Genre
Hopping: A Pro/Con List
Writers spent a lot of time in their
heads. This might seem like an obvious statement, but it is no less important.
Because while lost in those thoughts, many different ideas surface for many
different kinds of books. Now, maybe this isn't for all writers. Maybe you’re
sci-fi author and every budding book idea takes place within your genre. But if
you are anything like me, your ideas run the gamut. One morning I might wake up
having dreamt about writing an epic fantasy novel. But by that same afternoon,
the story of the contemporary woman stuck in a haunted house might be consuming
my thoughts. 
Hopping genres can many times be viewed as a no-no. And we authors
are faced with the challenge: do we follow our Muses wherever they may lead us?
Or do we follow industry advice and stick to the genre our readers expect?
Now I think it's important to point
out that this biased against genre hopping is fading more and more these days.
It is way more acceptable now to write within new genres than it was before. I
know that I as a reader will follow an author that I love into whatever worlds
she or he wants to take me in. Especially in romance writing, I believe that
genre hopping is less taboo.
In my short time as an author, I've
bounced between writing paranormal romance, contemporary romance, erotic
suspense, and soon adding to that lis—new adult. Granted, these are all still
under the romance umbrella, but occasionally I've had to fight to keep using
the same name for all of my books.
There are any number of reasons why
an author would skip genres. For me, it was a matter of inspiration. Sometimes
I just need a break from whatever world I've been writing in. For some authors,
it might be a matter of diversifying, reaching new readers. For others, it may
be a monetary choice. Whatever your reasons, there are pros and cons to each
side.
PROS:
Inspired Writing Yields Faster
Results
This one’s pretty obvious. If you’re
following your passion to tell a new sort of story and enjoying what you’re
writing, chances are you’ll produce faster. And this inspired work may be your
best writing yet.
Wider Reaching Readership
Switching from erotic suspense to new
adult is a big jump, but it’s certain to bring in a wider, newer readership.
Any time you branch out into a new genre, you are likely to engage and gain new
readers. The key is keeping these new readers!
Diversifying
Much like a stock portfolio,
diversifying your assets is always smart. Genres (especially in romance) ebb
and flow in popularity. If you put all your eggs in one genre basket and then
that genre hits a lull, sales might take a hit. But if you've diversified and
have published books in different genres (or perhaps just have them finished
and ready to submit to editors and agents), then you will have other potential
income generators (maybe even in a genre that’s taking off!).
Keeping it Fresh
Creativity is a tool. And like any
tool, you need to keep them sharpened, clean, and active so that they don’t
rust out. By writing various genres, we are working out different areas of our
brain and creativity. New ideas and new genres can keep us fresh and even
enhance, influence, and inspire other stories.
CONS:
Spreading Yourself Too Thin
By bouncing around too much, agents,
publishers, readers, and industry folks might view you as flighty. Particularly
if you’re not balancing the more strenuous writing schedule well and not
meeting your deadlines.
Potential to Alienate Your Readers
I think this is one of my personal
fears. So far, my readers have been amazing. They read the descriptions of the
books I’m writing and if something’s not their cup of tea, they don’t (seem to)
hold it against me. However, there is the potential for readers to pick up one
of your books expecting a fast paced erotic thriller only to find a small town
romance and be wildly disappointed—or even feel betrayed (particularly in
romance when switching the heat levels of your sex scenes).
One easy work around for this is
writing under a different name. Many, many authors choose this route when
writing something vastly different than their known genre—JK Rowling, Nora
Roberts, Sophia Kinsella, to name a few.
Higher Demands
This one goes hand in hand with
spreading yourself too thin. The thing about writing is, when you do it
successfully, you should be creating more of a demand for your writing within
that genre. And if you’re now writing in four different genres, especially if
you write series genre like I do, you need to be able to sustain a schedule of delivery for each genre so not to
lose or disappoint your loyal readers.
CONCLUSION:
So, to wrap this all up, genre
hopping is great for some people. I tend to be most productive when I’m writing
two stories at once. But not everyone can do that. The key is to really keep
readers in mind. If you have been writing erotica but you have a great idea for
a young adult book? I still think you should write it…. but perhaps new
branding or a new pseudonym is in order because of the age difference in
readers.
Write on and enjoy! Maybe I’ll see
you soon in Regency England or in a futuristic post-apocalyptic society soon!
Interested in winning a paperback
edition of Capturing You by Katana Collins? Sign up for her newsletter HERE and be
entered to win with the next email blast! 
She bounces between living in New York and Portland, Maine,
with an ever-growing brood of rescue animals: a kind of mean cat, a very
mellow chihuahua, and a very not mellow
lab puppy... oh yeah, there's a husband somewhere in that mix, too. She can usually be found hunched over her laptop in a
cafe, guzzling gallons of coffee, and wearing fabulous (albeit sometimes
impractical) shoes.
Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @katanacollins
No comments:
Post a Comment