Then again, stick with what works, and has worked, for you, your readers, and often the market in general, and you hear, “But I’ve already seen five proposals like this in the last month!”

And as for those midlisters who have apparently forgotten what it was like when they started out, when their ideas were “fresh”. . .but what if what seems stale now WAS fresh back then, because that’s what those authors write? IOW, hitting the market at the right time with the right idea may have had as much to do with an author’s first sale five or ten or twenty years ago than it did with her ability to think outside the box. Just depends on what the box was at that time!

Say what you will, we can only use what the Muse sends us to work with. If we’re lucky, the world will be on board with those stories, as well, whether we choose to stay in the same sorts of story worlds or go where we’ve never gone before.

But the second-guessing thing is enough to drive anybody nuts. As someone else said, there’s no guarantee that the “fresh” idea (if there really is such a thing) will catch fire, either. And there’s a lot to said for letting writers build on what they do well. After all, not *all* successful authors have branched out significantly from their roots, and not all authors who have branched out have gone on to fame and fortune. The risk is great enough *with* the fire in your belly; feeling forced to write something just to be different, and then to tank on top of it…

Not pretty.

Frankly, I’m convinced the whole publishing shebang is a crap shoot, anyway, so I don’t worry about it anymore. Speaking only for myself, it would be lovely if UPS would deliver a nice, fresh package of breakout ideas from Muse, Unlimited to my doorstep every once in a while, but it’s not something I have any control over…any more now than I did twelve years ago when I started. What WAS fresh about my submission (according to my editor) was my voice and approach to the subject matter. Ten years after my first release, those same elements are still keeping my old readers coming back and attracting new ones. Not in droves, perhaps, but enough.

If that means my readership never reaches NYT proportions, so be it. We can’t all write megabestsellers. Or even bestsellers. Nor are there an infinite number of never-before-seen approaches. True originality is actually quite rare…and not necesssarily always what a reader wants, since — judging from sales figures — an awful lot of them really do enjoy their comfort readers. Within reason, familiarity and predictability do have their place.

The thing is, writers aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some are all over the place creatively (which has its own drawbacks); others are quite happy in their little comfort zones, thank you. If serendipity strikes, yay. But for some of us, finding our niche, our own readership for the stories we *want* to tell, is enough reward.

The *new* breakouts are there because a) they’re doing what they’re doing better than the rest in that field b) a good marketing strategy c) they’re riding on a new wave… which in the end might hurt them.

Define *risk* – Writer’s don’t take risks. Editors and Agents take risks on stories that are not “in” but are so good they want them anyway.

Writers just write really good stories.

“Paranormal” isn’t a risk. Jayne Ann Krentz was doing that back in the 80’s – awesomely by the way.
“Hot” isn’t a risk. Linda Howards books have always been smokin’ hot.

To name a few.

It’s how authors use the elements, along with their voice that bring readers in. Not the plot device or “new” concept.

IMO only authors who have *made it* HUGE can take the real risks by breaking out into new genres and hoping fans will follow.

The rest have to do what we do better and hope that fans find us and love us.

Steph

Anyway, some interesting thoughts. Thanks for the post.

Aside from the In Death series, who are the successful authors taking big risks? I’d love to read ‘em!

Well, just make sure to query widely, because this business sure is subjective, especially when it comes to authors taking risks (published or looking-to-be-published).

Also, is it really the fresh stories that are risky, or the perception that trying to sell & publish them is a risk? Or am I just splitting hairs?

Maybe I’m just cynical, but while I’d agree that some (and among them some of the best) romance authors do this, I’m fairly sure there are some bestselling romance authors who don’t, but who nonetheless sell because they’re well-known and the readers like what they get, and they get it repeatedly.

At the same time, no body wants to be mid-list forever. It’s such a catch 22, me personally. I just want to get a deal, I’ll deal with all that other stuff later.:wink: