
I don’t like nor dislike romance. If we’re talking in terms of popular authors and the romance genre, then most stories are overrated, sex-filled, sex centered, toxic, and a cliche. So, I tend to avoid that section.

Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why?
I’m not a jealous person, so no. Nothing an author can do that I can’t do. I don’t have a reason to be jealous over a couple of reads.

Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
Romance doesn’t get “hated” on. There are a lot of people who love the genre, just because the majority of people on the forums expresses their opinion towards it, doesn’t mean it’s hated on. Is it annoying that episode only features romance? Yes. Do I wish for them to branch out? Absolutely.

Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums?
Most romance authors avoid the forums because they hate constructive feedback.

If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
Glorifying rape, sexual assault, and other forms of abuse.

I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
Yes, no doubt.

Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
Yes.

Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
This already happens, but sure. But, once again, I don’t see what you see.

Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
Oh trust, they see it.

Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums?
Refer to questions above for this answer.

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Some people do tend to fall in love at first sight, My parents came from different corners of the world but just happened to be stationed on the same base because they are both in the military, My father was playing the drums at some church and my mother walked in and saw him and said “that is going to be my future husband” and 2 years and 8 months later they gave birth to their first born ( me ) and they have been married for over 20 years.

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The points put forth by you are very valid.

  1. I love the genre, and I love reading stories in this genre as well. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge romantic, but I’m guessing a lot of people are, since it’s one of the most popular genres on the app.

  2. As a romance author myself, I have felt down a couple of times, but never jealous, and that is because it’s hard to get recognized amid so much competition, and I can imagine that some others may feel the same way. But when it does happen, the excitement of the accomplishment is like no other. Getting to the top in a competitive genre gives a huge confidence boost.

  3. I don’t think it’s fair to blame episode entirely in this case, because as a company, they would want to promote what is popular. But most shelves do have a mix of genres, at least till what I’ve seen, which means they’re trying, I guess?

  4. Yes, I’ve felt this way since I started writing. It’s more like people expect a romance story to have the same cliches, same storyline, similar dialogues. etc. In a genre where there are hundreds of thousands of stories, it’s almost impossible to come up with an entirely unique idea. But each story would have its own individual twist and the writing style differs from author to author. So if readers were to give these stories a chance, they would know that not all romance stories are similar. This is one aspect where I see a lot of generalization, which is unfair.

  5. I’m not a very active member on the forums as is, but it is definitely discouraging to see the shortage of support compared to other genres and I do refrain from participating in discussions which would interest me usually, because of the fear of being judged for being a romance author. (Yes, I do know I shouldn’t let it affect me, but I am human, so it does bother me.)

  6. From the readers’ point of view, I would probably hope for a bit more open-minded outlook? Which would help them see that not all romance stories are the same. And from Episode, I’d probably request a way for newer romance authors to have a chance to shine.

  7. Yes, it is a different ball game when the author is “popular” or “big”, and there are both positive and negative aspects to this. While bigger authors enjoy a bigger network of readers, and a following (for the lack of a better word.), they also tend to receive a lot of hate and negativity. This doesn’t mean that any negativity received by smaller authors is insignificant, but when there are more people reading what’s being published, there’s a larger window for different opinions. And this happens irrespective of the genre.

  8. Definitely not fair. If I placed myself in the shoes of an aspiring romance author, I don’t think I would feel entirely confident about writing my story, because of the rep.

  9. Yes, because nothing is entirely perfect. Flaws exist in every genre, and if everything is put on the table, it’s better to have a fair view.

  10. Yes and no. It depends on whoever is voicing out their opinion and the situation.

  11. Well, this depends again, on the individual author. There are some big authors I see on the forums who seem unaffected by this, but I’m guessing it would put off some of them.

To sum it up, I think personally, what bothers me the most is the generalization of the stories in the genre. Each story has it’s own unique element to it, and it would help the authors of this genre a lot if a fair chance was given. For example, romance stories can be romantic comedies, romantic dramas. etc. So there are a lot of elements that set each story apart. I’m not saying that all the stories are amazing, and it definitely isn’t okay if stories have any elements which encourage any abusive or manipulative or any similar behaviour, but all I’m saying is not all of them are like that.

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This!!!

Your response, well said!

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The other day I actually wanted to make a thread about romance stories because I wanted to understand why these are the most popular… So yeah, I’ll have a pretty different opinion about this, but I guess that’s what discussions are about, so…

1. Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
I never liked them that much, but on Episode I tend to avoid this genre. I’m not saying I don’t read any romance stories, but I only read a very few that seems interesting. If I check the covers and the descriptions, most of them look exactly the same, and I’m like “ugh, no thanks”.

2. Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why?
No. If I like a story and an author, I’m not jealous of their success, I’m happy for them. And if I think a story is trash, I have no reason to be jealous either. For example, I would never write some cringy romance with sex scenes just to get more reads. If I was jealous I would try, but God save everyone from that, lol.

3. Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
Maybe. To me it’s super boring to see the same plots over and over again, but then again, it’s only me and some people on the forums. Whenever there is a new shelf with stories from different genres, it’s always the romance stories that trend high. I can’t understand why people don’t give a chance to other genres, they usually include romance too, but they also focus on other things, which I think only makes the story more interesting.

I’ll skip question 4-5, since I’m not a romance author.

6. If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
One thing? All right… I’d probably make the abusive, psychotic love interests disappear. I can’t stand mafia stories for example, and I have no idea how these are considered to be romantic.

7. I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
I don’t know honestly, but I’d think the “hostility” is mainly towards big authors who write romance. I don’t think it’s hostility though, I haven’t really seen rude comments about this, just opinions. We might be blunt when it comes to authors who glorify toxic relationships, but that’s fair, and if I ever commented something harsh on this, I’m not even sorry.

8. Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
I actually don’t think it has. You might see some negative comments on the forums, but most people still read this genre, and they only read this genre. But again, if you ask me if it’s fair that the problematic stories have a bad reputation, then I say yes, I wish this was the case.

9. Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
We could do that, but I mean, there’s nothing much to talk about the other genres. It might seem easier to come up with a unique plot for a fantasy story for example, but it’s actually not, and that’s why I think these stories would also deserve the recognition.

10. Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
I always try to speak in general, and not to call out any authors, but I don’t see why we couldn’t share our opinion about this. I’d do the same thing if more big authors would be active here.

11. Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!)
No. I think they simply either don’t have the time, or they don’t really care about these discussions. Insta is a better place for them to promote their stories, and I think they would rather work on updates than spend much time on the forums. They already have a fanbase, they might even get paid, so why would they care about a few people not liking their stories? I’ve seen some big authors only posting here when there’s an Episode announcement that might affect them, so I think this also shows that they come here when they actually care about something.

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1. Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
I prefer it as a subplot within another genre, but I do like romantic subplots when done well. I like if the story doesn’t revolve around it as I tend to prefer mystery or sci fi, but when the supporting cast is well-written, I like having the option to have my MC pursue a relationship with someone, especially if I can choose who.

2. Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why?
No. I don’t really see what there is to be jealous of. Episode isn’t my main gig, so I’m pretty comfortable being a small author. I think “haters are jealous” is a dangerous mindset to adopt as a blanket policy because it insulates one from valid critique.

3. Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
Maybe? But I see a lot of the things I consider problematic about romance in drama and fantasy as well, so I’m not sure. I do think it would be nice to see more variety in featured stories.

4. As a romance author do you feel the same way I do? (It’s okay if you don’t, I’m just curious).
I’m not a romance author, though I do include romance subplots. I do not feel the same way you do.

5. Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums?
N/A

6. If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
Less internalized misogyny and glamorization of abusive relationships.

7. I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
Probably.

8. Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
Yes. Though there are quality stories in the genre that don’t deserve the bad reputation, the genre as a whole has concerning trends that are worth examining.

9. Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
I think people do discuss the issues in all genres. There’s just more romance, so there is proportionally more to discuss there.

10. Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
They lurk. I don’t think it matters.

11. Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!)
No idea.

12. Additional Thoughts?
I agree with @hibiscusgravy that you’ve mischaracterized a lot of the critique, and I can’t really say it better than it’s already been said. I don’t have a problem with romance. I have a problem with internalized misogyny, abusive LIs, assault for drama’s sake, and trivialization of consent. As one of the forum’s resident complainers, I’ll complain about those things where I see them. They show up most heavily in romance.

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Yep. :woman_shrugging:

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Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
No I like romcom most on Episode. I don’t like other romance stories coz I have not come across anything that’s that compelling.

Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why?
I’m not an author yet, so no. But I find it annoying that so many bad stories get so many reads. Well, if there’s a demand…

Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
Probably. But Pocket Gems is a business. They know their numbers well. Not enough people are demanding for other genres enough for them to want to put in the man hours and money into developing other genres. So it’s really a matter of whether they feel they could provide a better platform for other story genres. They have to want to do it for other reasons than numbers and demand. They certainly have the power to effect change (in many ways such as being more inclusive and featuring other strong stories that are not romance).

As a romance author do you feel the same way I do? (It’s okay if you don’t, I’m just curious).
I’m not an author yet but I do understand the frustration.

Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums?
I’m not an author yet but I think if I was, it probably won’t affect my time spent on forums.

If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
Romance is fine but we need more original stories and more romcom and enough of those cliches especially the toxic kind. Understand that you can use your platform for so much good and change and not just be motivated by numbers.

I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
Whether it’s by Episode or by readers, I’m not sure.

Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
Well, honestly, yes. The world has to be about more than just read count and numbers. A lot of the romance stories have extremely toxic storylines and Episode perpetuates it. I wish they could do better.

Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
They might be discussing it less simply because there are significantly less of stories in other genres?

Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
I’m not sure but I always make sure my feedback is constructive or explain clearly why I don’t like it. If I do provide feedback in fan mail, it’s always only for authors I believe in or for stories with potential. If it’s that terrible and hopeless I just stop reading and provide no feedback.

Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!)
I think they are just super busy. Coding takes a lot of time after all! Plus they have lives too. :slight_smile:

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Do you like/dislike romance? Why?
In general, I prefer it as a subplot, but I do like it. In terms of novels, I recently started reading a lot more romance books to help with my writing (because I never really read them in the past) and I love reading them- I guess part of the reason is the “fantasy” aspect? Like, even though I’m in a great relationship, I’m a romantic at heart and like to read about other people finding their happily ever afters? Lol, I don’t know. I prefer happy romance though because if I’m reading romance, it’s because I want something a bit lighter than what I normally read.
On Episode- sure? There are some romance stories that are great, but if we’re specifically talking about the trending section, I tend to find that a lot of the stories just aren’t my cup of tea, although there are a couple there that I like.

Have you ever felt jealous about/towards the romance authors? Why?
Jealous of what exactly? I assume you have to be talking about trending authors here, because there have to be hundreds of romance authors with hardly any reads. If anything, I feel bad for non-trending romance authors because it’s basically impossible to trend in that genre, especially now with the new ranking system.
In regards to trending authors- no? Good on them lol

Do you think the romance anger would go down if episode featured other genres more?
I’ve seen this on another app- people complain that every featured story is romance and similar to previous stories, but when a mystery/thriller/other-genre story is featured, it doesn’t do as well as the romance. I do think it would be nice to see a wider variety of genres officially featured, but I think Episode is doing fine on the weekly shelves.
The trending section is always going to be romance/drama dominated.

As a romance author do you feel the same way I do? (It’s okay if you don’t, I’m just curious).
I’m not a romance author- but I recently published something (in drama) that comes across as a cliche romance story and I’m cackling at how well it’s doing and the fanmail I’m getting, while knowing exactly where I’m taking it… :skull:

Does this behavior towards romance stories/popular romance stories effect how much time you as a romance author spend on the forums?
N/A

If you could change one thing about romance what would you change and why?
Eh I don’t know. People can write what they want (in general- obviously certain things can’t be written on a PG13 platform).

I talked about both small authors and bigger authors when it comes to the romance genre but do you think they’re treated differently?
Yes. Stories that trend are always going to get more negative reactions (and that goes with any genre really- pretty much all my negative fanmail has been received while on a shelf)

Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?
It’s obviously a bit better now, but before the guideline changes, you’d scroll through romance and see half-naked characters on covers, descriptions alluding to sex sex sex and stories about student-teacher relationships, pregnancy etc. So all the really “cliche” stuff. Romance’s rep comes from the trending section. I’m sure there are plenty of amazing romance stories that aren’t sex focused or aren’t about being bought on the black market etc.

Do you think there might be less of an issue/hostility if people discussed the issues in all the genres instead of just one (mainly)?
No.

Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums effects how much we discuss it? (Kind of like we feel it’s okay because there’s a chance they might not see it)?
No. A lot of them lurk.

Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums? If you’re a bigger author does this apply or not apply to you and why? (Feel free to answer this even if you aren’t a romance author!)
I was going to say no, but I’m pretty sure I saw someone who would likely be considered a “big” author post on her story that she avoids the forums because of the discussions lol so maybe? haha

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Let’s get this over with. :joy:

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I’m a huge romance fan. I’d like to write a story that would be placed squarely in said genre at some point. Almost all my story WIPs have romantic subplots and/or a focus on a main romance. The comments about this being mischaracterization are still on track.

There is a general collective forums groan at seeing only romance constantly pop up because of oversaturation of the genre, sure, but this thread also has a fair amount of questions about jealousy, big authors, and popular romance stories. When these elements are criticized on forums, they are often critiquing (and probably are most consistently about) the problematic stories and elements you mention not liking. It’s not a big leap to connect those discussions with this thread.

I really genuinely think a solid percentage of readers are open to reading non-problematic romance. And even if they’re not, they politely tap out and continue on with their day. I’d encourage writers to just be good people and do their due diligence when it comes to fixing any harmful tropes they might be using, but also just write the story they’d love to read. If you’re not creating stories with harmful effects, it’s not about you.

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@writingspirit basically summed up my opinion, but I’d like to add something to this:

I don’t think this is true. I, for example wouldn’t be surprised if I was categorized as someone who is “against” romance stories, but I’m not actually. I’m just tired of seeing so many badly written and even problematic stories in the trending, and they all happen to be romance. But… Authors like you shouldn’t get discouraged because of these opinions, because your story is actually a rare example of how to do it right. I was happy to see how fast it started gaining reads on the shelf, because it really was a hidden gem and it was well-deserved.

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And you know I’m not going to argue with that. Which is I why said agree to disagree. Mainly because I don’t believe there is a wrong or right in this topic. It’s just simply a matter of opinion/feelings for me. Perhaps it’s bitter feelings that have festered over time that makes me believe this, or maybe we don’t see the same thing. Either way, I will agree that it’s time for authors to be held accountable and write acceptable content. Maybe then part of the problem will then be solved.

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I’m only going to answer the questions, I find most important.

8. Do you think it’s fair romance seems to have such a bad rep?

No, but I do think the majority of the stories in the section are why they have it. Let’s be honest here, if you look at 3/4 of the stories on there, they have the same plot, with the exact same lining of the story. In the writing world, I believe Romance has a bad rep because it’s been done too many times before and many people think it isn’t sending a good message. Is it fair? No. Now, do they deserve the bad rep? It depends on the person.

10. Do you think the fact a lot of bigger romance authors aren’t active on the forums affects how much we discuss it?

Yes. Take it like this, the majority of people aren’t gonna talk bad about you if are right in front of them. If they were here, we would cut some of what we’re saying, but not all of it. Take @/cindyg for example, people talked about how her story broke guidelines and how it was kinda bad when she was active on that thread. For some people, they are too scared to talk about the author when they’re active, either that or they don’t want to start anything.

11. Do you think this anti-romance behavior is the reason a lot of bigger authors aren’t as active on the forums?

Not at all. These authors have everything they need already. Reads, Knowledge of Directing, A name for themselves, what do they need the forums for? To talk? They have other people to talk to :woman_shrugging:

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I agree the trending section is an absolute mess. Most times if I’m looking for a new story I ask my friends, look on Instagram or the forums. And it’s because of what you just said.

And thank you! :heart: That means more to me than you know. I think that’s why I see things the way I do. I’m just worried really good stories will be looked over because of the bad ones. But like I said this is just my opinion :woman_shrugging:t3: I’m not trying to point fingers or say this is the absolute truth. I think maybe it just hits too close to home for some.

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