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The next big thing
- Thread starter Windcutter
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I feel like we are sort of overdue for a new Harry Potter-esque megahit. As much as I love TMI, I think it'll only wind up being moderately successful and have more of a cult following than being a huge franchise or something.
If you look at all of the series that have been huge- Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games- they all have common threads that stand out: a plain/dull MC who is thrust into an exciting, all-absorbing world where they play a central role. The mythology and plotline is semi-complex, but not TOO complex so as to be confusing, and there are certain themes/motifs that are easy to latch on to. If someone can channel all of the above into a new hit, it'll certainly catch on.
I can totally see a sci-fi novel stepping up to the plate. Or perhaps a good mystery series. Paranormal & dystopian seem to be a bit worn out by now but fantasy novels will never get old.
If you look at all of the series that have been huge- Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games- they all have common threads that stand out: a plain/dull MC who is thrust into an exciting, all-absorbing world where they play a central role. The mythology and plotline is semi-complex, but not TOO complex so as to be confusing, and there are certain themes/motifs that are easy to latch on to. If someone can channel all of the above into a new hit, it'll certainly catch on.
I can totally see a sci-fi novel stepping up to the plate. Or perhaps a good mystery series. Paranormal & dystopian seem to be a bit worn out by now but fantasy novels will never get old.
I've been hearing about something called Sick Lit lately, as a sort of minor trend in YA. It's stories about teenagers with terminal illnesses. Or at least, teenagers who have been in really bad accidents and have to recover. It's getting some controversy, too.
There's a thread about it somewhere around here.
There's a thread about it somewhere around here.
There's been talk of The F1th Wave, which is sci-fi, becoming The Next Big Thing. I read the first few chapters online and it certainly seems very good (super excellent writing, for one). I imagine it will do splendid, but I am not sure if the world and cast of characters have the intangible, immersive standalone magic that makes a phenomenon.
(also, I kind of want the author of the next big thing to be a debut)
(also, I kind of want the author of the next big thing to be a debut)
Liosse de Velishaf
Banned
That's been a thing in anime almost forever, and it never became super popular. But maybe American teens are a different demographic?
Huh, I kinda figured the Sick Lit thing peaked in the '90s, with Lurlene McDaniel. I know a few individual titles in this vein have done really well (TFiOS, obviously), but I feel like that's more about individual merit than the general craving for death or near-death experiences that seem to have propelled McDaniel's career. On the other hand, I've noticed her backlist getting more prominent shelving these days, so maybe it is A Thing again.
Some people are telling me that steampunk and cyberpunk are the future Next Big Thing, but i don't know that I've seen anything to back that up yet. I think Scott Westerfeld wrote a steampunk novel and Jim Butcher is writing (or maybe has already published) a steampunk novel, but as I'm not a big fan of either genre perhaps I haven't noticed any other NBT novels.
There's a lot of buzz around City of Bones-esque urban fantasy this year because of the movie, but I don't know how that'll turn out. My friend saw the trailer and commented, "Meh. Recycled special effects scenes."
I remember there being some buzz for "retold stories' in kind of the Percy Jackson way (and now ABC have the show Once Upon A Time where they're retelling all the fairy stories. Maybe it'll become a trend. Who knows).
I wonder if anyone could point to books in the same genre and style that existed before the NBTs of past years? Were there any serious magic school books before Harry Potter? high school vampire romances before Twilight? Crazy reality show/war books before Hunger Games? Is it because of the "i've never seen this before" factor that they got to be the NBT?
And does anyone think there could be a "repeat" NBT? Like, could the NBT be paranormal romance? Or has that path been worn thin, and is everyone who is writing PNR doomed to be never be worthy of a NBT award?
PS Does Ally Carter count as a NBT in anyone's book?
There's a lot of buzz around City of Bones-esque urban fantasy this year because of the movie, but I don't know how that'll turn out. My friend saw the trailer and commented, "Meh. Recycled special effects scenes."
I remember there being some buzz for "retold stories' in kind of the Percy Jackson way (and now ABC have the show Once Upon A Time where they're retelling all the fairy stories. Maybe it'll become a trend. Who knows).
I wonder if anyone could point to books in the same genre and style that existed before the NBTs of past years? Were there any serious magic school books before Harry Potter? high school vampire romances before Twilight? Crazy reality show/war books before Hunger Games? Is it because of the "i've never seen this before" factor that they got to be the NBT?
And does anyone think there could be a "repeat" NBT? Like, could the NBT be paranormal romance? Or has that path been worn thin, and is everyone who is writing PNR doomed to be never be worthy of a NBT award?
PS Does Ally Carter count as a NBT in anyone's book?
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To your first question, yep! The Vampire Diaries books were first written a decade before Twilight and re-issued after Twilight made it big. There were countless wizard school books before HP, that one by Jane Yolen comes to mind.
And of course there can be a repeat NBT. Especially where paranormal romance is concerned. =_= It's one of those genres that keeps coming back. There just has to be one book that will do super well and here we go again...
I'd rather my my mother genre not be corrupted by genre trending. But honestly cyberpunk and corporate trending are sort of mutually exclusive. Its contradictory philosophies.
Oh by the way, I wouldn't mind seeing more books about freer thinking however.
Oh by the way, I wouldn't mind seeing more books about freer thinking however.
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The Worst Witch is the most obvious, although aimed at a much younger market - it even has extrmely similar characters (e.g. Hardbroom and Snape)
Not exact matches, but definite forerunners of HP:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_You_Want_to_Be_a_Wizard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_Week
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A few months later... still no one is saying Sci-Fi. And it looked like such a big new trend.
I've heard talk that as ebooks become more prevalent, they might have some positive influence on the ability to sell novellas as digital format, but I haven't heard anything about short stories. Seems like the biggest markets for short stories are e-zines and magazines. But I haven't done a lot of research.
Liosse de Velishaf
Banned
Rick Yancey is an excellent writer (the Monstrumologist was FANTASTIC, and would make a "Top 30" list for me) and I could certainly see why it would be a "big thing", but... it isn't a very original book. I don't mean that in an insulting way, it's just an honest observation. "Alien invasion", "tough girl who stands up to aliens and meets mysterious survivor guy", "we are the LAST HUMANS STANDING", so on and so forth.
I kinda wish "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" would become a huge hit. It's bizarre, whimsical, and doesn't cleave to any particular genre other than maybe "fantasy kinda", and Laini Taylor writes like a supernatural being herself.
If today's #pitmad is any indication, I'd guess agents are seeing a lot of queries with ghosts and aliens. Not really an indication of the Next Big Thing, but maybe an indication of a trend of sorts, at least among the unpublished.
Well, thank goodness I have a good 'ole fashioned stalker in mine, with a side of crazy. I've read a lot of agent interviews lately that say 'no more ghosts'.
At this point I feel like people are guessing based on what's already been acquired and already on the shelves (aliens in particular). I'm not sure if aliens/sci fi are even selling that well anymore? At least not among foreign editors. There seems to be more of a push towards safer categories (mystery, John Green style contemporary) unless it's really high concept and awesome sounding.
There just hasn't been a next big thing to drive trends since The Hunger Games and though people in the industry have been guessing for a long time as to what's next, I don't think anything in YA has panned out along those lines in a way they would hope. But it's interesting to see what writers are pitching. I'm going over to the thread now. We should keep in mind though that quite a few of these books might be books that some writers have been pitching for some time, so it's not really an accurate representation of 'trends' I'd think.
Maybe it really is just best to write what you love at this point and hope for the best?
There just hasn't been a next big thing to drive trends since The Hunger Games and though people in the industry have been guessing for a long time as to what's next, I don't think anything in YA has panned out along those lines in a way they would hope. But it's interesting to see what writers are pitching. I'm going over to the thread now. We should keep in mind though that quite a few of these books might be books that some writers have been pitching for some time, so it's not really an accurate representation of 'trends' I'd think.
Maybe it really is just best to write what you love at this point and hope for the best?
I think this is always the best plan. Writing to trends is just silly.
But it's fun to guess. Also, it's nice to know if the market is heavy in what you love.
Has anyone been watching PM? I noticed lots of speculative elements in YA sales earlier this month. For while it seemed heavily contemporary.
They do all seem very "thrillery" also.
They do all seem very "thrillery" also.
yeah we've been talking about it upthread. I'm reading through them now. Some really interesting ones!
Nooo! No more angels please!!!
I'm so sick of them I'd rather see an MC end up with Satan at this point!
I'm so sick of them I'd rather see an MC end up with Satan at this point!