Should I research the publishing market before I start writing?

Should I research the publishing market before I start writing?

Russell Celyn Jones (Published writer. Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the MA Programme at Birkbeck College (University of London).) gives expert video advice on: Do I need to research my novel, and what kind of research should I do?; Can I over research my novel?; Should I write about what I know? and more...

Have some vague idea of what the market has been doing for say ten years might be wise, but the publishing market does move on. If you try to write for the market, you'll find yourself becoming unstuck, because by the time your book is published, that market that you were trying to copy has changed. They tend to change on the basis of a sensational type of novel that sells many copies. But the next sensation will have nothing in common with that first one.