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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 43
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I'm just wondering, what genres are the hottest trends to break into it. I write thrillers/eco-thrillers and romantic suspense. And I'm a bit tired of the "not right for my list at this time" variety of rejection letters. Any tips or thoughts?
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Not right for my list doesn't mean it's not right for their list. It's a rejection, period. They try too let us down easy so we won't either sue or show up in the office with blood in our eye.
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Joined: 5/4/2011
Posts: 19
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Write what you enjoy and not for any 'hot' or 'trending' market. Rejection letters suck, but you'll destroy your writing if you try to write for someone else. Write eco-thrillers if that's what you enjoy, and concentrate on writing the best damn one. If it's good, someone will notice it, hot trend or not.
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Joined: 3/11/2011
Posts: 156
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Those are just standard form rejections. Romance and any versions of it from romantic suspense to erotic romance are always good genres to query. Thrillers in general seem to do well though I haven't heard anyone in particular seeking eco-thrillers so don't know where those stand.
If you are getting rejections based on only a query letter, it could be that you aren't querying the right agents or that your query letter itself isn't strong enough.
If some agents are requesting at least a partial of the work then sending a rejection letter, that's often an indication that the writing isn't strong enough.
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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 43
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Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm reworking on Venom right now, since I've gotten a full, last week, to send next month. I've gotten two new beta readers to help me land an offer and more requests to make it strong enough.
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Joined: 3/3/2011
Posts: 68
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'Not right for my list' can be both a form rejection and be true for the agent. Most agents take on one or maybe two writers a year, because they already have a full plate. If your query is not so amazing that they feel like jumping over the table for it, it's probably not right for their list. It may be that the query isn't doing the best job it could to sell your book, or it could be that the concept itself isn't something they're excited about.
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Joined: 3/29/2011
Posts: 43
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Thanks Michael. Recently I've gotten an agent this week on my nudge who complimented my query (she said it looks great) and asked for a full synopsis request. So we'll see what happens.
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Joined: 5/28/2012
Posts: 43
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I know this thread is a little old but I suppose this post will bump it up for newer members. I wanted to second drakevaughan's advice. Write what you actually want to write, don't hop on a bandwagon.
In fantasy lately (the genre I read and write) for example, there's been a trend towards books with thieves and/or assassins as main characters. These books tend to take place in dirty cities that are really run by guilds of thieves and/or assassins. For whatever reason (presumably, a successful novel in this sub-genre a few years ago), lots of people are writing these, these days. And some of the later entries have been clear copycats, and not very good, nor very inspired. You can tell the authors' hearts aren't in it, and quality suffers as a result. If you're not enthusiastic about writing it, readers won't be enthusiastic about reading it (most likely, and certain mega-bestsellers aside).
My own thought process isn't consistent with writing what someone else wants. I get ideas as random flashes of inspiration. And they're nearly always somewhere along the speculative fiction continuum, usually fantasy. I would have a heck of a hard time coming up with a romance or historical fiction or crime novel concept. And I'd feel like anything I tried to write in one of those genres would be so awful that I'd want to abandon it at every turn.
So, stay true to yourself. The more passionate you are about your work, the better it'll be.
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Joined: 6/7/2013
Posts: 1356
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Some of the genres I've been hearing editors and agents ask about are YA Alternate History, Contemporary YA, Middle Grade geared toward boys, literary thrillers, women's fiction that is not about raising children.
Thematically, I am noticing that there's interest in the Victorian era, chick lit remakes of classics (always), YA LGBT, and Appalachia (blame Justified). Thrillers featuring a strong, evil antiheroine seem popular as well.
That said, I feel like when we hear about trends, we should listen to see if our project fits, and if it doesn't, that's no reason to change course. If it does fit, that might light a fire under us to do some reading and see how these trends are playing out in the marketplace, and query some agents who are having success with them.For the rest of us, just keep working and making your book as good as it can be--by the time you are done with it, maybe your genre and theme will be in style. Or, better yet, your book will be the breakout that starts the trend. 
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Joined: 7/15/2016
Posts: 2
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I completely agree with you when it comes to writing what you love instead of what is the most current trend.
I made the mistake of completing school with the same mindset because I never knew what I wanted to do in life.
Great advice!
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