Because don’t we all want to be thought of as reptiles?
Bear with me.
Writers hear a lot about writing “to the market”. What does that mean? To the best of my knowledge, it means studying the trends, the best-sellers, what’s “hot” now, and trying to nudge our writing toward it. If that means that we lighten up our tone, we lighten it up. If that means that erotic paranormal urban mysteries with nuns as heroines are The Thing To Write, we … stare at our computers in confusion. And then we try to write something like it.
Of course, the argument against that sort of thing is that by the time we see what NY thought was hot, it’s old news. NY is on to the next Big Thing and trying to write a holy urban whodunit is a waste of time.
My question is, does all of this bending voices and hopping genres help or hurt an author, do you think? If you write, do you chase trends yourself, or do you prefer to stick with writing what you like? Are you content to wait for the market to recognize your genius or are you willing to “sell out” to get where you want to be?
Readers, can you tell if someone *has* sold out? Do you recognize signs of trying too hard in an author you might have previously loved?
October 18th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
I think writing for the market if you’re targeting most epubs isn’t bad, and can probably help your career. But then you can get away with selling non market trends to epubs anyway.
But to do it for NY, I don’t think it really works. By the time you’ve written and queried the book, NY has moved onto the next trend.
October 19th, 2006 at 1:03 am
I dunno. Even when I write stuff that is in me, but I write it WHEN I do because I know an epub will want it…I FEEL like I’m selling out.
But…I’m not a one-genre kind of writer…Heck, I’m not a one-anything kind of writer. I cross genres, cross heat levels…I might even end up with cross dressers!
I really like trying stuff I wouldn’t normally write.
October 19th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
I can’t tell if a writer has sold out. I read stuff I like, regardless. I write stuff I like to write. If NY doesn’t want it, no skin off my back. Eventually I’ll hit on something that wows them. But I also write across genres. Fantasy, Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense. All Romance of course. *wink*
I don’t, however, try to write for preferance of trends. What’s the point? By the time it’s written, the trend is cold in the market, by an agent’s POV. Write what you like. Not every story is going to find a home. Not every writer is going to find that perfect fit. Just have fun while you’re doing it, otherwise the “job” really does become “Work” and THAT can be felt in writing.
October 20th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
I write what I want to write. If a story calls to me, a situation comes to me, then I write it. Hopefully, whether it’s trendy or not, someone will like it and publish it.
October 21st, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Honestly, I think it depends.
There are a lot of authors who aren’t one-genre writers. Paperback Writer, aka Lynn Viehl, Rebecca Kelly, S. L. Viehl, and others, being a good case in point.
If the writer is truly interested in said (sub)genre, I don’t think it’s “selling out.” (Unless the author decides to be a prick and shit all over fans of her prior work, which has happened with some romance authors who went to more “literary” pursuits.)
That being said, I know there are plenty of people who jump on the bandwagon just because something’s selling. I’ve seen historical authors blog about being badgered by their editors to write a paranormal or an erotica, because after all, that’s what’s selling. I don’t think that’s okay. Some people just don’t fit well with some subgenres, and they really oughtn’t be writing them. IMO.