Thursday, November 12, 2009

Moving the Needle

I read a post by literary agent Nathan Bransford where he discusses the dilemma of "what to publish that's facing editors, agents, sales assistants, marketers, and other assorted publishing types in New York." He says they are moving the needle, or making an impact on books that are published and sent to book stores. Who their making an impact on, is up for grabs. The publisher's bottom line comes to mind. As writers we have to ask ourselves who threads the needle and who pulls it through the publishing fabric.

The zeitgeist or ideas prevalent today can also be called fads. The vampire fad has almost run its course and its time for a change. Personally I would like to see the broad genre of SiFi/Fantasy take over. But alas, I fear that mindless zombies will take the public interest next.

We, the authors thread the needle and the agents, editors and anyone else down the line leading to our books being published, must pull it. If every writer wrote a single genre, the lines to the book stores would dwindle away. We can either flow with the zeitgeist or write what we are passionate about. I am fervent about SiFi/Fantasy and will thread the needle with my novel. What are your thoughts on fads? Do you think, I need money and will write a new twist on vampires or zombies or do you write only books you are passionate about?

David

2 comments:

  1. What a great question. I write what I love to read. And what I love to write about. Hopefully it fits a trend somewhere, but I don't set out specifically writing to a trend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Elana

    I agree with you. Fads come and go. Remember the Pet Rock craze of the 70’s? By the time I was ready to buy one the vogue had ended. They are probably worth a fortune by now. My reading habits also lead me to write a novel that I wished was on the bookseller’s shelf. Since it was not, I decided to write it. Now I am working on my query letter and synopsis.

    David

    ReplyDelete