Genre

[alg]

Genre as a marketing category!
Publishers and editors do not think about genre the same way authors do. Here's an explanation.



... Now I write an ode to spinach:

spinach,
you
are green
and
i wish i had more
of you than
what I ate
(yum yum yum)
at five in the morning,
dawn
creeping
up
you are
(my sunshine and)
the perfect delivery method
for salt and
garlic.

Comments

genre

[torauthor.livejournal.com]

Anna is so smart. :) However, it's also the author's job to know which genre you're writing. Otherwise, even if you do sell the book, too many readers will not be happy. Sales will not be happy, neither will marketing or publicity. And many editors aren't as open minded as Anna. They want to be able to take your book to marketing and sales and say, this book will sell because it's like Ms. New York Times best selling author's book--only sassier. Of course there are always exceptions--but it's hard enough to sell a book, why buck the odds?

Re: genre

[alg.livejournal.com]

This is true!

And 99% of the time, books really do slot pretty easily into one genre or another -- because, as Mad said above, genre is fluid, the borders aren't static.

That's why no matter what authors say about their books having no genre, the editor has to figure one out!

Re: genre

[torauthor.livejournal.com]

But you are more open-minded than many editors about the genres being fluid. Some are very set in their ways and believe that there is only one way to tell a story--deviate and they reject. Take too many risks--they reject.

Re: genre

[alg.livejournal.com]

This is true -- but, honestly, it's more true at Harlequin. It's also more true in romance. Most of the other genres are not like that at all. Particularly SF/F -- that's a genre that seems to really encourage risky behavior, narrative experimentation, etc.

Re: genre

[torauthor.livejournal.com]

My only experience with pure SF was Star Trek and talk about restrictive...no risky behavoir allowed. I've written historical romance and have been asked to take out the history and worse alter it so the history was wrong. In Romantic suspense I've been asked to take out sexual tension, and focus more on the romance as well as less on the romance. And then there are those wonderful editors who actually get it--and let the writer--write. What a concept. :)

Re: genre

[alg.livejournal.com]

Hee.

Writing in ST is not actually like writing SF -- the creative process might be the same, but you're writing tie in work for hire, not an SF novel, so the process is different and they want something different from you.

and, yeah, we've talked about the romance genre and its restrictions! You seem to naturally gravitate toward genres that want you to conform to their narrow demands!

Re: genre

[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps, I need boundaries to rein in my normal inclinations. Seriously, most editors would not let their authors write a paranormal-romantic-futuristic suspense.

Re: genre

[alg.livejournal.com]

Maybe! You're pretty crazy.

On the other hand, I wouldn't let you do it if I didn't think you could make it work!

Re: genre

[torauthor.livejournal.com]

But see--with you--what matters most is if the book works. With many editors, the story working isn't enough--for them what's most important is that the story fits what they think a romance should be. And that can make a tough sell for some really good books. If i was starting out, I'd write a book that fit easily into a genre and then stamp it with my voice. Once I gained the editor's confidence, I'd take more risks.