Blogger: Rachel Kent
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
We live in interesting times. So much has advanced and changed, and each day we’re seeing changes that have the potential to throw us all off, but we need to learn to take advantage of them.
We have the Internet at our fingertips, and this can be used for researching what to write next. I suggest that you don’t just brainstorm your next idea, but that you spend time researching the market before you start in on a brainstorm.
Get online and research what is selling. Amish is still huge in the Christian market, and now general market publishers are also trying out Amish. Romance sells in both markets. If you write historical novels, focus in on the types of historicals that are selling. Regencies and WWII books come to mind, but check the bestseller lists to see what’s current.
If you write contemporary books, do the same thing. The bestselling, contemporary Christian authors I can think of right now are Karen Kingsbury, Irene Hannon and Joel Rosenberg. Could you write a unique book to the same audience as one of these authors?
The same idea applies to nonfiction projects as well, but you need to understand that those nonfiction top-selling authors often have a huge platform for marketing the books and the top-sellers might not necessarily reflect what topics are hot. Checking the nonfiction “movers and shakers” (like on amazon.com’s best-seller’s page) might be a better idea to watch the market interest.
This way of planning what you write based on the market may sound like a compromise of your artistic license as a writer, but if it gets your name out there and builds your reputation, it might be the best thing for your new writing career. It can also be a career saver for those of you who already are published. If you are facing dwindling sales figures, what better way to spice up your career than by writing a book to appease the market? Put together a book proposal that will be almost guaranteed to wow the editors because it’s just what they’ve been looking for. Use your creativity, but before you brainstorm, get an idea of the direction you should take by doing market research online.
Some websites to check out for your research:
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA)
Christian Book Association (CBA) Online
Publisher’s Marketplace (membership required)
How do you balance inspiration with responding to the marketplace? Where do you look to find out current trends? And what do you do to figure out what trends are upcoming? (It’s one thing to know what’s selling now; it’s another to anticipate what will sell.)
This is a tough one for me. I often read stories from agents and editors telling how sometimes the cycle is so short and the time to publication so long that hopping on the bandwagon never guarantees success and can be a risky strategy.
I believe the writer has to do what’s comfortable for them. Sometimes it’s better to stay still than to chase fickle industry trends.
When I started writing it was all about inspiration. But when I started revising I realized I needed to be aware of the market and what would sell. I’ve spent about 15 years in PR and marketing, so this makes sense to me. I think the trick to balance is finding the angle in your idea that appeals to the market rather than trying to come up with an idea specifically for the market. Take your inspiration and tailor it a bit.
As for trends, I like to check other writers’ blogs to see what my peers are reading. And for future trends, I think you have to keep up with current events. Will all the earthquakes spawn more end times books? Will unrest in the Middle East increase interest in other religions as they relate to or clash with Christianity? Will all the chaos continue to push readers toward the peaceful Amish setting?
I agree with Sarah…”take your inspiration and tailor it a bit.”
I think as writers and authors we would be remiss if we didn’t stay in touch with the current trends. I also believe, however, that we shouldn’t let those trends dictate what we write if it challenges our moral convictions. For me, personally, that would be writing love scenes that border on pornographic, profaning God’s name, and gratuitous violence.
I do think these will be “hot” topics for awhile: natural disasters, a downtrodden economy, spirituality, and romantic comedies.
What I do to study trends…I “lurk” in bookstores and walk the aisles to see who’s buying what!
Rachel,
I appreciate your ideas for analyzing the market before brainstorming a book concept. I have checked Amazon, but haven’t heard about the other three. (Can you tell I’m new to all of this?)
Anticipating upcoming trends is a mystery to me. Is there a technique in discovering the next popular direction? Or does it just happen and authors jump on board?
In other markets, sometimes events require a split decision and a new craze is born…I was thinking of the “invention” of iced tea. However, it sounds like the publishing world moves at a much slower pace.
I don’t flinch when I think of writing a book based on market demands. Does that make me a sell-out? Maybe. But I have a unique perspective on the issue.
I grew up with an artist for a father. “Selling out” by taking corporate jobs in graphic design was how he put food on the table. It’s hard to support a family with your amazing hand illustrations, especially these days. And really, it wasn’t much better 25 years ago before the digital revolution.
Writing is an artistic process, to be sure. But if you want to be a professional, you’re going to have to be sensitive to the market and what’s selling. Period. It doesn’t mean you can’t craft a brilliant novel (in fact, we should aim for that every time, no?). It just means you might have to step out of the box a bit. (All this from a Christian fantasy author – ha!)
I agree with all of you that predicting trends is nearly impossible, but editors are looking for “hot topics” and are essentially trying to predict trends as well. If you can figure out what a hot topic is, writing a book on that topic is more likely to sell than another book. At the same time, I do believe that writing what is meaningful to you will produce good content. If you can merge the two in some way, you will hopefully see the results!
Certain topics or genres seem to be evergreens (Amish, romance, and others.) We would all think that the sales of these books should be slowing down because of market saturation but they are still selling rapidly.
Great post, Rachel. I have to admit it surprised me a tiny bit, because it seems to go against what some of us have been told: don’t write to trends. As Lance mentioned, some trends are in and out before a book reaches publication. I had a client who wrote a timely book, but it was only timely during one election cycle. Perhaps it will end up as a text book in a college class one day, but I’m not sure how easy it is to sell these days to the general public.
I’m a book reviewer, and I tend to request books in the genres I’m interested in writing, so that helps me gauge what’s out there. Since I write for children, I also attend book fairs at our schools to see what’s selling there.
I’m not opposed to writing to the market. It’s a smart idea. It just seems tough to do.
Do you know what the YA trends are?
Thanks for the great resources! I consider myself pretty average-American, so if something grabs my interest, I assume I’m not alone. Also, I read a ton of magazines, including Entertainment weekly, to learn what movies, television shows, books, and music make the top ten lists.
An interesting topic, Rachel. And thanks for putting me in the ranks of Karen Kingsbury and Joel Rosenberg!
Like you, I watch market trends. And I write in popular genres (romantic suspense and contemporary romance). In my mind, the trick is not so much identifying the hot genres–there’s plenty of info available on that topic–but making yourself stand out.
For me, compelling characters are the key. If a writer can make me care about a character on the first page or two–and set up the story so I’m intrigued enough to want to keep reading–I’ll be hooked. The plot has to be credible and interesting, the writing has to be excellent, but if I don’t care about the characters from the get-go, even the most perfectly plotted book and the most beautiful prose won’t hold my interest. No matter the genre, hot or not.
Thank you so much for commenting, Irene!
I completely agree. If I am interested in the characters right away (in a well-written story) I will want to read the whole book and might read the entire series if the plot holds up.
And yes, you want to stand out as a writer, but still write what readers want to read.
Savannah, I would say the trends in YA at this time are paranormal, fairytale and fantasy. I’m sure there are others, but these seem to be the big ones. These genres can also mix together, too. For example, BEASTLY (Alex Flinn) is an urban fantasy and a fairytale retelling.
I also am still learning about trends within the market. Though I’m definitely not an expert, I feel like their might be more distinct trends within fiction topics than nonfiction. Just in my observations (though, again, I don’t know much), I notice more concrete trends on format and tone of nonfiction books rather than topics. But I do think many Christian nonfiction books have a trend of authentic, genuine, radical faith right now – with many diverse subtopics.
Thank you for the useful tips and resources, Rachel!
Forgive my “their” typo instead of “there!” Ugh, I’m digusted that I made such a typo. I’m typing on a phone and couldn’t scroll back to proofread, but that mistake shouldn’t have been made in the first place! I know you regular readers of this blog are a forgiving bunch, and I’m quite thankful.
I write Pre and Post Civil War. My next novel will be set in 1902. I write what peaks my interest. I say this because I think that trends seem to be overdone and the market is always changing. What is selling today will change tomorrow. Amish are huge but the market is inundated with it. I write stories with grit so that it isn’t just a typical time period but rather a story about a hero and heroine that will captivate an audience. I think that story line is just as important if not more as the time it was written in.
Salena,
I love that time period and I am a Civil War buff. I’ll have to look for your work.
Cheryl
Cheryl, thank you! Keep your fingers crossed that someday it happens! 🙂 Working on one taking place during the reconstruction and the birth of the cowboy. 🙂
Alas, while I cannot offer any astounding market analysis of what is trending among readers, I hope what I have to say is helpful for those willing to read what I can offer:
Finding a core audience is the priority of a writer. While a one hit wonder may have everyone humming their tune, they don’t have the staying ability of a classic album.
And isn’t that what we as writers fear the most? That we bear our souls only to find them placed upon the ash-heap of history or the dust-bin of a dollar store?
That is what a core audience provides. A forum for your art and ideas to be discussed and debated. Some writers I’ve talked to think that to maintain their core audience they need to “preach to the choir” so to speak. That they are burdened by what they are expected to produce as a writer and an artist. That if they spent more time chasing what will make them a success that they will be more free to write “what they want to write.” But they couldn’t be more wrong.
Before that first person picked up your book, they didn’t know who you were. They had no expectations about your art. Yet you were able to provide an experience or guidance which resonated with them. That is who your core audience is. Not the people who pre-order your book, but those who you reach with your book.
And until a writer is able to reach that one person, isn’t one indulging in a bit of hubris to believe that they can predict what will resonate with hundreds of thousands or millions of people?
That is what separates us as writers of faith. Shouldn’t we aim to move people, and not just books?