Weekly Writers: What Should I Write To Make Money?

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What Should I Write To Make Money?

In one way, this is a misleading question. In another, it is vital. Let me explain.

For the first interpretation: some people look to see what’s selling now, and then try to write the same kind of thing. That attempt to follow trends can be self-defeating. It’s what many traditional publishers do. The problem is that, by the time the copycat books are released, trends have changed. And since so many other people will have also tried to imitate it, the book gets released within a tidal wave of derivative work. It’s the kind of thing that happened with the great zombie revival of 2003. And there’s an additional issue: if you’re just writing something to make money, where’s the passion? How good is the final book going to be? There won’t be years of thought behind it, and careful crafting. That’s why so much derivative work is average at best. The whole point is that it isn’t trying to do anything fresh.

But I also said it’s a vital question to consider. What do I mean?