In my humble opinion a community can take many forms but it’s always based on 3 things: Common Interests, Common Practices and Respect for your Peers. The romance readers’ community is the absolute best at being a community.
Nothing embodies the spirit of our readers’ community than when we join together to help each other find books we ourselves have loved. When we, romance readers, join an author’s street team we show the community that we like this book or project so much that we’re shouting from the proverbial mountain tops as loud as our social media voices will allow.
A community takes work if it wants to thrive. Notice I didn’t say survive. Many communities survive with a few members shouldering the burden, but anyone who has been in a dying Facebook group knows that group’s days are numbered. The romance readers’ community thrives because we pull together and assist the authors who provide us with the books we have come to love.
For me, joining an author’s street team is another way for me to give back to the community. In today’s publishing market competition is stiff and we the readers have spoken. We don’t want to see only the books from authors with deep pockets who can create large advertising campaigns. We the readers join street teams to organically get the word out about new books we’re excited about. Books authors have poured their life and souls into that, without the street team, would be published only to disappear into the endless sea of books put out into the universe.
That’s a sad thought and I don’t like sad thoughts. That’s why I read romance, for the happy endings. If you want a happy way of coming together with the community be sure to download the Romance & Carrying On podcast hosted by me, Janette Gellar, starting February 2022!
