Description
4 Week Online Course July 1, 2024 – July 26, 2024 with Beth Daniels
WHY AREN’T YOU WRITING ACTION-ADVENTURE? Picking Apart the Genre Niche Mix that Rules the Bestseller Lists To Create Standalone or Series that Readers Inhale!
According to the Gitnux report of September 8th, 2023 (https://blog.gitnux.com/book-sales-by-genre-statistics/), the most popular fiction genre books, based on sales, land in the mystery, thriller and crime niches. Grouped together, they account for 32% of all fiction sales, followed closely by romance with a 30% share of our marketplace. Considering romance alone annually generates over $1 billion in sales, the mystery related titles likely top that. Possibly more since James Patterson personally rakes in $90 million, nearly 70% more than his nearest competitor. But science fiction and fantasy clock in with $590 million, so neither are doing badly either. The math seems to indicate that there really is only one bestselling genre category out there: action- adventure with niches that include mystery where it isn’t merely a crime to be solved but someone to be found and/or protected, treasure hunts for possibly mystical items or at least long lost ones, ticking clocks, political situations, main characters requiring near super (or at least special forces) one-on-one (or four or five) fighting techniques, then maybe salt with a sprinkle of romance or broken family life. Yeah, it’s a long list of ingredients. And it can get even longer! Which is why breaking things down into the elements you write best then ensuring that the story baked up fits in the cake pan is important. Join me for a month of deconstructing and evaluating those “ingredients” to sort out what type of action-adventure story might have been on simmer in your muse’s kitchen. Things we’ll look at are: • what recipes the writers landing on the bestseller lists (and using metaphorical armored trucks to deliver mega royalties to their bank accounts) use when spinning their stories • what percentages of mystery, treasure hunt, political, and pacing rates high on the list • how ticking clocks, historical artifacts, and possibly magical realms or practices are worked in • and, of course, possibly a bit of romance.
About the instructor:
Beth Daniels’ first novel went to contract the fall of 1989 and was released by the publisher in May 1990. It was a romantic suspense romantic comedy mix. In 2024 her 39th novel will be released, but there have been many short stories and novellas along the way, and a lot of genre niche jumping. About the only thing that turns up regularly is mystery, though romance isn’t far behind. Visit her at www.4TaleTellers.com.
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