You Are More Than School Lunch

Many authors will tell you if you want to make money, you’ve gotta follow the market. Lob two scoops of tropes and expectations, like they were nothing more than ground beef and kidney beans on a lunch tray, and you’re good to go. And those authors are right, to a point. Middle school lunch contractors make money—about two cents for every tray they serve.

But here’s the thing: Kids only eat school lunch because they’re starving. Because there’s no other game in town. You don’t want to be that! Yes, readers read Romance for a romance and Horror for a horror, but what they really want is more exciting, more inspiring, and more delicious than they’ve ever had before.

Every single scene you write, add a fresh twist. Every single trope you serve, spice it, slice it, and dice it. Deconstruct your story, then reconstitute it from its parts. And I’m not just saying go literary. After all, somebody, somewhere invented the pizza bagel, the cronut, and the meme-worthy avocado toast!