by Nephele Tempest

When a new trend races like wildfire through the publishing industry, there are always writers tempted to try and bask in those flames by writing a book that fits the trend. Agents and editors caution against this sort of approach for a number of reasons. There’s no way to know how long a trend will last, and editors frequently purchase several trend-related projects and then stop, waiting to see how those initial projects perform in the market. Trends can morph, altering so that by the time you’ve finished writing your book, you’re missing the twists and turns the market now craves. And ultimately, time spent writing a book designed to match a current fad is time spent not working on the ideas you’re truly passionate about writing.

It’s nearly impossible to catch a publishing trend before it dies down. Writing and editing a book takes time, selling a manuscript takes more, and then there’s the production process required to get that book out the door. From concept to bookstore, it can easily take a book years before it’s in the hands of readers, and trends can fizzle in a matter of months. Unless it conveniently dovetails with your current project or an idea you’ve been anxious to try, attempting to catch a trend can be a waste of your writing energies. But that does not mean you should ignore the market altogether.

When writers decide not to chase trends, they sometimes turn their backs on the market entirely, determined instead to write the book they wish to write and never mind the people reading them. On occasion this results in wildly creative, exciting stories that end up starting trends of their own, but more typically the results are books that strongly resemble the writer’s favorites without twists to make them something new. Yes, a writer should write what they love, but if they wish to publish, they should consider their end goals as well.

Writers need to understand the market for which they are writing. This differs from writing to trend. Writing to trend involves identifying a sudden wave of extreme book popularity and rushing to write something that fits its parameters. Writing for the market involves reading broadly in the genre that appeals to you, as well as those adjacent to it, so you have a sense of the big picture. What themes are perennial? What are the tropes? Which things have been done to death and what looks like it’s ready for a revival? Has there been a general mood to the books you’ve been reading?

Only once you see the overall landscape can you decide what sort of book will both fit and stand out. Writing for the market demands that you create a story with a fresh take, offering readers a new look at the genre they love. Sometimes that means introducing aspects of another genre to create a hybrid story. Other times it could mean incorporating current real-world concerns that make your story uniquely relevant for readers. Good ideas present a new point of view – yours – on whatever basic story arc serves as the foundation of your tale.

So when you sit down to start a new book, don’t ignore the market entirely. Instead ask yourself how your idea fits with what is already out there. What makes your story special? How can you shake things up to make it stand out even more? What are you offering your readers? What “hook” will you pitch to agents or editors? Chances are your first idea won’t hold up to this sort of scrutiny, but with time and brainstorming, you will see how to transform those first kernels of a concept into something complex, with layers and depth that will make your work shine.