How to Write to Market in Romance

Learn the pros and cons of writing to market, plus the steps to research and write a romance to market.

Text version is below the video.

What is Writing to Market?

If you were to read any entrepreneurial book or blog today, nearly all will recommend the following when deciding on your business produce or service; learn what people want or need, then provide it. That is the essence of writing to market. It’s learning what readers want and creating a story that fulfills the essence of what they’re looking for.

There are some who think this type of writing involves selling out or providing something formulaic or lacking in substance, which, to my mind, is insulting to readers. They don’t want formulas or shallow stories.

I think the backlash comes from the fact that most writers don’t have an entrepreneurial mindset, at least not when they start out. Switching from indulging their creativity to fulfilling a market need is seen as being different, as if one can’t be creative if they’re writing to market. But any author who wants to sell books, whether or not they write to market, needs to find readers, so either way, they need to provide something readers want.

Another concern is that writing to market means copying other writers, which is incorrect. Certainly, you want to study the books that are resonating with readers, but you don’t want to copy them. When you’re writing to market, you’re trying to tap into similar emotional triggers of successful books in your genre. It’s that adage of writing something similar but different.

Why would you want to write to market?

Any writer who has the goal of publishing and selling books MUST get to know their ideal reader. Traditionally, a writer would have a book and then go out to find their readers. In writing to market, you learn about the readers first by studying what’s selling. You determine what the readers like and expect in themes, tones, style, and even cover design. Then you write a book that will appeal to that group. The advantage is that, in theory, you’ll ride the wave of popularity and sell books.

Finally, writing to market might make you a better writer by encouraging you to write in areas you might not have considered before. I have ghostwriting clients who have me write to market and it’s challenged and pushed me to write things I’d have never written on my own, which has made me a better writer.

Why would you not want to write to market?

If writing to market increases your chance of success, shouldn’t you do it?

Not necessarily. There are several reasons not to write to market.

First, it’s possible that the market is reading books that you don’t like or feel comfortable writing. For example, maybe dark romances are all the rage, but you prefer something lighter. Maybe slow burn is popular, but you like to get your couple together earlier in the book. Perhaps you don’t want to write about a billionaire, or you’d rather have the billionaire be the woman.

You can force yourself to write something that you think will better fit the market, and it’s possible that doing so will expand your writing chops and make you a better writer. On the other hand, forcing your writing can potentially make you inauthentic, something that readers will notice and not like.

Second, there is no guarantee that your to-market book will sell. Just because you write to the market doesn’t mean the market will find your book. And in fact, in some ways, being like everyone else means you don’t stand out.

Third, while market trends last for a while, some are fleeting. You have to write fast to get your book published during the heyday.

The good news is that in romance, the market is voracious and varied. Chances are good that there is a market that your stories can fit into.