I have huge problems trying to stick to a genre. It seems I’m not alone either.
Maybe if I was a lot younger, starting out as a writer, I would stick to a genre, because there is no denying it’s easier to market when you know where you sit in the marketplace. If I was younger, I’d probably be more driven by earnings too – but being at my time in life, (not that I’m swimming in money, because I’m not), but because I haven’t got the energy to spend my whole time checking sales and constantly marketing my books – to earn well would be a plus!
I write because I love writing. I’ve found that I have stories that need to get escape my brain. My best friend mentioned at my recent book launch that it was as though writing my first novel had turned on a tap in my mind for writing.
Recently, here on Substack I read a wonderful article by @Matt Lillywhite, titled:
“I thought I needed a niche. I was wrong” – with the subtitle – Readers don’t show up for the genre. They show up for the person behind the words.
Matt’s comment is similar to my bestie (a PR/Journalist) who always underlines the saying ‘people by from people’ and it’s about people liking and know someone so they trust them. It’s partly the same with books – especially interacting with people locally, or on social media where you have built up a relationship with them – they have got to know you, bought your books and having enjoyed them, come back to buy the latest.
It’s obviously not so easy when it comes to breaking into the world market – there are roughly around 11,000 books published each day, so ‘little old me’ is going to go un-noticed.
However, if I share, encourage people to write reviews and just generally do my best to get my books out there, then that’s all I can do.
When my first novel was published “He is Not Worthy”(2022), initially through a small publisher, it was marketed as Suspenseful Romance. That worked well for that book, because it was predominantly about a romance between a teacher and a 6th form pupil (just leaving school) and a stalker obsessed with the teacher.
However, when I wrote my second novel “Echoes of Drowning”(2024 May), I spoke to a book marketer who told me that I wrote Suspenseful Romance so that’s what my genre was. But this second book didn’t fit that genre quite so easily. It had romance, but also grief, a ghost, history and a mystery… so far more going on that just suspenseful romance. In fact, romance as such wasn’t the main focus at all.
Now, my latest novel “The Identity Enigma” (2024 October), there was definitely romance, but the main focus was deception, and mystery – in fact on the blog tour it was read by thriller fans, and they enjoyed it as a thriller.
The comments I get back from readers are that I create realistic characters that they care about.
For me, that is the most important thing; I’m extremely happy with that and they couldn’t put the books down.
What’s next? My next story is basically a family-type saga, but with some suspense going on in the background, and some family mysteries….
Women’s Contemporary Fiction – probably!
Do you think genres are important?