From BookBub:
Whether you’re looking to write to market or are scouring manuscript submissions for your next acquisition, knowing what tropes appeal to readers can help inform your decision. We see different trends in different categories. And studying these trends, especially those that have been selling well recently, will help you learn what content can best engage your audience.
To help you get a sense of what’s currently engaging BookBub members, we’re showcasing two trending tropes across each of 15 different categories, along with examples of books that performed well for each trope.
. . . .
Historical Romance Trends
Marriages of convenience
In historical romances, readers love when heroines must wed the hero for reasons beyond their control, or marry for anything but love — only to find themselves falling head over heels!
. . . .
Heroes with titles
Dukes might have been few and far between in actual 19th century England, but in historical romance they’re thick on the ground, and our readers have been loving them as heroes lately — along with earls and marquesses.
. . . .
Action & Adventure Trends
Military fiction
In military fiction, protagonists will likely have a degree of experience in the combat and survival departments, so the book’s action sequences will reflect that expertise.
. . . .
Ancient secrets, codes, and hidden treasure
Given the gargantuan popularity of stories like National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code, it’s no surprise that our action and adventure readers are big fans of books featuring historical clues, hidden treasures, and puzzle elements.
Link to the rest at BookBub
Duke PG is fighting to survive by consuming Diet Coke until he can find the lost file on his computer.
Family Sagas as a trend in literary fiction kind of surprises me. Seems to me most of bestsellerdom in the 1970s through the mid 1980s was composed of John Jakes, Fern Michaels, etc. 500 page multi-generational potboilers that the literati looked down upon.
Guess I’m just old.:(
My, the snark is high today.
I have to agree with a commenter on a different thread. I used to enjoy the comment discussions on TPV, but the smugness and self-righteousness displayed lately is really getting to me.
Sorry to see the change.
Book Bub. Let’s see, aren’t they the folks who charge a lot for an ad and then reject about 80% of the authors who apply for one? Not sure I’m real interested in the advice of a site that isn’t a bit more inclusive.
Not quite. There are two parts to BookBub: (1) the Featured Deals that you refer to, and (2) their Ads program, which is open to all on the standard CPC/CPM model. And FYI: it’s by far the best ad platform for books, Indie style.
I can’t be the only person who got halfway through this list (I read the OP) and thought, “OK, so everything. Readers adore everything.” I decided to spend the rest of the time I would have allotted to reading it writing instead!
“Make it just like xxxxx but different.” With xxxxx = a recent bandwagon bestseller.
Standard establishment guideline.
As long as bookbub keeps telling dreamers that, most indies will do fine.
Instructions for paint-by-numbers fiction. Not to say that there isn’t a big market for this sort of writing, but I am not part of it.