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thedayct ·

Rick's List 3 - 13 - 21

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing a talented young author named Emily Layden about her gripping first novel, "All Girls."

Before you sigh and think to yourself, "Wow, THERE'S a surprise: another book with 'Girl' or 'Girls' in the title," let it be said for the record that Emily originally called her manuscript "Legacy." The publishing folk came up with "All Girls" — and why wouldn't they?

After all, sales figures and marketing data at Publishers Marketplace prove four things.

1. If your book has "Girl" or "Girls" in the title — even if your book is about the history of sand — you have a 76% better chance of selling four million copies than if any derivative of "Girl" is not in the title.

2. If your novel doesn't have "Girl" in the title, you will never get an agent or sell a book to a publisher.

3. It also helps if your "Girl" is traveling and you specify a mode of transportation in the title. This goes back to the smash unreliable narrator novel "The Girl on the Train." If you act quickly, here are a few girl/transportation titles that haven't been used and can probably help you sell your novel:

a. "The Girl in a Ford Pinto"

b. "The Girl on a Jet to Omaha"

c. "Two Girls on the Green Line"

d. "The Girl Pulling Another Girl on a Rickshaw — to Murder!"

e. "The Girl in a Hot Air Balloon About to Collide with the Girl in a Parachute"

4. Come to think of it, I'd be interested in reading a history of sand.

Truth is, the "Girl" title thing has been around for a few years now, and it's only relevant to bring it up because it truly won't go away. But it has also made me think about trying to predict new trends in fiction based on currently popular tropes.

1. The Twist Ending — I suspect someone soon will write a very successful novel in which the obvious suspect — who would be a red herring or one of many in the typical "twist ending" narrative — actually IS the guilty party. The genius twist lies in the fact there IS no twist. In fact, the book is more of a pamphlet.

2. The Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Novel — How about this idea: The last person in the world beholds the desolate scorched earth all around him or her — where not so much as a bird sings! — and yawns and takes a nap.

3. Beleaguered White Dude Authors Roar Back — Now that the publishing industry has figured out there are myriad wonderful authors of all ethnicities and genders, the poor ol' white guy seems to think he is left with nothing. But the shrewd editor at some big house will repackage classics or new "woke" versions from White Dudes of Yore:

a. "The Girl Named Anna Karenina On a Train"

b. "Mrs. Copperfield's Husband David"

c. "William Faulkner's Biography of Malcolm X"

4. Postmodern and Meta Fiction — New authors re-envision iconic works of metafiction wherein titles like Junot Díaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day" and Margaret Atwood's "The Blind Assassin" will be adapted as scripts for episodes of "Dog the Bounty Hunter."