I’ve seen quite a few posts lately from writers deep in the depths of despair because they want to write a certain type of story but have been told there is no market (i.e. readership) for it.
I want to set a romance in Thailand but I was told there’s no market for it.
I want to write a romance with an Irish heroine and a Chinese hero but I was told there’s no market for it.
I want to write a romance with a heroine who competes in marathons but I was told there’s no market for it.
I agree that having a market for a story is important. Very few of us want to spend months or years working on a story and have that story read by only three people. We want as many readers as possible for our beloved stories.
But our stories are more than the setting or the characters’ racial background or the characters’ jobs. We have our choice of what to focus on while marketing our stories.
Let’s look at our imaginary romance set in Thailand.
He’s a Navy SEAL, battered and scarred in a past mission, looking for redemption. She’s a virgin with a secret. (I’d say secret baby but she’s a virgin so…). There’s danger and an awesome baddie and hot scorching sex.
Why would we focus on the Thailand setting when promoting the story (to publishers or to reading buddies)? A romance with a Navy SEAL hero has a much bigger market. So does a romance with a virgin heroine. Sure, setting the story in Thailand makes the story special but hit folks with the things they already know they like first, and THEN mention the unique setting.
But-But-But my story doesn’t have any other marketable elements, you say.
Dig deeper because I suspect it does.
You wrote a romance. Is it love at first sight? A reunion love? Friends to lovers? Enemies to lovers? A workplace romance? Wrong bed (i.e mistaken identity)? A rebound relationship?
EVERY type of romantic hook up has a market. Almost every hero personality type has a market also (manwhore hero, geek hero, virgin hero, beast hero, iceman hero, etc). Tone has a market (comedy, sweet, sexy, dark, etc). If you study your story, you will likely find dozens of markets.
Note that I haven’t said ‘Rewrite your story.’ Whenever the topic of finding a market comes up, some writers push back and say their creativity can’t be constricted to a market. They don’t want to write generic cookie-cutter books.
Okay. Generic cookie-cutter books don’t sell. They’re boring and I don’t know any writer who writes these. And we’re talking marketing/promotion, not about the actual story. Write your non-traditional romance but consider marketing it first to readers who love non-traditional romances and second to readers who like heroines with gluten-free diets.
Which market should you focus on?
I look first and foremost at whether or not my story will make readers in my chosen markets happy. Does the story meet the readers’ expectations? Maybe my hero isn’t beastly enough to make the beast hero readers happy. But hey, he’s very much a virgin. He’ll make those readers ecstatic.
Then I look at the size of the market. Bigger doesn’t always mean better. If the market is too big, my story might get lost in it. On the other hand, if the market consists of two people, then I should directly contact those two people and forget the marketing. (grins) I like a happy medium.
I also consider the reading buddies I already know and love. Will this angle interest them? Clearly, if it is a cyborg romance, I will mention that first. Many of my reading buddies love cyborg romances.
This last point meshes with writer branding. If I want to be known as a writer of virgin heroines, for example, (whispers – I don’t) I will mention virgin heroines early in my marketing.
Having the right market for our stories doesn’t guarantee they will sell but it certainly does increase the odds. And hey, in this business, we need the best odds possible. (grins)
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Dark Flight
His mission. His challenge. His forever.
Orol, the Refuge’s second-in-command, has been given what he believes is a simple mission—escort two human females to the settlement. The winged warrior arrives at the meeting site to find one of the females missing and the other aiming a gun at his head. To rescue the first, he must capture the second. Once he has Rhea in his talons, however, he realizes he never wants to let her go.
Her enemy. Her captor. Her everything.
Rhea doesn’t trust anyone. She certainly doesn’t follow commands issued by a gorgeous flying male with glittering eyes, a beautiful face, and a seductive touch. Orol is dominant, edged with darkness, and determined to find her sister. Rhea will do anything to prevent that, even if it means playing sensual games of submission with her powerful enemy, seducing him into forgetting everything except her.
Dark Flight is a STAND-ALONE SciFi Romance set in a gritty, dark world.
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