What genre sells the most? Wondering what my next project should be..

nitaworm · Feb 18, 2009

Well as I sit here planning my second novel (I have none published yet...I am still a newbie). I have several ideas. I just finished writing a YA/Sci-Fi. I really enjoyed writing YA/Sci-Fi. I do have a romance book idea, and a travel book idea. So I am wondering which I should start on first? Another YA/Sci-Fi, Travel Book, or Romance?

Should I mix up genre to query? or stick to just one?

Inarticulate Babbler · Feb 18, 2009

Romance.

NeuroFizz · Feb 18, 2009

Write the story that moves you most. Even if you can complete a novel-length story and polish it to publication quality in record time, it'll be two to three years before it will come out, and what is selling well today may not be hot in two to three years.

brainstorm77 · Feb 18, 2009

Romance I'm thinking...But I do think you have to at least like and enjoy the genre you write.

Soccer Mom · Feb 18, 2009

Write the story that you want to read, not the genre that you think will sell.

Romance sells the most, but if that isn't what you read, then you shouldn't try to write it. Write what you love.

jchines · Feb 18, 2009

If you're only worried about sales, a Harry Potter/Twilight crossover ought to do well.

But I'd suggest going with the project you're most excited about. Trying to write novels to trends doesn't tend to work very well, in part because of the delay (what's hot today might not be 3 years from now when your novel sees print), and in part because a novel you wrote because you were excited about it will generally be a much better book than one you wrote because you wanted to make some money.

sassandgroove · Feb 18, 2009

Write what you want to write then find a way to sell it. i think you'll write a better story that way than trying to fit a mold.

NeuroFizz · Feb 18, 2009

Was it Elmore Leonard who had the following dialogue in a story (paraphrased and maybe pretty far from accurate):

#1: "What kind of writing makes the most money?"

#2: "Ransome notes."

cooeedownunder · Feb 18, 2009

Write what you can't help but write.

Charlie Horse · Feb 18, 2009

The whole idea of writing in a particular genre simply because it's what sells goes against the whole idea of why you write. Not to be grumpy, but nothing raises my hackles faster than people who sell out their art. If you are a good enough writer to get anything published, you should be able to write something publishable that you're passionate about.

seun · Feb 19, 2009

jchines said:
If you're only worried about sales, a Harry Potter/Twilight crossover ought to do well.

Throw in a conspiracy with the Vatican, assasians and a rip off of Indiana Jones and you're on to a winner.

Alpha Echo · Feb 19, 2009

I've never been able to form my writing to fit anyone's mold.

That being saud, I have absolutely no idea.

Good luck!

James D. Macdonald · Feb 19, 2009

Your two best bets are:

Golfing for Cats

Lincoln's Doctor's Dog

James D. Macdonald · Feb 19, 2009

Often (not saying that this is the OP's motive) this question boils down to "How can I get published even if I'm not good enough?"

Have some pride. Write your best about what you love the most. Then, do it again.

CaroGirl · Feb 19, 2009

You can't predict the market or write the next best seller. No one knows what it will be.

Write the best book you can and hope it's good enough, as well as in the right place at the right time.

CACTUSWENDY · Feb 19, 2009

Now that I understand where I went wrong....Ransome notes...Will get busy with that as soon as possible. Thanks for the insight.

(Wonder where I'll find someone to kidnap? Might do better with a pet....)

CaroGirl · Feb 19, 2009

You mean notes to Arthur Ransome, the dude who wrote Swallows and Amazons? I don't think that'll work as I believe he's dead.

Now, perhaps you mean ransom notes...

AnonymousWriter · Feb 19, 2009

What is popular now won't be popular in two years time...which is then minimum period that your book will be published in. Write what genre pulls you in the most. Generally, if it's a genre that you enjoy, then you will be better and more motivated to write in it. Who wants to write something that they have no interest in? Even if you manage to finish the book in a genre that you don't like, there is a high chance that it won't be publishable anyway...

selkn.asrai · Feb 19, 2009

I know where I work, our highest selling sections are ALWAYS Romance and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. It goes beyond popularity. It's all continuity and incredibly avid fans. Romance will always sell in droves, but it doesn't promise that YOUR romance will.

That being said, trying to predict the market (e.g., "I'll write about vampires coz they're the hot thing right now!") is foolish and detrimental to you. Don't write something because it's what sells. That would make for quite an unfulfilling life, don't you think?

maestrowork · Feb 19, 2009

the genre that sells the most is definitely romance.

but that also means there are millions of writers out there trying to write that genre. just because the harlequins are selling $12 billion worth of romance novels doesn't mean you'll be one of those authors and that your piece of that pie would be anything but large and tasty.

write what you like to read. if you happen to love the popular, great. but i've heard people getting seven-figure advance for debut literary novels. so there's no need to sell yourself short by going after the well-trampled path.

scarletpeaches · Feb 19, 2009

Write what you love. If you manage to finish something you don't love (unlikely) and it gets published (unlikelier), it'll seem flat and bland.

Why bother wasting your time?

I'd rather write something I love...say, erotic time-travel revisionist history...than a typical romance novel.

maestrowork · Feb 19, 2009

scarletpeaches said:
erotic time-travel revisionist history.

Frost Does Nixon, 2012? I'll buy.

Gillhoughly · Feb 19, 2009

Write whatever turns you on the most, not what you think will sell the best.

Your passion will come through in the writing, and that's what sells.

By the time you finish a book to fit a trend, the trend will be over.

What genre sells the most? Wondering what my next project should be..

AW Addict

Pissin' Everyone off, 1 at a time

The grad students did it

practical experience, FTW

Crypto-fascist

Got the hang of it, here

Sassy haircut

The grad students did it

Grateful for the day

Speaking in metaphors

Horror Man

I should be writing.

Your Genial Uncle

Your Genial Uncle

Living the dream

An old, sappy, and happy one.

Living the dream

Rawr.

Fear the Death Ray

Fear the Death Ray

Grumpy writer and editor