Monday, July 8, 2013

Hot Topics for Authors, Bloggers, Journalists



What’s a hot topic to write on that will yield you instant fans, fame, and royalties?

That’s the million-dollar question.

Writers are encouraged to write what they know and to write what they like.  Good writing will sell – if promoted properly.  But all things being equal, would it help to write about certain topics, events, places, personalities, and things?  Of course!

Let’s take a look at these 12 areas:

1.      Sex.  It’s a timeless subject, from teenagers to seniors.  We are a nation obsessed with sex.

2.      GLBT.  They are experiencing a civil rights breakthrough with marriage legalization.  People are curious about how society will change as a result.

3.      Hispanics.  They are growing in number – and fast.  Anything relating to the Spanish culture will find 45 million built-in fans.

4.      Crime.  Though major crime is down in big cities like New York City, crime fascinates us.

5.      Sports.  Pro sports are in decline, to some degree, but the country loves its sports and star athletes and their scandalous lives.

6.      Technology.  We live for the next gadget and cool Web site.  We also fret about hacking, government monitoring, identity theft, and privacy.  It’s a hot topic.

7.      Politics.  The nation seems more concerned with the economy than political issues but politics will be on stage as the 2014 campaign season gets under way shortly.

8.      History/1990s.  Period pieces get attention.  The look at all things 1980s is moving towards the 1990s.  That generation grew up with the advent of the Internet.

9.      Doomsday/Apocalypse.  We always seem to obsess over the world ending.  It’s always a good time.

10.  War/Terror.  The faces of the bad guys may always change.  Russia?  China?  Middle East?  But all things bomb and war entertain us.

11.  Celebrities.  Rumors, gossip, and tell-alls fill our talk-shows, blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

12.  Real Estate/Housing.  Real estate is on the verge of a boom and will be on one for a few years.

Writers get ideas from the news media, arts, film, books, and music of the day.  They are influenced by the social mores, political movements, and economic times of their day.  They find fantasy out of reality and they rediscover a new reality in their fantasies.  Whatever they write about, one thing remains true: Writers use words in a way that stirs the reader, which makes him or her feel entertained, enlightened, informed or inspired.  Writers can challenge us, question themselves, rewrite the past, sketch out a future scenario or merely reflectively comment on the present.  By sprinkling in hot, trending topics, you are sure to make your writing relevant, timely, and interesting.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013

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