So I’ve been thinking of this viral TikTok that has been going around in the past few days. It’s a girl who is annoyed that books don’t come with a list of tropes at the beginning of the book so that the reader knows exactly what they’re going to get before actually reading the book.
I’m not sure how widespread this line of thinking is, but it gave me pause because it sounds incredibly dystopian. Is that what the art of writing is being reduced to? Having to place your work within neatly packed boxes so that the reader cannot be the least bit surprised by what they’re about to read? Are people that scared of getting out of their comfort zones every once in a while?
I get that this kind of thing sells since it makes it easier and simpler for marketing purposes (want enemies to lovers? Get this book!) but it does make me worried about the future of publishing. I’m afraid that new authors will feel like they need to be strictly confined to a set of checkboxes if they want to have any hope of their books reaching bookstores. In general, I feel that in recent years most newly published books have been feeling increasingly streamlined and sanitized. It’s been a while since I’ve been truly surprised by something new. I don’t believe it’s because of a lack of creativity, but because authors feel like they should limit their creativity in order to get traditionally published.
So I’m basically curious if anyone else is observing this trend. Is it something that’s actually happening or is my perspective skewed because of the Internet?
by Gerrywalk