
In the world of writing, there’s often a debate between two key approaches: “Writing What You Know” versus “Writing to Market.” Both strategies have their merits, and understanding how to navigate between them can help you create compelling, marketable work that remains true to your voice. In this blog post, we’ll explore the advantages and challenges of each approach, and provide guidance on how to find a balance that works for you.
Writing What You Know
The Essence of Authenticity
Personal Connection
- Deep Knowledge: Writing what you know allows you to draw from your own experiences, knowledge, and passions. This personal connection can lend authenticity and depth to your writing. Readers often resonate with the genuine emotion and insights that come from lived experience.
- Rich Detail: When you write about something you’re familiar with, you can provide rich, nuanced details that add credibility to your story. This can be particularly powerful in genres like memoir, literary fiction, or historical fiction.
Emotional Resonance
- Relatable Themes: Stories based on personal experiences or familiar settings can evoke strong emotional responses from readers. Your insights and perspectives can bring unique angles to common themes, making your work stand out.
Challenges/Limitations
- Limited Scope: Writing exclusively from personal experience can sometimes limit the range of your stories. You may find it challenging to step outside your comfort zone or explore new genres and settings.
- Risk of Overexposure: If your writing is too closely tied to your personal life, you might risk overexposing yourself or creating work that feels too insular to appeal to a broader audience.
Writing to Market
The Strategy of Market Awareness
Understanding Trends
- Reader Preferences: Writing to market involves aligning your work with current trends and reader preferences. By researching popular genres, themes, and tropes, you can increase your chances of meeting market demand and reaching a wider audience.
- Sales Potential: Adapting your writing to fit market trends can boost your book’s commercial potential. This strategy often involves studying bestseller lists, genre conventions, and industry reports to craft a manuscript that aligns with what readers are actively seeking.
Broad Appeal
- Marketability: Writing to market can make your work more appealing to publishers and agents who are looking for commercially viable projects. It’s a way to ensure that your work fits within established genre expectations and meets the interests of potential readers.
- Strategic Planning: This approach allows you to plan your writing with a clear understanding of what sells, which can be particularly beneficial if you’re aiming for a career in writing or publishing.
Challenges/Limitations
- Creativity Constraints: Focusing solely on market trends can sometimes stifle creativity. If you’re too concerned with fitting into a mold, you might find yourself compromising on originality and personal expression.
- Short-Term Gains: Trends can be fleeting. What’s popular today might not be in demand tomorrow, so writing to market can sometimes lead to work that feels outdated or out of touch if trends shift.
Finding Your Balance
Integrating Both Approaches
Blending Authenticity with Market Awareness
- Personal Touch in Popular Genres: One effective way to balance these approaches is to write within popular genres or trends but infuse your work with personal experiences and unique perspectives. For example, you might write a thriller set in a location you know well or incorporate your personal interests into a widely-read genre.
- Original Voice within Trends: Use market research to understand what readers want but filter those insights through your own voice and experiences. This way, you can create something that resonates with readers while still being true to yourself.
Experimentation and Flexibility
- Trial and Error: Experiment with different approaches and genres. Write some projects that align closely with your personal knowledge and others that cater to market trends. Over time, you’ll gain a better understanding of how to balance these strategies effectively.
- Adaptation: Be open to adapting your approach based on feedback and market changes. If you find that your personal projects are not resonating as well as you’d like, consider incorporating more market-oriented elements, and vice versa.
Long-Term Vision
- Building a Brand: Think about your long-term goals as a writer. Consider how you can build a brand that combines your unique voice with market demands. This strategic approach can help you develop a sustainable writing career that satisfies both your creative impulses and commercial goals.
- Reader Relationships: Cultivate relationships with your readers. Understanding their preferences and feedback can guide you in finding a balance between writing what you know and what they want.
Choosing between “Writing What You Know” and “Writing to Market” isn’t necessarily about picking one over the other. Instead, it’s about finding a balance that allows you to stay true to your voice while also reaching and engaging with your audience. By blending personal authenticity with market awareness, you can create work that is both meaningful and commercially successful.