Writing Political Books In Today’s Market
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
There has never been a more contentious (or timely) moment to write political books than the one we’re living in right now. No matter whether you’re on one side of the aisle or the other, you have seen political books shoot to the top of bestseller lists.
We received this request from a Good Story Learning member. The writer was thinking of writing a sort of manifesto, aligning with a specific political ideology, and hoping to rile up like-minded readers. They wondered whether it was a good move to wade into the category of political books, and how best to do so.
The Market for Political Books
If you’ve been following American politics in the last decade or so, you’ve probably noticed some polarization—there are political books, shows, channels, and media outlets for the major political parties, and then some. This includes specialized publishers who handle political books of one viewpoint or another.
The implication here is that political books that hew to one ideology or another can find a home with a publisher that shares that ideology, and then it reaches readers with the same mindset. Meanwhile, other publishing companies (including most imprints at major houses) keep a liberal-leaning bias and may not want to publish overly political books that don’t fit a certain profile (in the last few years, a lot of publishing has been focused on diversity and inclusion).
There are analogues in the political books market to the Christian market, which has its own associated publishers, agents, and even a dedicated bookselling association. Due to the specificity of the market, and the separate publishers serving it, some writers are wondering whether it’s easier or harder to publish political books.
Will a book that espouses the publisher's chosen ideology a shoo-in? Or does the smaller market mean that things are more competitive? And if we zoom out and consider an overall writing career, platform, and brand, we might want to ask whether wading into the political books market is an asset for your career.
Finding Collaborators for Political Books
There’s also another question that writers of political books might wonder, just like our Good Story Learning member did: Is it beneficial to work with someone who has the same viewpoint, or would it be beneficial to get feedback from someone with other values?
That all depends on whether you are looking to write in the vein of one-sided political books, or whether you want to explore a more balanced exploration or ideology. Personally, I believe that it is not my place to inject any personal political views into the freelance editing process when it comes to client books. In fact, I relish seeing other viewpoints and learning how people with a wide variety of viewpoints think. It keeps book editing fun.
When I see books that contain any sort of political, religious, philosophical, or other biased (the word “biased” is used here to mean that it has a specific position, rather than in the negative sense) content, I don’t comment on the values that are being presented in political books. Instead, my main concerns are:
In what way does the political aspect of the narrative fit into the larger narrative flow? Is it secondary or primary to the entire project?
Is the political element essential or does it just fill up space? Does the overall presentation of the message fit the targeted audience and the publishing strategy (for example, if the writer is targeting a very specific publisher of political books)?
How might the political message influence the book’s success rate when pitching the story to potential publishers and, later, readers?
Making Reasonable Decisions About Political Books
A lot of these questions apply to political books and “issue books” alike. There’s a strong parallel here with how these works are tackled. For example, if a protagonist’s sexual orientation is central to the story, I always want to see more to the story than “just” this aspect of protagonist personality and identity.
To make the book more saleable, I believe that it's essential for the plot to explore a range of topics, rather than be dominated by one single issue. (Unless you are writing a very specific style of political books, or are writing nonfiction on the topic, you also want to avoid outright moralizing in meaningful children’s books, which might push readers away. You are writing a book with political elements, rather than a manifesto. Too much soap-boxing without a plot or context is a turn-off.)
If you're looking to write a story that captivates, you'll need more than one element. Don't let your story stand on one leg, whether that’s the banner of political books or a certain issue. Ask yourself: if the political element were taken away, would there be anything left? Would there be character and story? If not, it might be more appropriate to label your piece a rant, opinion piece, or manifesto rather than a story. (Or you could consider adding more substance.)
Political Books in the Fiction Category
Thinking about political books and a writer's implementation of political elements in fiction can be incredibly interesting. Political themes can be beneficial in some fiction stories, just take dystopian YA novels as an example. Through these works, readers become acquainted with ideas such as human rights and freedom, as well as (usually somewhat veiled) current events. And as the YA audience is more aware of the world around them, and as teenagers develop some strong opinions about what they see as adult issues, they are more likely to be drawn to the dystopian genre.
But a picture book about federal regulation shutting down a lemonade stand, bolstered by a discussion of big government? That seems incredibly on the nose, like a heavy political wrapper on a flimsy plot. If the message is overtly obvious, the reader might feel condescended to or patronized.
Incorporate a political message, but craft characters that don't come off as preachy, and put them in situations that demonstrate your political beliefs in action. You could opt for allegory à la The Wizard of Oz, or subtly portray an oppressive power, such as an overreaching “government”-like force in the workplace.
In search of agents, editors, and imprints who are open to political books? An agent who already has a few social issues books on their roster might be more amenable to hearing your proposal. However, before beginning your manuscript, take a moment to consider your motivations behind writing your entry into the market for political books.
The story should be your first and foremost priority, so don’t let the desire to sermonize, persuade, or grandstand interfere with the creative process. Save your political hot takes and debates for your Twitter feed. When writing political books, just like any other books, writers must prioritize their storytelling craft first and foremost.
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