If you have Netflix, and you are at all interested in the publishing industry, particularly self-publishing, then you need to check out Love Between the Covers. It’s a documentary about writers of romance novels and the community of women who read their work.

Romance is not my thing, not in real life, and not in my choice of reading material. I just find it too cheesy and heavy-handed. But I can see why so many women like to read these books – it promises “happily ever after” (HEA as they call it in the “biz”) for a female protagonist. It’s great escapism.

I was surprised to learn that there are many sub-genres of romance, including historical, paranormal, erotic, even AMISH! So truly, there’s something for whatever you’re into.

What also was surprising to me was the community of women who have developed genuine friendships and support networks because of these books. Either writers developing relationships with fellow writers, or fans and writers becoming friends from a correspondence, or meeting at a book convention.

The other message, and this is important if you are interested in writing a novel and possibly self-publishing it, is that there’s room for everyone. Everyone’s voice can be heard, and though you won’t rake in the bucks, you can make money selling your novel if you self-publish.

Pretty interesting documentary if you have a couple hours to spare and any of those topics interest you. It made me want to check out some of the authors’ work, as well as nudge me in the direction of writing my (non-romance) novel that I’ve been planning to write my entire life!