The buzz on the loops is about trends in publishing: how do you study them and how to beat them. The problem we all face, when attempting to study the publishing marketplace is that the books you buy today were acquired one to two years ago. So using current books as a marketing guide means you'll always be behind the trends.

It's totally frustrating and everyone knows it. This agent talks about it here. It gets even worse when you factor in publisher preferences and editorial slant. It can make you crazy.

My advice, for the two cents it is probably worth, is to read what you like, then write what you'd like to read. It isn't a sure way to become famous. (I'm a great case in point of that!) But at least you won't spend your time writing stuff you don't want to write OR read.

My other useless bit of advice is to not put all your eggs in one basket. Be flexible in what genres you explore, don't be afraid to color outside your own lines, and learn how to spin yourself and what you write in new ways. (A good example is chick lit, which is dead, but not really. I've just read two chick lit books, both recast as something else.)

When I started writing The Key I didn't write it with any calculation at all. In fact, I thought I'd lost my mind to be switching from contemporary suspense to sfromance. Until I started seeking out groups to market the book to, I had no clue that sfr was "hot."

Sometimes you just luck out. Sometimes you can stumble onto a trend you didn't know was there until you stumbled on it. Sometimes you just have to wait until the circle comes back around and scoops you up. No genre is ever completely dead.

But you always, always, always, have to write the best books you can, deliver the best stories you have in you. I've quit reading authors who fail to deliver consistently good stories, no matter which genre they wander into. If you switch gears, not every reader with follow, but those that love your writing, love your storytelling will--if you don't let them down.

Perilously yours,
Pauline
"The floor looked stone, but then a path of lights appeared in front of her, kind of like an invitation.
Okay.
She looked at it for a long moment, debating the wisdom of following it. It wasn’t much of a debate. She’d seen the movies on Sci-fi. She knew what could happen. "