FictionAddiction.NET

A: From the standpoint of marketability, I’d say romance is the way to go. Reader appetite for romance novels is perennial and voracious. Statistics from the Romance Writer’s of America show romance generated $1.37 billion in sales in 2000, and that romance comprises 37.2% of all popular fiction sold, a figure which includes not just paperbacks, but hardcovers as well.

To compare, RWA numbers show that mystery/detective/suspense accounts for 28.1% of popular fiction sales; science fiction/fantasy accounts for 7.2% of popular fiction sales; and religious, occult, westerns, male adventure, general history, adult and movie tie-ins together account for 14.6% of popular fiction sales.

I do want to caution you, though, that choosing a genre to break into based on opportunity for new writers is putting the cart before the horse. The single most important factor determining whether or not you succeed (or get published) is the quality of the writing you do.

And passion for your subject matter is critical both to the quality of the final product and to keeping you motivated throughout the process. If you don’t love what you’re doing - I mean really love it - the work is a lot harder, and writing is pretty tough work under ideal circumstances. Conventional wisdom says write the story you have to write, the one that keeps you up at night, where your passion is, and worry about the market later.

Anne Bowling
Editor of 2001-2005 Novel & Short Story Writer's Markets
Writer's Digest Books