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Genre Fiction: The Way to Go?
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Geoffrey wrote: "I have published ten books so far, four of them in the detective/fiction/police procedural genre. Even though more than half of my output is general fiction or perhaps even literary fiction, about..."I have three out each in different genres. based on downloads I should write another thriller, based on value of sales I should write another dystopian catastrophe and the third in general fiction is too early to say.
I do sci-fi and thrillers but my non-fiction stuff outsells the fiction ones by ten to one.On the fiction side though I used to think that thrillers would be better than sci-fi but so far sci-fi outsells thrillers, I think because sci-fi has more rabid fans.
One thing I've heard again and again is that over time, the best thing is to build a reputation for a certain thing. The easiest five sales you can make are a happy reader snapping up your last four books and eagerly awaiting your next one.So that's a reason to pick a single genre (or even a single series), or at least to concentrate on two or so. Which ones to pick I'm not sure --and if it were purely dollars, I doubt any of us would be writing-- but it sounds like spreading yourself thin can be a problem.
If you've managed to find a niche then it makes commercial sense to stick with it.But if you find yourself getting bored, just write something different every so often.
Sarah wrote: "Sorry, I'm not an author so have no experience from that perspective, but it does seem logical that this would be the case. As a reader looking for my next book the easy way to search is looking fo..."Hi Sarah I was just reading through the feed, and yours stood out, are you currently looking for a new book to read? You state you like romance and paranormal? what about reincarnation, soul mates out of sync in the present, a supernatural time travel into the 13th century Scotland? My book The Price, is a historical fantasy,romance/horror genre for adults. If this intrigues you at all check out the synopsis and check out the first few chapters on amazon for free. If you search out my book on amazon it is easy to find by just typing in my name on the amazon search function, Mark Douglas Holborn, if you go by "The Price" title you get everything that has a price to it..
Of the books bought in the US, perhaps 80& are bought by women. Of the fiction bought in the US, the percentage is even high. And, fully half of all published fiction in the US is romance. What that says to you is that if you are shooting purely for market, write romance novels.
Agreed. Guys just aren't readers in this day and age. They play video games instead.
I'm a reader and a gamer, so when I look for my next read I look for a book synopsis that interests me, regardless of genre (except romance, I steer clear). If I find a good non-fiction that intrigues me, I am more likely to pick that up than a fiction book with a so-so synopsis. I read graphic novels, books linked to video games and all points in between and beyond. I do feel that if an Author sticks to a genre that sells well for them, they can become stale and eventually repetitious, John Grisham was one such Author for me. So I would say, write what you enjoy, and there will be readers out there that will share that enjoyment.
Remember too that if you make your name in hard-boiled thrillers, and then decide to make some real money writing bodice-ripping romance, you can always use a pseudonym. There are many male writers writing romance under female names; it is always fun to see these gents at RWA conventions.
Feliks wrote: "Agreed. Guys just aren't readers in this day and age. They play video games instead."Of the couples my husband and I are friends with, I've noticed that far more of the guys read than their wives.
Feliks wrote: "Agreed. Guys just aren't readers in this day and age. They play video games instead."Although, yes my husband and I both play MMORPG games, we are also both avid readers. The only difference between us is that he sticks to one genre while I will read about anything even if I have special preferences.
Men do play more video games than women although more women are getting into it. Men have their sports, me I'm an avid hockey fan, so time for reading books gets delegated as it must for most people. From that point you invest time in a book that you know you are going to like, genre's help. It's a starting off point for me, from there it is the cover if it pulls at me then I go for the synopsis at the back, very rarely do I go by author, new or one who has multiple books, or by what degrees they have.
Umm, I'm a man and I read a shi - umm, a large number of books. Generalizations only get you so far, I think.I am also a writer. Ever and always, I write what I am inspired to write and do not worry about the genre. As a result, most of my books are hard to categorize. As a result of this result, it's an uphill climb for me to find an audience for them. So, while I write what I am inspired to write, I have no illusions about how it affects my sales.
This seems like a reasonable approach to me...
Ira wrote: "Umm, I'm a man and I read a shi - umm, a large number of books. Generalizations only get you so far, I think."Well, you certainly can't get much anywhere at all, using subjective, individual statements. Why does no one grasp this, these days? Its past comical. Does the whole premise collapse...because of your lone, isolated example? Is the USA composed of just you, or 320m others? Macro level topic.
G.G. wrote: "Although, yes my husband and I both play MMORPG games, we are also both avid readers. The only ..."
Be that as it may, the point holds (p.s. avid readers of what?).
Jenelle wrote: "Of the couples my husband and I are friends with, I've noticed that far more of the guys read t..."
Nevertheless, the assertion stands, because we're talking about mass trends rather than individual variation/exception. Small sample size is no counter-argument.
Here's an indication that at least one survey arrives at this conclusion.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32463904/ns...
Ira wrote: "Ever and always, I write what I am inspired to write and do not worry about the genre. As a result, most of my books are hard to categorize. As a result of this result, it's an uphill climb for me to find an audience for them. So, while I write what I am inspired to write, I have no illusions about how it affects my sales.This seems like a reasonable approach to me..."
Bravo. I applaud this. Sage personal and professional policy.
Ira wrote: "As a result of this result,..."
? Odd sentence
I actually prefer and like the idea of branching out in multiple genres. While my first two books are horror based I don't necessarily consider myself just a writer of horror. I think if an author has a lot of ideas and wants to branch out and write in different genres that's fine but you don't want to do it too much because you don't want to loose the fan base you already have from other genres. I'm sur if you can find a balance of them then you can write in different ones and expand your writing.
So an update on my three books in three different genres.1st book - thriller spy serial killer - steady if uninspiring sales plenty of mixed reviews.
2nd Book - Sci-Fi dystopian catastrophe, no zombies or aliens. Good steady sales generally good reviews
3rd book - General Fiction because I don't know what other genre to put it in, insider trading, wealth, told almost as a fictional memoir. Despite free promotions virtually no downloads or sales. Maybe I need to create a new genre? One review - good.
What are "non-genre novels"? Sounds like it means something that is hard to categorize. But is there more to it than that? I write science fiction. It seems there are so many categories or genres within sci-fi. But when I start out writing, I'm just telling a story, not trying to fit it into a genre. Is this a guarantee of low sales?
I think fiction is the way to go. I am an author and reader and I think tht fiction is the prime choice because of what society has become. everyone is looking for an escape from the pressures of everyday life and fiction is an escape from our drone like experience. imo
If you start letting the market's fickle ways determine what you'll write, you'll wind up with a bunch of soulless-feeling books. It's hard to force creativity into a box.Write the story that keeps you up at night, demanding that you put it to page. Sometimes that might mean leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table, in order to give the tale its due. But the book you're passionate about will usually end up a better read.
My two cents. I'm an idealist, and I don't sell much of anything yet, and I will admit that if all I wanted was money, I'd be writing romances exclusively.
I'm a genre hopper naturally. I write sf, fantasy, paranormal, horror, etc.What I have noticed is that if you have books out in a lot of genres and areas then you tend to get people from all walks of life, and they might follow you to other areas. If they like your writing, they will peak into other areas. They may not like it, but they will try it.
Exactly, Jonathan. If you are going to write purely for money, you don't need to write books. You could write advertising copy, or speeches for politicians, or annual reports for Wells Fargo. And they'd pay you salary and benefits, too. Once you step away from writing for money, then you're off and away into writing what YOU want to write.
For example, I know I like romance, pnr, YA and NA and a touch of fantasy and sci-fi. I know I like these so the genre tags jump out at me. I'm unlikely to read anything classed otherwise unless it's a classic or bestseller or written by an author I already love or recommended by someone whose taste I trust.