Ways to boost your own genre (the genre you love)
Every type of content has "popular" genres and genres that are not.
People flock to popular genres, but in unpopular genres, there is no influx of people at all.
No matter how high the quality of the work, and no matter how "interesting" it may be, if people don't gather there, it will never be discovered.
To use an analogy, there is a difference between performing a street concert in front of a busy train station and performing one in a back alley where almost no one passes by.
No matter how talented a singer someone is, their talent cannot be noticed on a "road where no one passes."
I believe this is the reason why works tend to be biased toward certain genres on recent novel posting sites, and why there are so many strangely similar works.
Continuing to sing your heart out in a lonely back alley where no one comes, hoping to reach someone, only to remain unrewarded—that kind of situation wears down your spirit.
So, I can understand why one might abandon the "genre they originally loved" to go to a "currently popular genre," but...
Is that really okay? Will that truly make you happy?
The "currently popular genre" is not necessarily something you are "good at."
While it may be necessary to some extent to grasp the needs of the times, isn't it "disadvantageous" and a "loss" to be forced to abandon your own "likes" and "strengths" and be made to fight with something completely different in a disadvantageous and losing position?
The problem is that in the "genre you are currently in (the genre you originally loved)," no one is coming.
If so, wouldn't making people gather there solve the problem?
■ Wisdom from predecessors on boosting your own genre
"Calling people to an unpopular genre"—this is nothing new; it is something that has been done since long ago.
Whether it's fan-made genres at Comiket or following idols...
That is, in other words, "evangelism"—widely conveying the charm of that genre to others and gaining empathy.
Of course, it is not that simple.
People are creatures that thoroughly ignore things they are not interested in.
No matter how passionately you appeal, it will not resonate with those who are not receptive.
However, one thing that is said to be effective is that the person doing the promoting is more obsessed than anyone else with that genre.
Rather than presenting the merits of the genre in a clever way, it is more likely to pique the interest of viewers if the promoter themselves is excited and at maximum tension.
Thinking, "If they can be that obsessed, it must be such an interesting genre?"
■ Supporting other works in your own genre
This is something I do personally, but...
When I find a good-looking work in a genre where I think, "This is my favorite genre!" or "This is a genre related to me!", I secretly (*)bookmark (favorite) it.
(*Because I am not good at being recognized by the author, I only do this on sites where it is private or where the registrant's name is not visible...)
For example, "a novel with originality in its setting and worldview," or "a work that somehow resembles a novel I wrote when I was a student," and so on...
If there is someone I think, "I want them to keep writing," or "I don't want them to disappear," I bookmark (favorite) them as a small gesture of support.
In order to boost a genre, it is out of the question unless there are "a certain number or more" of people involved in that genre.
"Numbers" are an important element that makes readers feel "popularity."
Even at Comiket, a genre with 20 or 30 circles looks more "popular" than a genre with only 2 or 3, right?
Whether it's tapioca, maritozzo, canelé, or tarts, if only one store sells it, you might think "meh," but if "you can find it at every store you go to," you feel "this is popular right now," don't you?
No matter how talented a writer you are, it is almost impossible to boost a genre that is not yet popular all by yourself.
It is more appreciated if there are some "allies" there.
Some people might think, "If I support a 'rival' in the same genre, won't I be at a disadvantage?" but...
From a business perspective, the reality is that "rivals often bring in customers" instead.
Readers are greedy.
If they like one genre, "What about other works in the same genre?" is the consumer psychology of reaching out, right?
To increase the number of "readers who flow to your own work," it is better to have many "entrances to that genre (= number of works)."
■ Make an effort to overcome readers' "prejudice against reading"
The "interest" of a novel is not determined solely by its genre.
A popular genre does not necessarily mean it is interesting, and of course, there are interesting works even in unpopular genres.
However, I believe there are readers who decide whether or not to read based on the genre first.
In the first place, the rankings on novel posting sites are often dominated by popular genres at the top, so "unpopular genres" cannot easily break into the rankings, and their points do not increase.
However, I believe there are also readers who have a "prejudice against reading" based on those ranking positions and points.
(I suspect there are surprisingly many people who, due to the so-called "ranking myth" or "numerical faith," simply think that works with high rankings or numbers are "interesting works"...)
No matter how interesting a work you write, if it is not read, no one will notice its interest.
To make your own genre popular, it is also necessary to change such readers' awareness and prevent them from having a "prejudice against reading".
To change readers' awareness, there is no choice but to steadily disseminate "information to change their awareness."
There may be writers who are already overwhelmed just by writing their works, but...
If the work you have painstakingly written is not read just because of the "unlucky" fact that the genre is not popular—don't you think that is too bad? It's just not right.
Unfortunately, readers' awareness will not change on its own like magic.
There must always be some kind of trigger for that.
Rather than aimlessly waiting for that "trigger" that you don't know when it will come, don't you think it would be "faster" to create the "trigger" yourself?
■ Do not let your guard down just because "it is a popular genre now"
Some of you may feel that your genre is "currently a popular genre" and that there is no need to boost it.
However, all things must pass—the popularity of a genre is something that changes.
A genre that was popular when you started writing a novel might be obsolete by the time you finish writing one long epic.
Besides, even if your novel becomes a hit, gets published, gets a manga adaptation, gets an anime adaptation... and proceeds smoothly...
There is usually a time lag of several years there time lag (there are actually quite a few works where you hear the news of an anime adaptation and think, "Now!?", right? Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a time lag of more than a year to occur between the announcement of an anime adaptation and the actual start of the anime).
It would be a "loss" if the popularity faded during that time lag, wouldn't it?
No matter how popular a genre is "right now," as time passes, it will eventually be forgotten and fade away.
Efforts to boost a genre are necessary for any genre.