Sunday, October 15, 2017

Catching The Market

Hitting the market at just the right moment is important for an author.  If you can capture a trend just as it's going viral, you can ride that wave to success.  However, if you miss that trend, or hit it at after the moment has passed, you could continue into obscurity, wasting an otherwise incredible opportunity,

I find myself wondering if that opportunity is now at hand for one of my novels - Schism.  Schism is a novel of a 2nd American Civil War, one that gets triggered by the right spark.  It's set more on the red vs. blue model, and it gets downright ugly.  Partisan hatreds come bubbling out from every corner, and only an extraordinary(and horrific) event reunited the nation.

Sound scary?  I think so...especially given that I haven't seen partisan hatred as raw in real life as I'm currently watching.  Try making a political statement on Facebook or Twitter and find out what happens.  Half of the folks who follow you will loudly cheer...and half of them will condemn you.  Many will refuse to even speak to you again, and this can include both family and friends you've known since childhood.  We get so tied to our personal political beliefs that maintaining friendships is near impossible with those who are "on the other side."  It has even become en vogue to hope that people who share a different belief hurt themselves.

So, has this become the moment to release Schism?  The book still requires a little revision, but I could get that done in less than a month.  I want to capture the moment, but is this the right moment?  Or will my original release date be too far beyond the wind of rage?  My thought has been to release the novel to coincide with the political conventions of 2020, when the partisan rhetoric is at its highest point, but will that be too late?

I'd like to know what you think.  Is this the right time to cash in on the growing climate, or is patience the right virtue?  I need your help because, honestly, I'm not sure.

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