Trend Spotting

Call me. I want to be your psychic friend. Used with Permission.We’re days away from RWA, where authors will be pitching their manuscripts and leading or attending sessions on craft and career, editors will be taking pitches and appearing on panels talking about what they’re looking for in the future – and what’s coming out from their houses very soon.

Some folks will be trying to figure out what the Next Big Thing will be, and others will be hoping their book IS the Next Big Thing, as they try to land a spot on the 2013 or 2014 publishing schedule. There’s always talk of trends, fads, niche markets, and established sub-genres that are experiencing growth or contraction in sales. And, of course, many of us (hi!) are looking for news of upcoming awesome books to read.

In short, there’s a whole lot of people thinking and talking about the future, either a few months from now, or a few years from now.

But I’d like to ask you about the future. Whether or not you’re attending RWA, I’m curious: what do YOU think the trends are right now, or will be soon? What books do you want to read? What have you enjoyed recently that you want more of? We’ve been looking at a LOT of 2010 books the past few weeks – has that changed your opinion about what you want, or don’t want? Genres, niches, whatever – I’m curious what you think about the future of romance, in the next few months, or the next few years.

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Random Musings

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  1. kkw says:

    I am terrible at predicting what will be popular, but as far as what I’d like to see: I am underwhelmed by the steampunk.  I enjoy paranormal, but there is too much of it, and too much of it bad.  I love regency, and will continue to buy them, but again I’d be thrilled if there were fewer lousy ones.  Now that I think of it, in some ways the worst thing that can happen to a sub-genre is for it to become popular because it becomes harder to find the good ones amidst all the pulp, in which case all the bandwagon jumpers please head toward steampunk and suspense.  Oh, and inspirational.  Inspirational means religious, right?
    I think part of the problem with historicals set further back in time is it becomes increasingly difficult for me not to be irritated by alarmingly modern conversation, or bogged down by old-fashioned syntax.  I’d be interested in a trend away from English history, but not so much if it’s just American or Australian instead.  Romance that’s not just upper classes would work for me.

  2. Bronte says:

    KKW, I’m not sure there’s anything upper class about Australian History.  Penal colonies tend not to be big on balls and routs.  More like rape, hard labour with a side of slaughter of the local aborigine population.

  3. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I won’t try to predict the future. I love a good historical – don’t care which era as long as the characters are engaging and fascinating and the emotions real. I think my favorite sub-genre is contemporary, however, and I feel pretty much starved of good options in this area. I like a bit of humor, smarts and heart and I want to really feel for the characters (if I get a good chest ache going, you are on my auto buy list, authors!) SEP used to be my go-to, but I’ve read all her backlist. Lisa Kleypas won me forever with her Texas trilogy – and I want more stories like these. Intense, sexy, romantic, emotional…

  4. More like rape, hard labour with a side of slaughter of the local aborigine population.

    Good honest aristocratic traditions, if you ask me.

    We did/do have the squattocracy which could easily match any European bluebloods in arrogance, conspicuous consumption and class loyalty. And of course Australia does lay claim to the real heir to the British throne.

    Count me as another who wants less sex in books. All books. Bored now.

  5. Mitzi Flyte/Macie Carter says:

    1) Less sex (in novels, ladies, in novels) and more plot and characterization. And this coming from a writer whose first publication was an erotic romance. Sex in romance novels these days seems to be plopped in the plot for no reason – just to have a sex scene or just to make the book “HOT”.
    2) AMERICAN history, please. We have a great history – let’s use it. I grew up reading American historicals (all genres). I’d give $100 for a good ACW book
    3) Humorous paranormals…ahem..mainly because I’m pitching one next week.

  6. Alex says:

    I’m looking for something new and interesting that has elements of mystery, darkness,http://www.silagraonline.eu
    and maybe a dash of fantasy/magic.slimex reviews
    I’m an adult, so no worries for suggesting something mature.

  7. With the 150-year anniversary of the Civil War just beginning, I think we’ll see a resurgence in Civil War-themed love stories.  The New York Times and other major newspapers are featuring books and articles about the Civil War, and that is sure to spark some thoughts among romance writers.

    Like Lisa, I’m for less sex and more romance.  It’s the tension that counts.

  8. Hannah says:

    Can I ask a question about this?

    What does everyone think about historicals, perhaps set around the Regency era or slightly before, but taking place in other countries/cultures besides the UK and America? I’ve been dying for different perspectives and a different set of historical markers than only those in the UK and the US—for more stories set in France and Belgium and Italy and Spain or even Denmark or Russia (even if some of the characters are English or American).

    But is anyone else interested in this or do you think this would not draw you in at all?

    Sad, but true—in nearly every book about writing romance novels that I’ve read, the advice that’s given is that Scandinavian or [fill in the blank with other rarely used nationality] heroes just don’t sell. Maybe the names aren’t sexy enough—I don’t know?  But clearly there are a lot of readers looking for new and different settings *and* characters.

  9. cleo says:

    @Niveau and DreadPirateRachel – thanks! you made my day.  Really enjoying everyone’s comments on this thread.

  10. Emily says:

    I agree with the Historicals in other locations/time periods sentiment. Not that I don’t enjoy “the usual” but there are lots of interesting settings/eras out there to write about. Ditto on the “more regular people” too.

    Enjoy humor and wit in novels but don’t want slapstick or cringe-worthy laughs where it’s about laughing AT and not WITH.

    I like sex but there better be plot. Lots and lots of plot.

    Definitely over the alpha hero. Not that they should all go away, but I want my heroes more like the men I know in real life (I’m a lucky girl, I know some great guys).

    I think what keeps me from reading a lot of contemporaries is that the hero always seems to be some rich dude at the ripe young age of 32. I’d love if dude was normal. With a normal job, normal bank account, etc. And I don’t want stupid heroines. If the man cheats, dump his ass. (Can I say ass here?) If he still blames his mama for every little thing wrong in his life, run away. I also don’t want “agenda” in my stories. I don’t want smack talk about stay-at-home-moms (I am one) or working moms (my BFF is one). In other words, I just don’t want to read a story that attempts to make me, as a woman, feel bad about myself.

    YA Is a trend I don’t see disappearing although I can’t really get into any. Although, Twilight is what brought me back to reading books. There. I said the dreaded “T” word. But the YA trend is here to stay, IMO.

    And it looks like I’m going to have to check out this steampunk thing. But first I’ll need to google or wiki it to try to figure out what the heck that word even means. Did I even contribute anything to this topic? Probably not.

  11. LizW65 says:

    I’d like to second (or fourth or fifth?) those who want less sex.  I’m not a prude, and I’m fine with it if it actually, ya know, advances the story line, but so many sex scenes feel like they’ve been shoehorned into stories because they’re what the public expects, or the editor demands it, or something.  Plus, the vast majority are poorly written and all sound the same after the first half-dozen or so.  (“Let’s see…I haven’t used throbbing in a while, let’s stick that one in…”)  Less sex and more real character development, please!

  12. crow girl says:

    Lizabeth S. Tucker said…

    I wouldn’t mind seeing a return to gothics

    Me, too.  I cut my eye teeth on a collection of used Victoria Holt, Phyllis A Whitney, Barbara Michaels, and Mary Stewart novels that my aunt starting giving me when I was about 13 or so.  Those were the first ‘adult’ novels I ever read … and I still have a great fondness for them.  (Probably one of the first heroes I fell in love with was Riley from Into the Darkness. I still find myself on the look-out for dark, brooding heroes who limp.)

    I’d love for the modern gothic romance to make a resurgence.

    The most similar books I’ve come across in recent years are by Susanna Kearsley (Mariana, The Shadowy Horses, etc). They have the right amount of romance, mystery, spookiness, and “deep dark secrets.” (!)

    I’d like to find more of the same.  (Unfortunately, whenever I do a search for “gothic,” about 100 paranormals starring vampires pop up in response.)

  13. Raylee says:

    More contemporary stories with blue collar people, instead of high-powered careers. 

    Small town stories.  Not someone going back home, but choosing to live in a small town. 

    Stories set in other countries, such as Mexico, France, Canada, Japan, etc.  I always wanted to see the everyday life of someone living in a small town in France.

    Besides present day, contemporaries ranging from the 1920s to 1990s.

    GLBTQ.  Mutli-racial.  People with physical disabilities.  Just an everyday female or male lead who uses a dog for his/her sight—oh, and they happen to meet Mr. or Ms. Right.  What about a hero or heroine in a wheelchair, but it’s their love interest who has personal issues to overcome?

  14. I would love to see a return to a wider variety of settings for historicals – different eras and locations. Let’s take a step out of the Regency drawing room and out into the wide world. I would love to read and write love stories that take place in the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, etc.

    -Bigger books, both in size and in scope. Bring back the sagas that can play out over years instead of weeks and span oceans and continents.

    -historical romances that truly are both. Use the history. Let the characters be people of their time, not modern day Americans in costumes. Let the times they live in influence their lives and their love, and let the focus be on the building of the love relationship. Sex doesn’t always have to be center stage.

  15. Lizabeth S. Tucker says:

    More of what I’d love to see:

    Steampunk and/or Victorian romances.  Again if done right.  I wouldn’t mind reading some m/m set in that period as well ala Sherlock Holmes.

    Less sex.  No prude here, but sometimes it seems like there is a sex scene quota in books, every so many pages depending on the type of book.  And I’d really like to see less “Hi, how are you. Let’s have sex!”  Could the hero and heroine at least get to know each other first before jumping into bed.  Or in the bushes.  Or against a wall.  Or behind a curtain.  Frankly, I love to see romances of all periods where the hero and heroine are friends first, then come to fall in love.

    Gratutious sex, like gratutious violence is an easy out for authors and publishers.  Although I tend to blame publishers and editors more than the poor writers.

    Paranormals and Urban Fantasy romances have their places, but when publishers glut the market, it makes it difficult to find the good among the dreck.

    I’m not totally against series, but make them like the J. D. Roberts’ Eve Dallas series where each book brings new people into the series with a reason.  And who don’t just disappear, but layer the universe we’re reading about. 

    As to science fiction romances, with the exception of Jayne Ann Krentz’s Harmony series, I tend to go find them in the SF section.  I read Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, and other female SF writers who bring romance into their universes.  The majority of SF romances are weak on the SF or written by people who don’t really know that anything about the genre.  Even Robert Heinlein had a few good romantic SFs, mostly short stories.

    Alpha heroes are okay, but brutal or abusive ones are not.  But I do miss the nice guys that show up every once in a while, the guys who work hard for a living, who don’t have unprotected sex, who can’t afford to take vacations to exotic lands, who aren’t sheiks or gadzillionaires or Super SEALs or bowlegged cowboys.  What is wrong with working class heroes?  Maybe it is the lack of fantasy that keeps them from appearing too often.

  16. EbonyMcKenna says:

    The huge trend is that ferrets are the new vampires 😉

    Can’t attend RWA this year, but I’ll be at RWAust in Melbourne in August. Woot!

  17. CarrieS says:

    I haven’t read the whole thread so please excuse the repetition.  I would love to see more sci fi in print, not just avail as ebooks, and I’d specifically like to see writing that is well written as romance and as sci fi, and not erotica.  It’s not that I have an objection to erotica, I just think we could use some sci fi romance that isn’t set on “So and So’s Pleasure Planet”.  The prudes among us (me!) like sci fi romance too!  And I love me some cross-over, but I really think we could get more sci fi with the romance as the central focus.  Also would like to see more diversity among characters – different ethnicities, differently-abled, etc.

  18. cleo says:

    @Emily – Amen to normal heroes and smart heroines.  And steampunk refers to books set in the Victorian era / era powered by steam engines with alternate history or fantasy elements thrown in.  It’s also a sub culture that I know next to nothing about, except that I’ve had a couple goth-y type students who were into it – making steam punk style gagets and clothing and selling them.

  19. Karin says:

    I’ve pretty much gone over to historicals, because the contemporary authors I used to read back in the day(Elizabeth Lowell, Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz) don’t do much straightup romance anymore. At least there’s still Lisa Kleypas who can do a great contemporary. And I’ll continue to read those ridiculous Harlequin Presents books, because sometimes you’re just in the mood for junk food. 
    Speaking of locations outside of England, both Loretta Chase and Anne Gracie have done books set in Egypt, and that was pretty cool. And I just read Vienna Waltz, which was fantastically romantic despite no explicitness at all. So yeah, I would follow a good author anywhere in the world. I guess I am one of the few who’s not crazy about the Victorian era, but I’ll take pre-Georgian, going all the way back to medieval, it makes a nice change from the Regency.

  20. Lilian Darcy says:

    But I think there’s often a disconnect between what we say we want as readers and what we actually buy, e.g. a Medical Romance editor said to me years ago,  “Readers are always saying they want older heroes and heroines, but when authors write them, they don’t sell.”  And indeed that was my experience when I wrote a 50 y.o. H and h.  If I’m honest, too, I’m more of a risk taker as a writer than as a reader.  I might claim to want my reading boundaries pushed, but when it comes to the crunch, nine times out of ten, I reach for the comfort read.

  21. Karin says:

    Also adding; I do read a few paranormals and sci-fi romances, but I’ve never read a vampire book and I never will.

  22. Literary Slut Kilian says:

    I want to read books I can download to my Kindle for $9.99 or less. The End. Period.

    days63 – I could read around the clock for 63 days straight just with what I’ve already downloaded and not run out of reading material.  Ebooks that cost more than dead-tree books – so not happening for me.

    Genre? I reads them all. I’m not a literary slut for nothing.

  23. The huge trend is that ferrets are the new vampires 😉

    So last year, dear 🙂

  24. Lydia Storm says:

    Personally, I’m into steampunk right now and would LOVE more gothic – not paranormal – old school gothic!

  25. Laylapalooza says:

    Oh boy. Here’s a list of my hopes and dreams for the genre:

    (1) Romance novels set in the 16th or 17th century. For serious. As much as I love me some regency romances (and I do), there are other historical periods filled with pretty dresses and interesting social dynamics, scientific developments, and political upheaval to write about.

    (2) Lesbian romance novels that move past coming-out stories or the will-they/won’t-they stuff. If I had one wish, this would be it. Also, well-written lesbian historical romances that aren’t basically 20th-century women running around with 20th-century sexual politics in their heads playing dress-up in the 19th-century. God, a greater variety of LGBT-focused romances would be nice.

    (3) More good sci-fi romance. Jayne Castle’s books, already mentioned in this thread somewhere I think, are great examples of this.

    (4) Friends? Actual friends. Women have friends (not competition). Men have friends. Relationships don’t exist in a vacuum. Also: Any romance novel that follows the Bechdel rule.

    (5) Books where women actually get to make choices (and are not always forced by unfortunate circumstances, alpha males, and shitty families – I think Courtney Milan rocks at this pretty hard).

    I have no idea what will happen.

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