Trends. Trends. Trends. It’s a very risky gamble
for writers. Creating stories or basing one’s whole writing career on a trend
is a toss of the dice. Trends are fickle. Therefore, one’s career could plummet
or stall or fail based on trends. At the moment a new genre has emerged called new adult. I researched it and it sounds
like YA with sex and violence or tragedy, or at least the air of tragedy
surrounding the heroine. Example: The heroine is an older teen or early
twenty-something with some sort of physical or mental assault in her past and/or a huge loss in her life (deaths of immediate family members). And the
characters seem to be on a journey through life. Sounds like the picaresque main character in every story written by every Siecle- des- Lumieres philospher/scribes' work I've ever read. It looks like ‘the next big thing” writers are rushing
to pen. My caveat: Do it well! We all can relate to being subjected to the slew
of imitators who wrote angst-y teen vamps after Twilight appeared. Some did it pretty well; others, not so. And
let’s face it, pathetic vamp books are tired. But no matter how tired, the genre abides. It ain’t going anywhere. So, like
it or not, I suppose Twilight is the touchstone
by which all teen vamp lit is measured.
What work is its equivalent in new adult? I don’t know. All I do know is,
there is a lot of it coming out. Which brings me back to trends. Readers, are
you buying it because you like it? Or are you buying it because it’s there? Yes,
the chicken and the egg question. If your answer is the latter, that mystifies
me. Why? Because sooooooooooooo many readers have said that unknown or new premises and unknown authors
make them wary. All that uncharted territory scares them. All that unfamiliar
landscape they have to build trust with. Wow! If trends are being embraced that must mean
that readers do venture out of their comfort zone. Or they are bored with what they are usually reading. Now be honest. Do you follow a trend because it’s interesting or
because some publisher’s advertising persuaded you? Hmmmm?
Don't worry. From its enthusiastic reception, it appears new
adult ain’t going anywhere either.
Hats off and good luck to the readers and trendsetting writers in
this case.
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