Questions and input on shapeshifter books

[Koda]

Hello all, I hope everyone is having a great week and some good reads! :) I was looking for some people's opinions on some questions, I do apologize if you are seeing this on more than one group you are in as I am trying to get various thoughts and opinions on this.

From what I have seen, most books that are about or even vaguely consisting of shapeshifters seem like there is only one or two types at a time. On top of that, they seem to typically consist of wolves, bears, lions, dragons, maybe the occasional tiger... Are there any books with all types of animal shifters or do they mainly focus on one type?

Is there any interest in an actual world of animal shapeshifters? Or do readers want more magical beings as well such as vampires, witches, and other mythical type beings and beasts?

Do readers tend to prefer a longer book or a series of shorter installments? I suppose the better question to ask would be Do readers feel more comfortable purchasing a book from a first time author if it is offered in shorter installments (therefore giving a cheaper price to "try" them out)? Or do readers prefer to just buy one larger book?

Thank you for your time and input. Any opinions you share are most appreciated!

[Tana]

I'm trying to remember all the shifter books I've read. First I agree that a lot of the books out there are wolves, bears, dragons and some sort of lion, or cat shifter. I have read a few that were hawks and even one with black ravens (bad guys).

I have read a few other series that do bring in a variety of shifters and I think those ones are great, I would think with all the different types of shifters it could lead to many more options for future books, but then again I am not an author. lol

My favorite shifter stories are the wolves and I am not sure why this is. I've read all type of shifter books and really enjoy them, I tend to read more books that are in a series then a stand alone.

Vampires and magical creatures are not my thing. Some shifter books include vampires in the stories and that's fine.

As for books length, I enjoy about 200 to 300 pages. I do read/purchase books that are under 100 pages and enjoy them, I love fast reads with a great story. Prices for anything under a hundred pages need to be priced at a lower cost or I won't buy it.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Danielle]

There was an old MG series called Animorphs which was essentially kids shifting into animal form. It was a big series with lots of fans. I'm assuming if you do want to do a regular animal shifter as opposed to magical creature shifting then you could market it towards the grown up fans of that series. They should be in their twenties-thirties at this point.

[Phoebe]

I'd read adult animorphs! I think I might be in a minority that want the focus of a shifter book to be on something else besides just the shifters/their society. Animorphs was about kids fighting aliens (it was nuts...you can find the books uploaded as PDFs by dedicated fans). I love a good werewolf story, but I struggle to find any that go beyond the alpha/pack infighting/mating thing. When it's done well (Women of the Underworld comes to mind), it can be a lot of fun and an enjoyable read, but it's done ALL THE TIME. For me, it's less of a diversity in the forms shifted to than the structure most shifter novels tend to get fitted into.

[Bobbi]

Write what comes to you! I write the Swamp Magic Series. They're cursed to take on the qualities of. (not actually shift into the creatures.)

Moss= Lizard Shifter
Damien= Armadillo Shifter
Trick= Opossum Shifter.

[Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger)]

I think you should write what you like to read. We are all readers, know what we like, and all have different favorite genres.

I'm not an author, but am working on a YA PNR series of 3 books around 350 pages each. I have a mix of magic, shifter, and fae beings in my story. I intend to self-publish and price my first book low to entice new readers to give my work a read.

If you have a story idea that is different than anyone else's, write it and have fun with it. Let your imagination go and see where it takes you. It's your story to tell the way you want to tell it. Have fun!

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen]

One pet peeve I have about multi-shifter types is when the author puts "were" in front of whatever animal.

[Isabel]

There are definitely all kinds. Shelly Laurenston's series has a bunch of different ones. I love her books. Celia Kyle and Eve Langlais do have different types too (Python, Crocs, Does, etc)

I write a Shifter series myself and have all breeds as well. SO yeah, write what your heart wishes. There is a market for shifter beings!