Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Publishing and Authors Please Stop Chasing Trends


I wish the publishing industry didn't push readers towards the latest book trends but allow readers to find stories that interest them. Publishing should be about finding the best stories and not trying to duplicate the success of another book, series or author. I keep thinking about how J. K. Rowling received rejection letters for her first Harry Potter story and I'm sure that was mainly due to publishers chasing trends and not because of what she wrote. If it wasn't for Bloomsbury Publishing taking a chance on her story, readers would have missed out on a fun and unique book series. By valuing trends, think of how many interesting and original stories publishers have passed over because an author's story didn't fit into the current book trend.

An author's main focus should be writing a good story they love and not try to rework it to incorporate whatever trend is dominating publishing. I've read stories where it felt like some parts of the book were add-ons that do nothing for the story other than feel like they were included as a way to capitalize on certain trends.

I know the last thing an author wants is for potential readers to skip over their books because they have a similar premise to books they have already read. As well as having readers feel disappointed because the book was not very good since the author was not being true to writing their own story. So authors please forget about chasing trends and only write the book that you have been dreaming of. I feel that if you write what's in your heart you will create a story that you love and hopefully so will readers.

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