The next big thing

dantefrizzoli

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I definitely hope it has to do with SF because every other recent trend is so played out.
 

Windcutter

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Hear anything about horror? Some say it might enjoy a little bit of an uphill movement trend-wise...
 

stephen andrew

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I've been hearing that too. Tho haven't seen any evidence. Just speculation. That'd be kinda cool if it did tho.
 

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I totally forgot who asked this but I finally remembered: the name of the author who seems to trend hop very successfully. Lauren Oliver.
BEFORE I FALL was a contemp, then DELIRIUM enjoyed success amidst the hot dystopian trend, then there was the recent novel PANIC, a gritty contemp, ROOMS is coming out in November and is a ghost thriller, and then there is another similar book for 2015.
 
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I totally forgot who asked this but I finally remembered: the name of the author who seems to trend hop very successfully. Lauren Oliver.
BEFORE I FALL was a contemp, then DELIRIUM enjoyed success amidst the hot dystopian trend, then there was the recent novel PANIC, a gritty contemp, ROOMS is coming out in November and is a ghost thriller, and then there is another similar book for 2015.


I'm not sure she's really trend-hopping. Maybe she is, I always assumed she just happened to have Delirium when dystopia was still a big thing. Now I really wanna know...
 

thisprovinciallife

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I always wonder if it gets easier once you have a big-time agent/editor and a best-seller under your belt. Like, maybe Lauren Oliver has this giant suitcase filled with ideas, and her agent can tell her which to pursue based on the market.

So interesting. Thanks for the info share, Windcutter!
 
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I always wonder if it gets easier once you have a big-time agent/editor and a best-seller under your belt. Like, maybe Lauren Oliver has this giant suitcase filled with ideas, and her agent can tell her which to pursue based on the market.

So interesting. Thanks for the info share, Windcutter!


This is unlikely, in my experience.
 

wampuscat

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ROOMS is adult, and she also writes for younger kids. I think she's extraordinarily talented for being able to write in multiple genres and for multiple audiences. I wonder if a non-NYT bestseller would be able to pull that off.
 

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To some extent, I think that does happen. Maybe your query can't get attention, but once you get an agent with another book, they'll look at your bad-query book and sell it (or help you revise it into something editable). Likewise, if you have something that you couldn't get an agent with, even with fulls and R&Rs, you have more ability to work with your agent to get it to a point where it's publishable, whereas with fulls and R&Rs, you often only get 1 shot, maybe 2 (and it's more intimidating to ask for clarification as an unagented author). Or as suggested by this convo, the genre comes around and you already had the book, and your agent can start submitting
 

Niiicola

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Like, maybe Lauren Oliver has this giant suitcase filled with ideas, and her agent can tell her which to pursue based on the market.

Given that she also runs Paper Lantern Lit, which is a very successful book packager, she probably has a great handle on what's going to sell all by herself (but I'm sure having the agent/editor doesn't hurt either).
 

thisprovinciallife

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Given that she also runs Paper Lantern Lit, which is a very successful book packager, she probably has a great handle on what's going to sell all by herself (but I'm sure having the agent/editor doesn't hurt either).

Oh, I didn't know she did Paper Lantern Lit! You're right, she is definitely an expert all on her own, hah. Super impressive. She's going to have a Gaiman-esque cross-genre shelf soon.
 

Windcutter

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I'm not sure she's really trend-hopping. Maybe she is, I always assumed she just happened to have Delirium when dystopia was still a big thing. Now I really wanna know...
I'm judging from the results :) of course, I have no idea whether DELIRIUM was written with the trend in mind. I know I do have ideas and partials for half the genres within YA. Not because of chasing trends, but because my fantasy just works that way. So if I had a book out and a rock star agent and there was a hot trend rising, I might have been able to score a deal for a not yet finished book that fit the trend without the need to create it from scratch in a hurry, just by picking up one of the mss sitting in my writing files.
 

Windcutter

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This is unlikely, in my experience.
Wouldn't it go like:

Genius Writer: good morning Rockstar Agent, I can't decide what to write next, I have this funny contemp /concept attached/ and I also want to do this dystopia series...

Rockstar Agent: hey hey, stuff that series where the sun doesn't shine, darling, even my mighty self won't get you a decent deal these days, and send me the first three chapters for the contemp ASAP plz, I know someone who rly loves the funny books and is looking for one.
 
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Wouldn't it go like:

Genius Writer: good morning Rockstar Agent, I can't decide what to write next, I have this funny contemp /concept attached/ and I also want to do this dystopia series...

Rockstar Agent: hey hey, stuff that series where the sun doesn't shine, darling, even my mighty self won't get you a decent deal these days, and send me the first three chapters for the contemp ASAP plz, I know someone who rly loves the funny books and is looking for one.


If you're a big enough author, you might be able to seel on spec like that, but most authors don't, and publishers usually want a finished book.
 

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Plus there is the issue of the deadline, seriously who wants/should have to work on a book that way? If you can finish a dystopia before the trend dies, my hats off to you. Took me six years to finish one. And it's not a door stopper either.

Or I guess this circular period of trending anyway.
 
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Plus there is the issue of the deadline, seriously who wants/should have to work on a book that way? If you can finish a dystopia before the trend dies, my hats off to you. Took me six years to finish one. And it's not a door stopper either.

Or I guess this circular period of trending anyway.


This also. I could never write that close to a trend.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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The Hunger Games was published September 2008 and Delirium was published January 2011 -- so a bit over two years after. Considering I would guess it took a little while, at least, for the dystopia thing to catch on... it kind of does seem like maybe the idea was at least mulling around in Lauren Oliver's head before The Hunger Games was published, right?

Hm...
 

thisprovinciallife

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Plus there is the issue of the deadline, seriously who wants/should have to work on a book that way? If you can finish a dystopia before the trend dies, my hats off to you. Took me six years to finish one. And it's not a door stopper either.

Or I guess this circular period of trending anyway.

I totally agree. It would be impossible and probably counter-productive for the vast majority of us, but if we're talking just about Lauren Oliver, she's published at least one book a year since Before I Fall - so it might not be impossible for her, especially if she gets a heads up from her connections and influence in the publishing Big Leagues. Like Niiicola said, Lauren Oliver co-founded Paper Lantern Lit, which is based around writing for the current market.

But I definitely agree with you, Sarah and Liosse, that 99.9% of authors would not be able to (and shouldn't try) to follow trends.