BEYOND GATEKEEPERS: ROMANCE PUBLISHING AND THE PRODUCTION OF CULTURE

This dissertation examines how the changing structure of the publishing industry first inhibited and then promoted change in the content of romance novels. The explanation for the change from "sweet" to "liberated" romance content was not found solely, or even primarily, in the creative innovations of authors or change in consumer taste. Rather, the entrepreneurial process that occurred within the publishing industry shaped the type of books available in the marketplace.

This analysis of romance publishing focuses on gatekeeper-gatemaker decision-making by publishers and editors and utilizes the production-of-culture perspective.This perspective seeks to explain facets of production which have constrained or facilitated the transformation of cultural objects. The five constraints identified in the production model are critiqued in this study. They include: law, technology, organizational structure, occupational careers, and market. Neither law nor technology were found to have significantly influenced changes in the production of romantic fiction, while the other three have, to varying degrees, influenced both the growth of this industry and shaped the content of these novels.

The five constraints are considered endogenous variables because they explain changes taking place within the industry. An exogenous variable, the social world, is added to the production perspective. The social world is broadly defined in this study to include attitudes and values taking place within society. This exogenous variable is helpful in explaining degrees of success for innovative content in the marketplace.