Why I focus on Writing the Story I Want Instead of Writing to Market
Disclaimer: I am not against writing to market. I’m just saying it’s not for me. Read on to know why I feel that way.
One of the most popular pieces of writing advice for authors is to write to market. This is because most readers are creatures of habit, and if they see a book similar to the one they loved, they will definitely pick it up. This is highly valid and is working out for many authors.
However, the keyword here is most. And I don’t fall in that category. Since childhood, I have liked to read unique stories from different perspectives. Similar stories didn’t engage with me as much. So, when I became an author, I wanted to write for readers like me. As I mentioned, I try to follow this quote by one of my favorite authors, Beverly Cleary: “If you don’t see a book you want on the shelf, write it.” And that’s exactly what I do.
For example, Unclutter, my book in the category of “Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Sexual Abuse,” differs from most books. Many of the bestselling novels in this sub-genre are love stories with a protagonist being a survivor. The abuse is the subplot of a romantic fiction book.
However, Unclutter’s main plot is the protagonist’s survival story. It is about self-reliance and discovering the protagonist’s true inner voice through the support of her loved ones, including her romantic partner. It illuminates the tough process of healing from abuse trauma by focusing on mental health. It’s about many survivors uniting against the perpetrators to punish them by law.
In an earlier version of Unclutter, I tried to write a story similar to the popular ones in the category. But it did not feel right. I thought it was missing my personal voice as an author, and I hated what I’d written. So, I took up the arduous task of writing the story I wanted. Why was it arduous? Because I knew that I might not get as many readers as I wished. However, I was willing to compromise popularity for authenticity.
It’s not easy taking this path because it’s a lonely one. Not many follow it, and most people caution against it. But I’ve seen outliers who’ve persevered and succeeded. Some of the big names we know today, such as Judy Blume, Paulo Coelho, Bonnie Garmus, etc.—the ones that everyone else follows started with a unique idea. They wrote the stories they wanted, and that’s why readers love them and authors want to be like them.
I dream of being remembered by at least a handful of readers as an outlier author who writes stories that have been with readers for a long time. And at any point, if the fan count becomes more than a handful, I would be the happiest writer alive.
