What do they want?

[edfrzr]

I read an article some time back about an author who found out what publishers were looking for and then wrote about it. He got published.


Does anyone known what publishers are looking for these days?

[James D. Macdonald]

They want well-written books that are both surprising and satisfying.

Same thing you want as a reader.

[edfrzr]

I understand that. What I am talking about is a specific theme or genre that is hot or chic. For example, this gentleman found that publishers were looking for a book geared more towards the female point of view. Again, that is what he attempted and it worked. Just looking for some insight.

[Alphabeter]

By the time publishers mention "whats hot", its two years old.

Listen to Jim. Seriously.

A good story works no matter the genre or topic.

[maestrowork]

Jim knows what he's talking about, and Joy is RIGHT.

I got a publisher, without knowing that is currently "hot" or "not hot." I simply wrote what I thought was a good story with good characters. Granted, I'm not a fast writer, and it took me two years to write that book and another 8 months to shop, not to mention another year to get that into print. Anything "hot right now" would mean nothing to me.

[mistri]

It's not as if he wrote the first book ever geared towards women, though, is it? There would have been plenty of other writers (both published and unpublished) with a completed book geared towards women, in the same time period. If he got published it was because the book was good, I imagine, rather than because he landed an amazing theme.

Even if it's true that publishers are sometimes on the look out for particular books the book still has to be great to get bought, and they're unlikely to be looking for something as vague as 'geared towards women', or something to be so specific that it'll help you break in if you find out about it.

Plus, what's hot now likely won't be hot for long. I prefer to focus on telling a good story.

[DeadlyAccurate]

My mom keeps insisting that I should've written Harry Potter, so that I could be a billionaire like Rowlings. The fact that I never have nor likely never will write a children's book seems to be lost on her. Also, I don't and won't have children. And we're not British.

If you try to write only what's the hottest trend, you're probably going to find it difficult to get published. You won't necessarily be writing what you actually enjoy, and that will show in your work.

[reph]

My mom keeps insisting that I should've written Harry Potter, so that I could be a billionaire like Rowlings.
That's one of the craziest motherisms I've ever heard. How can you comply? "You're right, Mom, I'll write Harry Potter." It's already been written!

[KTC]

Jim is 100% on this one. Genres are forgotten when a succinct, well-written and tantalizing book is in front of the publisher.

[Susan Gable]

I understand that. What I am talking about is a specific theme or genre that is hot or chic. For example, this gentleman found that publishers were looking for a book geared more towards the female point of view. Again, that is what he attempted and it worked. Just looking for some insight.

Well, writing towards the female POV is no big secret - more women read than men. (Statistically speaking.) Also, if you want to look only at sales figures, romance sells more mmpb than any other genre. So, to me, saying write towards a woman's POV is kind of like, d'uh. :)

But let's look at that. What the heck does "write towards the female POV mean?" Write a book with a female protagonist?

Jim said pretty much what I was going to say. Publishers are looking for a good story, with intriguing characters, that's well written.

Yeah, I wish I'd written Harry Potter, too. <G>

Hey, Rowling got her share of rejection. Plenty of editors out there who are kicking themselves now. (I can see it now. Heads of publishing houses meeting with their staffs: "I just want to know who the knucklehead was who passed on Rowling's book?? Come on, fess up." When the "knucklehead" raises his/her hand, they're fired.)

So, at the time, NONE of them were looking for "a book about an orphaned kid magician that will appeal to both children and adults." No, a lot of them passed on it - and it turned out to be the latest "thing."

Don't chase fades. Write a damn good story.

Susan G.

[KTC]

I was in a writing workshop once and got pummelled by a couple of women who threw that "GEAR IT TOWARDS WOMEN" line on me. I was defended by a woman who said "He's writing from the perspective of a 16 year-old male! Cut him some slack. They don't know women yet at that age!" I understand the woman slant...but it haunts me sometimes.

[oswann]

Asking what is hot and what is not, is to admit that you want to follow. This means that in whatever you do you will be behind everyone else and potentially unoriginal in whatever genre you decide to tackle.

Take control, get the information that you need, do the legwork and write the best book you are capable of. Nothing else matters at this point in the journey.


Os.

[Jamesaritchie]

I read an article some time back about an author who found out what publishers were looking for and then wrote about it. He got published.


Does anyone known what publishers are looking for these days?

I think what publishers want from writers is quite often very different from what publishers want from a specific writer.

Now, odds are there will always be opening in the mystery and romace genres, no matter what year it is, but my opinion is that what a publisher wants from a specific writer is whatever type of novel they do best. This usually means the type of novel they most love to read. I'm not saying you can'y write to the market. I have written to the market, and I've made it work.

But I will say this is a terribly difficult trick for a new writer, and can even be tough for an old pro. If you really want to sell a novel, write what you most love to read. This is almost certainly what you'll write the best, and it's your best that publishers want.

If you don't love reading romance novels or mysteries, odds are extremely high you won't be able to write one that's publishable. Not, at least, until you have quite a bit of experience as a writer.

I think the best advice is to do your best to write a novel you would love to read had someone else written it.

There's also an old saying that "Publishers want something just like everything else, only different."

It took me a while to understand what this really meant, but once I actually figured it out, and learned how to apply it to my own fiction, it made selling everything one heck of a lot easier. It makes perfect sense. It's learning to implement it that's the trick.

And, of course, if you really want to know what publishers are looking for in the near future, just read the bestseller list. The main goal of pretty much any publisher is to find writers who will write books that make the bestseller list.

And while no one can really say exactly what publishers will want by the time you finish your novel, all publishers do keep track of sales and project trends. They do have an idea of what they THINK they will want in two years,
and any good agent is tuned into these projected trends. You can also often learn them from such sources as Publishers Weekly and/or LMP.

But knowing them probably won't do you much good. When you say this writer learn that "publishers were looking for a book geared more towards the female point of view," it really only means one particular line at one particular publisher was looking for this. And one particular line at one particular publisher is always looking for something, and it's a well-written novel of the kind that line publishes.

The best bet a new writer has is to write a good novel of the type that writer most loves to read.

I've written in several genres, but I read and enjoy every genre I write in. There are certain types of novel out there I couldn't write successfully no matter how hard I tried simply because I don't enjoy reading them.

Instead of worrying about what publishers want, ask yourself what you want. What novel can you write that you would really love to read if someone else wrote it. Do it well, and this is exactly what publishers want.

[arrowqueen]

I agree with every word of the above.

[edfrzr]

Wow!! Okay worms it is. Since I have opened this can, I shall have them for dinner. There's only one problem -- when I cut them they jsut grow back. Now there are more than I can eat.

To write a "well written story" is my only desire. There is nothing more I would like to do. I was kinda fishing to see if what I have already written might be a timely topic.

Maybe it was a particular publisher looking for a particular topic. I'm not sure.

Thanks for the insight all.

[Jamesaritchie]

[QUOTE=edfrzr]
Maybe it was a particular publisher looking for a particular topic. I'm not sure.

QUOTE]

Well, unless two or more publishers buy the same novel, this is all it ever amounts to, really. When any writer sells a novel, all he can ever be sure of is that one particular publisher wanted that novel for one particular line.

Have fun with your writing. Write something you love. Sometimes the journey is prettier than the destination, so make sure you enjoy the scenery along the way. It can be hard to do this when you're thinking too much about the end of teh road.

[Daughter of Faulkner]

Write what you know and know what you write.


Be yourself, smile a lot, and write a good story. And over the years your writing should get better and better and better as you and your writing grow into one and the same.

That's all!

:hi:

[James D. Macdonald]

Hey, Rowling got her share of rejection. Plenty of editors out there who are kicking themselves now. (I can see it now. Heads of publishing houses meeting with their staffs: "I just want to know who the knucklehead was who passed on Rowling's book?? Come on, fess up." When the "knucklehead" raises his/her hand, they're fired.)




As it happens, I know the answer to that question.

One of the editors who rejected Rowling's first book was asked about it. He replied that the version he saw was "unreadable cr4p."

What happened was that somewhere in among the string of rejections, Rowling sat down, learned how to write, and rewrote the entire thing.

There's a lesson for you there, somewhere.

[Susan Gable]

As it happens, I know the answer to that question.

One of the editors who rejected Rowling's first book was asked about it. He replied that the version he saw was "unreadable cr4p."

What happened was that somewhere in among the string of rejections, Rowling sat down, learned how to write, and rewrote the entire thing.

There's a lesson for you there, somewhere.

The lesson is: Learn as you go. <G> Use rejections to your advantage. Revise, rewrite, tighten.

Thanks for sharing that, Jim!

Susan G.

[Sassenach]

I defer what to Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman said about the movie industry. I think it applies equally well to publishing:

Nobody Knows Anything

[James D. Macdonald]

Some people do know something, else how did Bloomsbury find both J. K. Rowling and Susanna Clarke?

[Ken Schneider]

Write it, copy it, and stuff it in a drawer for a month. Write something else.

I like to do this, and then go back and re-write when the material is not fresh in my mind. I'm sure everyone has re-read something they wrote and said, Yeeeish, did I write that?

When the first re-write is done, I hand the m.s. to a few readers I have who are honest with me. What they like, I try to see if I can expound, what they don't I try to re-work again.

I also write everyday, at least for me, 2,000 quality words no matter how long it takes. Doing this helps keep the story fresh in my mind. I think about the story more, and it helps me develope sub-plots and background.

[zornhau]

Some people do know something, else how did Bloomsbury find both J. K. Rowling and Susanna Clarke?

I'm sure you're right, but it's hard to judge their knowledge by counting only their successes! Do we know how often they buy books which bomb?

[Fractured_Chaos]

Very simple. If you see a "trend" in publishing, and try to match that trend, by the time you write the first draft, get it edited to a "publishable" novel, and then start to send it off, the trend you tried to follw will be over, and the story will be old hat.

Uncle Jim had the best, and simplest advice on this...Just write a good story that engages you. Don't worry about "trends". And maybe, if you do it right, you might just start the next big trend.

[Sassenach]

It makes more sense when you read it:

Nobody Knows Anything.

[Mistook]

The hottest trend - the train you want to catch, is in the back of your mind. It's the vaguely articulated thoughts that pass throught your mind, and the minds of those around you, as punctuated by accidental blurbs in the media.

Take the themes that run through your life - the ones nobody understands - and match them against the ones that pop-up among your circle. Look for evidence of this in the subtext of incessant media babble, and find your opening.

Your idea has to have a shelf-life, and a universal appeal, if you want it to endure. You get the edge by looking at today's undercurrents. You get the laurels if you speak it in a way that can be understood by all generations.

It's easy to talk about, but hard to do.

Easier said than done.

[Zane Curtis]

One of the editors who rejected Rowling's first book was asked about it. He replied that the version he saw was "unreadable cr4p."

What happened was that somewhere in among the string of rejections, Rowling sat down, learned how to write, and rewrote the entire thing.

Interesting. I've always taken those Rowling rejection stories with a grain of salt. There might be good reasons to reject a book -- even a Harry Potter. If the manuscript an editor saw wasn't the one that went on to sell a bijillion copies, that would certainly be a good reason. There might even have been good reasons to pass on the improved manuscript.

[Sassenach]

@If the manuscript an editor saw wasn't the one that went on to sell a bijillion copies, that would certainly be a good reason. There might even have been good reasons to pass on the improved manuscript.

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the editor was having a bad day, or maybe he's not a particularly good editor. Who knows? So many books that went on to become classics [e.g., Ironweed, A Wrinkle in Time, Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance...just to name three] were rejected over and over.

[Zolah]

My mom keeps insisting that I should've written Harry Potter, so that I could be a billionaire like Rowlings. The fact that I never have nor likely never will write a children's book seems to be lost on her. Also, I don't and won't have children. And we're not British.

I love it! That's nearly as good as my father:

'If you'd just write something really good, I'm sure you'd be a bestseller'.

Families, eh? Who'd have 'em?

[Galoot]

I can just imagine a publisher saying to his subordinates, "My crystal ball says Louisiana lawyer novels will be big in two years. Dive into the slush and don't come out until you've got something like that in your hands."

[Jamesaritchie]

@

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the editor was having a bad day, or maybe he's not a particularly good editor. Who knows? So many books that went on to become classics [e.g., Ironweed, A Wrinkle in Time, Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance...just to name three] were rejected over and over.

There's also the right home factor. A novel that is a best-selling marvel when placed at one publishing house might not sell nearly as well at another. A good editor knows the kind of novels her publisher can market and distribute effectively.

Just because an editor rejects a great book does not in any way mean she's wrong. That great book might not have been so great at that publishing house.

As an aside, do you know that when you type too fast and hit the space bar too soon, "does not" becomes "doe snot." A very different thing.

[HConn]

As an aside, do you know that when you type too fast and hit the space bar too soon, "does not" becomes "doe snot." A very different thing.

Also spellcheck-proof.