Fast Fashion Fiction: Why Your Words Matter

Laura Zaragoza
8 hours ago
4 min read

I can’t help but notice that I’ve gotten the same five books recommended to me since 2021, at the very height of my reading; those five books have made their rounds through every social media pipeline enough times to knock my head loose with how long I’ve watched them spin. While, yes, I jumped on the fantasy-romance trilogy bandwagon back then, my taste has evolved over time and I’ve created enough space to see that every new book popular in the eyes of the online public is the same book, with just a different title.

Books—Just Books?

Social media created an explosion in income for industries bent on commercialization—like fast fashion, for instance, where luxury-style trendy clothing is mass-produced at a cheap price to appeal to high demand. As a result, consumers get our poor-quality clothing that resists any form of creativity in clothes, since every piece is catered to fit the style that went viral.

Books nowadays, and novel-writing in general, are becoming the new fast fashion.

Many authors nowadays have a “success formula” that they follow to the tee to ensure popularity. Novel-writing has become so pervasive with the public that many “writers” are commodifying that significance into hardcover, deluxe edition books with basic makeovers of every other release, where it becomes less about the substance of the book itself and more about seeing your book out of stock.

Which brings me to my next point: especially in mainstream media, novels are formulated for marketing appeal rather than for quality. Quality is a subjective term, of course—one that I can’t properly judge from a bird’s-eye view—but there are certain markers:

The first (and the most obvious) is when the book shows a form of media literacy in what is or was popular at the time it was written. If it’s more contemporary: is there a tropey blurb on the back cover? Is the pitch written to appeal to trends and virality?
How common is the story’s plotline? More specifically, to what degree can we say that it is common? There is a difference between identifying a “Hero’s Journey” plotline (very vague plot beats) rather than a strict adherence to a wildly successful book’s plot (ie: swap the names and it's the same thing).
Multiple books released in short succession—a long series is released within a short period of time. One example is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Due to the momentum of the first book, the second was pushed vehemently for release, and due to it being expedited, the hefty sequel read as if it was unedited. There were typos galore and the majority of the book was a repeat of the same internal conflicts. Not only does this hurt the story and fans, it hurts the author.

It's as if stories aren't allowed to unravel naturally, with influence from the author. Suddenly, the author must incorporate millions of outside opinions to appease an algorithmic plot. As a result, the publishing industry (of which is also at fault for publishing thousands of the same novel) is overwhelmed with said formulaic stories, which could contribute to why people read less often.

From a detached outlook, a book isn't a book anymore: it’s a colorful collectible and a trend for consumers, just like fast fashion.

The main issue with writing for marketability is that books are written hastily and merely glossed over, then released too quickly for the sake of appealing to the ever-shrinking mass public readership. This is an industry-wide conflict where originality is being sacrificed for a paycheck; where the art of writing is being commodified and exploited for the sake of a few quick dollars. The quality standard that we writers hold to our own writing is being dismissed just because a quicker book is a quicker sell. And that hurts everyone.

… And With That: Originality

Timelessness in stories doesn’t come from following strict formulas that are more a recipe for virality—it comes from writing what only you can write. Even with inspirations, originality will come naturally to your novel because only you can write the twists and turns your mind can think up, in the way it thinks them.

Writing newness doesn’t necessarily mean completely new plots and ideas; much of the time, it means facing familiar themes with a new clarity—your clarity. De-center the pressure of public opinion and rapid output. Instead, prioritize writing from the indelible depths of your mind that will linger even as trends ebb and flow.

Timelessness and originality are intertwined with your pen’s intentions.

Authenticity is what endures.

About the author: Laura Zaragoza is an English major at San Jose State University. She’s read every genre from classic poetry to speculative fiction, though her favorites involve mystery and fantasy worlds. Laura avidly enjoys creative writing, experimenting with poetic form and inserting humorous dialogues anywhere she can in her fiction. Just as fervently as she writes, Laura fancies recreational photography and baking sweet breads.