WHY MODERN BOOKS ARE JUST BAD FANFICTION - IT'S GETTING WORSE

WHY MODERN BOOKS ARE JUST BAD FANFICTION - IT'S GETTING WORSE
Have modern books lost their originality? From formulaic plots to cringe-worthy dialogue, many new releases feel like glorified fanfiction—and not the good kind. In this video, I break down why modern publishing is obsessed with viral trends, why books are getting worse, and how fanfiction has influenced today’s bestsellers (for better or worse)

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📌 Keywords:
#BadBooks #Fanfiction #ModernBooks #BookTube #PublishingFails #BookReview #FantasyBooks #YAbooks #Romantasy #OverhypedBooks #UnpopularOpinion #BookTok #SpicyBooks #WritingTrends

[danielyeatts]

It's really the same exact issue with big studio films and music. SAME SAME. It's all about fast money and that is why it's truly awful.

[aquafractalyne]

I have a suspicion about why publishers lean into Publishing mediocre books; the consumers who will reliably come back and continue to buy low quality products are the ones who tend to be the loosest with their money. Discerning consumers, who engage critically with the product are probably not buying as many products as the ones who are easy to please. Because of this, the strategy is to engage with the consumers who have the lowest standards because they are a more reliable source of profit. That’s my conspiracy theory anyway.

[meganfoster]

And that's why we indie-publish. We're doing what we love in the style we love with the tropes we prefer, not necessarily the ones that are popular. And we're not always literary fiction, either.

[nickmccabe]

I know how you feel about books such as Twilight and ACOTAR, but to me, they're like the "patient zeros" of the industry. I don't think they can necessarily be blamed. Everything after them, however, is another matter. I think trend-chasers are the real problem, both in terms of writer and the publishers themselves. I think it's the copycats and bean counters causing all the problems. Throw in a good dose of social media poseurs and it's a perfect storm.

[Crazyashley]

I appreciate that you titled this BAD fanfiction. Some of the best stories I've read have been fanworks. There is a lot of talent in the people that add to existing literary worlds, and they take risks because they aren't trying to get published. Good fanfiction exists in spades, but because of the medium the quality often gets overlooked. So thank you!

[doloresabernathy]

A lot of these factory spawned books are written at least in part by AI. Its perfect for AI because its not expected to be original.

[dreamscape]

When readers ask me (How do you write?) I always say (The more important question is; Why do you write.) Don't let the industry or $$ decide that for you. Don't subdue that inner voice, set it free. You are your audience, others will join you.

[EricKay_Scifi]

I had this gnawing unease in my gut that trad pub had swapped places with vanity presses. In the past many authors felt the only path of success was being listed with a trad publisher and shunned indie. Others knew vanity presses existed, and still did it because they could shake the book in someone's face like 'I did a thing'. Now I rarely see a difference.

[anotherbibliophilereads]

In his day Charles Dickens was a popular author. Now he is literature. No telling which current authors will be considered the masters in years to come. Prestige is fleeting. In the 80s, when I was at university, John Updike was an important American author and Tom Clancy novels were hot bestsellers.

I’m not opposed to reading science fiction, horror, or mystery books, but I’m also looking forward to A Table for Fortune by William T. Vollmann, a four volume 3, 000 page literary novel, to be published in 2026.

[thicctynine]

being an "aspiring" writer, one thing I've noticed is that a lot of "how to write" content is similar to "how to play guitar" content. They'll teach you how to paint by numbers, play the right chords in the right order to reach the end. And that's it. Very little about the art behind writing; "Don't bother learning the fretboard".

I still don't know what the appeal behind romantasy is supposed to be. I opened one to check and it was just about alcoholism and one night stands. I guess like modern consumption in general, if somebody with a lot of followers on social media is saying it's good, it must be good and just not for me.

Would be nice to see some content about how to avoid the flaws of "modern writing". I feel like I sometimes fall into the trap myself, though I don't build my plots based on tropes.

[spookyfirst]

Justine Bateman said that 100 years of film’s been destroyed by creating content over craft and creativity. (Not a full quote)

I sat in on a review of Neon Ghosts by Daniel Greene, and it’s all that’s wrong with modern novels: Souless, shallow, and by the end I wondered what even happened. It was written for his fans, and it shows.

The internet went out yesterday, and to be frank, it was wonderful to sit in the living room and read a hard back book. More and more, I’m dumping social media for books that are good, and what makes me laugh? They’re all non fiction. There are very few new authors I care to take a chance on, and it shouldn’t be that way.

[erictrobin]

Don't blame the market for giving the consumers what they want. If consumers buy garbage, you can only stay in business selling them garbage. It's sad, but high-quality books have lower and lower demand

[missjoshemmett]

I read the blurb on 4th Wing and passed it over. And writers who are original are getting booed down by readers.
I don't watch booktube or booktok because they are not real readers. I'm sure there is another upcoming competition for the Read X-Number of Over 400 Pages Books By the End of August. First, why? Second, 400 pages isn't that long. The point is exactly what you said, SKIMMING for accolades. I started reading at 3 and am now 79. I have no idea how many books I have read and I don't care. I just love to read. And half of the time or more, I don't remember the authors' names so I don't have a collection of books just by so-and-so (except Shakespeare). I read a book and pass it on free.
Thank you for putting it so well.

[jendorei]

What does it say about me that when you said the book has “spice” I thought it was “spies” as a trendy element

[Terry.W]

Yes I have noticed most new fiction are reading as screen plays ..and or badly written ..that's why I always go back to the classics ...

[AlexDuggan]

As a writer who is also white and male I have found it almost impossible to get a publishing deal. I have nothing against women and writers of colour, but publishing companies know they will get extra publicity and be eligible for more awards if the writer comes from a diverse background. Another factor seems to be if the writer is already famous. Again, publishing companies want all their writers to be successful, and if a tv personality can write, its half the work done. I self publish on amazon. Its not great, but it allows me to write how I want.

[TenorCantusFirmus]

I was feeling ashamed voicing my opinion, but I now think I can do it: I feel the same way. I love the classics, and often find not only contemporary books are most often written like fanfics, but some (very rare, but I've sometimes found them) good fanfics are better then some recent books.
I think reading some classics and learning from them before jumpig to write your own is the best option.

[stillbuyvhs]

4:55 Counterpoint: Tom Sawyer is a literary classic; it was one if the first novels to have a less-than-perfect child as the main character, challenging norms if the time. But it was followed by dozens of similar books about "bad boys." There were enough for it to be considered a genre.

There have always been trend chasers & imitators; the better, challenging books will rise to the top over time.

[kellylyons]

As a writer, I have no plans to actually publish my works because the industry is so bad. I also dont read anything published in the last ~10 years.

[enochlamont]

I excitedly got back into writing but the further I got into it, the more I realized that the marketing of the book was 90% of an author's effort. With fill in the blank writing paradigms (Saves The Cat, for example) and now the advent of AI assistants, now it's down to - what's your plot in one sentence? And that seems to be Copyright Free story mixed with Identity Politic mixed with famous movie everyone has seen - Cleopatra told from an Intersex perspective mashed into a Star Wars like universe! When you have to pick 10 books that your book is similar to when you do your query, you kind of know where everything is going. There doesn't seem to be room for someone like an Ursula K LeGuin or a Margaret Atwood or a William S Burroughs or James Joyce. Everyone wants convenience store sellers, airport reads. The plot has to be spelled out beat by beat with painfully obvious dialogue "Hello, my wife, how is your morning? Have I told you I love you, today?" Ugh. James Patterson can stop any day now. So now I sit here with manuscripts that other readers in my writing group calls Too Literary, Not Commercial Enough. Sigh. I feel now, I've been born a century too late.