By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted

The writing industry is tough. Since 2008, when the economy collapsed and publishers began to struggle, everything changed. An already tight industry became even tighter. Writers once sought after the thousands of slots for publication and now they vie for the few hundred available.

There is something all writers need to understand. It’s called trends. We could go into great detail about the ins and outs of trends but the word is pretty self-explanatory. Things trend. They come and go. Just look at clothing. We’re seeing the ’60s hit the market all over again. Trust me, I prayed this wouldn’t happen for I was once guilty of bell-bottom jeans and flower power – it’s a trend. I revert to scripture and the words of the writer in Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV), “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

This in a nutshell is trending. What is popular today will fade and tomorrow it will rise again. Such are the trends in publishing. When I began writing, Chick Lit was all the rage. Then that faded and Cozy Mysteries became the hot topic. Niche Devotionals were hot and then they were not. Literary writing was taboo and now it’s amazing. It’s all in the trends.

But where do trends place the writer? Well, they put us in a unique position. We can step out of our comfort zone and learn to write what is trending or we can stay true to what we believe is our calling. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with either method. You simply have to be a writer willing to be flexible. I’ve always found my voice – my calling, in writing first-person stories about the Appalachian mountains. I’ve written devotions along the way and had success with them, but my heart – my heart lies in the Appalachian Historical genre. 

I tell you this because when I began writing, Appalachian Historical was not on the radar and I was told I write literary. Again, not a hot method. My agent, at the time, encouraged me to write romance. Romance began to trend shortly after I entered into writing. I tried. I wrote a romance with a friend that was published and it never sold over 500 copies – if that many. The truth is, it was a good novel, but I am not a romance writer. My heart lays in the grit of the hard stories of Appalachia and it took years for that trend to work its way to the top. Once it did, I found success. BUT, I had to wait until the trend came around before I found success in the genre I love. 

My point is this. Stay true to your heart. It’s all right to venture into new genres to learn to write new and different things, but if your love is in historical, keep writing there. If it’s a cozy mystery, keep writing there. Eventually, the trends will shift. While you wait for your shift, you have a great opportunity to master your craft. 

When I’m asked the question, who is a writer that has inspired you? It’s an easy answer. I say, Steven James. Why? I’ve followed Steven’s career. At one of my first conferences, Steven was teaching non-fiction. He’d written prayer books, devotions, stories for teens and they were awesome, but then we saw his writing turn toward fiction and the Patrick Bower series – oh my goodness. A trend he loved finally spun around and Steven was ready. His career launched in amazing ways and it’s easy to say, Steven has become a most prolific writer. The key phrase being, READY. 

Stay true to your first love in writing because that is probably where your heart lays. Learn and master the craft in that area and it will prepare you for a time such as this.

Think of publishing and trends as a giant wheel. Today devotionals may be at the top of the wheel, selling like wildfire. In six months, they may be at the bottom because publishers have maxed out the genre. They’ve contracted devotional books several years in advance. Suddenly the market is flooded with devotionals and though as many are not being contracted, the ones that are – are unique and different. What is being contracted must stand above the rest in order to find a place in a reader’s hands. 

In the meantime, a new genre (trend) moves to the top of the wheel and sometimes it takes years for them to slowly work their way around. But they will. Remember, nothing is new under the sun. All that is new is the approach. Hence why learning the craft is so unique.

Years ago, the Appalachian voice I was writing in stood out. Editors said things like, “Wow, what a strong voice. I know writers who long their entire career for a voice that strong…but…” But what I was writing, despite the strength of it, was not trending. I continued to write other things while I learned to write solid fiction and how to break the rules in an acceptable way. I didn’t give up on what I loved and neither should you. You simply have to be patient. Being patient doesn’t mean writing a manuscript and beating it into the ground. It means continuing to write new things, perfect your skill, move ahead while you wait.

Perhaps I’ve oversimplified something that has so many moving parts, it seems wrong, but the truth is things trend. Just like those bell-bottom jeans, now lovingly referred to as “wide-legged” pants, have returned. All that has changed is the approach. 

Do not lay your first love to the side. Instead, practice, hone, perfect your method and when the trend changes, you will be ready to jump aboard.

Cindy K. Sproles is an author, speaker, and conferenceteacher. She is the cofounder of ChristianDevotions.us and the executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us and InspireaFire.com. Cindy is the managing editor forStraight Street Books and SonRise Devotionals, both imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She is an award-winning and best-selling author and the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com. @cindydevoted