The Importance of Amazon Book Tags by Stacy Hoff

The conventional wisdom of the publishing industry is that authors should keep writing within one genre, and even sub-genre. That way, readers know what to expect from an author and will readily pick up the author’s next new book. The end goal is to create both happy readers and solvent authors.

But do I stick to this rule? Sort of. Within romance (my genre) I always stay with “contemporary” (the sub-genre that requires books to be set in a time period between 1950 to the present day). I do, however, select various different smaller categories within “contemporary.” I hop from “action/adventure” and “military,” to “women’s fiction” and, for my new release, “sports fiction.” Perhaps you can tell from my very different looking book covers just how much my books shift around these different sub-categories.

   

Above: The DESIRE series: action/adventure, military; LAWFULLY YOURS: Women’s Fiction; JOCKEYING FOR YOU: sports fiction

There are zillions of other “contemporary” sub-categories – commonly known as “tags” on Amazon. Everything from “billionaire” to “MC” (motorcycle club) to “secret baby” to “step-brother” to “small town.” Have some fun clicking around on Amazon to see many more tags for yourself.

When I write creatively, my mind jumps everywhere, landing in a diverse world of Amazon tags. On occasion, I force myself to stay focused. Right now, I’m in the midst of writing another series that will finally be straight-out contemporary, although these books have multiple topics for which there are no specific tags: family drama, secrets, and power plays (the BUILDING LOVE series, release dates TBD).

How much are my sales effected by wandering around the world of Amazon tags? Who knows? There is no reliable control group I can use. In a way, it doesn’t matter. I write all kinds of things because my mind goes everywhere. If the result of my quirky brain is my not being brand-able, maybe I at least can offer readers a lot of options for books, so they can choose one that’s right for them.

Do you care about Amazon tags or sub-categories as a reader, or as a writer?

WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR STACY HOFF:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff

Twitter:   http://www.twitter.com/authorStacyHoff

Web: http://www.stacyhoff.com

JOCKEYING FOR YOU http://amzn.to/2c8Hi5t

 

DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC http://amzn.to/1KjfP9V

DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES http://amzn.to/1YEseie

LAWFULLY YOURS http://amzn.to/1Ky5CZm

 

SEASON OF LOVE http://amzn.to/1NsByfu

Filed under: action / adventure, Business, Contemporary Romance, Historical romance, Marketing, publishing, romance, romance novels, Sports romance, Stacy Hoff, Writing Advice