I actually asked this question to a group of college students one day and one student did raise his hand. Everyone in the room turned and stared at this guy. "Really?" we asked. He actually said yes. Did he have a job? No. (Note, this guy was 28ish in age). Where did he live? At home. Who cooked his food? Mom. Who did his laundry? Mom. Did he do work around the house? No. What did he do all day? Video games. Who paid for school? Parents.
Yes, the class wanted to kill the guy.
The reality is, we really do not have unlimited time on our hands. I bring this up because, as writers, we cannot waste time. When we sit down to write, we have to maximize the time we have. We cannot spend hours or even months writing something and then find out that the story is not going to work or that we have to go back and fix entire sections of our story.
I teach a class on marketing and this is a big section of the class. Marketing is not just about selling the book but doing market research and determining if there really is a market for your book and idea BEFORE you even sit down and start writing. If there is no market, or the story is not ready for your book then why on Earth would you even waste your time writing the story, other than just to exercise your brain?
Again, I know some of you are thinking, "But Scott, if the writing is good, then maybe I will be the one starting the trend, or maybe I am going to be filling a niche that is not out there now." Yes, that MIGHT be the case, but the odds are that IS NOT going to happen. I would also say, that is not what I am talking about.
Think of it this way.
You have been thinking about your wonderful grandmother Ellen. She was a wonderful woman and she had some great stories. Wow, she needs a great story about her. You loved listening to all of those stories about her life in Carthage, South Dakota. Growing up in the Great Depression and so on. This is survival. This is the real world. Sure, that sounds great and all that, but honestly.
Does ANYONE other than YOU really give a fig about your grandmother Ellen? Sorry, but the answer is NO.
There is not market for this. You will not sell this book. End of story.
We saw the same thing after Covid. You had this great idea of a relationship that formed over the Internet between two people struggling in isolation during Covid. Wow, this would be great. People CAN relate to this since we all wen through it, right?
Ummm, I don't know about you, but I DO NOT WANT TO RELIVE IT. Nope, not going there again. Don't waste our time.
I can go on and on with these ideas.
What you need to do is really take a serious look at your idea and ask, is it really going to sell. If there are already a ton of books on your topic, will people want ANOTHER book saying the same thing? If there is nothing out there, is there a reason for it?
Just think before you write, "Once upon a time...."
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