In one of the Romance Novel niches
I write in,
the readers want the new
and the shiny
but
they also want long series.
These two wants
conflict.
At the moment,
the appeal of the new and the shiny
is winning.
Readers drop writers
who have written in the niche
for a while,
refusing to buy
the next story
in longer series,
and
they chase the new.
Which means writers
abandon series
if they don’t sell right away
and
they write shorter series.
Because that is what
readers are expressing they want
through their purchases.
“Why is there
so much short-term hustle?
Because that’s what we buy.
Why is there
so much negative campaigning?
Because that’s what changes our actions.
Why is social media
filled with manipulation and vanity?
Because that’s what we click on.”
If you don’t like
what you’re getting,
change what you reward.