Long time, no see! It’s good to be back.
As you may have noticed, I’ve not posted very many book reviews here recently. Why? I’ve pretty much given up on ever becoming a published author. As a result, I’ve been neglecting everything having to do with writing/reading. Instead, I’m going back to school to get a second undergraduate degree. I just finished my first semester at the local community college, with a 4.0 GPA! I’m pretty happy about that.
My degree will make me a medical lab industry tech of some sort. I’ve already started volunteering for 7hours a week at a local blood bank to get some experience.
Life here has been difficult. My dad died over the summer, and my dog (seen above) died a few weeks ago, just before finals. I’ve been dealing with various health complications (sleep apnea, heart palpitations, insomnia, emotional bullshit).
I’m still reading, but not as much as I used to. I’m on the record for not liking the general direction which the Fantasy genre has been headed in recent years. Grimdark, I find, is too angsty. Cozy is too twee. I’ve never liked Romance subplots, and the Romantasy I’ve read disappointed me. And social commentary is a repetitive trope. I’m sure someone out there loves the direction which the traditionally published genre is going, and they are not wrong for enjoying it. My opinions are not objective truth.
Truth be told, a major reason why I quit trying to become published is because I don’t think there is a place in the market for people like me. About a year ago, I finished writing and editing (what I think to be) a really good book. As part of the publishing process, you’re supposed to find ‘comparison titles;’ comp titles are recently published novels which are similar to yours. To find comp titles, I went through best seller lists like this one, or this one, or this one, trying to find successful novels which are similar to mine. The industry use comparison titles to figure out if there is a market for a novel, to guide their decisions.
When looking at this best seller list, I could not find comp titles. I discovered that out of the top 100 books in that best seller lists, only 3 were published by male, early career authors. (I define ‘early career’ as an author whose first published novel came out in the last decade.) I am male, and I want to become an early career author. Sometimes that 3 goes up to 5 or 6, but no matter how you split it, 3 to 6 out of 100 is quite low.
So even if I do somehow convince an agent and editor to publish my book, my demographic is 3 to 6% of the market. In comparison, debut women authors are 30 to 35% of the market, at least from what I can tell. Assuming these lists are proportional to what the market actually looks like… this is quite bleak. I can speculate why so few debut male authors are showing up, but I lack evidence. There is simply not a market for me, unless I use a feminine pen name.
(If you are wondering, those 3% novels in December, 2025 are: ‘Legends and Lattes’ and its two sequels, by Travis Baldree. Every other male author on these lists have been publishing for more than a decade, so they are not early career any longer.)
Looking at these lists, I think the male debut author is an endangered species, if not functionally extinct. 3% is deathspiral numbers.
Allow me to hang a lantern on this post. There’s presently a running joke in the industry of discrimination against male authors, preventing them from getting published. I’m not trying to come across as a right-wing revanchist saying ‘no one will buy my book, reeeee!’ I simply acknowledge the fact that I have nil chance of getting an agent/editor, or making money even if I am lucky enough to be published, in part due to the gender I was born with; I can’t jump to any other conclusion when I see the 3% to 30% ratio. That’s why I am presently going back to school to begin a new career; even under optimal conditions, there is not a viable career path in this industry.
Hopefully one day the market will improve, and I’ll start submitting my book for representation. But I’m not holding my breath. I have a feeling this situation will get worse before it gets better.
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 