Just when I thought I’d seen every imaginable concoction of fantasy, it seems a new one has cropped up.
And honestly, this one made me wince a little.
For all I know, many of you might very much like this new subgenre, and to you fine folks, I say eat your heart out. But something tells me this is more of a social media subgenre than a traditional one.
What am I yapping about?
TRAUMANTASY
Yes… trauma mixed with — you guessed it — fantasy.
According to the brief bit of research I could be bothered to do (and I quote):
“Traumantasy is fantasy fiction, often romantasy, that dives into the psychological wounds, grief, abuse, and recovery using magic and gods as metaphors for emotional healing, pain, and transformation.”
I know, quite the mouthful.
In other words, this is a subgenre for women who’ve endured horrendous relationships.
(Or so I believe.)
Now I have to be careful what I say here, or risk upsetting a few precious princes and princesses (which almost always ends up offending men more than women. Go figure):
On the surface, this is a noble cause.
And one I imagine many readers would find comfort in.
I mean, I’ve always been a firm believer that stories are one of the best remedies for healing and better understanding our own lives and plights. But when I put my business hat on, I can’t help but shake my head.
“gO oN, wAtSoN. sHoWeR uS wItH yOuR wOrLd-cLaSs BuSiNeSs AcUmEn.”
Gladly:
Packaging your stories up in this wrapping risks alienating an entire segment of readers who don’t understand “traumantasy” yet, or those who might perceive it as being a little bit too depressive.
What 90% of readers of this genre want is escapism.
Adventure.
Worlds they can disappear into that are a lot more exciting than the one we occupy.
Not an open diary about one’s therapy session.
That’s the danger of packaging it up as such.
Instead, it would make FAR better sense to market these stories as something familiar (like dark fantasy — or the genre I loathe most, romantasy) and then let the story explore these themes of grief and psychological wounds.
This would have a far wider appeal.
Not to mention, a higher chance of commercial success.
This doesn’t give authors license to package their work up as something it’s not, of course.
(A mistake a lot of romantasy authors made back in the day when their subgenre was obscure. Many would dress their stories up as epic conquests, only for readers to find out the dark lords were wearing lingerie all along.)
But you get the gist.
And all good packaging starts with its covers.
From the background to the typography, they must sing off the same hymn sheet or else risk confusing prospective readers. They must work together to establish the genre within a few seconds.
It’s why The Divided Region covers have dark slate backgrounds and bright emblems.
The colours clearly convey the genre (fantasy) while the background promises the story’s mood (gritty).
Then titles merely reinforce these things.
Exiled…
Forbidden Forest…
Last Alliance…
One True King…
And The Great Betrayal.
Anyway, that wraps up today’s unsolicited, impromptu marketing lesson.
But it DOESN’T conclude the email.
I mean, what marketer worth their salt doesn’t close with a shameless pitch that sells their wares?
So, in the spirit of all things commerce:
If gritty epic fantasy — that also explores themes of grief, betrayal, and psychological wounds without descending into a diary entry — is your thing, then you can grab the Digital Starter Bundle here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW