As book publishing continues to grow, I’ve noticed a trend in the writing world both on and offline. In order to attract readers, authors have started marketing their books using vague buzzwords, similar to a list of tags you’d find on an AO3 fanfiction.Â
Instead of selling people on their books with the promise of interesting stories and characters, they’ll say it’s a “forbidden romance” with “grey morality” and a hint of “found family.” Even bookstores like Barnes and Noble now sell mystery boxes; surprise books wrapped in paper with a list of cliches written on the front. What’s the actual book? Who cares! It’s got the “only one bed” trope! What more could you want?
Whenever I hear someone describe a book in this way, the same thought always comes to mind: why should I care? What sets this story apart from other books with those same tropes?
This buzzword trend is a symptom of an ongoing phenomenon with writing and publishing: something I like to call the “Pinterest-ification” of writing. From minimalist graphic design replacing hand-painted book covers to back cover synopses disappearing in favor of reviews, the average novel’s individuality is being slowly scrubbed away in favor of surface-level aesthetic appeal. There’s a reason for this phenomenon, and it’s staring all of us in the face.
Society’s relationship with art has changed drastically since the advent of social media. Short-form content such as TikTok videos, Instagram reels, and YouTube shorts allows us to view entertainment whenever we want for easy hits of dopamine. Online algorithms are designed to keep us scrolling, consuming an endless stream of repetitive, aesthetically pleasing, yet ultimately forgettable content. If you’re an author wanting to promote your book online, you need a way to catch viewers’ attention fast before they scroll away. Enter the buzzwords.
Moreover, social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram favor subjects that are pretty, palatable, and easy to categorize (sound familiar?). Discussing complex themes or heavy elements of a book doesn’t fit the twee, fun vibe of a reel, but saying that it has “level-5 spice” does. Stigmas against artwork that we consider aesthetically unappealing have always existed, but the rise of the internet and social media has only made them more apparent over time.
This need for instant gratification and favoritism of attractiveness has constrained artwork, including writing, to the point where a polished outward appearance is now a top priority. As a result, books now feel like they are being treated as another source of quick entertainment rather than a form of artistic expression. If that’s what people want, then authors and publishers will present their books as generically as possible to get readers interested. When filtered through social media-centric trends and marketing, personal works of art become faceless, mass-produced products.
We need to pull the plug on this factory approach to art consumption. Stories exist to make readers think and feel, not to be another shiny toy they play with and discard. More importantly, stories are meant to be appreciated on an individual level rather than boiled down to their most basic, indistinguishable qualities. It’s time to start caring more about the art we engage with, both for our sake and for the sake of those who create it. In an age where AI-generated art is spreading rapidly, we can’t afford for our own art to become less human.