So, you have the writing bug and are faced with a big decision: “What genre should I write in?”
Genres fulfill reader expectations.
Readers buy certain books because they have enjoyed similar stories in the past. Reading these novels is like sitting down with an old friend. These books give them a sense of belonging.
Here are some things to consider:
- Write about what you like to read. If you are drawn to a particular genre, your writing will show your enthusiasm.
- Choose a genre that is read by the most people. Currently, most people are reading Romance, followed by a close second of Action/Adventure.
3) Having said that, you could choose a more narrowly-read
genre, so that your writing will “stand out” among fewer
authors. The least read fiction is labeled Literary Fiction
which focuses on the human condition and is more
concerned with the inner lives of characters and themes
rather than plot.
4) Choose a fairly new genre in which readers are least familiar.
Here are the names of some: Cashier Memoirs, Bitpunk,
Twitter Novels, Lucid Fiction, Combinatorial, and
Hmong- American. **I know next to nothing about
these. However, I will research them in the weeks to come
and feature them on this blog. Stay tuned…
5) Choose your audience, first. Perhaps you’d like to focus on
Young Adults. Then, choose a sub-genre: focus on mysteries,
Dinosaurs, Monsters, Sports, Baby-sitters Clubs, School-
related, Young Romance, and so on.
6) Do you have a message you’d like to get out? For years,
now, I have focused on “Stories of Forgiveness.”
7) Hot sellers. Lately, I see that a lot of authors have chosen to
write about young men or women who have inherited
businesses from family members. Their challenge is to learn the
business and win the heart of an adversary. Another big one
is The Cowboy Who (Did this or that). Amish stories
were big for quite a few years, but seem to be dwindling a
little, lately. Last year, I read at least five or six books about
“Marriages of Convenience” which, of course, turned into
the most popular: Romance!
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does tell us this: there are many, many, things to consider when you are starting out!!!!
brenda poulos 