Do Your Research

Charles Dickens once wrote a character named Thomas Gradgrind in his tenth novel "Hard Times". He was a utilitarian, straightforward, pompous, unimaginative chap. His motto very well might have been Fact, Fact, Fact. Never fancy anything. Be absorbed with the facts.

This is an entirely improper mindset for a writer of any kind-- even a writer of nonfiction-- to be obsessed with. You must fancy everything. If you don't fancy anything, then you will never write anything of any interest to anyone.

But research is key. Whether you're writing a historical fiction or a memoir or studying who you should send your novel to, you need to research.

For one, if you're writing a story that takes place in the late 18th century England, as I am, you need to know that electricity wasn't used in common households at that time, not even in a rudimentary way. You need to know that aspen trees are found in the south and southwest of England and can be known as a 'quaking asp'. It would be useful to research the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783, that concluded the war in the New World. You need to know that English sentiments towards the just-concluded American Revolutionary war was of shock and surprise. The commonwealth at the time had just as highly perched taxes and couldn't imagine why anyone would complain. They were also surprised that they had lost, and merchants were rather ruffled because this meant a loss in profits due to higher taxes on everything.

This research extends beyond the actual writing of the book. I've mentioned before in my post on Agents how important knowing exactly what an agent does and does not accept is. The same is true for publishers. If you are going for the big house straight off the bat, you'd better know what they are looking for. Don't send your adult murder mystery to a children's publisher. Yes. I've seen this happen.

Publishers are beginning to do their research too as new digital and media opportunities make that more accessible. Data is staring to pour out of the eaves as surveys and 'like' buttons on Facebook reveal what readers want and where they think they can get it. Publishers Weekly released an article on this topic last week, entitled "How Publishers Are Taking Advantage of New Opportunities." If publishers are taking advantage of new opportunities, it's up to writers to know what they are and how they will affect us.

It's all about Data.

"'Data' has been a buzzword in publishing for a while now, and industry experts delved into the opportunities that it can provide. Osprey Group’s CEO Rebecca Smart said that Osprey expanded beyond military history into science fiction because of data that indicated readers of military history and readers of science fiction overlapped. From there, Osprey acquired sci-fi imprint Angry Robot from HarperCollins in 2010, and has further expanded with a YA sci-fi imprint: Strange Chemistry."

What does this tell us? It tells us that the basic genres belonging to a certain publishing house are no longer cut and dry. A publisher that advertises itself solely as military history and nonfiction could now possibly be open to science fiction as well. And a science fiction publisher could expand into young adult. It's dangerous to presume, so be careful-- do your research. Look at the list of home-authors, look at the catalogue, research articles and commentary by the CEO of the publishing house, look at the advertising and website of the publishing house if they have it. Request physical copies of their catalogue if possible, and even read the books on that list. All of these things (and more) can really consume your time so that when you're ready, you can send to the most cohesive list of publishers possible.

Of course, what is the first problem that comes from what I just told you to do? Time. If you spend all of your time researching and none of it writing, your research will be in vain. Likewise, if you spend all of your time writing book after book after book with no thought to doing the work behind the publishing, you will have a pretty hefty hard drive and no real hopes of having it go anywhere. You have to balance your time as you would balance a budget.

Speaking of budgets, this new data also gives writers a new kind of hope and delight in the coming years for publishing.

"Panelists said data can help broader things like midlist titles; Random House’s Nina Von Moltke stated that because data is so much deeper now, it can tell publishers what works and what doesn’t, which allows budgets to be more effectively allocated."

Midlist titles are books that fill in the majority of a publishing house's catalogue but may not be best sellers or a celebrity writer. There is nothing wrong with being a midlister, though we all shoot for New York Times listing. And if there is more money for midlisters, that means more potential money for first time or minor writers. That means more money for more books as publishers narrow in on their strategy and make their budgeting smarter. More money where it needs to go.

In theory, anyway.

What we need to remember, in the end, is that

"When it comes to marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in shiny new technological opportunities, but panelists throughout the day at DBW emphasized that content is, and always will be, king."

Whether in terms of your book, your publishing, your research-- content is king. Do it right and do it well. Write your book with all of your heart, and do the analytical study that comes with. You could have the longest book or the most well-researched pile of potentials, but if you don't concentrate on the content of the whole package, the publishers who are concentrating will send you a nice, uninteresting form letter.