I have been hearing people throw the word dystopia around like it’s the new black or something. It seems like everyone is talking about it. When I first heard about this genre, I thought it just meant the opposite of a utopian society where everything is idyllic and peaceful. Think Aldous Huxley’s Island and the good old Thomas More standby Utopia. Further research led me to this much more accurate definition of dystopia: The idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Ideas and works about dystopian societies often explore the concept of humans abusing technology and humans individually and collectively coping, or not being able to properly cope with technology that has progressed far more rapidly than spiritual evolution. Dystopian societies are often imagined as police states, with unlimited power over citizens.

I know what you’re thinking: I just learned all about steampunk, werewolves, vampires, and love triangles … why do I need to know about the next new genre of the moment? You’re right; there are a lot of genres and sub-genres out there to learn. It can be incredibly confusing and if you are someone who has written chick-lit or historical fiction for the last twenty-five years, I could see your hesitation to jump on the bandwagon of something new.

I don’t bring this to your attention to tell you that although I love your murder mysteries set in rural Arkansas, you need to start writing end of the world teenage sci-fi love triangle. Not at all. The importance of knowing what is “in,” so to speak, is two-fold. One: what if you have a great post-apocalyptic teenage romance sitting on your shelf, that no publisher wanted to touch five years ago when you tried to send it out? Now would be the time to dust it off and buy some stamps because every dystopian publisher wants to hear about it. When something is proven “hot,” publishers can’t publish them fast enough. They know that although yours might not have the fan following of The Hunger Games, audiences who love that series are dying for more just like it. (Publishers are only to eager to fill the demand until the market is over-saturated, of course, but that’s a whole other blog post.)

Two: as a writer, it is important to have your hand on the pulse of what your readers want. Like I said, now is the time to send off your vampire love triangles. On the other hand, if you have a female empowerment book about a woman who travels the world to find herself, you may have missed the boat. I am not saying you can’t write whatever you want, I am just saying it is a good idea to know ahead of time why publishers might not be buying your manuscript at the moment. You might have the greatest book ever written but if it is not what is selling, it will be harder to sell.

One great way to find out what is trending is to go to your local bookstore and see what books are being featured in which categories, where you will likely be shocked to see that YA books have pretty much taken over your local Barnes and Nobel. Another great way to see what people want to read is to join Goodreads.com and go on their recommendation page. There are scores of people telling you what books they love and that they are looking to read next. Those are all your potential fans, so go out there and get them.