"Ironically, in today's marketplace successful nonfiction has to be unbelievable, while successful fiction must be believable"

Stories have always relied on a relationship between truth and imagination, and the expectations of readers have shifted dramatically in modern times. Nonfiction, which historically existed to inform, must now compete for attention in a market saturated with sensational news and astonishing true stories. Thus, to command enthusiasm and sales, nonfiction often leans into extraordinary, mind-boggling revelations, tales so incredible that, if not documented, might sound fabricated. Readers have become almost cynical; they seek the wild, the incredible, the astonishing, treating ordinary reality as insufficiently entertaining. Whether it's breakthrough science, unbelievable memoirs, or jaw-dropping histories, nonfiction must frequently surpass the threshold of the mundane, striving to amaze.

Fiction, paradoxically, faces the opposite expectation. Once, fiction could embrace flights of fancy and the improbable, delighting curious minds with the impossible. Today’s fiction audience, however, demands stories that resonate with authenticity. Even in genres like fantasy or science fiction, the characters’ motivations, world-building, and internal logic must feel convincing and grounded. Readers seek emotional truth, relatability, and coherence. When fiction veers too far into the unbelievable, without a strong narrative anchor, audiences reject it as contrived or unengaging. The more fantastic the premise, the more essential it is that everything else adheres to well-realized logic or psychology.

The irony lies in this marketplace flip: that truth must now dazzle, while invention must persuade. This demand shapes what gets published, which voices are heard, and what resonates with culture. It poses challenges for writers, who must continually assess and reframe their approach for what sells: nonfiction writers need to seek out the extraordinary tidbits of reality, and fiction writers must hone the plausible, the real, the emotionally authentic. The shifting standards of believability reflect our collective hunger for wonder in reality and grounding in imagination.