Tiffany Liao

Love tropes! They exist & endure because they work! Endlessly interesting ways to tap into, explore, subvert tropes from a marginalized pov. Publishing is too quick to declare a genre "dead-dead" when we've only pushed out one (read: white/euro/straight/cis) version #askdvpit

Adding on, it's good to have market awareness of a trend. Identify the most prevalent iteration of that trend and distinguish your pitch from it. If XYZ is booming, here's how your book taps into that proven market *and* here's what'll make it transcend any one moment #askdvpit

It's hard to predict the trajectory of a trend but what is certain is that nothing kills a trend faster than flooding the market with the same tired iteration. Readers grow fatigued with copycats but not an entire genre. If you have a fresh take, go for it! #askdvpit

You can definitely use TV shows (I've been asking for a Pushing Daisies premise for years!), but I encourage specificity since TV shows by nature have broad appeal.

Is it the style/tone of the show or the premise? An epic memorable twist or a fan favorite character? #askdvpit

Protect your creative joy--fiercely! Your job as the author is first and foremost to create and to find fulfillment in the process. The publishing process can be fickle and mercurial, full of highs and lows, and it's important to always be able to return to this joy #askdvpit