A question often asked at conferences is, "What is selling?" The advice usally given is to write the book of your heart. Many writers aren't sure what the book of their heart is and they want to write something that will sell. But then, whatever is selling now may not be selling when you submit. When vampires became hot, many writers jumped on that bandwagon and now the market is saturated.
Although I didn't ask the question above, I was given advice Friday that I believe will help no matter which market you decide to write for. Yesterday, I attended a workshop given by Laura Baker and Robin Perini called Discovering Story Magic. Our RWA chapter brought them to Arizona. I highly recommend this workshop. More imporantly, if you ever get a chance to attend a mixer with workshop speakers, you should jump at the chance. This is where writing experts answer your questions and give advice beyond their workshop material.
I told Laura I had chosen a market to target my books and the advice she gave me was to write using your strengths. For example, some authors like to write about family drama or best friends so they should include that whether they are writing a vampire story or a western. I like surprising twists so I can include that in any type of book I write. Including your strenghs and what you like to write in any genre will help make that project the book of your heart.
Until next week,
Happy Writing!
Tina LaVon
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