Have you ever wondered what the trending genres, troupes, or books with a higher possibility of passing the review process, here on Alphanovel? After a meeting with our team of editors, taking into consideration both our readers and authors — examining the books that have worked best for our authors over the years, and what our readers are currently engaging with — we’ve compiled a well-detailed and explained guide to help you increase your chances of success.
In this article, we’ll reveal the top genres, troupes, and writing styles that our readers love, as well as insider tips from our editorial team.
Most Popular Genres & Tropes on AlphaNovel
High-Performing Genres & Tropes:
- Vampire/Werewolf
- Billionaire/CEO
- Mafia Romance
- Hybrid/Tribrid Tropes in Werewolf Romance
- Stalker (gaining popularity)
- Dark & Dominant Male Leads (e.g., psychopathic tendencies, stalkers, bikers)
- Dragon Fantasy Books
- BDSM (especially in Vampire Romance, with reasonable boundaries)
According to the editorial team, these books have the highest number of comments, ratings, and overall analytics.
Trending Romantic Tropes:
- Second chance mate.
- Fated Mate
- Runaway FL – coming back stronger.
- Switched at birth
- Arranged marriage
- Love marriage
- Family issues.
- Rejected and pregnant.
- Secret Baby.
Once famous troupes, but still have the potential to gain an audience:
- Trial Marriages
- Office romance
- Nanny affair.
- Age gap romance
- Forced proximity
- Kidnapping romance novels.
- Professor.
- Rebirth
- Reverse Harem.
- YA/wolf/vampire romance.
Genres & Themes with Low Acceptance Rate
Some themes are generally not accepted due to ethical concerns, reader feedback, or overuse:
Stepbrother/sister/father/uncle books:
So far, our team of editors has agreed to not accept stepbrother/sister/father/uncle books.
Reason: From our view of these — a few readers are not fully fond of the content, as it’s mostly degrading to some.
However,
Note: Books where there’s no blood relation, and in short written with sincerity, dark, with its own uniqueness can be accepted. Given our compliance, no sexual abuse, no showing relationship with their parents if the leads are getting into a relationship already. Sticking to morals might be better in such books.
Contract Marriage
This trope has become overly common and predictable, making it difficult to stand out. Since it’s become very predictable these days, the excitement/thrill has vanished.
Note: There’s still a possibility of it getting accepted if the story itself isn’t cliché and is uniquely told in its own way.
Non-consensual sex/violence
We strictly avoid books with non-consensual sex/violence.
Furthermore, even books where it’s not plainly written as violence but show great signs of it:
Example: The team of editors has received books with female leads being drugged by either a stepsister or best friend, and then being thrown into a room with a stranger. Then another comes to her rescue, and she has sex with her savior while under the influence of drugs.
Why: The audience always longs for chemistry, and many of such scenes give off no chemistry. Additionally, many readers find it illogical and somehow degrading.
Overly Sluggish or Weak Female Protagonists
Books with overly sluggish or weak female protagonists often contain disturbing and harmful scenes, including:
– Great violence, abuse, or exploitation
– Romanticization of toxic relationships or abusive partners
And so on.
While we fully understand that stories with weak female characters might have their own perks and excitement, it would be more interesting and captivating for readers if the female lead were not overly weak, and lacked any form of self-defense.
Example: The book where Fl is kidnapped, she’s abused, sexually, mentally, and physically abused, and then falls in love with the abuser. A big “no” for these kinds of plots or anything similar.
What we can accept: The female protagonist might not be able to do much, but at least she stands her ground. Also, it’s way better if the male lead doesn’t use her in any way, instead acknowledging her worth, and if a romantic connection develops naturally from there, that’s much better.
Books with such plots or anything similar (like a strong female lead) will be widely received by both our team of editors and our readers.
AI written content
Recently, we’ve discovered that the majority of book submissions are mainly written with AI. This kind of submission has been agreed upon to be instantly rejected by our team of editors.
Why: The readers quickly gain emotional detachment from books written with AI and tend to drop such books immediately. For an author hoping to gain visibility and grab both the editors’ and readers’ interest, it would be best if he/she stuck to writing and followed their own ideas naturally.
While there’s a possibility of updates or changes in the future, we have agreed that following these instructions will undoubtedly ensure a successful book within the Alphanovel community. Stay up-to-date with our latest blog updates for any future changes or additions.
We look forward to seeing your stories thrive on AlphaNovel. Happy writing! 🤩
