#8: Readers vs. Market

If you study the how-to side of writing long enough, you will gather conflicting messages or what appear to be conflicting messages. Everyone has a different writing approach so it’s only to be expected. But it can be confusing. For example, Jack M. Bickham titled Chapter 32 of his book The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) “Don’t Chase the Market.”

As a professional writer of fiction, you can go crazy trying to outguess the editors… trying to figure out where the market might go next, or just what such and such publisher “must really want.” You can waste far too much emotional energy trying to get out in front of the latest trend. […] Might it not be more profitable to stay aware of trends generally, yet concentrate your energies on simply writing the best novel you know how to write? (93 - 94)

That’s easy enough; stop worrying about what everyone thinks and just write. So how come, I keep yammering about reader’s needs and telling you to always consider the reader when you’re writing?

When I use “what readers want,” I’m not talking about the things they say they want to read, but the things they expect a good story to have or do that they never articulate. Proper formatting that makes the story easier to read in one. Most readers won’t even leave a review if that’s the reason they won’t read your story.

The second thing readers want but never articulate is satisfaction. Regardless of genre, pairing, or what-if scenario, they all want nail-biting suspense, believable character development, just-enough setting to picture it that all culminates in a satisfied sigh once they reach the end. And they only way you the writer will know if you’re succeeding at this is if most of your reviews come in saying “I can’t wait for the next chapter!”

Chasing the market is picking a genre or topic because of its popularity, not because you have a burning need to tell that story. You know how fans can always spot a knock-off, something created to cash in on someone else’s success? “Don’t chase the market” is a warning not to be that copycat. Write with passion to tell your story, give the readers what they want, and you won’t be that copycat.