Explanation about the
fiction market weakness :
- Let me start by saying, I DO write
fiction. I have one finished manuscript sitting in a drawer
collecting dust, and another half-finished novel sitting on my hard
drive collecting digital dust.
- The reason these novels are so damn
dusty is because I wrote them without ANY IDEA OF WHO I WAS WRITING
THEM FOR.
- Again, even though many of us
self-publish, the secret of how to succeed and reach bestseller
status is hidden in the age-old acquisition processes that legacy
publishers have used to discover marketable authors.
- Market research is essential.
(Market research is decidedly what I did NOT do for my first and
second novels. If only I had known.) Writers of practical
nonfiction, if they are pursuing a publishing contract, are at an
advantage here because they are required to write a book
proposal.
- For the novelist, the process is to
pitch your finished book to agents. Fiction writers can totally
skip the planning and strategy that goes into creating a proposal,
but they SHOULD NOT do that.
- Why book proposal writers have such
an advantage is that, through the process, they gain an
understanding of who their competition is, who their audience is,
and what problems they are solving for their target market BEFORE
they even write their book.
Solve a Problem
- Sure, if you’re writing a book
about weight loss, your target market has an obvious problem to
solve they are fat!
- As a novelist, you might be saying
to yourself, “What problem can I possibly solve if I’m writing a
military sci-fi epic, a sweeping nautical saga, or a yaoi?” (Look
it up. Yaois are super hot right now.)
- Try boredom, lack of connection or
understanding, spiritual need, need for inspiration, or escape from
unhappiness? Dig deep. The problems are there, and you can solve
them, at least temporarily.
Competition :
- A standard section of a nonfiction
book proposal is an analysis of competing titles. For writers of
fiction, this can be immensely valuable.
- Make a list of authors who sell
well in your genre.
- Make a list beloved books that are
similar to yours.
- Write down a list of the recent
bestsellers in your genre category.
- Keep listing until you selected at
least twelve titles that are excellent examples of what you want to
write and that are currently selling well.
For each book, include the
following:
- Title
- Author
- Amazon Categories
- Amazon Rank
- Book Description
- How your book is different or
better than this title
The most commonly shared view is
that it has become extremely difficult to generate exposure for
novels. Fiction, more than nonfiction, depends on readers
discovering new books by browsing. Now, with the number of physical
stores down from five years ago (despite a rise in ABA membership),
publishers cannot rely on bricks-and-mortar stores providing
customers with access to new books.
Nor can publishers depend on media
outlets to make up for the gap left by the shrinking footprint of
physical bookstores. Review space in mainstream media has been
slashed, cutting off another possibility for readers to learn about
new fiction.
The upshot of those developments is
that publishers have found breaking out new writers—never mind
developing new franchise authors—increasingly difficult.
Creating authors who can draw
readers via name recognition alone is crucial to selling novels.
Research done by the Codex Group shows that the author is the most
important factor in a person’s decision to buy a novel. Codex
founder Peter Hildick-Smith says that with so much inexpensive
genre fiction now available at “subprime price points under $5”
(from such channels as Kindle Unlimited), publishers must invest to
develop brand name authors who can command premium-price
loyalty.