This is the first entry into my research series where I delve into my research process. Although this series will focus on the romance genre, you can apply these same methods to any genre. Also, I write for the market, so the series will be geared to that end.
Why I write romance
My primary motivator for writing is to establish a life that allows me to be location independent and work for myself. The typical 9-5 office job isn’t an option for me, and I like that I am, primarily, the limiting factor in whether I succeed or not.
So for me, when I decided to take self publishing seriously, I researched the self publishing market to figure out what would be the most lucrative and allow me to create that lifestyle.
Romance was the clear winner.
Had I read a single romance before I began researching the market?
Nope.
That might seem strange to some, but not entirely crazy when you consider the genre’s readership.
Romance readers are voracious. There are a lot of them, and they buy a ton of books. Ebooks, especially. Most importantly, though: they take chances on new authors, especially those in Kindle Unlimited.*
All of the above (and many more) were key reasons for me choosing to write romance.
It’s a forgiving genre. Your writing can be piss-poor, but if you understand what readers are looking for in a romance, you can find success. You may not top the charts, but you’ll be improving with each book. And with enough books out, and an ever-growing audience, you can make a living.
I’ll take that over a conventional 9-5 any day.
Pick your genre
This could take a few seconds or a few weeks.
I considered fantasy for a while, but ultimately decided on romance because it would be easier to churn out novels and gain a following. I didn’t want to spend years writing a book that may or may not sell.
There’s a lot more world building that goes into science fiction or fantasy. Romance, at its core, is purely character driven.
Some of the more popular ones include romance, thriller, fantasy, mystery, sci-fi, young adult, and horror.
Look at the charts. See what sells. See if you can envision yourself writing the types of stories you’re looking at.
Each genre has different expectations, and if you want to succeed in those genres, you have to be willing to meet those expectations.
What about literary fiction?
My only suggestion is to take a look at the rankings. Hint: it’s not pretty. And most importantly, it’s incredibly difficult to break through with literary fiction.
I’m impatient, and not to mention, uninterested in writing “the next great American novel.” That’s not what drives me. I want to write for a living (i. e. make money from my writing).
So you’ve decided on a genre (hopefully).
If you’re a newbie to the genre like I was with romance, you should head on over to the best seller lists on amazon and get reading before you start writing that novel.
If you’re not a newbie to the genre, you should head on over to the best seller lists on amazon and get reading before you start writing that novel.
See where I’m going with this?
“But I already have my idea for my romance novel.”
-Oh yeah, what type of romance?
“The kind where the two people fall in love and live happily ever after.”
-Is it a Billionaire? Suspense? Comedy? Sports? Sweet? Dark? Erotic? All of the above?
“My book doesn’t really fit into any of those categories.”
-Well, you’re going to have a difficult time marketing and selling it.
“I don’t care. It’s what I want to write.”
-Good luck!
Have you heard of John Scalzi? He’s a pretty popular science fiction writer. He just signed a multi-million dollar contract with Tor Books that will keep him busy for the next decade. Know how he got his start?
He wrote his first novel, Old Man’s War, by researching the market and finding a commercially viable sub genre within science fiction: military.
It’s a great post, one that you should read if you’re on the fence about writing what you love vs something more commercially viable.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
You can write what you love and have it be commercially viable. You might love writing intricate plot lines, snappy dialogue, or quirky characters, all of which you can write in a book created for the market.
Even though romance isn’t my favorite genre, I enjoy the writing it because I have freedom to do whatever I want within the framework of a popular sub genre.
The money isn’t bad, either.
It’s alright if you don’t want to write for the market. You can still find success, but your road is going to be much more difficult. You’re might get more discouraged because no one’s biting.
It may not have anything to do with your writing. Your writing could be stellar, your stories absorbing, but without a market, how will you get it in front of readers?
You need to ask yourself: what you want to achieve with your writing?
Do you just want to write whatever you want and be indifferent to whether it sells or not? Is writing just a way for you to unwind?
Or do you see writing as a business? Something to pay the bills? A profession?
Writing for me, although pleasurable at times, is a profession. This is how I pay the bills. By writing to market, I set myself up for success in that profession. If that isn’t your goal, that’s okay. There isn’t a singular path to success.
Still here?
Good.
Now that you’ve decided on a genre, it’s time to find a sub genre. Like Scalzi choosing to write a military science fiction novel, we need to find a comparable sub genre within the one you selected.
Finding your niche
This requires going to the Amazon best seller lists and looking at what’s popular.
As you can see, there a lot of niches. These are the major categories as Amazon views them. Later on, we’ll narrow our choice into smaller niches within these broad categories.
Take a look.
Look at the covers; read the blurbs, the first few pages, and even the reviews. Keep doing that until you find a category that is appealing to you. Something that you might enjoy writing.
Take as much time as you need. You might boomerang between different categories, and that’s okay. With a large enough following, you could write within any of them and still sell.
Ultimately, you’ll have to choose one. It’s best not to overthink it because the more time you spend researching, the less time you spend writing.
Once you find your sub genre, click on the best seller in that category and look at its overall ranking in Amazon. If its below 1,000 overall, then it’s a hot niche. 1,000 isn’t a make or break number, simply a guideline.
The goal is to find a niche that has an audience. It might be oversaturated, which makes it difficult to get traction, but it has an audience. An audience that wants to find new authors and read interesting stories.
It’s better to start in an oversaturated market to get your feet wet than waste countless hours writing a story that will never sell because the market doesn’t exist.
This is your first try. A way to get your foot in the door. Don’t overthink it; get started.
Alright, so you’ve chosen your niche. Now what?
Now the real research begins. This involves a lot of reading. This can take weeks or months, but really, the research never really stops. There’s always something new to learn. Always.
The goal in this phase of research is to understand what sells in this niche and why. What are the common tropes in the genre that are paired with the niche? What are the niches… within the niche?
You find this out by reading a lot of books and a lot of reviews.
I can’t stress enough how helpful reading reviews can be. This is your main line into the mind of the market. They tell you exactly what worked in a story and what didn’t.
Now there are some reviewers who never seem to be satisfied. You can usually spot them fairly quickly. What you should be doing when you read the reviews is look for patterns.
Do a lot of reviewers love the same thing? Do they hate the same thing?
Figure out what worked for most readers and what didn’t. Use their feedback to help guide your story.
Then read the book, and repeat the same process for as many books as possible until you can identify the answers to the questions below.
- What are the basic plot lines and story structures in the niche?
- What are the popular tropes?
- What are the popular character types?
- What’s the pacing like?
- How does the cover convey the niche?
- The blurb?
- Can you name the most popular authors within the niche?
These are just a few questions to get you started, but if you can answer them, your chance at writing a successful novel skyrockets. Your first one might flop, but if you keep at it, eventually you’ll hit.
What makes a romance a romance? What makes this sub genre so popular with readers?
They are deceptively simple questions, but you need to be able to nail them down if you expect to be successful.
The same goes for any genre.
In the next part, I’ll pick a niche and then dissect it as I would if I were going through this process for the first time.
Good luck!
*If you’re a new author and not in Kindle Unlimited, you should be. It’s the single best marketing tool for a new author. Seriously. Borrows increase your ranking, which in turn makes your book more visible and increases sales. Get in it.