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There’s always a lot of talk, especially among unpublished authors, about switching genres. Many of you are writing in multiple genres and want to continue doing so after you are published. Which inspired this question . . .
Is switching genres with each book a bad thing?
I currently have a Fantasy book finished (final re-editing, working on query perfection, etc.), but I started writing a chick-lit in the first half of the year. I also have some good ideas penned down for a sci-fi and a crime thriller. So, based on your post, should I be focusing on just one genre or continue with my whole "branch out and conquer the world" process? I am not working on all of these things at the same time, but still keeping the ideas for the future.
To some degree, yes, I think it’s a bad thing. Remember, once you decide to get published you are building a writing career and not just writing anymore, which means your goal is to find an audience. While you might find it fun to switch things up from book to book, most readers are fairly loyal to what they read. In other words, few fantasy readers will happily jump to chick lit with enthusiasm. Let’s face it, most readers read within a few specific genres. If your fantasy readers love your first book and look for your second, they might be very disappointed to discover how different it is. Most important, it might turn them off from picking up your third.
Most publishers want you publishing at least 9 months apart, so if you can have two different names and publish each name 9 months apart (writing a book every 4 to 5 months), then you can easily write in two genres. If, however, it takes you 9 months to write a book, you might want to stick with one genre, at least until you’re established.
As for writing prior to publication, I think it’s great to write in various genres and explore your strengths.
Jessica
One of the best parts of my job is the thrill of the hunt. Sure, I am frequently overwhelmed by the hundreds of queries I find in my in-box, but when time allows, there’s nothing more exciting than sitting down and sorting through them in the hopes of finding that one big thing. Think Indiana Jones and the search for the Ark of the Covenant. There’s no doubt that the pit of snakes was a little much, but in the end, the thrill of the hunt and the final prize were worth every slithery creature.
As I said earlier, I have had time to refresh myself, clean out my in-box, and take a deep breath. And I’m back at it with a vengeance. With the new year comes renewed excitement for something fresh, something that will make me stand up and take notice and a book I can sell with enthusiasm.
While of course I’m looking for every genre (within the confines of those I represent, of course) there are a few things that I’d really like to see right now.
Steampunk. Please, please send me steampunk of all sorts. Adult, young adult, romance, mystery. I personally love this genre and can’t get enough of it.
Historical mystery. I represent a lot of cozy mysteries, but very few historicals, which is funny since historical mysteries were what I cut my teeth on. I would love to see more historicals like the one I sold, Amy Patricia Meade’s Rosie the Riveter series featuring a real-life Rosie the Riveter in WWII-era New York City.
Contemporary romance with a sense of community and big issues. Books that face life head-on and prove love can be found. I have a couple on my list right now and I’m excited about this genre. Many of the books have a flare of women’s fiction in them and more and more editors are asking for these types of books. Examples of books in this genre are those written by Kristin Hannah or Susan Elizabeth Philips or Susan Mallery. Or, of course, our own Bella Riley (yet to be published).
Big fantasy romances. Romance that crosses over into the realm of fantasy, beyond simple paranormal. Worlds like J. R. Ward's or our own Elizabeth Amber's (although it doesn’t need to be erotic).
Historical romances. I really love this genre and would love to see more. I have to admit, my preference in historicals tends to still be Regency England. I love the sweeping historicals like those of Sharon Page as well as the lighter, more contemporary feeling historicals like those of Sally MacKenzie. And I suppose all of this ties nicely into my desire for more historical mysteries and steampunk.
And last, in nonfiction, I’d like to see more journalistic narratives like the one I’m currently representing about the animal control system in the United States.
Let me reiterate that I am still looking for all sorts of great mysteries, romances in all sub-genres, fantasy, women’s fiction, and nonfiction. These are just the subject areas I’m most excited to be reading in right now.
Jessica
I finished my first novel, a humorous women's fiction (chick lit), earlier this year and began querying agents. I received my fair share of rejections off the bat, and I began to think that part of my problem is that chick lit has taken a drastic dive in popularity. But, as I had spent a year of my life writing the blasted thing, I persisted. In the meantime, I started and almost finished my second novel, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde that would probably appeal to the YA market.
In recent weeks, I have had several agents respond to my first query, asking to see partials and fulls, and one offer of representation.
My question is this: Should I abandon my second novel for now and start writing some more humorous fiction in order to build a following? Or should I finish my YA ms. and then switch back to chick lit? I hate being confined to one genre, because after spending a year writing in one style, it is very tempting to try something new. But I don't want to confuse my fans (assuming, of course, that I get any).
The simple answer to this question is that you need to talk to your agent if you choose to sign with one. Personally, I think there’s definitely a correlation between what was once chick lit and what people are writing as YA now. We’re seeing a lot of former chick lit authors go in that direction. However, yes, it could be a problem if you’re published as a women’s fiction author and suddenly switch to YA, unless you feel that you could write two books a year, let’s say, and do one of each.
If you choose to sign with an agent, or are considering signing with one, this is a discussion you should have before signing. Find out how the agent envisions your career and what she thinks about your two directions. Having this discussion may help you decide if she’s the right agent for you or what you should be doing.
Jessica
Occasionally on Twitter I host an #askagent session that allows fellow Tweeps to ask me questions live. If you’re ever up extremely early in the morning (roughly 4 a.m. EST), hop on to see if I’m hosting.
In a recent session I was asked about a recent submission that wowed me, and I thought this was a great question to share with my blogger friends as well. Very often when I read an amazing submission, or an amazing book, it makes me want more of the same. So to give you an idea of where my head is at this very moment, here is a list of some things I’ve read recently that have blown me away.
In no particular order, here are five things that I’ve read that have blown me away. Keep in mind that one of the biggest reasons they’ve all blown me away was because of the author’s voice.
- A narrative about a puppy and the animal control system.
- A memoir by a mommy blogger
- A steampunk YA
- A cross-genre fantasy romance
- Warrior by Zoe Archer
Believe it or not I seem to be opening more and more to memoirs and current affairs narratives.
I absolutely loved the steampunk YA. Can’t stop thinking about it. I would love to see more like this.
I’ve always really enjoyed the cross-genre fantasy romance and feel that some of the books I’ve done definitely fit this area. In my mind, they are books that go beyond paranormal and appeal to both types of readers.
Warrior is just a great book.
Jessica
I'm writing a novel about three 15-year-old high school students who are bullied and come up with creative schemes for solving the problem. The target market is middle grade and young adult. Along with some lighter moments, the story becomes quite dark and violent (before progressing into a happy/satisfying ending). There's swearing, bashing, blood, minor knife violence and a shooting. The violence isn't gratuitous, it's integral to the storyline and assists with raising the stakes throughout each stage of the plot.
Am I writing a novel for a target market that's too young to be exposed to the material? Would the older end of the target market, say 18-25-year-olds, still be interested in reading about 15-year-olds? Have I completely ruled out both ends of my target market, and will publishers reject the book because of this?
My immediate concern when reading this question was not so much whether the market is too young but that your target market is “middle grade and young adult.” You really need to pick and choose. Certainly, I’ve represented a lot of books that have crossed genre lines, and I love books that cross genre lines, that appeal to readers of two different genres, but I think when writing a book you have to essentially choose your market so that you’ve chosen where the book will be shelved.
I also feel that crossing genre lines between middle grade and young adult is trickier than, say, fantasy and young adult or fantasy and paranormal romance. While you might have kids willing to read both, they will tend to be middle grade readers. In other words, you will likely have middle grade readers who read up, but unlikely to have young adult readers who read down.
One of the things I love most about today’s young adult market is that the books cross over to an adult market. Harry Potter and Hunger Games would not have been the huge successes they’ve become by appealing only to a young adult market. They’ve been break-out successes because everyone is reading them, everyone from kids to adults.
Without having read your book it’s difficult for me to say what target market it’s best for or if the material is too heavy for a middle grade audience. My gut tells me that you might have more success with a book like this if you raise the age of the character by a year or two. I’m not sure why exactly, but I don’t always understand my gut, I’ve just learned to trust her and, honestly, to me the book sounds better suited to the young adult market.
Jessica
What am I learning about writing lately?
One thing I'm learning is that the possibilites of what types of writing I can pursue are as endless as the subjects about which I can write. Sometimes thinking about all the things I could write and submit is a bit like walking down the cereal aisle of the grocery store. It's overwhelming--especially when you're hungry.
I need to focus on narrowing my
Erin Kellison
Shadow Fall
Publisher: Leisure
Pub date: July 2010
Agent: Jessica Faust
(Click to Buy)
Books in a Series: What Are You Writing?
I attended RomCon earlier this month, a conference dedicated to readers of romance. During one of the sessions, a panel asked readers (including booksellers, bloggers, and reviewers) what their tastes were about books in a series. The conversation briefly settled on a debate between a series of stand-alone books (e.g., books set in the same world, but each featuring different sets of main characters) versus a series driven by continuing characters. While it was mentioned that mystery often has a continuing character, no one firmly attributed either kind of series to a specific genre (like romance, UF, mystery), I think because in many cases the genre lines are blurred.
Here’s my experience, from pre-pubbed to pubbed: When I started Shadow Bound, the first book in my Shadow series, there was no doubt that it would be a stand-alone. It was my first book, so I really felt it needed to have complete character arcs, but I also believed that the world had definite series potential. When I sold Shadow Bound, the acquiring editor asked if I had a series in mind, referencing a secondary character for the next book. We settled on Custo Santovari, probably my favorite character thus far. It seemed that the stand-alone was the way to go. My contract was for two books; they each needed to be complete in and of themselves. I held out hope that I’d get to write more. And, thank goodness, I do.
Shadow Bound was released last month, so now I’m starting to get feedback from readers. The story straddles the line between romance and fantasy (in B&N I’m in the fantasy/sci-fi section; elsewhere I’m in romance), where both kinds of series are prevalent. And sure enough, many readers have expressed interest in what happens next for my Shadow Bound protagonists. They want the second kind of series, with continuing characters, which has made me pause and think (and write this blog). I think it’s a good sign, and I love that readers are invested enough to want to follow these characters. And of course now I have all these possibilities popping into my head for the characters of the previous book.☺ Even so, I think this series is better suited to stand-alones than a single overarching story. The next book still shifts to Custo’s story, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I tortured Custo in Shadow Bound, and it gets worse in Shadow Fall. And then a whole lot better.☺
So today I’m asking the readers of the BookEnds blog a similar question about series: What are you writing (and why)? Do you see it having series potential? If so, what kind of series–stand-alone or continuing characters? And what type of series do you prefer to read?
***
Erin Kellison is the author of the Shadow series, which includes Shadow Bound and Shadow Fall. Stories have always been a central part of Erin Kellison's life. She attempted her first book in sixth grade, a dark fantasy adventure, and still has those early handwritten chapters. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English Language and Literature, and went on for a master's in Cultural Anthropology, focusing on oral storytelling. When she ha
STATUS: A nice and productive day. I think I want summer hours though. Leave by 1. Play in the sunshine. I know Chutney is all for it.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? DO YOU SLEEP by Lisa Loeb
Today let’s tackle the single book contract. What are the advantages and disadvantages to doing just a one-book deal? Considering what we discussed yesterday, it seems ludicrous to sell just one book!
Well, not really. Most one-book deals are for literary fiction and occasionally for what we would call the “big” commercial literary fiction. Commercial literary fiction is really just literary fiction that has a commercial hook or slant. For example, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is a good example of commercial literary. Or TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE. Or HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET.
Does this make sense?
And there are lots of reasons to do a one-book deal.
1. Literary fiction takes longer to write. Sometimes it’s not feasible to write a second book on a prescribed deadline so authors will contract one book at a time. Wally Lamb (SHE COMES UNDONE) is kind of known for never selling a book until it’s written and then he sells that one book only.
2. A one-book contract can alleviate the pressure on the author. The sophomore effort can be a tricky thing. I know from experience that every author hits a stumbling block with that second novel and it really doesn’t matter the genre you write in.
3. Literary fiction—especially those that lean commercial—often get undersold initially and then break out big later. If there is a sense that that could happen, why lock the author in for a certain amount of money?
4. The author might not have a second novel to propose and he/she just doesn’t want to throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks. And the author might take 10 years to write next literary novel. It happens.
5. If the author’s editor leaves and there is just a one-book contract, it can make it cleaner for the author to follow his/her editor to a new house. One’s editor tends to be really important in literary fiction. There is a certain trust that can be very beneficial to the literary writer.
Now having mentioned these things, you can kind of see the flipside to the argument.
1. A two-book contract might be preferred if there is a lot of hype and a book sells for a lot of money and then doesn’t perform. How nice would it be to have a commitment to two books already lined up if that’s the case? A chance of redemption or getting those numbers back up.
2. A Publisher may delay acquisition of a future book until they have sales figures for the first book. Since books easily take 18 months to publish, it’s a long time to wait to get a new contract—especially if the author is trying to earn a living here.
STATUS: I was “this close” to getting to everything on my TO DO list today.
What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? MY WAY by Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson
Last year, a fellow agent friend and I gave a workshop on doing a single-book contract versus a multi-book contract. I was a little surprised at how many writers showed up for it. Hey, maybe these would make a few good blog entries.
First Q: When is doing a single-book contract ideal and when is a multi-book contract best?
Answering this question takes into consideration a lot of different factors. Let’s start with the obvious. If you write genre fiction, it’s almost always to an author’s advantage to do a multi-book contract.
For example, if you write fantasy and the first book being sold is the first in an envisioned trilogy, well, it would be better to have the publisher commit to three books. That way the entire series has a shot of being published. It often takes several books for a series to pick up momentum. What’s important is the publisher commitment—even if in the end a series does well and it was “undersold” initially in terms of the advance.
More common case is that a series has to build over time with the subsequent books and then the books start to earn out. Besides, who wants to sell book 1 in a trilogy only to be left in a lurch if the publisher doesn’t pick up the other books? It’s not easy (read "nearly impossible) to sell books 2 & 3 to another house. If sales are sluggish, it’s really unlikely another house will pick it up.
For another genre such as romance, careers build best if an author can release books within 6 to 8 months from each other. That means really tight schedules/deadlines for the author to make that work so doing multi-book contracts make sense. It’s also best to do multi if the stories are “linked” (as in they stand alone but have characters that might have been introduced in first novel).
Is there an advantage or disadvantage for doing 2 books vs. 3 or 4? Sure. Lots of agents differ on their opinion of this so I can only speak for myself. In general for me, the number of books sold at one time depends on the author (how fast he/she can write), on the project (how many books envisioned) and whether I think the author was undervalued. What I mean by that is if the offer was initially too low for a 3 or 4 book deal or if I thought the monies should have been higher in the auction and I don’t want to lock the author in for too many books at the lower rate. Obviously, reverse is true. If the monies are good, then why not lock in for more books as the commitment is strong from the publisher.
As you can see, lots of factors at play. How does an agent know? We’ve been doing this long enough that we pretty much use our gut sense of what feels right as the offer unfolds. I’ve yet to be wrong.
I’ll talk about single-book contract tomorrow.
In 2008, I wrote an article for Children’s Writer on horror and ghost stories. In an interview, Outcast series author Christopher Golden said, “It’s a challenge to confront the attitudes of those who are prejudiced against supernatural fiction. Some of them have preconceived notions but have never read supernatural fiction. That’s enough of an obstacle. Worse are those people who’ve only read very bad supernatural fiction. There is an awful lot of bad writing out there in every genre, and unfortunately sometimes the entire genre gets painted with the same brush regardless of individual quality.”
On the other hand, Editor Joshua Glazer said, “R. L. Stine’s series have more than 300 million books in print, and CIRQUE DU FREAK has done really well. But I don’t think that kids think of those as genre books. Adults make distinctions between genre in a way that kids maybe don’t. Kids will find themselves addicted to any series with exciting characters and a steady flow of hair-raising conflicts.”
What do you think? Do readers use genre designations as a guideline to successfully find what they want, or are they missing great work because they won’t take a chance? Does this start with middle graders, teens, or adults?
Chris Eboch doesn’t like high fantasy or horror … except when she does.
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By:
Kristi Holl,
on 5/19/2010
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A few weeks ago in “Find a Need and Fill It” I asked for your input concerning the topics you find most helpful in this blog.
Thank you all for the responses! It’s been very helpful. The requests fell into three main categories. Since I blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, that made it easy for me. From now on, this will be my general blogging schedule so that I can cover each topic area regularly.
What You Can Expect
Monday = Inner Motivation (includes:)
- fears–all kinds!
- discipline
- focus
- goals
- rejection
- lack of motivation
- encouragement
- a writer’s dream life
- procrastination
- working with our “inner editor”
- enjoying writing more
- perseverance
- creative inspiration
- writer’s block
Wednesday = Outer Challenges (includes:)
- setting boundaries
- time management
- distractions
- discipline
- writing schedules
- goal setting
- balancing writing with chaos in life
- balancing day jobs with writing
- our writing needs (vs. “their” needs)
- self-defeating behaviors
Friday = Tips ‘n’ Tricks of the Trade (includes:)
- specific genre help
- writing books I’ve found helpful
- blogs I find useful
- classes I’ve taken
- voice (writer’s and character’s)
- critique groups
- conferences
- working with publishers
- marketing–all kinds
- considering the audience when writing
- dealing with publishers who don’t respond
- finding good markets
- developing depth in writing
- selling “unique” pieces instead of jumping on the bandwagon
Thanks for Your Input
All your feedback has been immensely helpful in organizing future blog posts and making sure I cover topics you want to hear about and find useful. If I missed anything on these lists, feel free to let me know!
By:
Kristi Holl,
on 4/5/2010
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To thrive in the present publishing climate, our manuscripts need to be submitted in the best condition possible. I’ve written previously about the need to continue studying the writing craft. [Strong Writers Do This, Self-Study Advanced Writing Program]
“But how do you find the TIME to study on top of writing and marketing?” I’ve been asked time and again. Actually, it’s simple.
Shorten the Learning Curve
Whenever possible, I piggyback on someone else’s research. For example, I prefer a book like Time to Write by Kelly L. Stone, who interviewed more than 100 professional writers about how they fit writing into their busy lives. All that experience condensed into one book is a gold mine.
Likewise, last week I put together two e-booklets that could also shorten your learning curve. First is 50 Tension Techniques: Hold a Reader’s Attention from Beginning to End. I teach a writing workshop called “Tension Techniques,” based on my thirty years of writing and selling 35 books. A few months ago in Austin, I met a woman who had attended that workshop years ago; she told me she’d worn out her hand-out and wished she had another one. I use the hand-out myself in my fiction writing when I come to spots that drag or when things are too calm for too long!
Editors tell us that we need tension on every page in order to keep readers hooked. But what exactly is tension? And how can you possibly increase tension on every page? The fifty simple techniques in this e-booklet show you how to infuse page-turning tension into your dialogue (15 techniques), your plot (14), your characterization (12), and setting descriptions (9). I’ve gathered these techniques from years of reading how-to and writing craft books. (I have six bookcases full of writing books in my office.)
Special Tension Needed
I love mysteries and have had eleven mysteries published (one won a children’s choice award), and mystery stories and books never seem to go out of fashion with kids. A few years ago I wrote a monthly magazine column on mystery
writing. I’ve gathered those columns into a 50-page e-booklet called Writing Mysteries for Young People.
I’ve studied close to two dozen books on mystery writing, and these sixteen short chapters are the best techniques I’ve found. Writing Mysteries for Young People will show you how to construct a mystery. This includes the development of heroes, victims and villains, plotting and planting clues, creating the sett
Flexibility Equals Work
For several years, we hosted high-school exchange students in our home. The surprising thing was the ongoing friendships that continued for many years. One European family, in particular, have been friends and it’s interesting to see the students finish college and begin careers. The son, especially, has an interesting attitude: he wants to be flexible enough to go where he needs to get a good job.
His girlfriend/fiance/now wife went to Scotland for experience in the hospitality industry; he went to Germany to learn that language and culture, then worked for a while in Russia. They were considering work in Australia.
In today’s economy, writers need to be flexible.This year, I’m taking risks, trying to break out of the slump forced by the economy.
- I’m trying new genres. I’ve tried at least three new genres this year and plan to play around with a couple more to see if I can find new markets.
- I’m trying to reach new people. I’m attending different conferences than I’ve ever done before, to meet new people in the industry and see if something will click.
- I’m triple-checking resources, looking for markets. What have I overlooked before? Where can I plug in that I’ve over-looked?
- I’m looking at my life circumstances and thinking about how it affects my work. What have I avoided because of other concerns, such as family? Am I in the same place or could I now consider those things? What have I always accepted because it fit my life – but maybe I no longer need to accept?
- I’m appreciating the writing outlets I do have and trying to serve them better. What are the editor’s needs? How can I make their life easy by giving them EXACTLY what they need?
Articles, books, bylines – here I come!
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By: Wow!,
on 2/1/2010
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Author Blog Tour & Book Giveaway Comments Contest!
Elisa Lorello grew up on Long Island, NY as the baby to six older siblings. Growing up during the '80s, Elisa covered her walls with Duran Duran posters and used lots of hairspray. She explored many passions, including drawing, tennis, and music, but in her early 20's, exercised her gossiping skills while working as a manicurist.
In 1995, Elisa left Long Island to attend the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth for both her bachelor and master's degrees. In 2000, as part of her graduate education in Professional Writing, she became a teaching associate, and met two professors of rhetoric and composition who took her under their wings. This union of teaching, rhetoric, and writing ultimately became Elisa's calling, and remains so to this day. She now lives in North Carolina where she teaches academic writing at North Carolina State.
In 2004, Elisa began her first novel, Faking It. Since then, Elisa has written a sequel, Ordinary World, and is currently co-writing a third novel with a friend and former student. That is, when she can tear herself away from her favorite form of entertainment--Facebook.
Find our more about Elisa by visiting her websites:
Elisa's website: www.ElisaLorello.com
Elisa's blog: I'll Have What She's Having
Twitter: twitter.com/elisalorello
Facebook: Faking It Fans
Ordinary World
By Elisa Lorello
Andi Vanzant had everything she wanted--a husband, a home, a job she loved, a cat named Donny Most. Then a drunk college student plowed into her husband's car and she lost everything...except the cat.
Andi's faced with a nightmare world and the work of trying to transform it into an ordinary world. She's certain that life will never be ordinary again but begins to find her way with the help of an unlikely support group that spans the world--a widowed mother on Long Island, a supportive boss in Massachusetts, an old boyfriend in Italy, and a fortune telling housewife in Peru.
Ordinary World is the story of a woman accepting losses and embracing gifts. To some degree it is the story every woman fears and every woman must some day live.
Genre: Chick Lit/Women's Fiction
ASIN: B002VECPYM
Ordinary World is available in both print and Kindle versions.
Video (below):
My question is about securing an agent when you write in multiple genres. It can be difficult to find one agent who represents all of them. Is it ever possible to have multiple agents? To locate a single agent who represents all of your particular genres can be challenging. It also limits the number of agents you can query - in a field that is already small. Or is it best to look for an agency that represents multiple genres, and hope that you can be represented by more than one agent within the firm?
I think one of the keys to success in this business is to take things one at a time. Just because you are writing in multiple genres doesn’t mean you will be published in multiple genres. What genre are you querying now? Focus on that book and look for agents who would be right for that book. If you’re building a career you’ll need to focus on one thing at a time anyway. If the agent you find happens to represent all of your dreamed-about genres, that’s great. If not, you’ll cross that bridge when you come to it.
One of the things I’ve found is that it’s not uncommon for unpublished authors to have dreams of being published in three or four different genres. Once you’ve sold a book, though, those dreams can change. You might discover that while you thought you were both an inspirational author and an erotic author you really stink at erotic and have found your true calling in inspirational. Or you might simply discover that your inspirational career is keeping you so busy you don’t have time to even think about the many other genres you had once imagined for yourself.
While it’s important to have dreams of your bigger picture, that picture is likely to change over the years. Heck, my vision and the books I represent has changed over the years. I’m continually adding new genres to the list of books I represent and removing others. Focus on one book at a time and you’re likely to have better luck.
Jessica
Current word count: 25,574
New words written: 1,688
Words til goal: 14,426 / 380 words a day til the end of September
I banged out four days worth of word-a-day goals this weekend, which is great, and I love to see my number of “words a day til the end of September” goal dropping. Maybe I can finish this earlier. Pat on the back; gave myself some chocolate as a reward. Ooohhh.
Now for something entirely different…
Literary agent Nathan Bransford has been having quite an interesting discussion about genres over at his blog, starting with Wednesday’s You Tell Me: What Genre is Your WIP? post and following up on Thursday with his Genre Poll Thoughts post.
Ok, here’s where I’m going to make a confession that I probably shouldn’t make in public, but I’m going to anyway. Genre kinda confuses me. Well, let me clarify. I know horror when I see it. I know fantasy is when the story is set in another world. I know science-fiction has to involve, well, science. Where I get confused are all the subgenres. Urban fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, and the reason I get confused is because the same book can be assigned different genres in different places.
For example, I heard the genre “urban fantasy,” and, not having heard that one before, I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, urban fantasy has supernatural elements but is set in the real world. Ok. Sounds good. So, the Percy Jackson books, which are about the Greek gods still roaming Earth and have taken up residence in the U.S., has supernatural elements (Greek gods, monsters, etc.) but is set in the real world, i.e. the U.S. However, Wikipedia says the Percy Jackson book series is an “adventure and fantasy.”
Ok, I know, Wikipedia isn’t the most reliable source. It is afterall edited by whoever logins in and changes information, but it does make my point. I also searched Barnes & Noble and Amazon online and while they both have the series under children’s books, Barnes & Noble also has it under “Fiction & Literature” and Amazon has it under “Greek & Roman” and “Monsters.” hmmm
And if you go into bricks-and-mortar bookstores, children’s books are mostly differentiated by age, not genre.
So, where does this get writers like me who are writing novels that have supernatural elements but are set in the real world when we’re querying agents? Do we say urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, supernatural, paranormal (which, according to Nathan Bransford includes anything with witches and werewolves)?
Well, I kinda like what Nathan Bransford put at the end of his Genre Poll Thoughts post:
Please remember: friends do not let friends lose sleep over genre distinctions. It’s not worth worrying over. Just pick one, and if you find an agent, they’ll tell you what it is.
Sounds like good advice to me.
Anyone else confused about what genre they’re writing?
Write On!
P.S. In case you haven’t seen it, literary agent Colleen Lindsay is participating in a contest for a scholarship to the Backspace Agent-Author Seminar in New York (only entry, travel is up to the winner). The deadline is Sept. 4 and entries must be mailed (i.e. no e-), so start printing and get to the post office. Oh, and it’s only open to entries that correspond to a finished novel.
As a young editorial assistant I had the luxury of exploration. I was just starting to get my feet wet in the acquisition waters and could request everything and anything that came my way. I had the opportunity to find my niche in the publishing world and see what really fit for me. One of the things I so strongly remember about those days was trying to fit that square peg into the round hole; in other words, I tried over and over to do the kinds of books that weren’t true to me, but that I felt were “cooler” than the kinds of books I really had a knack for. I’m not sure where this mentality comes from, but I can tell you that at some point in our lives every single one of us does this. Whether it’s wearing an armload of rubber bracelets, styling our hair in the latest Flock of Seagulls ‘do or trying to impress the boss in a manner that doesn’t fit any better than a pair of blue suede shoes, part of life is exploration and we all make mistakes along the way. What I’m asking is that you be very, very careful of not letting those mistakes torpedo a rising career.
As an unpublished author you get the luxury of freedom. You can write whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want. Once that first publishing contract is signed and sent off, things change. Now you have deadlines, readers, sales expectations, and a brand to build. While you certainly still have creative freedom, you are no longer as free as you used to be. Sure, authors explore new genres and new directions all the time; the difference is those who are able to do it while remaining true to themselves versus those who do it because they feel it gives them a certain credibility or respect they don’t think they’re currently receiving.
I’ve been thinking about this blog post for a long time and the reason it’s taken me so long to write is that I’m not sure I’m going to be able to clearly get my point across, and even when rereading what I’ve written I’m still not sure that readers will really grasp what I’m trying to say, so let me try with this. We all have our strengths in this world. My strengths as a literary agent lie in commercial fiction and nonfiction. I’m not a literary reader and don’t have a natural inclination to understand what makes a literary novel marketable and appealing to the public. I do however have a knack for commercial fiction. Not only can I read a book and get a sense of whether editors and the buying public will find it appealing, but I can also read that book and help guide the author to make it stronger in both plot and character. I’m not going to say it’s easy and I’m not going to say I don’t struggle at times, but it’s where my strengths lie. And boy have I been abused for it over the years. Let’s face it, any of you who write commercial fiction have faced, at some point, the stigma of someone who is not writing “real books.” Whether it’s that you should be writing something more literary and more “meaningful” (whatever that means) or that you should be writing in a genre that’s more respected (whatever that means), someone, somewhere had to make a snarky comment that made you feel bad about doing what you love. Do not let that person or those people take control of your writing career. Be True to You.
Not everyone can write women’s fiction, not everyone can write romantic suspense, not everyone can write literary fiction, and not everyone can write epic fantasy, and that’s a good thing. I’m not saying you can’t explore new genres or you shouldn’t take your books to that next level. I’m saying that before you call your agent and tell her that you're abandoning your romantic comedy*** career for something “more respectable” like romantic suspense, you should try on that romantic suspense first, stand in front of the three-way mirror and really, honestly tell yourself if it fits. It might not and that’s okay, because not everyone can get away with wearing a fedora either.
Be proud of the person and the writer you are, take ownership of your strengths. Stand up now, out of your chair, and say it, out loud, what you write. Say it, “I write cozy mysteries” or “category romance” or “horror” or “literary fiction” or “poetry.” Are you proud? Is your head held up high or are you apologetic and meek? If your answer is the latter, then do it again and again and again until you can say, with all the pride in the world, loud and clear, what you write.
Be true to yourself, toss out that ill-fitting cowboy hat that was never you anyway and put back on the bunny ears. Write to your strengths and you will find the success you crave, and don’t go asking for people to respect you and your writing, demand it.
***I apologize to all romantic comedy writers; you were the first sub-genre that popped into my head and in no way do I mean to imply that you are not respectable, so please don’t go jumping ship to start writing horror about blogging literary agents.
Jessica
Let’s pretend for a minute that you’re an ice cream maker. Your job is to create delicious, interesting and unique flavors for the Yummy Ice Cream ice cream company. Of course the goal is to come up with something different, but it is also to keep your job, and that means to come up with a flavor that makes your company money, lots and lots of money.
The possibilities are endless. What about Roasted Eggplant ice cream or Beef Stew? Those are really, really different. Or you could try something like Black Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake or maybe Strawberry Marscapone with Chunks of Sugar Cookie. Those are different, haven’t been done (or done much), but yet fall along the same lines as what is already popular in the ice cream world.
Writing a book, no, publishing a book, is not much different from making ice cream. It’s a business. I hear authors complain all the time that agents say we’re looking for something different when really we aren’t. We’re just looking for the same old thing. Well, folks. Here in the year of no complaints my response to you is boo-hoo. Blame the agents all you want, but the truth is we can only sell to publishers what readers want to buy, and let’s be honest, I doubt there’s anyone out there with a craving for Beef Stew Ice Cream.
We are looking for something different, and I truly believe that each book I sell is different. The voice is remarkable, the idea is unique, fun, interesting and saleable and the execution is wonderful. The question is how different is different. Different means you still have to appeal to readers. A book that the author labels as a mystery, romance, science fiction is not different, it’s ridiculous. In the same way Beef Stew Ice Cream is ridiculous. Who is going to read that? Where in the bookstore is that going to be placed? Who exactly is your audience? And who would ever crave beef stew ice cream? How would you order it? With hot fudge?
The other problem with different is that different to you is not necessarily different to me. I’m amazed sometimes by how truly under-read some of those who claim to be authors are. I think that as a publishing professional I will always feel under-read because there’s always more to read, but if you are making the decision to write books you need to know your competition and know how to make your book different from others. Your competition is not every single other book in the bookstore. It’s every single other book in the genre or section you’re writing in. Often I’m accused of not really wanting anything different, when the truth is that I don’t feel the book pitched to me was really all that different.
Different still has to make sense and it still has to make money. To make money you have to find an audience. We all do truly want different, but even different has to have its limitations.
Jessica
STATUS: Heading into the final week of meetings and boy the days are packed.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? BIG TIME by Peter Gabriel
Here’s my advice for the day. Don’t read too much into these lists I post. I do it because writers are so interested in knowing what editors want (or don’t want in this case). As if there is some magic formula embedded in their “want” list.
The actuality is this. There are certain trends in publishing. Right now in YA it’s the paranormal element—be it a zombie, vampire, werewolf, witch or what have you. Basically, editors end up seeing so much in this genre, they get weary of it. Only THE best projects will stand out in the crowd. Only a really unique story will grab the attention of the sales force in an editorial meeting. In fact, editors contemplate their spin (how they’d pitch it) before they are even willing to make an offer to buy it. If they don’t have that new spin, they’re passing. Market is crowded.
Logically, you guys all know this. So when I say that editors aren’t buying epic fantasy, is that true? Sure. Until I put an amazingly written, wholly original epic fantasy in front of them. Suddenly, they are open to buying.
But what I’m trying to point out with my lists is what editors are seeing too much of—so those books are going to be a much harder sell for the agent. That’s it.
Today I spent the morning at a wonderful literary house—Grove Atlantic. They don’t have mandates. They don’t follow trends. They buy brilliant writers who write screamingly well. (So hard to find I might add…)
They did a title called BROKEN FOR YOU that I wish I had sold. In fact, I’d love more submissions in that vein—literary novels with emotional heart. Oh, that’s so hard to find. The level of writing matched with the emotional complexity of character… A lot of times writers will have one or the other fabulously done. That’s what upmarket commercial fiction usually encompasses. To have both together, well, that’s the trick.
As an agent, I’d love more of that. I’d love to do a book with Grove Atlantic. I waited five years for a book like Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet. I’m willing to wait another five for a title like Broken, but I’m hoping I don’t have to.
I seem to get a ton of questions about women’s fiction; there are a lot of people concerned with everything from word count to a definition of what women’s fiction is. So let me see if I can clear some of this up, and of course muddy the waters a little.
The first thing to understand about genre definitions is that there’s a reason they are so difficult to understand. Genre definitions, like genres themselves, are fluid. They change with the market and with the times. In other words, years ago, there was a very clear line between what was considered romance and what was considered fantasy. Now, not so much. Books that were previously considered strictly fantasy are now finding their way into the romance section at bookstores and vice versa. Which is why I try to encourage authors not to get too hung up on the specifics of a genre. If you’re not sure by definition what genre your book fits into, take a look at fairly recently published books you would consider similar in theme and style. How are those being published? That might help you define genre better than a list of rules ever will.
Women’s fiction is a strong and growing market and I don’t see that changing, ever. What I do see changing are the types of books considered women’s fiction or published in general. Let’s use chick lit as an example. While chick lit was given its own genre it was, and still is, essentially women’s fiction. A few years ago chick lit was the hottest thing going and every bookstore displayed a sea of pink martini glasses. Now, just a few short years later, the term chick lit is taboo and not to be spoken of ever again. However, that doesn’t mean you still can’t write a light, humorous book about a young woman in an urban setting. You’re just going to need to give it a little more oomph, a little more angst than a lot of the previously published chick lit titles had, and you’re not going to be able to call it chick lit. The irony of this entire post is that strangely I’ve been seeing a lot more queries of late for books formerly known as chick lit and I’ve even requested a few. The overall concept isn’t dead, just the simplified version (if that makes any sense).
I’m very frequently asked by authors what editors mean when they talk about women’s fiction and what exactly are they looking for. Are they looking for Friday Night Knitting Club, Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, or Bridget Jones’s Diary? Yes, yes, and yes. All of those titles are women’s fiction and all are being sought out by editors. Like everything in publishing and everything when it comes to reading in general, what we’re all seeking in women’s fiction is subjective. The type of women’s fiction that might really grab me and warm my heart might not be the same type of book that excites Kim or Jacky. Women’s fiction is a huge, huge genre and not as simple to define as, say, cozy mysteries. So try not to get hung up on what the editors are looking for specifically and write the book that will warm women’s hearts everywhere, because that’s what we all really want.
Jessica
I get a ton of questions emailed to me for the blog and I appreciate each and every one. I apologize if I haven’t yet gotten to yours, but I’m working on it. Some are hard and I haven’t figured out how to answer them yet, while others are too short and don’t necessarily warrant a full post. So today’s blog is dedicated to those that are just too short.
Here’s a collection of random blog questions and answers.
How long should women’s fiction be? Is 270,000 words too long?
In the author’s own words, “yikes!” 200,000 words is too long. Women’s fiction is general fiction, mainstream, whatever you want to call it, it should be like most novels, in the range of 80,000 to 100,000 words. Of course there’s always some leeway in there, but keep in mind in this crazy economy, publishers are really not happy to see longer books. They’re more expensive for everyone.
If an agent’s Web site doesn’t specifically mention to send snail mail or email queries, but provides both addresses, how should the query be sent? How can I ensure my query gets more face time?
However you want to send it, and as for guaranteeing more face time, that’s on your shoulders. Write a really great query.
When you (or another agent) ask for a chapter or pages to be pasted into the body of an email, does it need to be in any certain format? When I paste from Word into my email program, all formatting is lost. I've tried plain text and rich text with negligible results.
First let me clarify that I would never ask for material to be pasted into the email (other than the query itself). If I did, though, and even with queries, I want it to read as if it were the email. Maybe the best thing to do is paste it in and then reformat it using your email program? I don’t have an answer to this, but maybe other readers have some advice?
Earlier this year you mentioned that an editor was looking for “strong, poignant, commercial women’s fiction, not chick lit.” Can you elaborate a little on what type of stories we're talking about? What sort of heroines? What are the editors looking for?
What do you have? They would like to see older, younger, married, single, divorced, widowed, grandmothers, mothers, childless. . . . The key to these types of books isn’t necessarily that editors are looking for a particular story, but they want a story and characters that evoke certain feelings. How that’s done is up to the writer, that’s the beauty of a book.
Can you interpret the phrase: "I didn't make a strong enough connection with the manuscript in order to offer representation." I've had three agents respond in this way after reading my full manuscript and one agent respond this way after reading fifty pages. Is there some revision work I should be considering based on this information?
You’ve been rejected with a form rejection. Make revisions if you see the need, otherwise simply continue to plug away.
I have completed 41,00 words of my manuscript, which is approximately 50% of my book. At what point should I begin to contact literary agents?
When the book is done.
Several of us were comparing agent responses and noticed a weird trend . . . or lack of trend . . . with some agents and wonder if there was a rationale behind it. A group of us use the same query tracking system and have noticed that there will be huge gaps on no-response and we'll never hear back (we're talking 12+ months). But scattered in there will be a couple of rejections. When checked, these rejections are form letters that state nothing more than the typical "not for me" rejection. I'm all for the form letter. Is there a reason a very small number receive the rejection but the majority receive nothing? Is there something going on we don't know as writers?
I want so bad to say something really funny and snarky here, but I don’t think I’ve got it in me. What I will say is quit over-analyzing. Agents just don’t have that much time to plan elaborate ruses. I’m sure it’s just a fluke.
I have finished writing my first fiction novel. However, when I typed it out it ended up being about 75 pages. Is it me or does that seem a bit short? Of course, I haven't gone through and edited but the point of the story is completely in there. Can anyone give me any advice on this?
Let me clarify first that “fiction novel” is redundant. Learn to erase that phrase from your vocabulary. Second, even if you still need to double-space, 75 pages is far too short. I think the best advice I can give you is keep writing and join a writer’s group. You have about 250 pages to go before you have a book.
My professors keep telling me that student publications count as a publication, but I was wondering if they were worth mentioning in a query letter? What about writing articles for internships?
I’d definitely mention them, but only if you are newly out of school. Ten years later they aren’t going to have the same significance.
I have a question regarding query etiquette. Is it appropriate to mention, in a query letter, work that has not been published yet if the author has it on good authority that their work will be featured in a future magazine publication?
If by good authority you mean a contract, then yes, go ahead and mention it. Otherwise I would just be patient.
Jessica
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Yesterday was my first day trying to formulate a query letter for my newly (nearly finished) polished novel (I say nearly finished because I’m still waiting for some notes to come in from a writer friend who is reading it). I’ve written query letters before and hated it. I was never any good at writing resume cover letters, either. I guess I’m just not very good at writing about myself.
The last query letter I wrote and sent out was for a picture book. It was sent out to 14 agents and editors and I got 14 solid rejections. (However, that was probably more about the picture book than just the query. Most agents and editors want you to send the entire pb manuscript, and I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t read, or at least start to read, the pb manuscript even if the query is terrible. A terrible query might taint the pb a bit, but looking back now from a position of much more experience, I can honestly say my pb wasn’t great. Cute story, but not for a pb. Maybe I’ll submit it to a magazine one of these days.)
With a novel, the query really has to sing, I believe, although I have read that many agents and editors just skim through it picking out the important parts. But, as agent Nathan Bransford once wrote, if you’re a good writer, you should be able to write a good query. So, what does it say about your novel if your query is terrible?
The query will be accompanied by some initial section of the novel (3 pages, 10 pages, whatever are the submission guidelines for that particular agent or editor — always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS follow the submission guidelines, and check them on their website right before you submit as they change often). But, the query will still be the introduction of my work to the agent and editor, so why skimp on a first impression?
Think of it like a first date. You want to make sure you’re freshly showered, hair washed and styled, makeup done with a little more attention than usual, clothes ironed and clean — and preferably matching. You want to look your best on a first date to make the best first impression.
It’s like that with a query letter: You want the letter to be the best representation of your work, and you want the pages of your work that you’re submitting with the query to be in the best possible shape that they can be. You want the agent or editor to ask for more. You have to make sure you don’t give them a reason to say no. (Of course, if what you’ve written is just not in their interest zone, that’s out of your control, but art is subjective, and there will be some people who don’t like your work. There are plenty of people who don’t like Harry Potter! Don’t take it personally; just move on to the next guy/ gal.)
So, all that said, on my first day of writing my query letter, I did some research. I went to the people who I want to impress: agents (not necessarily the ones I’m going to submit to, as most good agents will tell you similar things in what they want in a query). My first stop was Nathan Bransford’s blog. He’s a literary agent with Curtis Brown, and I’ve been reading his blog for some time (the feed is on my iGoogle page). His blog is interesting, entertaining and very informative. In the past, he has written about how the quality of queries he receives has improved since he has been posting information about how to write a good query, and that has made his job a lot easier. I want to make an agent’s job easier (then they’ll be more likely to want to work with me as a person), so I figured that Nathan’s blog was as good a place to start as any.
To get to Nathan’s blog, I clicked on the lastest post in my iGoogle reader, which was for This Week in Publishing. I skimmed the links to see if there was anything interesting, and I found a link to literary agent Rachelle Gardner’s blog post on Your Queries Say a Lot About You. In my current field of interest, I thought and clicked through.
Rachelle talks about what NOT to put in a query regarding your thoughts on the quality of your book and what they say about your expectations. For example, saying your book will be a No.1 bestseller. Maybe it will. But, as Rachelle points out, if that’s what you think and it doesn’t happen, she doesn’t want to be considered responsible. She’d rather just stay clear. You might think you’re selling the book that way, but Rachelle cites a rule (guideline, if you will, I’m not big on rules) that all writers should be doing for their novels anyway: SHOW, don’t tell. “Let your words SHOW the editor or agent the greatness of your project, don’t try to TELL them how great it is. I guarantee it’s a much more effective approach,” she wrote. Good advice, for your work and your query.
Her insight impressed me, so while I was on her blog, I checked her What I’m Looking For page and discovered that my work wouldn’t fit. No worries. I also checked out her How to Write a Query Letter page. More good advice, most of which I already knew, but there was one nugget I hadn’t thought of before: Include your genre. It should be obvious, but sometimes we forget the obvious, so it was useful. She even gave a link to an older post where she had listed some genres.
Now back to Nathan’s blog, where he has a number of posts about query letter writing listed in the left nav bar. I’ll let you know what I find out.
How are you at writing queries?
Write On!
I’ve received a lot of questions about the importance of building a platform for fiction writers. Should you write platform-building pieces under your real name or the pseudonym you want to use? What if you wrote mystery short stories, but now want to write romance novels? Do those short stories even count toward your platform? Do you need to worry about blogging now to build a platform or should you just write?
Holy cow, folks! Just write and write and write and write. If you are someone who writes short stories very well and wants to submit them to literary magazines while working on your novel, go ahead. It’s a bonus to have a writing platform like that, but not every novelist can write short stories and not every short story writer can write a novel. It just isn’t that easy, so if you’re someone who doesn’t feel strongly that you can do both, why are you wasting your time focusing on your weakness instead of your strength or instead of on what you really want to do?
As for blogs, I’ve said it over and over and over again, but I’ll say it again. Go ahead and write a blog if you really want to, but don’t feel that it will necessary do anything for a future publishing career. The only thing that’s going to do that is the book you’re writing or the book after that or the one after that. And frankly, at this point, I don’t care what name you do it all under.
Let’s worry less about the peripherals of publishing—platform, credentials, etc.—and more about our writing. Because that’s really what’s important.
Jessica
In a recent blog post about how Timing Counts when sending your material to agents, I said, “At the time of the original query the proposal fit those guidelines. By the time it landed on my desk, however, the holes for that kind of book had been filled.”
And based on that comment one reader asked for more specifics. He said that he would like to see more posts on what exactly those holes are and what hooks are in vogue. He said he doesn’t want to hear vague answers like “looking for more historical romance,” but instead specifics like what hooks editors are looking for and what holes they need to have filled.
Unfortunately, the answers to what those holes are, are vague. Editors don’t say to me, I have a hole on my list, but to fill it I need a historical romance in which the heroine only wears pink dresses, eats donuts, and swears like a sailor. No, all of us, always, are only looking for really great books. What I meant by “holes” is that times have changed and trends have changed. Two years ago, for example, I might have been looking all over the place for really fabulous erotic romance. Now publishers have filled a lot of those holes, and while they are still actively buying new erotic romance, they aren’t buying as actively as they were two years ago. Because of that, the way we all look for and at erotic romance has changed. My guess is that if you look for what I was posting two years ago I was telling readers that publishers were looking for erotic romance.
I think I do keep you up to date on those trends and what those holes might be to the best of my abilities. Unfortunately, there’s no magic answer to getting the timing right. The best thing I can tell you is get out there and do your research. Look at what editors are buying and agents are selling and keep track of the trends that way. Mostly, though, don’t follow the trends at all. Just write your book, submit, and, trust me, you’ll find your time.
Jessica
STATUS: All my appointments are set for the weekend. It’s going to be busy.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE by The Cure
ALA officially began for me tonight as I had my first editor dinner with Susan Chang of Tor. I must say I love it when conferences are held in my home town. It’s like a trip to New York without the travel!
I’m very glad we met up though because most of you know that Macmillan has gone through a large restructuring over the last few months. The biggest change is in how the children’s divisions will operate. Before, each imprint was a separate entity with its own publisher, sales force, marketing dept. etc. Now all the children’s divisions are gathered under one umbrella and will be sharing things like the sales force, marketing and promotion people, reporting to one publisher head rather than six. Although, I’ve been told, each imprint will keep its own publishing vision and imprint identity even though they are now all one big family called Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
All except Tor, which was news to me. Tor is still considered a completely separate entity with Susan and her children’s imprint reporting directly to Tom Doherty.
To quote Frontier Airlines, Tor is still a whole other animal! Interesting. In general they have always been known to be less corporate (which can fabulous in some respects—such as creative vision and the embracing of new talent—and frustrating in other ways—such as long response times on submissions). But they’ve always been known to be independent, slightly quirky, and with smart editors.
So far, that hasn’t changed. Go Tor.
Susan and I also got into an interesting discussion about SF and young adult. Both of us agreed that SF in the young adult world works best when the novels aren’t labeled SF.
Seriously. One look at the Uglies series and The Hunger Games rather proves that out. Those books are basically SF but never called so. I can name a host of other examples as well.
We also talked briefly about the popularity of fantasy in the children’s realm and why they didn’t seem to translate to fantasy readers in the adult world. We didn’t play with any theories but it’s an interesting conundrum. What happens to those avid fantasy readers as they age?
There’s probably an essay waiting to be written there if it hasn’t been tackled already.
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Just curious, what happens if after you've been established within one genre, you want to switch to another genre that your agent doesn't handle? Do you need to find a second agent or should you find an agent initially who agents both genres? Hope that makes sense.
Huh. That's the first I've heard about the 9 months between books "rule". I guess I need to pick up my pace... :)
Very timely, as I was just having a discussion with a friend of mine about this.
So let's say you're staying in fantasy. Is it alright to switch up the type of fantasy you write? High-fantasy to vampires, for example?
Why in the world would publishers want such a long interval between books even in the same genre? If readers like one book by the author, doesn't it make sense to release others as quickly as possible? And if they don't like it, get the non-seller off the shelf and put another one in its place.
It seems to go against good business sense, especially in today's high-tech world, to force a slow-down of available new products.
Anon 9:07: That is really a conversation between you and your agent. It would depend on the situation and the agent.
Lorenda: There's no rule. When it comes to genre though, it's what publishers hope. If you can't write that fast don't. Your work will suffer and no one wants that.
Kelly: It depends on so much, but that's really a conversation between you, your agent and your editor in terms of how different the books are and what your audience is hoping for.
Ian: Delivering your books 9 months apart doesn't mean the publisher will publish them that far apart. If you can write great books every 2 months it's quite possible the publisher will publish them that way.
Thanks for the post Jessica! It's interesting that you say readers don't generally skip from genre to genre, because in my experience, I found that readers generally genre hop more easily than writers. I don't know any reader who only sticks to one genre. Most tend to have a preferred one or two, but also branch out occasionally. For example, I read a lot of fantasy, but I will branch out to the occasional chick lit, science fiction, and mystery. It seems like it would be much harder for a writer to take on the mindset and expectations of a new genre.
I'm curious how this applies to young adult. I see many authors in that genre switching from urban fantasy to contemporary to dystopian. Does it apply differently because YA itself is a genre? And if I'm trying to break into that market, is it okay for me to write different subgenres if it's all YA? (In your opinion, of course.)
Writers and musicians have a lot in common -- there's always a genre (or in music, style) in which an artist excels. Rarely does one see a classically-trained musician leap into hard rock or world music (although it can and does happen -- rarely) or vice versa. And attempting to master both simultaneously has the effect of making the final product less than pure.
Similarly, I do believe that a writer's *true* inner voice will lend itself to a specific genre, which is typically defined by style. Mastering style and voice is the very definition of writing, to my mind; it requires intense effort and focus.
And ... two months? I would certainly question the quality of a m.s. hammered out in that short period of time. I might think that the writer was simply producing product. (Or that said writer had a stable of ghostwriters!)
Melissa (ATX)
(Signed, because WordPress is making my life miserable.)
I struggle with the same idea. I like writing in different genres, but I do think I'm stronger in one genre vs. the other. And as mentioned, once you're established you can write different genres under different pennames.
Livia: I get what you're saying. I really love reading all types of genres. At any one time, I can read a good sci-fi as much as a chick-lit. However, I will say that as a reader, I do find I have expectations of an author when I pick up his/her books. I remember reading a good romance by an author and picked up another of her books only to be disappointed and turned off from really reading any of her other works.