Claiming Your Novel Fits In A Lot Of Genres Will Fail

I see a lot of submissions where an author is trying to claim their novel fits in multiple genres. Their belief is that this shows their story will reach more people and make it more marketable. The problem, however, is that this approach simply ruins the story. Instead of helping sell your book, you helped get that latest rejection letter showing up in an email. 

Let me first say, cross-over novels can work. What you need to understand is that authors are often only blending to genres that actually work together. Romance and suspense. Paranormal and historical. I think you get the idea here. To be successful, it means to keep it simple. Authors deviating from this are setting themselves up for failure.

Think of it this way. If you read romance, you want to open up that novel knowing exactly what you are going to get. If you want an inspirational, then you want an inspirational. But if you start creating a blended novel such as a Historical Romance that targets Urban Fantasy, Erotica and Thriller is just too much. For those Urban Fantasy readers, you now turned them off by adding at least one of the other genres.

I want you to also consider that book sellers are not going to put your book on multiple shelves (or categories if it is online). When your readers are looking for a book, whether it is in a online platform or brick and mortar store, they go to one section to find the book they want. They know that stories in that area are meeting the standards of what they want. 

Now I also understand that there are authors out there claiming that these readers might want to start reading that other sub-genre if they like it. They might also learn about a new author they have over-looked. Some also say that there are readers out there who read all of these stories separately. Why not put these together? Yes, they might, but the reality is that they won't. Readers stick to they like. And honestly, the idea of blending things just does not work. Look, I like Fried Chicken. I like Broccoli. I like Peach Cobbler. Would I want it all in one pot. Ugh.

You will have a lot more success if you stick to one genre and do it well.