Grumpy x sunshine, found family, the chosen one, reluctant hero, forbidden love. At one point in time you have used these to describe a book or seen this on BookTok, Bookstagram, Bookblr and other such variations. But what started as just a commonly found trope that was used or subverted in literature across all genre fiction has now become the sole marketing hook for a lot of books. In fact many “readers” would not even bother picking up a book if it doesn’t have certain tropes. So where does this leave the author, publisher and a genuine reader in today’s world? Here is The Bombay Circle Press’ take on tropes and their marketing value in the publishing world.
When a book’s value is boiled down to a trope(s) it takes away the nuance of the story. In fact, the focus shifts from the plot to the tropes and then the book becomes a checklist that one looks to tick tropes off of. This creates a vicious cycle that traps the authors, reader and publisher, wherein all three are feeding into the cycle. It’s one thing for an author to see certain tropes be loved by readers across the board, it’s a different ball game altogether when a book is loved only for its tropes not the storytelling. More importantly, these books might not have the strongest or the most engaging plot, in fact, it might even have some controversial things and conversations, but that would get swiped under the rug because the main focus of the marketing approach (organic or paid) is on the tropes. Thus, a new author or even a seasoned one might get influenced and convince themselves that tropes are what sell a book and not the other way around.
It is important to note that this is a somewhat new phenomenon that the literary world is facing and the cause as our mothers like to call is our phone—specifically, social media. And there’s a good chance that they are right. With social media being used as a primary source for publishers and authors to market books and readers to discover them, even the best fiction books are often never given their due respect.
In fact, the chase among some readers to read certain books or be able to say they read that book might make them pick up books that they wouldn’t have had it not been for their favourite trope. Why? Because the storytelling or the premise is not something they like. This isn’t to say that tropes are not well-written or act as a cliché or nullify the reading experience, but the point we are trying to make is that a trope shouldn’t be the crux of a reader’s decision to read a book. This hampers not only the reading experience but also inhibits how the reader engages with the book and forms an opinion about it.
So what does all this mean for publishers? Well, they are stuck in a pull and tug situation where on one hand they need to help their authors reach a bigger audience but at the same time they do not want to reduce the beauty of the novel to a trope and undersell the potential. After all, using tropes to market novels and novellas isn’t a clear cut sign that it will become a NYT bestseller. But it has become an essential part of marketing books to give an idea of what the reader can expect. Consequently, although it puts the publishing house in a tough position, they will do their best to ensure that their authors reach the right audience.
Nonetheless, with the changing trends and hyper-focus on niches, nothing is permanent. In the long run, tropes will not become the deciding factor for whether or not a book is good. At the end of the day, people view and consume the novel as a whole and just bits of it. So, what will drive any book to gain attention and its fair critical acclaim is the storytelling.