I've Got a Bone to Pick… What About Was?

"I'm So Confused!"
I have multiple sources I could quote. Maybe you'veheard it before:  A writer must write in an active voice, not passive. Thatleads us to little words like "was" and "were."
I recently went to a popular bookstore and askedfor copies of the top romance authors. All covers touted that the authors were USA Today or New York Timesbestsellers. The first thing I noticedwas "was".  Wases here, wases there,wases everywhere.
Here's the stats on the top six authors:
AUTHOR WAS IN FIRST SENTENCE # OF WASES INFIRST 25 LINES Author A 1 6 Author B 1 6 Author C 1 7 Author D 1 7 Author E 0 5 Author F 1 5
I'm shocked. What about you? Another rule from literary agents, publishersand expert authors has been not to open the bookwith the backstory. Many of these bestsellers did. Shocker! I have to admit, I'ma bit confused. What about the rules? What makes these authors top sellers? What'syour opinion? Tell me, tell me, tell me. (Can you hear the panting?)
Cindy A. ChristiansenSweet Romance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!Fly into a good book at:  www.dragonflyromance.com
123RF Stock PhotoCindy A. Christiansen
Sweet (clean) Romance Author