Know The Market For Your Book

When you are just starting on a new project, there can be so many things to consider as you put words to the page: formatting, genre, rules, conventions, and style. It can be overwhelming!

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS A WRITER MUST KNOW IS THE MARKET IN WHICH THEY ARE WRITING

But it's a fine line between knowing that market and writing for it. It's one thing to fully understand how an agent might sell your manuscript, the requirements of the genre, your ideal reader and comp titles. It's another to write a book simply because of current trends.

KNOWING THE MARKET FOR YOUR BOOK MEANS YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO SELL YOUR BOOK

This understanding influences every aspect of the story, from the word count to the cohesiveness of the plot. But here is where I see a lot of writers get into trouble: they try to write a book based on what is currently trending, like a certain demographic, genre, or topic.

Now don't get me wrong, if you are normally a horror writer, but suddenly get an idea for a romance novel concept about something that just happens to be currently trending, by all means explore this idea!

BUT CHOOSING A STORY IDEA BASED ON SOMETHING CURRENTLY WHIRLING IN THE CULTURAL ZEITGEIST, BECAUSE IT MIGHT GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE IN THE MARKET, IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER

Here's why:

1. You likely aren't connecting to your deep-level WHY. If you don't know why you are writing something, beyond getting a leg-up in the publishing race, you run the risk of your story feeling thin, surface, chaotic, or pandering.

2. Writing takes time! And trends change quickly. By the time you finish a rough draft, your story idea might be passe'.

3. The publishing market is, like so many industries right now, in an upheaval, though Nathan Bransford argues it's a golden era for writers. Staking all your claim on a slippery target like getting published is not only the surest way to be disappointed, but you'll miss out on the joy of the process!

And yes, writing should be and can be a joyful process, if you are doing it for the right reasons.