So what did the editors and agents have to say (guess) about coming trends and things that are out of favor? Remember this was a romance writers conference so they only discussed related genres. First of all in the romance industry contemporary novels are always popular. The industry professionals declared the 'paranormal' genre dead. When pinned to specifics, they admitted that authors have been doing well in the paranormal genre continue to do so but new writers shouldn't try to break in there. Another thing they admitted was that 'dead' label might not apply equally to sub-categories of the big umbrella of paranormal. They said no more vampires for sure though shape-changers are still in vogue. In the YA genre, the professionals claimed the popular dystopian genre is morphing into something more like science fiction. (Isn't dystopian actually science fiction?) So what does any of this tell authors?
As I mentioned, no one really knows. Some book about blue-skinned aliens could break out like some of those early vampire books did and start a new trend. Perhaps the TV world will fall in love with FX's The Strain and evil vampires will become popular. Maybe the Starz's Outlander will inspire a grand upswing in time-travel stories. It all comes back to not trying to catch those trends.
Don't forget to visit the other participants in IWSG. Do you have a guess about the next big thing and please share if you do? Do you agree with what they shared about the waning popularity of paranormal? Is dystopian going away?
30 comments:
Hi Susan .. I shall be watching to see what comes up - serials or shorter ebooks will come to the fore more and more .. romance will never die though ..
Cheers Hilary
Always interesting to hear what may not be trending anymore.
I don't concern myself with trends because I don't write what most people are writing. I write what I want to read.
If I'd written to trends I never would've written my first book.
I think dystopian is science fiction...
I don't think the industry even acknowledge the fairy tale retelling trend that took the world by storm, so I'm just going to plug my ears and say, "Blah, blah, blah." ;)
I don't think the industry even acknowledge the fairy tale retelling trend that took the world by storm, so I'm just going to plug my ears and say, "Blah, blah, blah." ;)
Trying to predict trends is a waste of time. Better to go with your gut and write the story you want to read.
oh boy, I just try to leave the trends to the experts. All we can do is all we can do - if we're supposed to write what we want to read (and everyone says we are ) and what we want to read is apparently "dead", we still have to go ahead and write what interests us.
I'm surprised. I would have thought paranormal has a ways to go. Vampire novels, OTOH, feel like they's saturated the market. I'm waiting for Vietnam stories to come back like they did with WW2. I know, I'm weird.
Dunno what's coming and going because I don't follow trends - not that I can ignore what's in my face. Not seeing a lot of zombie stuff anymore which might be an indication that that fad is near dead.
It's weird though, I write contemporary everything and get really insecure over the fact that all my characters were 100% human. Guess I need not have feared they wouldn't have a place on the virtual shelves.
What you've written does underscore my belief that we shouldn't write to fit into what's current.
Naturally what I'm writing at the moment is paranormal.
Interesting post. I am kind of tired of vampires.
I'm self-pubbed, so the only people I have to please are my readers. Thank gawd! LOL My hat is off to anyone who can survive querying and traditional pub, esp. in this market.
IWSG #184 until Alex culls the list again.
No one can ever count on what will be in trend tomorrow in the publishing world because it always changes. That's why i don't follow trends. I just write what I want to write. :)
One trend today could be a dead trend tomorrow and then a new trend again in 10 years. Never can tell for sure until it happens.
Interesting, I always like to know what are the latest trends.
A guess on the next big thing? If I did, I'd be jumping that train for sure! ha!
I'm a romance writer, so this little tidbit of inside info is appreciated! Thanks so much for sharing!!
It's not predictable what will trend. Is it? Yes, dystopian is part of sci-fi.
I've been hearing for the past couple of years that dystopian is dead and vampires are dead. But they're still out there. So I guess how good the book is probably dictates success. I still like it all--I wonder if other people do, too? I've never tried hopping on the Trend Train. I just write what I want. Maybe one day I'll accidently be at the train station at the right time. Thanks for sharing, Susan. I love hearing about conferences and what's trending.
I think all anyone can do is write the story in their heart and hope for the best. I know I could never write fast enough to chase a trend even if I wanted to. But I do believe trends exist and things go in and out of style. The best thing, of course, is writing a strong enough story that it starts the trend. :)
I have no idea on any of it! Luckily I don't write much of that so am not crying, though I DO read it! Thanks for sharing this. Great post!
Maybe this is simplistic, but I don't think we can predict the next big thing. I think it will happen, based on someone's great writing, or publicity, or hook...and then we'll all say, Oh, that's the new big thing. I use Harry Potter as an example. No one even came close to imagining that world until J.K. was published and we read it.
They can say a style is out of vogue, but you can bet if they came across a GREAT story they would snatch it up... no matter what it was about. Great stories trump everything else methinks!
It was great to see you at the meeting, Sue!! :D
Paranormal is a little long in the tooth, but I don't think it'll ever go away. I know I still read it.
SF too hasn't seen its grand return since its heyday of the 60s-70s. But it's still with us.
I think paranormal will still around, but shifters are becoming more popular than vampires. I'd love to see more YA sci-fi, though.
Maybe paranormal romance is waning, but I think a general interest in the paranormal is a fairly constant thing. I'm a little biased, though. This just reinforces why I don't write for genres but just tell my stories and let them be what they are. The fickle trends of the industry are too much to even attempt to follow.
By the time we recognise a trend, it's gone already. I think if a story is good enough, then it won't matter what genre it belongs to.
I think that when agents declare something dead, it's because they're making money on stuff they've already sold and don't want more stuff to dilute the punch bowl.
I don't pay much attention to trends. By the time I would write something, its out of vogue. Better to just write a good story, submit it, and see if any agents bite. You really can't predict if you have written the next big thing. Just write something original, and perseverance will do the rest.
That's life according to Donna, BTW.
Hi, Susan,
I don't believe in trends either... A good story IS a good story, no matter what the subject/genre.
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