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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45109
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45109
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

# Don't try to chase trends.

Everyone wants to be the next best thing. The perfectly timed topical hit. If that works out for you, great. But don't try to make it happen.

Even if you finished your book next week, it's too late. The topic may have been around for months, but it will be gone by the time you get published. If not gone, then it will be coming at the end of the news cycle when readers are already tired of it.

If the topic really is that strong, it could easily have a resurgence in a couple of years. Maybe triggered by the release of your book, though I wouldn't count on that.

Let your publisher decide about marketing angles. If you're self-publishing, then worry about that when the book is completely 100% done and being released. A hot news cycle at the time of release might change the timing or marketing slightly, but that's it.

It might be different for nonfiction but your work is a novel. A well-written novel transcends news cycles. A well-written novel can also be 8-18 years old when it gets a reader surge due to sharing its subject with something in the news.

Just finish the novel and try to get it published. Let news cycles do their thing without worrying about them.

Original score: 3