Trends Are Like Worms

Robin by cruadinx

Last night, thunderstorms rolled through the area, pouring down rain that drew all the earthworms to the surface. Early this morning, the yard is full of robins, eager to eat up all the worms. A few hours later, they were gone, along with all the worms.

This reminded me of trends in publishing. Something new and different and exciting bursts onto the scene, usually because an editor and a publisher took a chance on something unconventional, and suddenly everyone wants one. Every house wants a big [insert latest trend here] in their lineup. The eat them up like worms after a rain and then, suddenly, the feeding frenzy dries up.

In my brief time in this industry, I've seen it happen a few times. First it was chick lit. Bridget Jones' Diary and Sex and the City threw the door open, and everyone (myself included) rushed in. Only I was too late, and all the worms were gone. The same thing happened with vampires, thank you Twilight (I avoided that one), and now dystopian YA (in the wake of The Hunger Games).

The hard part about this for a writer is that sometimes (oftentimes) something about a trend is born of a common experience, a common inspiration that speaks to a lot of us at the same time. But, as the old saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. You need to be ahead of the trend, you need to start the trend, or you'll be late to the yard and all the worms will be gone.

My question for everyone today is:

Have any thoughts on upcoming trends? What do you see on the horizon in fiction? What do you want to see there?

Hugs,
TLC

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds