Do they all include steamy romance? Do they center around family feuds? Are they set in dark dystopian futures, or are they silly and inconsequential? And if you can’t find any books similar to yours, consider revising your premise. Pay attention to the top dozen books similar to yours that have sold well. But if you want your book to sell, you’ll have to compromise. The idea that initially inspired you to begin writing might not fit squarely into any genre. Ignoring this is like attending a Zoom meeting without pants - it might work out, but you’re taking a huge risk. Market research is the least sexy part of writing, but it’s essential. After spending years on a manuscript, it’s easy to forget what the market wants. You’ve never seen THIS snowflake! ( ArtTower/ Pixabay)įar too many writers get stuck in their own heads. But instead of realizing this, I created a unique snowflake that got lost in the blizzard. There are only two exceptions - it could be set during the Tang dynasty (the Chinese equivalent of “fantasy stories are always set in the medieval era”), or the main female protagonist could be involved in a harem. If I had spent five minutes researching the Asian historical fiction and fantasy genres, I would have known these rarely overlap. The worst advice I had received was “Write what you want to write.” That’s 100% pure organic cow-poop, and it’s a recipe for creating something only one person in the world (my mom) would find interesting. But still, only 40 out of every 2 million self-published books will make it big. Yes, we live in a big world, and there’s bound to be someone who wants to read your book. I also introduced epic magic into the plot, effectively alienating the few nerds who might read my book in the first place. Unless you’re obsessed with history, you’re probably starting to glaze over. My book is set in ancient China, and it takes place right as Northern Wei was conquering much of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Especially if it’s from an unknown author. With very few exceptions, nobody wants to read something that will turn their world upside down. Just because Pride and Prejudice and Zombies defied all odds doesn’t mean you should gamble the next few years of your life on the off-chance you’ll become the next Cinderella.
Countless publishers dismissed Harry Potter as a bloated children’s story, only to see it redefine the entire Young Adult sub-genre.īut let’s be realistic.
Rowling’s literary agent said she’d never make a living from writing fiction. I wrote a book, but nobody wanted to read it. I spent over 5,000 hours slaving over it, but I hadn’t spent fifteen minutes researching my target audience. This was the most significant project I had ever undertaken, but it was all a giant waste of time. I deleted thousands of words, drafted hundreds of potential opening sequences, then finally began the long process of querying literary agents. “The pages are laminated - I can’t even use this as toilet paper!” ( upklyak/ freepik)
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