Lesson 8: Why did an editor buy this book?
This is a magic question because when you figure out why a book you thought wasn’t as good as it could have been was bought, nine chances out of ten you will find one of the main requirements for the line or publisher.
For instance: Many years ago, (probably fifteen since I haven’t read a historical in a long time) I read a historical romance that I almost gagged through. Not only was there very little romance (the hero and heroine spent very little time together) but what romance there was wasn’t all that romantic. So, I asked one of my friends who was multi-published why she thought that book had been published.
And she said, “What’s it about?” I said, “It’s a marriage of convenience where two people get married because of a child and the child is visited by an angel who tells her how to get them together romantically not just “technically” since they’re married. The book spends more time on the angel and the child, than the romance.”
And my friend said…Then the publisher is probably looking for books with traditional hooks (marriage of convenience) children (the hero and heroine were married because of a child) and angels. At a conference only a week or so later a representative from the publisher was on a panel and very boldly said, “Right now angels and kids are hot. We’d prefer they blend into the story not be the story. But we’re very open about that.” And I said to my mentor, “Ha! The author may have had the angel and the kid but she blew the blending.” My friend shrugged. “Marketing is sometimes more important than craft.”
Ouch. Wicked truth. Publishers are in business to make money. Books about angels were making money, so when this publisher found one, it was bought. Craft problems not withstanding. So, though I don’t recommend mimicking the style of a book that clearly wasn’t any good. It certainly doesn’t hurt to mimic the marketing needs!
Those of you who have been around for a while have witnessed a similar phenomenon. Right now, kick ass heroines are all the rage. But it wasn’t always so. Bombshells came out with this being their selling point. This heroine didn’t need a hero.
The line wasn’t successful. It tried bringing back to the line some of the “original” tenets for romantic suspense, which is that the hero and heroine solve the problem “together.” The heroine isn’t saved…But neither is the hero. But by then it was too late.
The line was closed, but the “newer” heroine that it promoted is alive and well. Now, this kind of heroine isn’t a big shift since Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Intrigue and most single title publishers had already delved into this, but Bombshell’s boldness opened the door for publishers to push the envelope evenmore with heroines.
Now we’ve got some really sassy, spunky girls out there who might have been toned down in years past. Readers responded to the evolution of the heroine to keep up with how young women really behave today. It was a necessary evolution!
So, you have to read everything – books you like, and books you don’t like – to really understand what’s going on in a line or with a publisher. They may be shifting and you need to be aware of that.
5.The fifth reason your analysis may not be working… You haven’t yet learned how to distinguish hybrids. Hybrids are books that have a little bit of everything and don’t really “fit” anywhere. Unless or until you know all your line’s critical success factors and the critical success factors for the similar lines so you know what makes your line or publisher unique, you won’t be able to distinguish hybrids. These books get published sometimes because of author name. Sometimes because of editor desperation. Sometimes because there is “something” about them that an editor can’t refuse. But if they don’t meet the requirements of a line, you shouldn’t set them up as examples.
Readers want what they want. That’s why there are lines. That’s why certain publishers buy very specific books. They are looking for readers. And you should be too. You should be as knowledgeable about your publisher as you can. You should be as knowledgeable as you can about who reads that line or that publisher.
And you can be. For years editors at conferences gave us the simple answer that the way to discover what they wanted was to “read.” But the answer isn’t just read. It’s read and analyze and know what you’re doing when you’re making those analyses!
Read all the books for your publisher or line for at least six months. Figure out your critical success factors. Have a standard list of questions to get to lowest common denominators. Compare apples to apples, apples to oranges and apples to papayas.
And then stick with what you find. If your target publisher wants stories that take place in a small town, give them a story that takes place in a small town. If they want traditional hooks, give them traditional hooks with the spin on the conflict. Don’t go over pages counts. Make sure you haven’t written a hybrid.
Give the people what they want!
Because that’s the real bottom line to analyzing book…It’s figuring out what readers want and giving it to them…or getting your work to the publisher who has targeted the same readers you have.
susan meier
THE BABY PROJECT 4/11
SECOND CHANCE BABY 5/11
A BABY ON THE RANCH 6/11
All part of BABY IN THE BOARDROOM series for Harlequin Romance
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