by Jeanette O'Hagan
Over the last year (2017), our CWD/ACW posts have
explored different genres. We have just scratched the surface and will be
looking at more genres in the coming months.
However, last year Ian Acheson suggested we look at current genre trends
for 2017.
Why Worry about Genre Trends?
What difference does this make? Some genres tend to be more
popular. Romance is generally big, and also thrillers, mystery and crime as
well as science fiction and fantasy and children’s picture books. In
non-fiction, cookbooks, self-help, biographies might be popular. In recent
years, there have growing trends for Young Adult and Graphic Novels. On the
other hand, literary fiction may have a more limited, perhaps refined audience
whereas poetry – once the Queen of literature – is often hard to sell.
And different sub-genres – Amish or paranormal romance or
dystopias or Nordic noir or solar punk - may be all the rage -- often on the back
of a popular block buster (Twilight, Hunger Games, the Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo) or ongoing trend (like Amish). Or, perhaps the once favourite genre is
already passé.
Of course, trending could mean either what readers
buying/reading OR what agents and publishers looking for/accepting. It
stands to reason that what readers want and what agents and publishers are
looking for are the same thing – but not always. For instance, publishers may
choose more literary titles or have particular biases and interests. And there
are often big differences between what sells from the big publishing houses
compared to the big sellers for Indie authors.
Knowing which genres are
trending may help in choosing or refining our target audience and the genre we
write in. Writing to a popular genre or
sub-genre can make a difference to how many readers and royalties we garner. If
you have more than one potential project, knowing the trends may help choose
which to write next. Or maybe we can tweak what we are already writing to appeal to a specific
audience.
Even so, there is often a niche audience for most sub-genres,
even obscure ones. Besides, a trend may be on its way out of a saturated
market by the time it takes to write our book and get it published. And predictions
are just that – predictions – at best educated guesses based on current trends,
at worst just plain wrong.
Besides, there may be good reasons why you don’t want to
write a particular genre or sub-genre, no matter how hot it currently is. It’s
better to write what you are passionate about, than to slog out a book in a
genre you hate because it sells (readers will notice).
So, what are the trends?
In General
In A D
Hurley’s 2017 report on Amazon sells, Romance took 66% of
books, with 87% of the top 100 selling slots. Other top-selling genres go to
Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Children’s, and Literary
Fiction, respectively. Whereas, for the Big 5 publishers literary
fiction heads the list, then 2. Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, 3. Children’s, 4.
Non-Fiction, 5. Science Fiction/Fantasy and 6. Romance. Small press publishers might have their own
preferences and specialities.
Within the broader categories, some subgenres are
trending. Hurley reports (2017) ‘LGBT
books have seen a 200% increase, comic books and graphic novels — an 119% bump,
and Teen and YA novels are on a 63% rise.’
Dena of Batch of Books suggests that YA & Children’s books with diversity
(people of colour, disability, woman and LGBT), unique or strong woman
characters, humour and ‘love, hope and dreams’ will do well in 2018 Other pundits suggest an increase in mystery books. While some suggest, in
contrast to the pessimistic dystopian books, the
optimist Solar Punk is making
its mark.
Other areas that is growing, according to
Lauren Wise, are novellas, anthologies, and co-authoring and book bundles. In part as marketing strategies for authors,
but also because shorter fiction is easier to publish as an e-book, and readers often have less time and appreciate shorter reads.
Some of these trends provides a challenge for Christian authors, but also an opportunity.
Christian Books
Non-fiction (Bibles, devotionals, Christian living and biographies) probably
dominate the Christian market. How do genre trends translate into Christian
Fiction?
USA
Traditionally, in the USA, Christian fiction has been driven
by romance, historical and biblical fiction – with a strong emphasis on Amish and
bonnet fiction.
For 2018,
Publisher Weekly reports that some suggest Amish is waning, while others feel it is still
going strong and that there may be a trend toward romantic suspense. Speculative
fiction and mystery have struggled with CBA though there has been a trend for
cross-over and edgier fiction with small press – such as Gilead’s acquisition of
Enclave and expansive publishing model -- and a move to
more realistic fiction that addresses difficult issues with some publishers. (
See also this.)
Australasia
The Australian and New Zealand markets are much smaller,
especially in Christian fiction and non-fiction with limited publication
opportunities and difficulty competing with big titles from across the Pacific.
Christian readers downunder often favour more realistic, maybe edgier, fiction than the America market. Once again,
romance is a major player, though Rhiza Press publishes a range of genres, and Stone
Table Books is actively looking for speculative fiction. Perhaps mystery and
(non-romantic) thrillers are underrepresented.
The Future
Whatever the trends, God holds the future. And while it’s in
some ways harder than it was a few decades ago, there are different opportunities as
well. Part of our challenge is to respond the heart cries of the world with the grace and hope of the gospel - whether explicitly or implicitly.
So over to you – What trends would you predict for 2018? What’s your favourite genre or sub-genre to write or to read? And what’s the strangest genre you’ve come across?
ACW/CWD Cross post.
***
Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems,
two novellas and her debut novel,
Akrad's Children. Find her on
Facebook or at her webpages
Jeanette O'Hagan Writes or
Jenny's Thread.
