Write the weird book readers actually remember

Write the weird book instead of chasing trends. Readers crave originality, not factory-line fiction. Be the author who stands out.

So many indie author forums got the same echo: “Write to market. Follow the tropes. Stick to what sells.”

Translation? Clone what’s already out there. Blend in. Be forgettable.

And that’s the quickest way to kill your legacy.

Because here’s the truth no one wants to say: Some readers are starving for books that don’t feel like they rolled off an assembly line.

The cult of ‘to market’

“To market” is the coward’s game. It’s that safe, paint-by-numbers, “snarky chosen one” YA clone, cookie-cutter romance beats, and recycled fantasy map.

Does it sell? Sometimes. But readers aren’t idiots. They can smell copycat writing a mile away, and know when a book exists because an author wanted a slice of the current trend pie.

And you know what readers do with those books? They forget them twenty minutes after they move on to their next read.

Weird is what sticks

Books that last make people stop, tilt their heads, and say, “What the hell did I just read? I need more.”

Think about it:

• House of Leaves — a labyrinthine freak of a novel that shouldn’t work, but does.

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — weird, irreverent, and unforgettable.

• American Gods — a mashup of mythology and modern grit.

Those were risky, offbeat, and sometimes messy. But that’s why they worked.

My Own Case: Building the strange

When I wrote Wind Wielder and the Renegades Epic, I wasn’t checking boxes for trends. I blended elemental magic with science fiction, libertarian philosophy, nostalgia, and Norse pagan influences.

Weird? Absolutely. Market-tested? Not even close.

But the payoff? Readers who connect harder, because it’s something they can’t often get anywhere else.

Trends die, but weird lives

Chasing trends is like chasing fireworks. It looks flashy for five seconds, then it’s gone. By the time your book’s written, edited, and published, the market’s moved on.

Weird endures, creates its own lane, and carves out an audience that will ride with you, book after book, because nobody else scratches that itch.

Be the freak

So yeah, write the weird book that feels like it shouldn’t work. The book that scares you; the thing the “to market” crowd would never touch.

Readers are starving for originality. A lot of them want fire, voice, and guts. Not factory-made stories.

So stop chasing trends and blending in. Be the freak who stands out.

In a world of copycats, the weird book sticks with readers

That’s why when I wrote The Arcane Prophecy, my goal was simple: Something like Harry Potter, but way, way more nontraditional.

Catch the first three chapters, and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll find familiar tropes like hints at a prophecy, a sibling rivalry, and an overshadowed protagonist. But with no established “big bad,” or even the primary setting showing up in the book’s early stages, it beats to its own drum.

Not to mention that protagonist may or may not be a chosen one. Tie it all in with libertarian philosophy, and bam, you got one unique read.