Is Your Book Timeless?

I see a lot of writers who want to jump onto the bandwagon and craft novels around specific things that are happening in present day society. These trends seem like a great marketing tool because the audience is already there. And, while this might have an impact at the time you are writing that novel, will that trend still be there a year or two from now? We tend to forget that by the time your book that you are marketing to that editor or agent reaches the bookshelves, you may be a year out. 

I recently had a wave of submissions where authors were structuring novels around those current trends. One person, in particular, was marketing the book around a current musical trend. Or at least it was recent when the author wrote the story. In this case, the group is no longer one of the top groups out there, and, based on the expert opinion of my teenage daughter, this group is "so yesterday."

When I looked at the writing, it was pretty good, but as I contemplated where we could sell the story, that audience is simply not going to jump on board. This target audience was a YA/New Adult group and, while they do jump on trends fast, they also dump the trends equally as fast. 

In simple terms, this book will not sell.

When you are looking at stories with a premise that is not timeless, or you decide to write fan fiction genres, you need to understand you are taking a huge risk. If the trend is still strong when you are submitting to those editors and agents you might be in good shape, but... do you have an escape parachute? Are you prepared for when that market is gone? This is really one of those cases where you have to be careful "putting all of your eggs in one basket."

Just something to consider on a Friday!