Publishers are always looking for something "new". But it can't be TOO new, because it still needs to fit into the genre categories used by booksellers--at least until bookstores start labeling shelves with things like "Awesome Stories" or "A Different Kind of New".
Writers are often told they should write the book of their heart. BUT they also need to keep an eye on the market trends. At the same time they're advised not to FOLLOW the trends, because those are constantly evolving.
So write a book that's fresh and different, but not too much, and make sure it's a book you've poured your passion into while staying on top of the trends, which will change before your book is published. . .
What's a writer to do with all this conflicting information?
I can answer that with two words: Suzanne Brockmann.
With each of her books, I stand on the threshold, filled with the intention of picking apart each sentence so I can learn how she can draw me in like she does, so that I can do that in my own books. . .and next thing I know it's page 250 and I'm gnawing off my fingertips and turning pages so fast—or I would, if I had any fingertips LEFT. (If ever there were a persuasive argument for buying an e-reader, this may be it: I can still read when my fingers have been chewed down to stumps.)
Ms. Brockmann's latest book, Infamous, is not part of the Navy SEAL romantic suspense series that has made her justifiably well-loved. In fact, this book is wildly different: it's on a movie set, in Arizona, and there's a ghost as one of the main characters, who is helping to solve a current mystery, and actually a long-ago one. But it's not really a paranormal.
You can only imagine what THAT pitch must have been like. I have to admit, just from the description, I would have totally skipped it, except—
It's Suzanne Brockmann.
Her characters are my best friends--even though right now I'm doing all the work to keep the relationship alive. But hey, I can live with that.
She's an auto-buy for me. I'm on the bookstore's doorstep on release day, baring my teeth and hissing like a viper at anyone impeding my ability to get to the book.
When she doesn't have any new books, I rock back and forth, moaning until the next one is out. The next Navy SEAL book isn't releasing until March 2011 (which, for the non-math majors reading this, is SEVEN LONG MONTHS of rocking back and forth. And yes, I'm so counting that as exercise for my core muscle group.)
Despite my uncertainty about Infamous, I went ahead and bought it. And boy am I glad I did. It has everything I love about Suzanne Brockmann's books. Amazing characters. The deep POV that lets you feel everything the characters are going through, from pain to lust to love to heartache. There's also sexiness, and humor, and the agonizing suspense.
It was the exact experience I look for when I read her books.
The amazing thing is she actually wrote this book TWELVE years ago. It can't be a surprise it was a "no go" at that time. As she said in this interview with Posman Books, the book was "too out of the norm" and she was "too new of an author, so the book wasn’t published."
About a year or so ago, she re-read it and still liked it, and pitched it to her editor as "something a little different". This time she got the go-ahead, so she revised it. Ms. Brockman adds:
"The version of the book that’s being published as INFAMOUS is interesting – it’s as if I time-traveled and co-wrote it with the author that I was twelve years ago. The younger me brought a certain sweetness to the table, and the current me brought twelve additional years of writing experience. I’m pretty happy with the outcome."
This was a wonderful book that was simply waiting for its time to arrive. It required the author to grow her audience, as well as her writing skills. She developed her own market, and a dedicated fan base, while writing the book of her heart.
So back to the original question. What should writers do with all the conflicting information about trends, and writing books that are new and different? Simply this: we must write the books that call to us, the ones that only we can write.
And yes, I said "books". Plural. It gives us a chance to discover our particular storytelling specialties, to explore how we can deliver a magical reading adventure unlike anyone else's.
One day readers will be seeking out the experience of YOUR book. When they see your name on the cover, it means you will provide them certain characters or storylines or humor or angst or whatever it is they crave from the stories you create.
None of us can ever know what the trends will be. The best we can hope for is to make our own, so that readers will want our books so intensely they'll try even the craziest stuff we write.
Like a ghost/Western/romantic suspense story.
Aha! Well, you know me...write outside the box whenever possible! And love it, sell it, believe in it...
And if it just won't sell, I am so with Suzanne...hold onto it and wait. Sometimes, the market will come to you!
Posted by: Maureen | August 06, 2010 at 01:44 AM
I love that quote of the author saying she felt as if she'd time traveled and co-written her book with the author she was twelve years ago! This gives me great hope that I'm not the only one who thinks the book "under the bed" can be dusted off, revised with experience to become the story of both my former and current self. Kind of a surreal experience. LOL But in order to do this, a writer must keep writing and gain new experience. I'll keep working on that. :)
I can't believe I haven't read Suzanne Brockmann. Sorry, I guess I've been living under a rock. LOL
Posted by: Melissa | August 06, 2010 at 08:52 AM
Maureen, I think you're right--sometimes the market has to get itself ready for our books. :) So we have to keep believing in our "outside the box" creations. And just keep creating more of them!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | August 06, 2010 at 09:05 AM
Melissa, I loved that quote too. I've been looking at some things I wrote a while back, when I knew less about writing and this described it perfectly. The enthusiasm and love for my characters is very obvious, and it just needs a little revision based on the things I've learned.
So don't give up on that book under the bed! LOL
I am a relatively new fan of Suzanne's. I don't know why I hadn't read any of her books. Luckily my BFF gave me one and I became an instant fan. I got to chat with Suzanne at a book signing last year, and she was great, very encouraging about me being a writer trying to get published. She signed my book with "Dream big!", and I've been trying to do that ever since!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | August 06, 2010 at 09:09 AM
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure.
Posted by: Jordan 5 | August 06, 2010 at 11:06 PM
That's me- for a while, it seemed like the only people getting agents wrote YA. But, it never made me think, I'll write YA." Why? Because I don't want to write YA. I write what I have to tell, then hope and work toward the best :)
Posted by: colbymarshall | August 08, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Colby, I know exactly what you are saying. I don't have a YA voice, or even a sense of what it is to be YA, so I don't plan to try it. So I think you've got the best strategy, since that's where your heart and passion are. I'll hope and work toward the best with you. :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | August 08, 2010 at 09:14 AM