My Genre Is Hot Now - Why Doesn't Anyone Want It?

Editors and agents always will tell authors to watch trends and see what is hot right now. We want you to have your book in a market that is hot. Writing a book or pitching a book that is not selling is... well, not going to sell. So, with that in mind, a lot of authors are jumping on the new bandwagons in publishing. My in-box is being flooded with people who write "My book will definitely connect with people who read..."

And yet...

They wonder why I might pass on a project that fits with the current market now, or why an editor would say no even though they see they have a project that theoretically fits with the current market.

This is about two things. One involves what the author has done. The other involves what is happening at the editorial/publish level. 

For the authors, they have simply written carbon copies of what is out there. When we say to write what is hot, it does not mean to do the same thing that is out there. It is important to bring something new to the table, and yet, still tap into the voices that seem to be strong right now. When we say something new, it is not writing something that goes completely the opposite direction. Go the same way, but take a side path. Think of it this way. Rick Steves, travel writer and head of Europe Through The Backdoor, hypes up this concept. If Florence, Italy is hot, go to Sienna. You get a lot of the same things, but find new things and new experiences. If you skip this approach and dive right into Florence during tourist season be prepared to be lost in the crowds and not get the experiences you had planned on getting.

The second level is what happens at the publisher level. When a publisher signs an author, that contract also has dates of when those books will be released. That means, those slots are already full. Since publishers only release so many books a year, the "flight path is already full." Do they have slots for those unique new things they discover? Sure. But they don't have whole line up available. 

Along the same lines, many of those books were already written. Let me give you a couple of examples. I recently sold a multi-book contract for one author. That author already had 2 of the books written and ready to go. Still, those books are going to be easily a year out since it has to go through all of the other steps in the publishing process. A second author I represent just signed a multi-book contract. In her case, she was still a couple of books away from wrapping up her current contract, but the unique part of the new contract is the openness of it. We worked in that, based on trends, she could shift focus for those new books. 

So, why is the book not selling? In most cases, it is simply because the market is full right now. Your writing can be fantastic, but if there is no place for you, there is nothing that can be done.

Now, let me spin this a new way... Some of you are already thinking, well, if the mainstream publishers say there is no place for me, I'll do it myself. Sure, you can do that. Sure, you can get that book out there. But please, just remember my Rick Steves analogy. You will be lost in the crowds.