Creating To Market

In the writing business,
there’s an ongoing discussion
about whether
writers should
create stories
that appeal to the market
or
create stories
that are new and innovative.

Some writers
believe these
are two very different things.
We can only do one
or the other.

I believe in doing both.
I like to learn my market,
learn my readers’ expectations,
give them what they expect
and then surprise them
with something more,
something fresh,
something slightly different.

Stephenie Meyer did that
with Twilight.
She gave readers vampires,
a hero-type that has been around
for a hundred years,
and then she gave readers something fresh.
The vampires sparkled.
They were teenagers.
They didn’t kill humans.

E.L. James combined
two big markets
(billionaire and BDSM)
in one story
(Fifty Shades Of Grey).
That was her something different.

You can create to market
and still create something new and exciting.