I know some of you will be horrified that I’m talking about the ‘C’ word in September. Honestly, I feel ya. I get irrationally annoyed at boxes of Christmas chocolates and Advent calendars in the supermarkets in September.
But the book world is different. If you’re self-publishing, you need to be getting out that tinsel and putting a bit of Wham! on your playlist, because Christmas romance fever starts now.
Sales data shows us that Christmas romance sales start to soar in September, reach a peak in December then drop off sharply after the holiday period. So, if you’re planning a holiday book, make sure you’ve got it underway well in advance—don’t wait until late December to publish. It seems that once Christmas is over, so is the demand for Christmas romances (until the next year, of course!).
How can I make my book stand out?
Alongside high demand, there’s also high supply at this time of year. Some authors think that the way to stand out is to break the mold. And here’s where I hold up my bold CAUTION sign. In general, people absolutely want to get what they expect in a holiday romance. They want the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas—even if your main character hates them.
Christmas itself (or whichever festival you’re celebrating) needs to be a plot point and whatever conflict you create needs to be resolved by (or on) the big day. It often helps if your character has strong feelings towards Christmas—love or hate—and those feelings come into conflict with what happens in the story.
Setting is ultra-important, but you don’t have to write a Hallmark-style small town. Cities can make wonderful settings as long as you add in enough Christmassy stuff—parties, lights, decorations in shop windows, etc.
Give your characters both an internal Christmas-related conflict to resolve and an external one. Resolving the internal conflict is what allows them to open themselves to love. The external conflict is more of a plot-driver; Miscommunications and misunderstandings are popular—they keep your MCs apart until they’re resolved.
So, the best way to stand out is to give your readers exactly want they want—love in a time of tinsel, mulled wine and snow.