Industry Trend Spotlight: Out with the Memoir

Sales-wise, the memoir’s heyday is over. A recent panel of librarians at this year’s BookExpo America (http://bookexpoamerica.com/) pointed out that the market is saturated with memoirs right now, and readers just aren’t reading them. Though some publishers continue to publish memoirs, new memoir manuscripts are likely to be rejected unless the author is Barbara Walters or is running in the presidential election. Memoirs became overwhelmingly popular a few years ago after the release of A Million Little Pieces and Bob Dylan’s Chronicles.

Book trends come in tides. Given time, publishers and readers will once again be eager for memoirs. In the meantime, continue working on these projects on your own and with your editor, focusing on edits and revisions so your manuscript is ready when the time to submit to publishers or agents returns.

Instead, you might consider sending out how-to manuscripts that match the current economy—how to save money, live on a budget, decrease gas consumption, become a bicycle commuter, etc. Watch the news for more insight. See a problem/current event that you think you can help others solve or cope with? Write it down and submit to keen publishers!

Industry Trend Spotlight by Adriel Gorsuch, Indigo Editing, LLC

BookExpo America: May 29 through June 1

BookExpo America, formerly known as the American Booksellers Association Convention and Trade Exhibit, is happening this weekend in Los Angeles. It is North America's largest gathering of book trade professionals, and the second largest book fair in the world (second only to The Frankfurt Book Fair). BookExpo America typically attracts between 25,000 and 35,000 people.

Their Mission Statement: BookExpo America combines the largest selection of English language titles on the planet with special industry and author events and unparalleled educational content to create a dynamic environment for networking, sourcing and relationship building.

Please visit the website: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/