Last summer at a writing conference, I was chatting with an editor friend about book trends. I asked him, “What are you looking for these days?” Without missing a beat, he replied, “Amish fiction!” I don’t know much about Amish culture beyond that comedy movie with Kirstie Alley, but if you do, check it out. Recently, Cindy Woodsmall made the NYT bestseller list and was featured on national TV.
Amish Love
What’s all the hubbub about Amish fiction? Major media outlets like Time and ABC Nightline are covering it, and authors like Cindy Woodsmall are making the New York Times bestseller list regularly. What makes these books so interesting?
Check out the recent ABC Nightline piece here (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=7676659&page=1) about Cindy and her titles When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes, and When the Soul Mends. It’s an intriguing look at Amish culture and the time Cindy has spent with Amish friends.
And don’t forget that Cindy’s new book The Hope of Refuge hits store shelves August 11, and is available for preorder now.
Writing Tip for Today: Jumping on a bandwagon to try to cash in on a trend probably won’t be successful unless you already have been writing what the market demands. By the time you go camp out with the Amish and try to write about it, the trend will have gone on to something else. Write what you have to write, and if your passion becomes a hot fad, great. If not, write your own story anyway. Writers who flit from one fad to another to “cash in”often end up disappointed.
