ROMANCE

A Deep Dive into Audiobook Genres and Narration Approach

INTRO

I’ve dived (dove? doven?) into two genres and explained the expectations for narrators and performance. It’s good for performers, casting, and writers to know these unspoken expectations. See MYSTERIES/THRILLERS and COZY MYSTERIES.

Today, I want to dive into ROMANCE. Seems appropriate since we’re entering the Month of Love, also known in Michigan as The Month Where Everyone Is Driven Mad By Winter And There Has To Be A Major Holiday To Get Them To Leave The House.

What are the aspects of a romance? Why doesn’t it get much respect? And why do awards hosts always make fun of this genre without realizing they’re being asses?

Ahem.

I will answer some of those questions here.
Let’s dive in.

ROMANCE

Romance is probably the biggest genre out there…and…it’s also the biggest seller.

The most important thing to know about romance is:

Romance is a serious genre that explores emotional romantic relationships and ends happily.

That’s it. That’s romance. Have a book that explores a romantic relationship and everyone dies at the end? NOT a romance. That’s literary fiction with romantic elements.

(Erotica focuses on the physical romantic relationship as opposed to emotional.)

Why are the relationships and a happy ending important?

Romance fans have specific expectations when they read or listen to a book, and part of that comfort and expectation is that things will be resolved, romance will happen, and the people that should end up together DO end up together.

There are many, many subgenres in romance. Actually, any genre you can think of (paranormal, thriller, comedy, sci-fi, adventure, fantasy) romance will cover. When approaching the genre of romance, remember this one cardinal rule and then follow rules for sub-genres.

THE ONE CARDINAL RULE OF ROMANCE

Take it seriously.

Make the relationships and the people in the book as real as you can, and check your discomfort at the door.

WHY IS THIS A RULE?

Because romance demands respect. Romance has earned respect. Literally.

Do you know what a huge economic force romance is in publishing? IT’S A MONSTER. A great big hairy, bulbous, delicious, sexy BEAST.

Don’t kid yourself. Romance is hard to write. It’s hard to perform. (I know because I’ve written and performed them. It’s fucking tough to do.)

But if you get a good book (and there are many) and if you can perform a piece well, you’ll get more gigs, fans, and have a lot of fun in your booth. You’ll also have more reliable gigs on your calendar because there’s one thing about romance fans: they are fiercely hungry for books and grow attached to good performers.

SUB-GENRES

In romance there’s contemporary, sports, mafia, MC (motorcycle club), paranormal, romantasy, erotica, and many more. To check out sub-genres, read THIS article. It’s got great info.

TONE

The tone varies. Sometimes lighthearted. Sometimes emotional.

Your voice really depends on the tropes in the piece and the characters you’re playing. Sometimes you’re sweet. Sometimes you’re a demon. (Literally.) Sometimes you have a velvety sexy voice, and sometimes your voice is a bell. Sometimes you’re demure, sometimes you’re forceful. Any gender can have any of these qualities. It just depends on the book.

You don’t have to have a super deep voice as a male, or a super sexy voice for a female. Just be real. Focus on the actions in the scenes, not the sound of your voice.

One thing I’d recommend with romance: lean into the romantic chemistry—the flirtation, the heat, the fire—whenever your hero and heroine interact. There’s also lots of variation here on who the chemistry is between. It could be MM (male male) FF (female female) MMF (male male female) or even OMFE (octopus, male, female, elephant.)

Doesn’t matter. Add in your flirtatious smiles. Tap into those memories when you’ve flirted with someone. What did you do? You smiled a lot. You teased. You were snarky and playful.

Get intimate with the microphone, but not, you know too intimate. Treat the microphone like you’re seducing someone or telling a friend a secret.

CHARACTERS

Depending on the sub-genre, you could have any kind of character here. In contemporary romances, most main characters are in their 20s, but there’s a huge range here.

Honor the text. Do your best to give the characters personalities, even if they seem similar to one another. Keep notes. You never know when a best friend in a romance becomes the main character in the next book.

ACCENTS

Accents are important in romance, especially in audiobooks. Here’s the thing though. You don’t get to just add in any old accent. You have to follow the script. But if the script calls for accents (ask the author or your casting team if you have questions) then DO THE ACCENT. I’ve noticed a lot of narrators just ignoring this. Don’t ignore it. ESPECIALLY when you work with a co-narrator. You should both be voicing characters in similar ways.

WHO IS CAST

This genre has a wide range of who is cast. Unfortunately, there are more women narrating romance than men. This is unfortunate because men seem to have more power in this genre because there are fewer of them and there has been some really, really bad behavior from male narrators in particular. They’ve been able to get away with bad behavior because of strong fan bases, or there are just fewer men to cast. This is something that needs to change and is changing.

Know that if you’re a bad behavior-er, chances are it’s already known and discussed and can seriously affect your career. So, stop it.

See this article for suggestions on rules when co-narrating a piece.

This genre is a good entryway into narrating audiobooks full-time. More younger narrators are cast than older narrators in general, but if older narrators sound authentically younger, they’re cast too. There are conversational tones in romance, performative tones, and emotional tones.

Social media is big in romance. Many popular narrators feed their fan bases by offering live readings (with permission from casting) and post frequently about books they’re working on. It feels like it’s increasingly leaning younger and younger in terms of performers.

If you’re cast in a romance, remember to please stay true to deadlines, communicate with your team, and no matter how spicy the book is, don’t confuse what happens in the book with how you communicate with your co-narrator or your production team. The language and sexual innuendos stay in the book, not in your communication with your team EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST BEING ‘FUNNY’.

This is BUSINESS. Business demands respect.

THE SEX STUFF

Yes. There’s sex in romance. The spice level varies. There are closed door romances where nothing untoward happens on the page, and there is erotica when everything untoward happens on the page, in the bathroom, on a Ferris wheel, whatever. Decide on your comfort level and be firm in your boundaries. If you’re uncomfortable reading the material, either get comfortable with it (readers can tell when you’re embarrassed or you think material is beneath you) or don’t perform romance.

Leave it for other narrators who want the work and love the genre.

ASPECTS IN ROMANCE

Romance is big on tropes. Check out THIS article. Tropes are like candy bars. Sometimes you want nougat; sometimes you want peanut butter. Tropes have specific ingredients/expectations.

Even if you think a particular trope is silly, know that there’s someone out there for whom this book is important. They want this particular candy bar for particular reasons.

Your character found a baby on their doorstep? Don’t phone in your performance. Imagine what it would be like if you found a baby on your doorstep. There’s a lot of emotion there, so play the emotion.

TO DO AND NOT TO DO

Approach this genre as you would any piece of writing: take it seriously and honor it.

Do create characters that honor and follow the text. (Don’t add in accents unless an accent is mentioned or it seems evident.)

Do take your time. (Don’t rush it. Sometimes slowing down can really make the book breathe and come to life, especially those sexy scenes.)

Do create believable characters. (Check the sub-genre of the piece. If it’s a romcom, your characters might be kooky. If it’s romantacy, they might be broad and have big accents. If it’s sci-fi, they might be tough mofos who are also gorgeous.)

Do read what’s on the page. (Don’t add in moans and weird stuff like that. For god’s sake, don’t add in slurping. Read what is on the page, but don’t do performance art.)

Do give yourself permission to feel the weight of the story. There are real emotions here. Real wants. Real fears. Control your emotions. Let them float to the surface, but don’t give in entirely. (Don’t pull back on your emotions entirely or you’ll lose that wonderful romantic tension inherent in this genre.)

CLOSING

Relationships are key here. There are tough obstacles, but eventually, there is resolution, healed hearts, and a happy conclusion.

Expect moments of sadness and frustration, humor and heart, sexiness and playfulness. Sometimes there’s violence and language. Sometimes there’s a lot of ‘grown up playtime’. Take it all seriously. Play it REAL.

Have fun playing with the pacing, the emotion, the characters. Challenge yourself to tell an immersive story where the listener can’t wait to hear what happens next.

And stop putting romance down. I get it. There’s penises and vaginas and it’s uncomfortable and funny. But there’s a deeper truth here when you make fun of romance. Romance is written mostly by and for women. You’re belittling something and holding yourself above a genre. It’s easy to make dun of romance. Know when you do it, you’re being a judgmental ass. Possibly also a misogynistic ass, whether you recognize it or not.

Seriously.

It’s a great genre and people love it. So, love the genre back. Respect it. Honor it. And have fun telling a great story that listeners want, and sometimes, need.

FOR MORE READING:

See this article on Pseudonyms.

COMMENT
Is there something you’ve learned while performing a romance? Share a comment, an idea, a story, whatever.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE

Tanya Eby writes, narrates, and recently watched a Hallmark movie where there was a small chalet, a strudel festival, and lots of snow. It was great! She has performed/narrated over 400 romances. She’s written a best-selling 4 book romcom series with Sarina Bowen called MAN HANDS. She loves to write jokes about romance, but not from a place of superiority. The humor is from a place of love. For real.