Write to Market: The #1 Mistake Authors Make

[@jimm3370]

Your generosity is a model, Chris.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

People like Hugh Howey and A.G. Riddle helped me out when I was getting started, along with a whole bunch of other authors. I firmly believe in paying it forward.

[@scampercom]

You and Brendan Sanderson both, as you’ve mentioned. I’m grateful for it. Thank you.

[@kelvaris1]

I don't know how many times I've had to explain to someone that YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE GENRE you are writing in for it to work.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

I've found that many people who want to be authors don't love to read. At all. This presents an enormous problem, because they don't love any genres. They love the idea of being an author, and making a living doing it =/

[@kevinkelly5780]

That's the problem I see with tv scifi. Show runners like Chibnall do not know a damn thing about Scifi and look down on the Scifi audience

[@netherveilgames996]

@@ChrisFoxWrites That's very true! I used to not like reading that much but it makes such a huge difference when you find your genre and find authors who write with a tone you enjoy

[@Kev_Partner]

Great video and absolutely spot on. The chef analogy is interesting but I think there's more to it than that. I've run an online business for eight years and during that time I've seen competitors come in and, in one case, copy our entire e-commerce website and clone our products. None of them has lasted more than a few months because the sort of "quick buck" mentality that leads someone to clone a business is not the sort that will see an enterprise through - their belief is in the buck, not the business. I think it's the same with copycat authors - they see it as a short cut when, in fact, it's a short circuit.

[@pokey4179]

As always Chris thanks so much for taking the time to make these. As always your advice for budding authors is top notch.

[@JETrent]

I think this is a video I need to re-watch weekly. It's very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to post it, Chris.

[@daviddallmer9731]

Thank you for posting, Chris! I love the "real-life" examples. So few people do them, but they're immensely helpful.

[@vancoops]

So was the #1 mistake not reading enough in the genre? I may have missed the specific answer to the episode title.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

The mistake is approaching the writing like a cook, just following a checklist of tropes.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Though I'd definitely call not reading enough the second biggest mistake.

[@christyjohnson1799]

Legionnaire looks very awesome. I'm going to have to get that one. It's very cool that you showcased them.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Their execution was perfect, from identifying the audience, to the writing. I definitely recommend the book if you're into MSF.

[@yesplease2931]

How do you go about getting a great book cover? Not only good places, but how do you make sure the cover art is what you are looking for, i.e. do the characters look close to how you envision them in your mind as you write the book? Thanks for all of the great videos and tips!

[@okwrite7120]

I read a lot of romantic fiction and because it is the biggest most lucrative genre you find so many books where you don't feel the author has any love or knowledge of the genre. It is so disappointing and has put me off self published romance.

[@Caigul]

iv been a chef and have seen it a few times when a new cook comes in worried about following the recipe to the letter. we usually joked that this is cooking not baking while most customers come in expecting the dish to be a certain way your more regular's are coming for the little bit of added flair. nothing wrong with sticking to the book you just wont stand out from the crowd

[@HeartDrivenTarot]

Your suggestions are so helpful - thanks!

[@bigphilly7345]

Excellent video. After I read Writing to Market, I wasted a lot of time trying to be a cook and cooking up food I never liked to eat. lol. Therefore, I found that genre that I love to read but also sells.

[@SilviaKay]

This was very useful, thanks for sharing. Also, I loved how you managed to pack so many book recommendations into a single video!

[@aldenova8605]

Super useful- I have watched this three times. Chris is a great instructor.

[@StampinDivaUK]

Chris, I've bought a few of your books, but must admit that the 'Writing to Market' book was one I've avoided. Mostly because I've seen so many authors in , particularly, the Romance genre who churn out loads of really formulaic books. Every book they write is essentially the same book, just with different character names and couple of little tweaks in the overall story. But the actual plot stays the same. I've seen those same authors comment that they're writing to the market and I thought that I'd rather stay away from that sort of writing style. Seeing this video, however, I might go back and read that book too.

[@Melly16yr10]

What i'm interested in and for some time is how the Twilight Saga became this big success then failed miserably to the point it's become a common if not laughable joke these days. I mean people seriously at one point use to love these books. It seems strange to me how something so loved went down hill so quickly.

[@kevinkelly5780]

I like writing humorous murder mystery scifi, which turns out to have a very small audience on Amazon. So, onto military scifi and urban fantasy. Fingers crossed

[@emogirl89allup]

Wow, i was like, i need to subscribe to this guy, scrolled down and saw the subscribe button grayed out... I'm not much of a writer, but I do have a story to tell. I'm more of a graphic novel type. Pictures and dialog oooo :3 But love watching\listening to your vids!! This is way better then breaking the bank at a university class.

[@tezzag818]

Hi Chris, thanks so much for your videos. You are amazing! I wrote a novel The Dandelion as a letter from a wife to her cheating husband. It’s a journey from anguish to powerful exhilaration and people say they read it first as a novel and then go back and highlight the process so they can apply it to their own journey. It is not a romance or a self help, and so I can’t work out what genre I should place it in. Any ideas?

[@chuckwieser7622]

Hey Chris, I wanna take your advice and look at top selling books like the Agent of Enchantment. How do you find out how many copies a book is sold? I have a unique opportunity to write to market I believe. And I think if I look at top selling books like this, I can really have a chance of earning a living as a writer. Thanks

[@bunnyafton2521]

Apparently ALL categories at Amazon have good popularity, good potential for earning, and severe competition. Since ALL categories are cutthroat, what's the point of "writing to market"?

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Not all categories are cutthroat. There's still tons of undiscovered country. The people writing there don't talk about it, because the second we do we'll see a flood of people in that market. Do your own research, and you might be surprised. If that sounds too hard, then don't write to market. Maybe it is worthless *shrugs*. I make a living with it. Doesn't mean you have to.

[@bunnyafton2521]

I don't mean it's useless. Just, maybe...that ship has sailed. I used KDSPY to sort categories and sub-categories. In the genres I'd consider, only one came up with a yellow light in competition. You might do better with SFF or thrillers, the genres highlighted in nearly all podcasts.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

I'm not surprised. You used an automated tool, the same automated tool, that any author who wants can use to analyze the same genres. You, like so many other authors, are looking for the easy way to do this. And yes, the easy way is incredibly crowded. There are quite literally thousands of authors camping the most popular categories. If you are writing UF, or Harem, or reverse harem, or space opera than you are dealing with a large amount of competition. I consult on the side. Every month, I launch at least one new author to success. I hear from at least 20 every month about how they are now making a living doing this. Some are jumping into crowded markets. Some are actually doing the work and finding those undiscovered gems. I can think of three, right off the top of my head by the way. Genres that if I mention right now you'd see dozens of authors jump in at the first whiff that there might be cash there. You can't just fire up KDSPY, have it find you a category, and cash your check. How much work have you done? Actual research into genres you think are off the beaten path? I don't mean Kindle Spy. I mean reading books. I mean talking to authors. I mean watching ranks for weeks or months at a time. That's the kind of study necessary to find success. Most people aren't, and never will be, willing to do that. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Almost anyone can, but it requires sustained, intelligent study backed by intense work. And sometimes I still guess wrong. But when I get it right I have $30k months, and that's true of many authors I work with. I know this business is frustrating. I know it looks crowded. You have no idea what things will be like in five years when indie publishing is mainstream. We're still in the early majority phase. Pick a genre you really love. Study the crap out of it. Maybe that's a crowded genre, and maybe it's a tiny one. Whichever it is commit, and actually do the work. Really do the exercises in Write to Market. Turn off KDSPY, and do it with your own two hands.

[@roseandrews8523]

This was very helpful, thank you. More videos like this would be fantastic. That's my vote at least. :)

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

I think I'll do another one next week. People are asking how to figure out which tropes / conventions are being used in your genre, so I may tackle that.

[@DavidJPhifer]

That will be a great one, Chris. I get unclear when crossing genres. I consider my writing to be sci-fi or paranormal thrillers(like Dean Koontz, the show Supernatural, Buffy, or even Terminator 1 & 2), but I'm not sure which genre tropes to focus on, since I have elements of sci-fantasy, action, horror etc.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Have you read any of the current bestsellers in your genres?

[@DavidJPhifer]

Yes, but I think I've been going too far into fantasy books. I should probably focus on less full fantasy and more thrillers. Mine are based in the real world, with sci-fi or supernatural elements.

[@NicoleMontgomeryWriter]

This was an extra awesome way to look at it. Brilliant analogy. I think a lot of people massively over-simplify the whole write-to-market idea, and this video may help put it into proper perspective. Thanks, Chris!

[@JefferyHHaskell_Author]

Hey Chris, you should have your PA go back through and add your new intro to all the vids!

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

I like the old intro. It was an era, if that makes sense =). The new one definitely fits me today!

[@rosenunez8648]

What about a book with about 4 or five Sci-Fi shorts. Like a season of The Twilight Zone on paper. Any suggestions what i should read to help me with that?

[@komradekomura]

Another interesting video. Well done, Chris. Almost conquered by stubbornness and will Write to Market soon. When that happens, this video will become a mantra. A question about reading in genre. Some of us get bored very, very quickly. There is a name for it and available prescriptions for those interested in chemical dependency. I am not. Have stopped reading some of the most publicly acclaimed novels because of this. Mostly my problem, not the writers...although if it were a little more interesting/compelling/funny/etc I may not have abandoned. I'll take 90%, the writer gets 10%. Going to try audio books. Do you think I will miss much without the visuals on the page? The cadence, the sentence flow. Will I lose all of this? I often read a sentence and think 'fuck that's almost poetry' and read it again and see if I can learn something. Whatccha think? If you listen to audio books, when and where? BTW - your narrator for your audio books reminds me of Johnny Depp reading Hunter Thompson. ''We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold."

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Audiobooks are perfect for people like us. I don't read books / ebooks much anymore, because my attention span is terrible. I listen to audiobooks while working out and hiking. It keeps me interested, and I finish a lot more books as a result. I would caution you, though, to focus less on prose. Especially at first. By that I mean lyrical prose is the very last tool you need to your arsenal. Servicable prose with a great story is far, far better than lyrical prose without one. Focus on story structure and character development, and work on prose along the way. And in closing, in Johnny Depp's Voice, "We can't stop here. This is bat country."

[@komradekomura]

Thanks Bro...good to know there are others.

[@CoconutSundae]

Thanks for the content and the advice, your channel is probably the best on KZbin for this stuff! As a side note, do you have a rough idea of the ratio of people who are writing to market as chefs rather than cooks who actually end up selling their work profitably? Is is something like 1 in ten or closer to 1 in a thousand etc?

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

It's really hard to know just how many authors are attempting to do this, as we don't see the people who fail. I'd guess something like 1 in 100 succeed. It takes massive work, continuous improvement, and a total lack of ego to pull it off.

[@CoconutSundae]

That's actually better odds than I was afraid of, thanks for the candid answer. I suppose worst case the skills gained and the joy of writing (that makes me do it anyway!) would still be worth it even if most of us never make it financially.

[@HeartDrivenTarot]

Love this!

[@RuthAnnNordin]

Does this only work if you're in KU? Or do wide authors have this kind of success, too?

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Wide authors succeed too. It's difficult, and it takes time, but most wide authors have more stable sales. KU is wonderful if you release quickly. If you don't? Wide may be a much better option.

[@draven9481]

Chris, i just finished my book and don't know how to do the marketing right, I'm afraid i'll blow it for i don't have any experience in sales or marketing that it would fail to reach an audience or get it really visible out there, what's your strategy the first time you publish your very first book? I seem to be reading a lot of books on how to publish but not of them seems to help me really do it, just a buncha advices and air and no quality into it. Really appreciate it if you would reply. I'm writing about werewolves and dark fantasy. Hope you see this. You rock!

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

The problem is that there's no 10 step process for marketing. Every book, in every genre, will have a different set of steps needed to make it successful. You say that you've read a lot of books on marketing. Have you read mine? If so, did you do the exercises? There is a massive amount of work involved in marketing your book. All someone like me can do is show you the steps. The work is something you'll need to do on your own, and it is going to entail a lot of mistakes. You will screw up, and that's fine. Experiment. Make mistakes. Learn. Then publish another book =)

[@draven9481]

@@ChrisFoxWrites thanks for the reply chris, i'll be sure to check your book out. But if you won't mind, what would be the best option a beginner like me should choose first in your selection?

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

I'd suggest Write to Market to learn how and what you need to do to package your book in a way your audience will recognize. If you need help with story structure I recommend Plot Gardening. If you want to crank out more words I've got 5,000 Words Per Hour available free at chrisfoxwrites.com =)

[@draven9481]

@@ChrisFoxWrites hi chris i think i'll get write to market in kindle since it really relates to my predicament ss i watch your videos. i know i have a good story i just need to have ideas about marketing since it's another platform on its own.

[@simondonohoe2236]

Great video.

[@joyceisaacson2511]

Hi, Chris. What is your email please?

[@williamribardo3736]

Right to Market not knew idea. Two genre Write about genre that you and others love. Many people did not use the genre Title of Destroyer takes games?and combine them into no hash of the way they were Military Science Fiction a sub genre. Hitting the tropes similar to setting yoursel apart diplomatically Most stunning writer

[@jflsdknf]

I honestly don't even think you have to do something new and inventive. KDP readers love their tropes and story beats. They'll gobble the same thing up over and over and it's when it deviates from what they expect that they'll ding you.

[@jnicholls1431]

Number one mistake? Not making all books available in paperback, I would love to read your fiction books but I don't use Kindle or audio books. Please go paperback. Otherwise I love your videos so Thank you, and good luck in the future.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

All of my books in are in paperback =p

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

Well, except for one, but like eight people bought Hero Rising.

[@jnicholls1431]

I'll have to search again, but I still want Her Rising. What can I say I'm awkward. Thank you Chris. BY the way just bought all six of your writing series, can't wait to read.

[@ChrisFoxWrites]

If you checked a year ago, you were right. I didn't have all my books in paperback. It was really hard running a full time business by myself. My wife does the paperbacks now, thankfully =D

[@jnicholls1431]

Love your videos, very inspiring.

[@liftlabperformance]

Great video. But BSG didn’t borrow from Mass Effect. It’s vice versa. I subscribed because you have metric shit ton of awesome content.