THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE BOOKMARK
How Romance Book Guide makes money
We want you to know why this site exists, how it may earn money, and when a recommendation comes from our own publishing business.
Romance Book Guide is a reader-discovery project being built alongside a romance publishing company. Our long-term plan is to publish original fiction under different pen names and help readers find books—including books written by other authors—that fit their interests.
Here’s what that means for the recommendations you see.
Our own books
We plan to publish original romance fiction under distinct pen names, beginning with a clean Regency line. When books are available, we may earn royalties from purchases, subscriptions that pay based on reading, and other authorized editions or formats.
A book we publish is not an independent third-party recommendation. When we feature one of our own books, we’ll identify it as “Published by us.” We won’t present our books as if they were selected by an unrelated review organization.
Our original fiction is still in development. When the first books are available, we’ll share clear descriptions, reading order, and verified retailer links.
Paid links and affiliate commissions
Some future reading guides may include links to books or retailers that pay us a commission if a reader makes a qualifying purchase or takes another qualifying action.
When that relationship applies, you’ll see a straightforward disclosure near the relevant recommendation or link, such as:
Paid link: We may earn a commission if you buy through this link.
You do not owe us a separate fee for following a link. Retailers control their own prices, offers, terms, and availability, which can change.
A link does not mean we have read a whole book. When reading or verification status matters, we’ll explain what evidence supports the description.
Sponsorships and paid placements
We may eventually work with authors, publishers, or book-related businesses on clearly labeled paid placements. We are not presenting any sponsored book placements at launch.
If sponsored placements are introduced, they will be labeled Sponsored close to the material itself. Paying for a placement will not entitle a book to a manufactured rating, invented review, or inaccurate content description.
What you can expect from us
We want readers to make choices with open eyes. That means:
- We say when we publish a book ourselves.
- We disclose paid relationships where readers will see the recommendation.
- We distinguish what we’ve read from what comes from publisher or retailer descriptions.
- We don’t call a book clean, spicy, Christian, low-angst, or standalone unless the available evidence supports the description.
- We correct consequential errors when they are identified and verified.
We won’t claim that earning money makes us unbiased. Instead, we’ll explain the relationships and give you enough detail to judge the fit for yourself.
Why build a guide and a publisher together?
We think the questions readers ask while searching for a romance are worth answering well. Understanding those questions can also help us develop original stories with clear reader expectations.
That combination can be useful—provided we’re open about it. You’re welcome to enjoy the discovery tools and explanations here whether or not you ever buy a book we publish.