In my short time really paying attention, I’ve decided this is the pervailing attitude among authors. Seems like every time I flip on my computer or drag myself to a conference, someone is foretelling the death of some sub-genre or another, or saying how having your book published in one month rather than another is sure to be poison for your sales. It’s enough to make your head spin.
For months the chant has been no historicals - particularly not American set. And you can almost hear the stampeding feet of historical authors racing to contemporary. At RT we heard contemporaries are flat and erotica and paranormal are hot. Sue Grimshaw (Bordersgroup) quoted a 35% increase in erotica sales this year. This statement caused a bit of a stir among some people, but a 35% increase of a small market is still a small market. Not to put down erotica, just saying I think people take any little grain that drops on their heads and begin racing around creating panic. Sheer panic.
So what is it? Are Westerns dead? Are contemporaries barely scraping by? Is everyone secretly closeted in their houses reading erotica - tossing aside tamer novels in disgust? I doubt it. I’m sure all of these bits have some truth in them, but I think the key is to keep a cool head, write what you like and relate too, and weather the storm. Sure you can add a little spice if you like, but don’t twist yourself into a pretzel trying to be something you aren’t. In the meantime, grab your helmet and hunker down - you don’t want a big ole hunk of non-selling-historical sky to hit you.
Oh, and the next big thing? Gothics - get writing. ;-)
Got the urge to make your head spin and give yourself a huge, honkin’ headache? Try to only write for the current trends in romance.
by Lynn May 13th, 2005 at 10:26 am