What's hot, what's not?

[Joe Moore]

Here's an interesting article from Writers Digest (http://writersdigest.com/article/The_Popular_Fiction_Report) on the state of the popular fiction market.

[donroc]

They omitted Historical Fiction. I expect to be among those authors who will remind them and "the current market" that entertaining and informative category/genre still lives.

:e2BIC:

[seun]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

[Charlie Horse]

Wow, my book doesn't fall into any of these categories.

Good read, though.

[Sassee]

Urban fantasy ftw.

(that's "for the win" for you non acronym savvy)

[stormie]

Interesting. (And yes, D.Baldacci's The Camel Club was great.) A writer should make their storyline totally unique. It's the only way to avoid a market already saturated with the same thing.

[Takvah]

It's always nice to see what the "pros" are saying about trends. Seemed to me to be a whole lot of speculation though which indicates that it's more about the story than the genre. That's just peachy because I'd hate to hear, "We're all full up with our share of supernatural, suspense-thrillers with urban fantasy elements."
:D

[ink wench]

Interesting. Thanks for posting!

[Shweta]

Interesting, but I have trouble believing this writer. Several of their facts (in areas I know anything at all about) range from questionable to just plain wrong, either because their sources are misinformed or behind the times, or because the writer is Not Getting It.

There's Weird Tales being listed as horrible pulp, for starters (contrasted with Cemetery Dance). Questionable. Since Ann Vandermeer took over editing the magazine last year, that has not been true, but perhaps they are talking about old Weird Tales.

There's the notion that Laurel K Hamilton's vampire fantasy "border on" erotica. Maybe that's just... uh, politeness.

There's The Da Vinci Code listed as an exemplar of deep research. Politeness again? It seems more clueless than that, to me.

And Then. There's Neil Gaiman listed as hard SF.
:Wha:


(ETA: fully second Stephen Hunt, though. Only, don't expect to get one genre, Court of the Air is a crazy-quilt. Which I love.)

[ToddWBush]

I have to agree with Shweta. The DaVinci Code as their example of "deep research"? The document that the whole premise of the book is based on, the one from France in the Middle Ages, was proven to be a fraud. Any google search can tell you that. Sure, there's a lot of info in DaVinci, but does that mean it's "researched"? To me, researched means that the information contained in the novel is accurate (or at least mostly accurate and inaccurate only on small things that help to further the plot). Dan Brown based an entire book on inaccurate information, then went on a world-wide tour speculating on the possibility that his book might be right. Hell, he's got half the world believing Jesus fathered a child and got married.

Is terrorism the big thing in thrillers now? Of course it is! But does that mean that the terrorism thriller is on the way out because it's so overdone? Not neccessarily. Of course, full disclosure here: my first novel that I'm trying to get interest in is a terrorism thriller.

But it's just like the writer of the article said about the modern plight of mysteries: just when you say something is on the way out and everyone is writing it off, it makes a comeback. Publishers and agents are the ones who think they know trends. And, in some cases they do. But lest we forget, Grisham, who made the legal thriller successful (writing style and talent aside) was rejected by a goodly sized number of agents before catching on. The list of examples is endless.

Someone wise once told me, "if someone tells you they are certain they know how the world is going to turn out, bet against them." No one can predict what might happen in the future of books, or of the world. The terrorism thriller might be burning out now, but (God forbid) another attack or something like that could vault it back to the forefront of the world's collective psyche.

[MerryDay]

Good article!

...though I had to count to 10 after reading the words "romance formula"...sigh. It will be nice when journalists finally wrap their heads around there being a completely different modern incarnation of that genre. Still, solid article...it's interesting to see what's currently popular on all fronts. Thanks for posting!

[Bufty]

I don't see how it's all that useful, considering around two years or more may lapse from the time one starts to write a novel to the time that particular novel is published - if it is.

[ishtar'sgate]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing. Although one of my WIPs fits exactly, the other doesn't at all. Trends don't mean a whole lot though because as soon as something unique and well written surfaces it becomes the new 'trend'.
Linnea

[Michael Davis]

Interesting article. I wonder were hybrid stories fit. All of my stories so far have been a blend between romance, suspense, and a shade of technology. Guess I got em all covered (LOL).

The fact that I didn't focus on one specific genre was a problem at first. Many of my rejection letters noted "The story was terrific, but its not our area." or "We liked your story, but we don't have any contacts that publish mixed genres.

My problem was that the stories had a life of their own. I didn't type to restrict or filter them into one area. Where ever they went, they went. Fortunately, I found a publisher that focused on the quality and interest of the storyline and doesn't try to pigeon hole me into a specific arena.

[underthecity]

Horror . . . fresh voices . . . new ideas on a daily basis. I have a link below to something like this in SYW, if anyone cares to check it out.

allen

[Jeremy]

That was definitely and interesting article.

I’ve read before about the importance of keeping up with the market, on what’s hot or not, and to capitalize on what is considered ‘hot’ at the time. Yet, in the same breath I always hear/read that you just need to write what you want to read. What you’re passionate about.

It stands to common sense to write what you enjoy despite it being considered hot or not, at least for me. I don’t think I could write something that I wasn’t passionate about, even if it is considered unpopular.

What are other people’s feelings and ideas on this topic? Do you write whatever you want despite it not being popular? Or do you follow the trends to capitalize on what’s hot? What’s the benefits of doing either/or?

[underthecity]

I chose horror,supernatural simply because I had the idea for a great story. I could have written something more mainstream if I had wanted, but this was the story that chose me to write it.

Maybe when I become a more established fiction author I can choose something "hot," but what's hot today might not be hot tomorrow. (Chick lit comes to mind.)

allen

[ClaudiaGray]

That was definitely and interesting article.

I’ve read before about the importance of keeping up with the market, on what’s hot or not, and to capitalize on what is considered ‘hot’ at the time. Yet, in the same breath I always hear/read that you just need to write what you want to read. What you’re passionate about.

It stands to common sense to write what you enjoy despite it being considered hot or not, at least for me. I don’t think I could write something that I wasn’t passionate about, even if it is considered unpopular.

What are other people’s feelings and ideas on this topic? Do you write whatever you want despite it not being popular? Or do you follow the trends to capitalize on what’s hot? What’s the benefits of doing either/or?


I have too many ideas to ever write them all. So of the ideas I love, I devote the most attention to the ones I think have a chance to sell. It's not writing something I'm not passionate about; it's choosing between the things I'm passionate about.

[ishtar'sgate]

What are other people’s feelings and ideas on this topic? Do you write whatever you want despite it not being popular? Or do you follow the trends to capitalize on what’s hot? What’s the benefits of doing either/or?
I write whatever I want - right now one WIP is historical and one is a contemporary thriller. As far as capitalizing on what is hot, unless the hot streak is very long lived it really can't be done. By the time you sell your manuscript and the book is out in print at least 2 years, probably more, will have passed. Something else will have caught the eye of the reading public and your book may be old news.
Linnea

[chevbrock]

what's hot: a well-marketed book.

what's not: a not-well-marketed book.

[nevada]

The info was a bit out of date. Romance novels about vampires are quickly on the way out a la chick lit from what I understand. Editors are searching high and low for historical, but not regency, romance and straight romance without paranormal or mystery or suspense, a la the early LaVyrle Spencers. And anyway, as someone else already said. By the time you finish writing a novel to take advantage of this "hot" market, it'll have moved on to something else already. Write what you want. Worry about the rest when it's finished.

[Shweta]

I write what possesses my brain and keeps me up at night thinking about it.

Good article!

...though I had to count to 10 after reading the words "romance formula"...sigh. It will be nice when journalists finally wrap their heads around there being a completely different modern incarnation of that genre.

Does anybody think this article is spot-on and well-informed about their area of interest?
I am wondering if it's just poorly researched and clueless in all cases, and we all only notice when it's about our stuff and think the rest is fine.

[Mythica]

Well that was great to read! Thank you for posting the link!

It's also good to hear about vampires. A lot of people believe that the market may be saturated with them, but what I think the problem is that there isn't enough good vampire books. I LOVE love love vampires, but there are so few books out there about them that I am willing to read. Not enough bone-breaking and really scary stuff. Vampires have become unscary :( (Firefox alerts me that 'unscary' isn't a word, but it is now.)

[OverTheHills&FarAway]

And Then. There's Neil Gaiman listed as hard SF.
:Wha:



Glad I'm not the only one who caught that. I can't think of a single thing he's written that would qualify as hard SF.

...anyone?

[Wolvel]

It's also good to hear about vampires. A lot of people believe that the market may be saturated with them, but what I think the problem is that there isn't enough good vampire books. I LOVE love love vampires, but there are so few books out there about them that I am willing to read. Not enough bone-breaking and really scary stuff. Vampires have become unscary :(

I totally agree. It seems that vampires are everywhere but nothing really new has been done with them.

It will take a stand alone vampire in a true horror tale to bring me back around.

[Mythica]

I totally agree. It seems that vampires are everywhere but nothing really new has been done with them.

It will take a stand alone vampire in a true horror tale to bring me back around.

I think another big problem is that everyone is trying so hard to be "different" that concepts just end up not being that good or really unexciting. Vampires have been made kind of cheesy and that is too bad.

[Shweta]

Glad I'm not the only one who caught that. I can't think of a single thing he's written that would qualify as hard SF.

...anyone?

Stardust :roll:

[dempsey]

I thought American Gods qualified.

After all, "Only the gods are real."

:)