Elliot Kessler

I’ve been reading a lot of articles and books about marketing as an author. I’ve learned a lot of things. Some of the things I read were very helpful and things I will need to work hard on for my next book launch. Other things were less helpful and didn’t make much sense.

But of all the advice I heard and things I read, I have not found anything that I have more mixed feelings for than writing to market.

What does it mean to write to market?

Writing to market means you write something that will sell well because it’s what the readers of any given genre or niche expect from a story. If you read space operas, you’ll probably expect spaceships, an intergalactic quest, and a bad guy to beat. But if you read cyberpunk, you will more likely expect robots, rebellious young hackers, virtual reality, and an oppressive, greedy corporation.

Writing to market means that the author gives the readers exactly what they expect. They write the plot points genres are known for. They include popular tropes. Those stories are all about doing what’s popular because those stories sell.

Why would writing to market be a bad thing?

This might not sound too terrible to most authors. Writing things that people already enjoy to make more money off of writing? Why wouldn’t you want to do that?

Because I want to do my own thing.

My problem with this is that the stories I enjoy aren’t necessarily the most popular ones. I’m a fan of Tron, for instance. There aren’t exactly a million people going to conventions dressed as their favorite glow-in-the-dark-frisbee-wielding action hero. I enjoy the stranger stories that take risks and do things differently.

That’s what I’m planning on doing soon. I have some story ideas in the pipeline that stray away from conventional tropes and plot points.

The problem is that this is not writing to market, and these stories are likely not going to sell as well as my more conventional books.

Why is that?

Because people prefer the familiar. They want to feel comfortable. They would rather spend 20 dollars on a story they know they’re going to enjoy than spend 8 on a story they might not. That’s why it’s so hard to be an indie author. No one knows who you are. They’re likely to spend money on a famous, credible author than they are to spend money on you. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the truth.

That’s why writing to market is really good advice for selling books. Making readers feel comfortable is a great way to keep them engaged. If they read your book’s blurb and find a lot of familiar tropes and ideas that they’ve seen in their favorite books, then they are more likely to buy your book. But if they read your blurb and find something completely different from what they normally read, chances are they’ll skip you entirely for the latest from James Patterson.

This is where my mixed feelings come in. Yes, I want to make money from my writing. Yes, I want to write full time. No, I don’t want to write to market. I have some ideas that are a little wilder and stranger than what I normally write. They’re different from other stories in their genres. In fact, I don’t know what genre I should categorize one of my books in because it’s totally, definitely Sci-Fi, but it’s also totally, definitely a crime thriller.

So, I’ve come to a dilemma that I think a lot of authors will reach at some point in their career. To write to market or not to write to market. I want to sell well, but I also want to write new, exciting ideas that people aren’t used to seeing.

There is a saying that goes something along these lines: the best salesman can sell the worst product. I’m not saying I’m trying to write bad fiction. I’m trying to sell different fiction that people aren’t used to. However, I’m sure that if I learn more and if I play my cards right, I’ll find a way to sell just as well as I would if I write to market.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.