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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
| Give The People What They Want A little while ago I announced that I had finally had my 100th traditionally published short story released into the world. From my first one (that I count) in 2002, it took me 22 years to get to that mark. Now, after I made that announcement, I received a few messages of congratulations, a few comments and a couple of questions. One question, though, I feels deserves a public response: How can you sell so much? What are you doing that makes people want to buy your stuff? What? It’s not my innate talent at writing short stories?! No… considering that for every accepted short, I get around 5 rejections, it’s clearly not me being particularly good. I think it’s because I know how to use the tropes that sell. See, people still want the things that have always worked. In romance, the two leads end up together. In fantasy, the bad guy is defeated and monsters are slain and the leads act more heroic than humanly possible. In westerns, the good guy triumphs within the bounds of the law (if at all possible). In science fiction, there is a generally positive outcome, even if personal and technology is beyond what we currently have. And in horror, the monster (in any definition of that word) is defeated or sent back to their realm… mostly. If you write in the Chtulhu mythos then the cosmic entities are going to send the PoV character insane. If you write in bizarre, the monsters will often win. But those are subgenres, and getting into minutiae like that can lead to insanity (hi, Yog-Sothoth!). Yes, experimentation can take place. Tropes can be subverted. Stereotypes can be dis-reinforced. That is fine. But – and here is the main thing to remember – most readers are not writers or not into the experimentation of writing. Most readers know what they like and what they expect. Most readers read for fun and escapism, not for “messages” or experiments. Yes, I know a bunch of people will say, “But I know people who want to the message.” Awesome. You know people. Anecdotes are not evidence. Studies across the books that sell and stories that sell indicate the old, familiar tropes are the things that people want. So, how do I sell so much? Easy: What I write fits into the expectations and tropes of the genres I write in. I rarely try to sell my work that breaks away from the norm. Sure, I have sold a couple of more experimental pieces, but generally what sells is what is expected. Boring? Sure. Not challenging to a reader? Yes. But most readers do NOT want to be challenged (“I do!” is the inevitable come-back; you are not representative, and, I repeat, anecdotes are not evidence). I like to read stories that are comfortable, and so I like to write stories that are comfortable. And that is how, in my opinion, I have sold quite a bit over the years… |
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