Trends

Once upon a time, I was drowning in vampires.

Twilight had just been released. And it seemed like every single writer wanted me - as an acquiring editor at Warner Books / now Hachette Book Group - to read their take. But the problem was, there already was a very popular take that everyone was reading. And any other mention of vampires just made me very, very tired.

Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

This is what happens when you try to write to a trend. By the time you can write an entire manuscript and try to capture it, it is very, very over.

Books are not written or published fast. Or, they shouldn’t be. It should take time to carefully write, edit, proof, query and / or publish. You want the book to be good! By the time your trendy book is ready to meet the world, the world will have moved on. You will have missed the chance to be the big thing everyone was talking about and will just be old news.

I know we all think we could do that big shiny thing better. Writers often say to me, “but they haven’t read my take!” Unfortunately, it will be hard to find someone with the energy to actually read it. I know when I was inundated with vampires - and also, Osama bin Laden as everyone was writing a thriller about him at one time or another - I was done. I couldn’t even really judge the manuscript.

So I say: become the trend, don’t follow it! Write the book of your heart! And one day, ideally, there will be a ton of writers clamoring to copy you.

Until next time,

P.S. I hope you’re enjoying my viewpoint on all things writing and publishing! If you are, please take a moment to comment, share, upgrade your subscription, and spread the word. It is so appreciated!