Contemporaries are dead. This based on what was said at a recent writers’ conference and the fact that only two agent/editors taking appointments at RWA national are interested in romantic comedies. (only one facet of contemporaries, but still interesting–and I got this number second hand so correct me if it is wrong)
Just a couple months ago I heard Chick Lit is dead or dying. EVERYBODY knows historicals are dead. So, what’s alive and kicking? Erotica? Paranormals? And I have my doubts about anything light. Word is light in general is a hard sale.
I love paranormals, I really do, but this weekend I visited my local B & N and I have to say the number of covers that look alike (mysterious figure obviously dressed for some paranormal kick butt action) is overwhelming. When will we be at saturation? And can an author published today in that glut have any chance of standing out?
Don’t we need some variety?
Lori
p.s. Side note, as far as I know romantic suspense is still holding its own. But that seems to be all we have left besides paranormal and erotica. Anyone hear differently?
Scary, isn’t it? How fast it changes. By the time we hear that editors are screaming “Send us Hot Paranormals!” it’s already too late. If you don’t already have a stack of them gathering dust, you won’t get one written before they’re screaming “Hot Paranormals are dead dead dead! Send us Romantic Comedy!”
What to do?
I posed this question on my RWAOL blog this morning, frustrated at the task of trying to write for a mercurial market. I’m still not sure. The advice I’ve gotten so far is “follow your heart”. Maybe that should be amended to say “follow your heart and hope the genre you’ve written in will roll back into vogue in a few years”?
by Jan April 26th, 2006 at 10:02 amI hope romantic comedies aren’t dead. I will always like reading those. Not all the time, but I like them to be there.
by Nicole April 26th, 2006 at 11:56 amI too hope romantic comedies aren’t dead! I love those. I have not really read that many paranormals.
by Jennifer Y. April 26th, 2006 at 12:03 pm*shaking head* I recently heard that the erotica market has peaked, so will be on a downward trend now. I think paranormal is still hot. And I love romantic comedy–there aren’t enough of them out there, imo. But I heard that most genres are doing better when they’re crossed, as in romantic comedy with paranormal element or mystery.
by Jan K April 29th, 2006 at 10:23 amInteresting to note how entertainment such as cinema and literature follow the mood of the country. If paranormal/fantasy/horror is big, it’s because people want escapism…if romcom is big, the opposite. Granted, this takes longer to manifest in books than in visual media.
by Marty May 2nd, 2006 at 7:27 pmI want it to be like a buffet with a wide variety of books to choose from because they’re all popular! Only in a perfect world I guess…
by Josie May 2nd, 2006 at 10:20 pm