Pick Your Side

Now that you know the benefits of writing in only one genre…

            ~ Marketing

            ~ Expectations

            ~ Focus

And the pros of being a multi-genre writer…

            ~ Growth

            ~ Freedom

            ~ Adventure

Which side of the fence do you fall on?

As for me, I’m honestly okay with authors dabbling in different areas. I’m not saying I’ll do it…wait a minute…I think I already did.

Anyway, take the following sage bits of advice into consideration if you decide that writing multi-genres is for you.

1. Don't hop all over the board at once. Put out a few solid same-genre novels before you go venturing into another realm. That way readers can get a handle on your voice and decide if it's follow-worthy or not.

2. Consider using a pen name for each different genre. I know, sounds like I'm advocating schizophrenia, but honestly, for those vanilla readers who just can't make themselves sample a different genre by you, they need never know.

3. Work on branding yourself instead of specific books. Find the common thread that runs through all your books and turn that into your distinctive brand.

4. Know ahead of time that this is the slowest possible route to success. You will likely NOT make a heap of money on this road. When you are writing for yourself and not the market, it makes the marketing of the writing extremely difficult. You need to be okay with that, or don’t step foot on this road. Savvy?

Oh yeah, and don't be surprised if agents and editors get twitchy when they find out you write in more than one genre. You're going against the norm, and normals are easier to profit from.