The labor of love: romance authors and platform solidarity

Abstract

In recent years, emerging technologies and neoliberal policies have transformed the way people work. This article explores the impact of sociotechnical change on platformized cultural production, where creators depend on digital platforms to make a living. By examining the case of American romance writers, the paper reveals how unique solidaristic practices, including gender-focused community building, an emphasis on pan-hierarchical connections, and communicative norms of open information-sharing, empowered romance authors throughout the platformization of publishing. Through 57 in-depth interviews and 40 years of archival research, the study demonstrates how these practices facilitated the diffusion of digital self-publishing, reducing romance writers’ precarity. By introducing a novel, multi-level communicative framework, this paper integrates meso-level theories of innovation with macro- and micro-level understandings of platform power. This framework provides a new model for understanding collective agency within platformized industries The paper contributes to broader discussions of “good work,” suggesting that communicative strategies can reshape power imbalances even under platformized conditions.