Really this bad???
If I wanted to write an instant YA bestseller, a book that the big New York publishers would be almost guaranteed to not just pick up but have a bidding war over, and if I had no scruples, I’d write something like this.
Seventeen-year-old Seraphina Darkmoon has never fit in — not with her boring, small-minded parents, not with her shallow classmates, not even with her so-called best friend (who, of course, secretly envies her beauty and power). But everything changes when three mysterious young men arrive at school: brooding vampire Kael, dangerous fae prince Draven, and snarky rebel-wizard Jax. All of them are instantly obsessed with Seraphina, who discovers she’s not only the most desirable girl alive but also the Chosen One destined to destroy the ancient order of men who’ve “ruined the world.”
Naturally, every adult authority figure is corrupt or clueless, every boy outside the love-triangle-plus-one is weak, and every girl besides Seraphina is either catty, slutty, or irrelevant. Between trysts in candlelit crypts and whispered prophecies about her unparalleled greatness, Seraphina must decide whether to embrace her dark hunger for power — or surrender to her equally dark hunger for Kael’s kiss.
By the last chapter, nothing has been built, no virtue gained, and no love matured. But Seraphina has conquered her “haters,” punished the men who dared oppose her, and fully embraced her destiny: eternal adoration on her own terms.
Full article, HERE from PJ Media.
We’ve been hearing some ‘rumblings’ about what is selling and what isn’t, so I don’t think this article is necessarily wrong… sigh…
I know ‘I’ couldn’t write something like that with a straight face, much less actually have the gall to submit it for publication. I wouldn’t do that to my reputation!
But I will say this is definitely in sync with the leftist agenda(s), and falls right in line with the DEI thinking that seems to perfuse the left coast and DC-Boston corridor.
As we’ve discussed earlier, there is an ‘elitist’ mindset in Tradpub and the Manhatten enclave. They believe ‘they’ know what is best for us, even though they’ve by and large never been west of the Hudson River. And they sure as hell haven’t spent any time in flyover country much less the South… Grrr…
I’ll just keep chugging along, writing my realistic novels and be happy with the scraps I get from my loyal readers (all five of you now)…
What say you, as readers???
According to the AI assistant that piped up when I typed in a search query, 80% of all fiction is purchased by women.
If you write stories about struggle and aspiration and overcoming obstacles (i.e. Improvise, adapt, overcome) then you will disenfranchise a large segment of the women’s market.
A typical female fantasy is where she wins a vampire’s heart and changes him to the good because…she is perfect in every way and irresistible in spite of all of her stupid life choices. SHE doesn’t have to change at all, the cosmos around her will change because…MAGIC.
Well, that’s certainly nauseating. It’s why I DON’T read “women’s fiction.” Not unless it’s fiction by Dorothy Grant, Sarah Hoyt, Cedar Sanderson, etc.
I don’t remember the last time I bought a book from the “major” publishers.
High costs and poor writing aren’t the only reason but they sure don’t help!
I’d like to see a deathmatch between Seraphina and the Empress Theresa.
Theresa would mop the floor with her, then give her the choice to join the Legion.
The masses are asses, but the niche is nice.
I think the traditional publishers are staring down the barrel of diminishing returns. They don’t have the social impact anywhere near what they once had. What was the last book you read that everybody else read that was going to be turned into a Hollywood blockbuster or possibly a min-series. We’re talking about 50 years ago. They are settling for crumbs of what once was. You are one of the guys siphoning off the influence of these publishers. At the end of the day, all they have is a marketing department with a withering reach.
I introduced my daughter to the Chris Ryan ‘Alpha Force’ books and the Robert Muchamore ‘Cherub’series. Chris Ryan explained at a book signing we attended that he started writing teen fiction because there was nothing positive he could find for his children.
I may have seen anime that read like this, on the surface, but at least they’re good.
“Witch-Craft Works” flips the whole ‘school princess’ thing on its head.
Yeah, I read anime, so what? (Actually read it, turn on the subtitles and have the sound off.)
Walked through Barnes & Nobel recently. Didn’t see anything I wanted. Of course, I’m just a bitter clinger.
I was looking for a specific atlas.
All- Interesting comments. At supper last night this was a discussion ‘item’ and it was pointed out that ‘most’ women’s romance was nothing more than soft porn. Since I don’t read that, I had no idea… Yes, there is definitely a dearth of what I would consider ‘good’ reading material today for teen/tween boys and girls. I know Raconteur Press is now putting out ‘boys’ books and I do remember having a teen girl read my Grey Man series to see if it was too ‘mature’ for her. Per her daddy, she liked it fine, and she also read my MilSF series, Rimworld. Her comment(s)- It’s realistic, not pandering to me.
Sounds like a huge market just waiting to be satisfied, so it’s good to see Raconteur Press taking advantage!
Corrupt Author Porn.
Barabus- They are trying!!!
Ed- LOL, true!
The core of women’s soft porn has not changed. It used to be Fabio looking guys, but now the context is vampires and lords of darkness.
The author of this tripe is a female who identifies as Zer. Zer is 5 feet tall, 300 lbs, has multiple tattoos including facial tattoos. as a nose ring and pink hair on one half and shaved on the the other half. No self respecting male would touch her with anything, much less a ten foot pole.