Most Popular Book Genres for 2023 | Book Publishing Trends

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Most Popular Book Genres for 2023 | Book Publishing Trends

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Күн бұрын

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It's true that great stories should last a lifetime, but certain fiction book genres are more popular in certain years over others. While you shouldn’t completely scrap a book idea because it’s not trending, it’s still helpful to see what the current publishing industry trends are, especially if you are hoping to get your book published in 2023. In this video, I go over the most popular book genres for 2023 and discuss what literary agents are looking for from new authors this year.
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GREAT BOOKS ABOUT WRITING/PUBLISHING:
Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer / amzn.to/3VE8dtt
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody / amzn.to/3Vyk2Bn
Before and After the Book Deal by Courtney Maum / amzn.to/3Z4at03
SOME OF MY FAVORITE NOVELS:
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones / amzn.to/3vvWItt
Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips / amzn.to/3CFz4Pt
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid / amzn.to/3CjFFi5
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MORE BOOK PUBLISHING VIDEOS:
5 Essential Books on Writing You Must Read in 2023: • 5 Essential Books on W...
Book Publishing Trends for 2022: • Book Publishing Trends...
3 Popular Genres Publishers (Still) Love: • 3 Popular Genres Publi...
Worst Genres for Traditional Publishing: • Worst Genres for Tradi...
MOST POPULAR BOOK GENRES FOR 2023:
03:23 - YA
04:11 - Romance
04:54 - Fantasy
05:38 - Horror
06:24 - Middle grade
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ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with 7+ years of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey-whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.
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Пікірлер: 83

@cloudyyy_0.0 Жыл бұрын

Video starts : 3:21

@emmapalhais1307 Жыл бұрын

Ur a life saver

@ElizabethMBoyd 5 ай бұрын

Thanks

@pianogirl2508 Жыл бұрын

I'd be interested to know what POV's and tenses are trending right now. Is 1st person more favored than 3rd person? Is present tense more popular than past tense? Thanks so much for these videos, Alyssa!

@joebillings1313 Жыл бұрын

A good way to determine a successful, or trending pov tense is to check bestsellers and other well read contemporary books to see what formulas are working for successful authors. For example, if five out of twenty a FPP that represents 25% of the current usage, where if ten are omnipresence this might be interpreted as being the beat to use, however it could suggests its being overused. Ultimately, I find using the POV that tells the story best, given FPP calls for increased initial pronoun use because of the constant, "I," with few options to replace the I's. Omnipresent allows for the building of suspense by offering windows into antagonist ect. Final note: I fall with using the POV you feel strongest in using. Trends come and go, but powerful writing executed with confidence last foreger. Hope this helps and conveyed the point.

@asherscott3151 Жыл бұрын

3rd limited past tense is and has almost always been the most popular. First person is popular and YA and some other genres

@laylachisom8996 Жыл бұрын

I love first person much more personal

@seasaltsanji Жыл бұрын

3.20 is when the starts

@samp4050 Жыл бұрын

Love is always in fashion, no matter what year it is, everyone loves love stories. When you mentioned ghost stories, I grinned, because I am currently writing my paranormal romance. Also finishing off my other historical romance fiction ms. Looking forward to sending my query letters soon for both ms.

@megorra Жыл бұрын

Wow. Thanks Alyssa. This just made my day. A good deal of what you mentioned in those top 5 has, in some way, a relation to my work, and this year (hopefully by July) is when I begin the querying journey. To hear these genres are trending gives me great hope that the timing of my novel could well be perfect. I just want to finish it now and get it out there. I love writing, can't wait to start the next one, and I'm so grateful for all the fantastic advice you've given.

@AlyssaMatesic Жыл бұрын

Best of luck!

@laylamohsini723 8 ай бұрын

This was really helpful! It made me realize my interests align with the trends. I was afraid no one would read my novel if I wrote it, so I became discouraged. But thankfully my novel falls into a lot of these categories, and gives me hope for the future. Could you do one of these videos for 2024 to see if the trends have changed or are the same? Thanks, that would help a lot!

@johnmclean6380 Жыл бұрын

Great stuff…as always fast forward to about 3:00 for start of content 😅

@hazelphoenix203 Жыл бұрын

Hi Alyssa, can you talk a little more about mental health in your next Q+A? How open are agents to working with authors with mental health issues and representing books with characters who struggle with mental health problems? I rarely see characters with ADD, depression, or OCD, for example. I'm a YA fantasy writer who was diagnosed with bipolar as a teen and I'd love to see mental health explored especially in books for kids and YA. Please tell me agents and editors are open to these subjects .

@sarahcorine1993 Жыл бұрын

I second this question Alyssa ❤️ I have depression, anxiety and CPTSD. Would love to see more about mental health. And your thoughts on characters that represent mental health such as the Winnie the Pooh Characters with the theory that they each represent something such as Eeyore being depression. But also, what are you opinions on writing these characters with respect?

@cfharret Жыл бұрын

Good question. I would also like to hear her answer on this!

@GrowthGrounds Жыл бұрын

She kind of does answer the question being that she mentioned tones and personalities for characters in the word cloud. Like nuerodiverse. So I think you guys would be fine. Not to mention I've read mental health books where the introduction is about the author overcoming mental issues to get where they are. I think you should just go for what u want to write about here because it is definitely an up and coming format. And in my personal opinion, who's business is it that you have a mental disorder ? You are no less. That's like saying someone on the autistic spectrum can't have a job or live a normal life...or sh*t, write a book. Lol. Be well and best wishes guys ! Get to writing that book!

@NoMastersNoMistress Жыл бұрын

Personally, I could care less about genre aside from how I need to describe what I have in progress. I am happy to see that "dark" tag as I'd rather eat a bucket of broken glass than water down what i have in progress.

@AndrewWatsonChangingWay Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this clear and encouraging look at the year ahead. Happy new year (2023) and happy new year (of the rabbit).

@AlyssaMatesic Жыл бұрын

Happy new year!

@ryanhowell4492 Жыл бұрын

So grateful for this channel

@rowan7929 Жыл бұрын

My latest book is YA fantasy. Hope this will finally get me an agent. If not, I'm also working on a new YA fantasy.

@danielcarlson5362 Жыл бұрын

So thankful for this channel. :)

@melvindodson6827 Жыл бұрын

You are a very good teacher

@AlyssaMatesic Жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😃

@tdhuntington1 Жыл бұрын

Thanks! It gives me more motive to finish revising my middle school fantasy.

@DACorderoArt Жыл бұрын

Science fiction- Love, romance, family, corruption, conspiracy, experimentation, and survival. A story revolved around a family in a historical world transition, a family at a loss of a main pillar in the home. Facing grisly events as the world turns against eachother (I don't want to give away how or why here). A planned 3 book story leading to a possibly world ending event.

@Angel.M.Trinidad 9 ай бұрын

🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹 Thanks for your helpful tips. I am going to launch several books soon. I am from Trinidad West Indies. Angel/Trinidad. 🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹

@clint_oreilly Жыл бұрын

Interesting indeed

@Bookspine5 Жыл бұрын

I started in the middle of your video, my manuscript didn't match the genres, and so I burned my 1388 manuscript. Oh shoot this was information... Yikes I don't have a back up printed copy - all long hand.

@gailbellenger5018 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the excellent information! Love your videos. Always informative.

@SleepParty30 Жыл бұрын

I'm almost finished writing a YA Fantasy trilogy that I've been working on since 2013. Will soon get to querying agents.

@Shardai_smith Жыл бұрын

Hello Allyssa, I am worried that agents and editors won't want my book after the lastest trend of dark academia fades. Do you have any tips on how to know if you're book is still marketable? Or tips on how to keep it marketable knowing that it won't be published for another few years?

@KrisKosach Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. As someone who has written three books, but never been published (I'm too afraid to self-pub and I got enough rejections that I just stopped which was maddening becasue I have thousands of readers who loved it.

@eternal_napalm6442 10 ай бұрын

Self Publishing is the future. All market trends are shifting that way. Now is the time to join the wave and embrace it with confidence. Utilize social media influencers with free copies of your novels and set aside a modest advertising budget.

@andeeharry Жыл бұрын

Romance is still going strong, that's cool

@nextinstitute7824 Жыл бұрын

Hi Alyssa, 'dark' is mentioned often indeed, but that term can have many meanings... What are agents commonly referring to? My connotation is psychological suspense, but maybe I misinterpret... I'm mostly interested in the adult context.

@janemeredith8949 11 ай бұрын

Great video. Is there any hope for chapter books? Thanks

@starklingspars8956 11 ай бұрын

Thank you. That was helpful. Especuially about adult horror, which I didn't know. I searched for " what do publisgers want 2023" and this video came up. Exactly what I wanted to know., even though "they" say we shouldn't write to trend, i think picking a trendy genre is good if you can since at the end of the day we want to get published. Just wanted to add " YA" is an age category, not a genre, but someone else peobably pointed that out. A lot of YA representing agents arenon twitter, so that might be why it seems like more agents want YA.

@andyclark3530 Жыл бұрын

Data-driven writing advice! I've lived to see the intersection of my day job (IT Manager) and my night job (word bumbling). I'm hoping you are going to push out this word cloud as part of your newsletter. I'm encouraged to see YA and MG ranking, indicating young people are reading. I have no specific question, but you might do a section on ChatGPT/AI and writing. This is getting lots of talk among writers, but I'm curious about the publishing community's take on the technology's future.

@joebillings1313 Жыл бұрын

@andy clark I'm terrified to learn the publishers thoughts on a 100% profit driven technology with no royalties given publishing is and always has been a business. Coders, artists, and writers and general employees are all being threatened by the potential of being replaced by software. Be nice to see a human based push back on some of these threats, however, I'm not optimistic this will occur.

@hjkluoijljoiu Жыл бұрын

I’m getting ready to release a story about a neurodivergent vampire. Nice to see I’m sort of on trend. 😊

@ralphsmith2209 Жыл бұрын

My interest is mainly in historical fiction. There doesn’t appear to be a large market for that at the present time.

@Aalling76 Жыл бұрын

7:33 is Thriller not the biggest trendt if I read your own sign the right way?

@andeeharry Жыл бұрын

Nothing has changed from December, which is unusual, but that's cool

@Room4thought Жыл бұрын

Currently working on a project and aiming to be done by the summer, would the summer be a good time to query?

@alancook9102 Жыл бұрын

Thanks A for your update. Useful to know. I've just finished a fict on young female fantasy with romance and magic. Covers 3 bases at least. I find it also useful to see what publishers themselves are currently putting out, and what films and eg Netflix series are coming up. It's all about humans in current culture.

@brindlebucker4741 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video, Alyssa. It gave me a bit of hope that I might successfully query my YA LGBT themed novel this year.

@jamesman5878 Жыл бұрын

Good video

@Victoriaearth143 Жыл бұрын

What genre would a book about my life and information about my subject?

@gavinbarnfield4427 Жыл бұрын

Hi Alyssa, I had one question that would really help me on my journey for my novel. I wrote and self published this books years ago, that has since then been removed. And I’ve rewritten that story several times over with new events and details, but it has the same protagonists and world but is a different book with a new title. What are the chances of this getting traditionally published? The old story is very much a lesser version of my current manuscript from 5 years ago. I appreciate your videos and time, sorry to bother you.

@davidjohnverdillo6155 9 ай бұрын

The young or new-aged, middle-aged and old-aged adult book genres should always be for male also known as masculine or female also known as feminine or both male and female also known as masculine and feminine adults also known as adultish men also known as gentlemen also known as guys or women also known as gentlewomen also known as ladies also known as gals or both adultish men also known as gentlemen also known as guys and women also known as gentlewomen also known as ladies also known as gals 18 years old of age and older from as to most.

@davidjohnverdillo6155 9 ай бұрын

The man also known as gentleman also known as guy lit and fratire book genres should always be for adultish men also known as gentlemen also known as guys 18-39 years old of age from as to most.

@maoribica Жыл бұрын

congratulations for the excellent channel.Romance and novel, what s the difference?

@amyrah960 7 ай бұрын

Do 2024 please

@frostfang7670 Жыл бұрын

I have a idea for a fantasy story set in a late 1800s/early 1900s setting with humans co-existing in a world where a supernatural animal hierarchy are the dominant force where they rule over the human class. But it's still early in my mind.

@louislyle2501 Жыл бұрын

I'm currently working on a YA fantasy novel, and after a hard edit, I am now under 50,000 words. After watching your videos on book deals and word counts to aim for 60-100,000 words, I feel the need to pump more words into the story to better my chances. I do see YA requirements are in the fewer words range, but are publishers still wanting YA in the same general word count? Thanks for the videos.

@emm6724 Жыл бұрын

I’d say YA is around 60-80,000 words. It shouldn’t take much to make it a little longer - good luck!

@louislyle2501 Жыл бұрын

@Emm Thank you for the input. I agree it won't be hard to increase the adventure. ❤️

@tomgrant3893 Жыл бұрын

I'm tweaking a crime story.

@chadarnold2608 Жыл бұрын

Very helpful. I am currently working on a final edit for my manuscript and your videos have helped! Do you have any videos or suggestion on how to identify the books genre? I feel that my novel will span the likes of a few genres so I don't know how to describe it in it's simplest form.

@Redskirt Жыл бұрын

I had the same problem, and it took a pro editor to finally tell me my genre is sci-fi. I wouldn't have thought so, but sci-fi apparently covers a wide range these days.

@hafsa1106 Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for the information. I just finished my first novel with a parallel story structure. On one hand we have a fourteen year old young lady living in 1934 who is planning to save her mother and brother from the abuse of her father. On the other hand we have a thirteen year old young Muslim boy living in the 1990s who is planning to save his mother and sister from the abuse of his stepfather. The stories share similarities but are completely different at the same time. They actually do tie together in the end. But deciding whether they are MA or YA has been tricky. Although they deal with serious subjects, there are no graphic details and a lot of the intense scenes are understated but we have a clear idea of what is going on. But an agent told me that the ages should make it YA. My mother who is a published author says it is MA. So I'm not sure what to do with the way I pitch it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

@denniszenanywhere 11 ай бұрын

Any updates? Have you gotten more YA or MA readers?

@Astor56 Жыл бұрын

Why does it seem like agents are looking for stuff fir highschoolers or frankly quite overly used genres: YA fantasy romance. Do people not write scifi anymore? Are ppl not creative enough to create scifi worlds and conceots? Are ppl not tired of reading LOTR told in a different way or typical magic based in midieval england?

@Victoriaearth143 Жыл бұрын

Are agents looking for my story with some information about Epilepsy.

@jwstanley2645 5 ай бұрын

I'm curious. I have been noticing a number of speakers like you. Let me backup. Darn few people today follow a rule of long ago. Most of us pronounce knight, without the k, g, or h. What I have noticed is a number of Americans who pronounce 'important' as 'imporant' You do. Here you also pronounce button as bu'un. I am not calling you wrong. My question. Knowing that you live and work in New York, New York, may I ask, in what region did you live as a child? I wonder if this a regional speech pattern. Many Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis, by the way, drop almost all middle consonants in speech. Meanwhile, most Indians and Africans who grow up speaking English at home do not use these patterns. So, where do we get 'imporant' from 'important'?

@emm6724 Жыл бұрын

That makes me happy as I’m writing a YA fantasy novel, with elements of magic and romance. Also with a sprinkling of LGBT romance, indigenous peoples, and based off Canadian landscape. Need one more edit before beta readers

@ACPritchard Жыл бұрын

Dark adult fantasy. First person, negative character arc

@author.gabrielavrivera Жыл бұрын

Where would you say a paranormal dystopian romance is in terms of popularity? #askmeanything #AMA

@fatimandiaye3664 Жыл бұрын

❤

@CherieMagnus Жыл бұрын

Surprised that climate change fiction didn’t make the list. It’s a new genre, of course, but so relevant to the times.

@johndavids4780 Жыл бұрын

Please edit yourself and stop pontificating. That was almost half of your vid and you didn't get to the "meat" of the vid until half way thru. Also, stop using terms the reader may not be familiar with. I still don't know what YA means.

@fatemakarim5054 Жыл бұрын

Young adult. Can't you look up unfamiliar words? You are watching this using the internet.

@isaacgomez9877 7 ай бұрын

"Neurodiverse, indigenous, and black characters". Something tells me indigenous Europeans don't count, huh?

@TrevK0 Жыл бұрын

Writes poetry... Oh you want least popular book genres of 2023 haha

@AlyssaMatesic Жыл бұрын

Poetry definitely has its place in the independent/small press publishing world! It's just hard to query/publish through traditional publishers.

@AlohaTrev Жыл бұрын

Meaningless

@stephenbarone4053 Жыл бұрын

Are teens really reading that much for YA to be so hot all these years, or is it schools ordering the books and adults who don’t want to read books for adults?