The Road Already Taken

Since I work in a library, I notice trends in reading. Since I also write, I monitor which trends seemed to be tapped out and therefore inaccessible to those of us who didn't get our manuscripts, proposals or blogs finished in time. This is a summary of what I've noticed - the good, the bad and the Gone:

• The Intrepid Woman Traveler genre of "creative non-fiction." I noticed the rising energy of this particular niche ten years ago, when publishers such as Travelers Tales were in business. This genre encompasses first-person stories that are probably best known today as Eat, Love, Pray stories. They're largely travel memoirs written by women who took off on a particular adventure on their own and lived to tell about it. If you're a female Boomer who recently hitchhiked through Bali with all your worldly possessions in a 5-lb backpack, forget about the book contract. It's already been done.
• The Chick Lit for Midlifers sub-genre of fiction (my husband calls it Hen Lit). I shelve so many of these, I've lost count. Fifteen years ago, Elizabeth Berg began writing novels that highlighted the experiences of midlife women. I've read many of her novels; they're spot-on. Since then, however, the field has been overrun by novels that feature women with soggy marriages and grown kids who spontaneously take off on an adventure that leads to self-discovery, a new career and a renewed marriage (never a completely new partnership, as opposed to midlife guy novels).
• Memoirs that spotlight food in any way, i.e. Julie and Julia. We all have our favorite gustatory experiences but the idea that every one of them deserves to be written up and disseminated is new. Personally, I love the idea of the Web & social media as one big idea-sharing orgy. But expecting to make money from it is different. This field has been trampled over like a garden of too many tomato plants.
• Cozy mysteries whose appeal is based not on plot but upon the historical, geographical or professional setting...especially if they include recipes. I can't count the number of fiction paperbacks I shelve that fit this description. If you're submitting a synopsis of a regional or historical novel (and it highlights food!), you'll have to make it really special.

The point of all this isn't to discourage you - it's to let you know what you're up against. If you have a message or experience that you really want to get out, consider just setting up a blog. If you've had a unique travel experience that might benefit other 40+ women, consider self-publishing. And if you write fiction, which falls under different rules than non-fiction, realize that you need to define your niche before you start marketing your work.