Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Name Game

I recently shared some of the information my friends brought back from the RWA national conference about trends. As many of you agreed, no one can really predict trends in book buying though many people try. One of the interesting tidbits shared by editors and agents is the way we label books.

When pitching a book to an editor or agent or when marketing it after its published, it really helps to label the book and slot it into a genre or a combination genre. My books are traditional epic or high fantasy. My romances are fantasy romance and science fiction romances. Some people would label those books under the big umbrella of speculative or even paranormal romances.

It's possible that some trends that are dwindling in popularity are really only in need of a new label. I mentioned that the dystopian genre is no longer as popular (according to the 'experts') but calling it science fiction might work. Paranormal should have a more specific genre label to garner interest such as shape-shifter or time-travel.

Remember those brief years of chick-lit popularity. Most people will tell you its over but actually it's now better described as 'first-job' or 'first-love' fiction. That odd category named New Adult might also fall into that genre. Whatever the heck it is. Know where the most New Adult is selling? In the iTunes bookstore.

One last thing shared about trends it the desire of publishers to contract series. They're thrilled when an author has an entire series planned or even better, already written. They've come around to what small publishers have been doing and that is doing a quick release of subsequent books in a series instead of making readers wait an entire year.

What do you think? Are some genres just getting new labels rather than losing their popularity? Do you read or write in series? How long is too long between the release of books in a series? Do you know that today is National Left-Handers Day? Or as we like to tell my left-handed stepson, wrong-handed day.

18 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The time in between my releases is definitely too long, but I can only write so fast.
Relabeling is probably what's happening. I know Talli Roland is still writing her chick lit and it's still selling, so the genre can't be dead.
Most New Adult is sold through the iBookstore? Way to go, iTunes.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'm hoping paranormal just has a new name, because that's what I'm writing at the moment.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Great example of Talli, Alex. I'm writing it too, Diane.

The Armchair Squid said...

I've got a lot of lefties in my life, including my wife and my teaching partner, whom I'm seeing later this afternoon. I shall remind both of the special day.

There are too many genres. Seriously, I just want to read a good book. The endless genres are niche-marketing gone way too far.

Liz Blocker said...

You're so right about the genre names - that's an excellent point. Dystopian used to just be Sci-Fi, and it might need to go back to that. And more specifics for paranormal WOULD help. Great thoughts, here.

Robin said...

I find labeling to be one of the most difficult aspects of writing. It seems like very few people write in just one genre any more. And the reason for that is that more and more people want a mix of flavors in their reading. I don't want just a mystery. I want a mystery with something else. Romance. A paranormal element. Something. Same goes for suspense fiction (or thrillers). I want a more rounded story that has an element of romance in it. I want something to root for - other than the MC just making it out alive.

I don't think paranormal is remotely dead. I think people might be worn out on vampires (for a little while, but then they will gain steam again) but there is a HUGE amount of phenomena that falls under that paranormal umbrella. Relabeling. I think that is what they are doing.

Pat Hatt said...

Yeah a lot of things are the same, just with a new label, I think that can help a lot.

Unknown said...

a publisher told me sci-fi romance(my genre) wasn't a huge seller and wanted to label my book paranormal. Not sure I believe that.Many of amazon top sellers are sci-fi romance. Kathryn LeVeque recently posted that medieval historical romance is having a huge surge. Trends definitely come into play

Crystal Collier said...

Excellent thoughts. Not selling, change the label. Got it. =)

I'm a total fan of series. If you fall in love with the characters, you want to follow them around for a while.

Loni Townsend said...

I enjoy a good series. When you love the characters, you don't want to let them go.

Labels are confusing at times, but at least they're flexible.

Carrie-Anne said...

I pretty much only know how to write series books and family/town sagas. Writing a standalone seems so limiting.

One of my hiatused books, set in the near future (2023-26), is a dystopia in the classical sense, a utopia gone creepily wrong. Due to how the term dystopia has been hijacked to mean post-apocalyptic, I'm very leery about calling it what it actually is when I go back and finish it. Speculative fiction might work better for marketing.

Heather R. Holden said...

That's such a good point about genres. I can see how relabeling them would help certain books get a second chance at success!

I must admit, I'm surprised to hear that publishers actually like it when a series is entirely written already. I've always been told they frown on that kind of thing!

Shannon Lawrence said...

I'm relieved to hear that series are looked well upon. I've been hearing that change lately, though when I started (with a series in mind), what I was hearing was not to say you had a series.

Liz A. said...

Seems like things go in cycles. And when the thing that was popular all those years ago comes back, it's under a different name.

Makes sense that New Adult would work in iTunes. Isn't that where all the kids are nowadays?

Arlee Bird said...

Good suggestions. As much as I cringe when it comes to labeling, it's a necessity of convenience in referencing what is what. Relabeling certainly makes sense as long as it fits within the parameters of what the story is really about. To do otherwise could be considered a bit of deception on the readers.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Tara Tyler said...

genre labels are crazy with instability lately! i totally called the chick lit into NA! i will have to revisit mine!!

and series writing is great! i love gobbling up a good series - when it ends is hard, then i have to search again! that's why i'm trying to get more out, but they need time to gesticulate? ha haha!

thanks for the trend news!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan .. reinvention seems to continually happen with publishing - but we need to keep up and be aware that is for sure.

It's interesting times with lots of opportunities and plenty of space to achieve ... cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

It seems that genres are being split into more and more specific sub-genres, rather than just being renamed.