Read What You Write

I get a lot of submissions from authors who think what they are submitting is the genre they are claiming it to be. Unfortunately, what they think is not what they sent. The biggest problem is that authors are often only operating off of gut instincts about their genre. 

In some cases, authors are simply submitting a story and calling it a specific genre because someone who read it told them that was what it was. Of course, the person who told them may have had no idea about their own story - simply a case of the blind leading the blind. In other cases, the person who told them had limited information about the story. Let me explain this one. I recently attended a conference where an author really struggled with finding a genre for his story. In our conversation, he gave me a brief summary. I did my best to tell him what I thought, but I followed up with something that every author should do. I told him to go read a lot of the genre I thought his story was. See if there was a pattern. 

With other submissions, there are many authors who just go out to look for any editor or agent who is open to submissions. When they get to that website, they just find something that might seem "close to what they have written." Again, a big mistake.

To save yourself from these mistakes, it is important to read the genre you want to write, or believe you are writing. Read A LOT of it! Learn the nuances of that genre! This also includes subgenres. For example, if you think you are writing historical romance, then go to the bookstore and grab a whole stack of historical romances and read. In this case, I would recommend being even more specific. If you write Victorian Historical Romances, then read Victorian Historical Romances. 

I do know, when I bring this up, I have heard many authors say they don't want to do that because they might "steal ideas" from the other author. This is not going to happen. When you avoid reading what you write, you are not keeping track of trends and those specific characteristics of the genre. 

Know Your Genre

Do you know what you are writing? Do you know what genre you are really writing? Far too often, writers have absolutely no idea what they are doing. They write a story because they had this great idea. And then they hit a brick wall. Suddenly editors and agents are being specific. They want to know that genre your story is?

Arrgggghhhhhh!!!!!!

This is something I talk about a lot here on this blog, with writing chapters and at writing conferences. You have to know what your genre is, before you start writing. You cannot wait for a critique partner or an agent, or an editor to tell you that your story really is (fill in the blank genre). 

Yes I know that there are a lot of writers out there who say they do not want to be "categorized" as something. These authors feel that they are fell trapped and confined. And yet, the real world says that we need to categorize things. This is not so much for the producer, but the consumer.

As readers, we will go to certain sections of a book store, or click on certain hyperlinks to take us to the book section we want to read. This means that the book buyers need to know how to classify your book. This also means that all of those books, in that section, have similar characteristics. 

Think of it this way. You may write a historical romance. That means that it has to meet certain requirements: a specific time period (Not just last year), and it must follow a relationship until a happily ever after. You might have some mystery in your story but that little bit of mystery does not make it a mystery. It is a historical romance. 

So, how do you know what you write? It is all about research. It is about reading over and over again the same genre to get the feel of it. To know the nuances. To know the parameters. And then, as an author, you write to fit those parameters.

And let me further stress that this, in now way, is going to hamper you writing. You get to do a lot in those broad parameters. 

So figure it out. You might find greater success. 

Not Knowing Your Genre = A Likely Rejection

I started thinking about this when I read a fellow colleagues post about cross over books and how to pitch something like that to an editor or agent. I didn't want to address that issue, but one I see far too often. Writers not having a clue what genre they have written.

For a lot of these authors, they "think" they have written a specific genre, or in more cases, authors have been told by someone else (who probably doesn't know genres) that their book fell into a specific category. In either case, the odds are that author is going to get a lot of rejections.

The first reason deals with the issue of genre specific nuances. Each genre has specific characteristics that categorize the books. Your story must meet a specific set of criteria to fall into that genre. This is very similar to anything else that we categorize. Art, Architecture, Music...the list is endless. Writing is no different.

Now, the rejections will come because the authors who are "clued out" are just writing words and not taking the time to really dive into that genre and understand the specifics of it. Even if that author thinks he or she has written a specific genre, the editors and agents will see something different. Your book is not doing what that genre expects. I should note, this also goes for self-publishing authors. You put a book out claiming it is one thing and readers see something else, you will disappoint.

I don't know how many times I get a manuscript from someone who "thinks" he or she wrote a romance simply because they had hot sex scenes or that it was "romantic." Here comes the rejection letter because your story is simply not a romance.

The second reason is that you will likely send that project to the wrong person. I only acquire romance and women's fiction. Send me something other than that, you get a rejection.

Just writing something without that focus or understanding might seem to be "the way you write" because you don't want to be "categorized" but the reality is, the world likes order. It is how we think.

Is Your Writing What You Think It Is?

I have talked about this before but I thought it would be a great time to bring this up again. For a lot of authors, the story they think they are writing is not really what they are writing. The problem here is, if you are aiming in the wrong direction with your writing you will run into a lot of problems. You will start to add things that don't fit with the genre, use techniques that are not in alignment, and finally, you may end up submitting the story to the wrong people and then wonder why you are getting rejected.

Now, there are several issues here, and all of this comes down to improving your education of the business and writing. Yes this does mean that it will be another issue of taking the time to learn this. for some authors, this is an issue of writing with blinders on. The author is so focused on wanting to write one style of book, that they are not seeing what they are really writing. For others, they simply do not fully understand what the genre requires.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

Some writers want to write single title stories. While this is a great goal, if your voice is something that fits more of a category line, then there will be issues. For these writers, they seem to believe that by simply adding more words to the story, it will now be what the editors or agents are looking for - WRONG.

Here at Greyhaus, I get a lot of writers (and yes, most are men) who submit stories they feel are romance. What they are really writing, however, is nothing more than a fiction story that happens to have a character who is married or who has a sexual relationship. In this case, we have someone who really has not taken the time to learn and understand the genre. Simply adding something to a story such as people falling in love, or sex, does not make something a romance.

Let's look at an example from the Harlequin line - The Medical line. These are stories where the setting, characters and romance are all focused around a medical setting (obvious). But, just making the hero or heroine a doctor, or putting the story in a hospital, does not make the story a romance.

It is crucial that authors take the time to really study and understand the genre they are either writing, or wishing to write. Doing so will insure much more success in the long run.

Why Changing Genres Is Tough

A lot of authors try it. Far too many fail at the attempt.

What I am talking about here are authors who have been writing in one genre, or have a talent for one genre, and then, for some reason, they feel it is time to "make a shift" and try something new. For some authors, they make the shift at the suggestion of a critique partner. For others, they simply see a new line and think it would be a great career move. Unfortunately, talking about the move is one thing. Executing the move is something else.

So, why is it so difficult.

This is something I have written about here on the blog in the past, and it all stems from the concept of "write what you know." Each of us has one genre we can connect with better than others. It might be because this is what we read. It might simply be the style of the structure connects with certain neurons in the brain. Regardless of the reason, that connection gives you an inherent insight to that style of writing that just flows naturally.

I often talk about these connection when I talk about the specific nuances of a writing style. For example, writing historical novels set in Regency England is more than simply a lot of dancing, house parties and characters saying "La." The same for Scottish Historicals. These are not about a bunch of hunky guys in kilts saying "Doona." If you read a story from someone new to this genre, you will fully understand what I am talking about. The language is stilted and forced. Things don't flow. Sure, the components are there, but the execution is not.

This also goes to another level, especially for those of you who are published. While you might be able to "write on proposal" with your current editor of your current genre, that shift to a new line will require you to write a full manuscript. You might have the sales numbers in your current genre, and that proposal might sound great, but again, it comes down to a full execution of the story.

I do recommend for any author, before you make that shift, THINK!!!! Consider what you know, what you will need to know, and if that execution is really going to be there. It might not be worth the effort, unless you have the time and the patience. 

What Should You Be Writing?

Is your writing not going well for you? Do you feel like you are spinning your wheels and no matter how hard you try, that story just doesn't do what you want it to? Maybe you have finished the story and are sending it out to editors, agents, or even getting reviews and nothing is looking positive. It may simply be because you are in the wrong genre.

I have been doing some critique work lately with authors and had the chance to read two different pieces from the same author. The first story was...OK. Nothing amazing. I tended to find more things to pick on within the story and never really left satisfied after reading it. Was it bad? No. Was it amazing? No. It was just there.

But then I read another story from this author and it was amazing. It was a different genre and this author clearly rocked it. The voice was there. The writing was not forced. Wow!

After talking with the author, I found that the first story was an attempt at doing something new. This made a lot of sense. The reality of the situation is that the author simply was not comfortable with that new style and was still learning it. The other, the author had mastered.

So, with that in mind, what should you be writing? The answer is quite simple. Look to  your own bookshelves.

Now, I know that there are many of you who claim that you read everything out there. The odds are, though, that you do gravitate toward one genre more than another. In other words, if you walked into a bookstore, consider the shelves that you tend to go to first. Consider the aisles that you gravitate to. That is what you should be writing.

So, why is that? Because you full understand the genre. The wording, the styles, the nuances are all things that are running through your blood, so when it is time to write that genre, your brain already has the tools to make the writing successful!

I know that there are also some of you out there who believe that writing in the genre you read would tempt you to plagiarize stories and you would copy more than create your own story. This really is not the case. There will be common tropes, but you simply will not steal ideas. Another way to think of this is what your major was in college. You gravitated to the areas you knew better than others. Sure, you may have had some great teachers in other disciplines, or had classes you really loved in other disciplines, but your strengths really came out on the courses you understood.

I want to also add that authors should also consider doing this when they are deciding which publisher they want to write for. Look to your shelves again. The odds are you tend to read a select group of publishers and shy away from others. So go there!

Now, go out and do your research!

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Love Stories Are Not Necessarily Romances

I receive a lot of submissions for stories claiming to be romance but, in reality, these are just stories with either romantic elements or love stories. Although these stories share many of the same characteristics, they aren't quite the same thing. It is important for writers to know exactly what the genre is that they write so they can better market it to readers, editors and agents.

So what is a romance? Let's keep this short and sweet today.

When we think of a romance genre, we need to start with the central story arc. These are stories about relationships. When we read a romance, we are following the two characters as they grow together into a stronger relationship. The ultimate goal here is to get them to a happily ever after. This may or may not be marriage.

The level of sensuality is not a factor in romance. A lot of people feel that the sex level needs to be there for it to be a romance. They often believe if there is no sex, then it is women's fiction. Nope! Not the case! It is all about the relationship building.

Love stories have a focus on other elements and the relationship is not the key here. These stories may also end up without a happily ever after.

When I talk to authors during pitch sessions I often find myself really listening to what the authors are saying. If they spend the entire pitch (or query) talking about how the two are coming together, then we are likely listening to a romance. If the emphasis is on other elements, then we might be talking about love stories.

So, to test this, tell someone about your story, or simply tape yourself talking. Don't read the memorized pitch or read anything. Just talk. Then go back and listen to what is stressed. This will tell you a lot about what genre you write.

Which Bookshelf Would Your Novel Be Placed On?

One of the elements of a query letter or even a pitch is to be able to identify what genre would define your novel. It is really up to you to figure out what genre you are writing. Simply calling it fiction is not going to be good enough. But this seems to be lost on a lot of writers out there.

I was reading through submissions yesterday, and I was amazed at the number of people who were classifying their story as one genre, but describing it as something else. Along the same lines, I saw a ton of people trying to classify their genre into multiple areas.

Now, I do understand why both of these are happening. In the first case, writers just do not understand the business well enough to be submitting to editors or agents. This is Market Research 101 here! Know your market and know where your product should be sold. As far as the second group, these people probably are believing their story is a "cross-over" novel. While these novels do exist, we don't cross-over 3 and 4 different genres.

Let me give you an example of what I see a lot of times. This often happens with male authors who are marketing their story as a romance. When I am at a conference, I simply reach over to my bag of books next to my feet and pull out a traditional romance. "Would your book have a cover like this?" The horror in their eyes is priceless.

Those of you taking the self-publishing approach may be laughing right now. "This is why I don't want to write for traditional publishers. I don't want to be labeled." Ahhh, but here is where even you people are missing the mark. You do need to have a label for your book.

When you are writing a story, you need to know what your genre is from the beginning. This will dictate the voice, style and language. This will also dictate things such as subject matter and even the length of the story. But there is an other extension to this and it comes right back to marketing.

Your story has to be placed on a bookshelf. It doesn't matter if it is a brick and mortar book shelf, or a digital book shelf, you have to consider placement. People have to be able to find your product. Agents need to know which publishers it would fit with the best. Editors need to know how to market the book, and so forth.

Just throwing your book out there and labeling it as fiction is simply the same as saying your book is a miscellaneous novel. Good luck with anyone buying your book.

As far as what the editors and agents see, if you don't know what genre your story is, you are giving the impression you are not ready to make a move to the professional world of publishing.

So figure out your genre before you submit your project. Heck, figure it out before you start writing it. You might find some better success when it comes to the marketing time.

Is Your Book Timeless?

I see a lot of writers who want to jump onto the bandwagon and craft novels around specific things that are happening in present day society. These trends seem like a great marketing tool because the audience is already there. And, while this might have an impact at the time you are writing that novel, will that trend still be there a year or two from now? We tend to forget that by the time your book that you are marketing to that editor or agent reaches the bookshelves, you may be a year out. 

I recently had a wave of submissions where authors were structuring novels around those current trends. One person, in particular, was marketing the book around a current musical trend. Or at least it was recent when the author wrote the story. In this case, the group is no longer one of the top groups out there, and, based on the expert opinion of my teenage daughter, this group is "so yesterday."

When I looked at the writing, it was pretty good, but as I contemplated where we could sell the story, that audience is simply not going to jump on board. This target audience was a YA/New Adult group and, while they do jump on trends fast, they also dump the trends equally as fast. 

In simple terms, this book will not sell.

When you are looking at stories with a premise that is not timeless, or you decide to write fan fiction genres, you need to understand you are taking a huge risk. If the trend is still strong when you are submitting to those editors and agents you might be in good shape, but... do you have an escape parachute? Are you prepared for when that market is gone? This is really one of those cases where you have to be careful "putting all of your eggs in one basket."

Just something to consider on a Friday!

Diversity In Your Writing Can Be A Dangerous Thing

The question I hear from a lot of authors is whether or not they should try to write a variety of different genres. There seems to be this belief that if one genre doesn't work, then another might stick when those submissions go out. While this might sound like a great idea on the surface, I personally would not recommend this to an author until he or she gets a good following and an audience.

I do know a lot of authors out there believe that writing in a lot of genres is a good way to figure out where they want to write. I have no problem with this, assuming you are still in the hobby and practicing phase of your writing. Sure, go for it! Write all that you want! If you want to try writing screenplays to understand dialog, then write one. If you want to write science fiction or fantasy and want to understand world building, then write one. But, if you are looking at making that bigger move to being a professional published author, I recommend sticking to one...for now.

There are several reasons here. The first deals with developing a firm understanding of that given genre. As we all know, each genre has specific nuances. Writing historical set in Scotland involve a lot more than simply putting your hero in a kilt. Put the wrong guy in the wrong kilt and you have some huge issues. 

But it is more than that. Each genre has a unique voice for pacing, word choice structure and so forth. It take time to really learn and understand that genre. 

Secondly, when pitching to editors, if the first story doesn't quite work, there is often the follow up question of "What else do you have?" If your other story isn't in the genre that editor acquires, you may be out of luck. The point is, if they liked your voice enough to want to see more, it is a shame not to have something else to give to them. 

In terms of marketing your books, you want to really stick to a single brand. Remember you are tying to build your audience base. You want people to keep coming back to you. If you write contemporary romance, and that first book is great, you want the readers to come back for more. If your only other books in a science fiction mystery, the odds are, those contemporary readers will not come back.

Now, does this mean you cannot diversify. Absolutely not! There are plenty of authors out there who have found success with taking different approaches. But what you will notice is that they took the time to get one genre going well first BEFORE they shifted.

In other cases, writers may try this approach but use different author names. Sometimes this approach is fine, but, I should warn you taking this approach can be bit hard to juggle. Just be careful.

So, before you think about diving into another genre, stop and think first. Weigh the situation. Where are you at in your career. If you are still playing around with writing, then go for it. If you are serious about making this a full career, then weight the costs and the consequences. 

Why Do We Study Our Genre?

Over the recent months, I have seen more and more submissions that make it clear to me that the author really has no idea what he or she is doing. This is not so much the fact that the author doesn't know how to write, or an issue of knowing how to submit a proposal (although this happens far too much as well). This is an issue of writers simply not understanding the genres they are writing. 

To truly write well in your genre, or sub-genre, you need to continually study it. This is not simply reading the genre for entertainment purposes, but really getting in there and looking at every single nook and cranny of the writing. 

I remember two classes in my undergraduate work that really drove this point home for me. I had a Shakespeare class and a class studying William Wordsworth. For the Shakespeare class, we did all of the normal study of the plays, but this instructor took it a step further. We were to look at the play from a performance perspective. How would we cast it? How would we "cut" the play to get across a specific message? How would we stage it? What would costumes look like? The point was simple. You could understand the themes and generic characters of Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, but do you really understand it the way Shakespeare saw the plays - as a playwright, actor and director. 

In the case of the William Wordsworth class, were were required to write in the style of the author. Again, not an easy task. It wasn't so much about the theme, it was about the pacing, the voice, the tone and the message. 

To do both of these assignments took a lot of analysis and study, and that is what authors these days are really not doing. 

When I first opened Greyhaus Literary Agency, I spent one entire year working with an intern I had hired on, to study and dissect series and category writing. What is it that really makes this style of writing work and tick. We took it much further than simply looking at the word count and the theme. In the end, we had a fantastic understanding of the genre. 

One of my current authors recently went through this. Ryshia Kennie had been writing romantic suspense for a while but we wanted to move her over to the Harlequin Intrigue line. To do so required research on her part. I honestly don't know how many of these she read, but it was a lot. She kept notes. She looked for trends. She looked for the voice. 

Her first came out February, 2016 with a lot more to come!

The success came not from having the right plot, but really knowing the genre well enough to write it. 

There are a lot of times when I see a submission, think the premise sounds great, but when I start reading, it really misses the mark. The writing is elementary. The author is doing things that he or she "thinks" is supposed to happen in the genre, or the story, but not writing what the story needs. 

A good example of this is the New Adult market. There is a belief that these stories have to be in first person and they have to focus on sexual awareness. While these might be common tropes, this is not what the genre is about. This belief comes from a lack of really reading and understanding the genre.

Being a successful published author and lasting over a lot of years requires not just having an agent, or simply writing a lot of books. It is a matter of understanding what you write and how it is written.

If you are not already doing this, I encourage you to start today. Start studying your genre as if it is a literature class in college. Think about it, not as a reader, but as a discipline. You may shock yourself with what you find. You might also discover exactly why that story you have been marketing to editors and agents is simply not selling. 

Don't Make Your Story Into Something It Isn't

I see this a lot with submissions that come into Greyhaus Literary Agency. Maybe it is because I have provided people a "form" to submit the stories to me, but far too many authors are trying to suggest their stories are one thing, when the stories are something completely different. Knowing the genre you write is beyond crucial when it comes to marketing and certainly demonstrating to the editors and agents, you know what the heck you are talking about.

For many authors, I have found they place their writing into a particular genre because "someone told them that is the genre." This is the biggest mistake ever. In fact, I would go so far as to ask, "How do you not know what you are writing?"

Definitions of genres are pretty clear out there. Publishers do their best to identify the types of genres they represent. There are pretty comprehensive lists out there from writing organizations that define the genres. But more importantly, it is the responsibility of the author to read what he or she is writing. This is what the publishers have been screaming time and time again on those editor/agent panels, and in everything they write on their FAQ pages. "Read what we publish to get a feel of what we are looking for."

There are a few authors out there who believe if they just call it something that we say we are looking for, that will be an "in" to get that editor or agent to read it. I am sorry to break this to you, this is a sure way to get a rejection faster than it took you to write that query. When you submit a story claiming it is one thing and it is far from that, this simply shows the editor or agent you have no ideas what you are doing. No, it isn't that what you did was a "small mistake." This means you just didn't do your homework.

As you know, I represent only romance and women's fiction both in single title and series. I do get that some of you out there might be confused with the whole "women's fiction" thing, but with the romance genres, it is pretty cut and dry. It is or it isn't. To add to this, if you are marketing your story as a category/series story, you need to know what it is because you have been reading Harlequin or Entangled.

And yet...

I see so many authors sending me stories that are no where near to what these genres are. Stories set in a romantic setting are not romances. 120,000 word thrillers with female protagonists are not romantic suspense stories designed for Harlequin.

This is not rocket science here. If you want to write thrillers, then read thrillers. Study these stories and research. If you want to write for a Harlequin or Entangled line, then darn it, read as many of these stories as you can get your hands on. One will not cut it.

You might find your rejections are reduced significantly!

Know Your Genre, Please

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who are out there submitting projects that are simply not what they say they are. These authors have written stories but really don't have a clue as to what genre they are writing. Now I do understand there are some authors who just change the genre depending on who they are pitching to (which BTW is wrong), but the bigger issue are those who really don't know.

This is really not rocket science here.

Let's talk first about the rationale behind categorizing our genre. No, it is not to "shove you into a niche you don't want to be." This is about marketing and finding the right home for a project. You can think of this as those options you get when you call the bank and want to talk to someone.
"Press 1 for X or 2 for Y." Not every editor or agent looks at every project out there. You want to make sure your manuscript gets into the hands of the editor or agent who actually works with your genre.

This also works for the book buyers. Even in a digital environment, these people need to know which shelf to put your book on. If your story is historical fiction, it will land on one shelf. If it is historical romance, it will end up in the romance section. If it is a historical military fiction, it goes on a third shelf.

But what is really one of the biggest issues is your credibility as an author. When we see someone marketing a story as "women's fiction" but in reality, it is a YA or maybe it is a Fantasy, then we start wondering if this person really has the intelligence to make it in this business. I know that might sound harsh, but really? Do you know what you are writing?

A lot of writers that I hear with this situation, often tell me "But my critique partners told me to market it as ..." or "I was in another pitch session and Editor X thought it might be this genre." This doesn't help with your credibility either. First of all, other people should not be telling you want genre you write. You should know. Secondly, if your critique group is recommending your genre to be something it isn't, I would start to question those people and the help they are providing. And finally, that editor or agent is only making that call based on the premise you pitched. They would really have to read the project to know what genre it really is.

So, here is the way to figure out what you are writing. There are actually two approaches.

The first is to walk into a bookstore (if you can find one) and find which shelf your book would sit on. No, you cannot go straight to the best seller table. I am saying to get out there into the stacks and figure out the shelf. And, by the way, this is not wishful thinking. I do this with guys who are pitching what they think are romance novels. So I hold up a book cover and say, "is this what your book would look like?"

Secondly, you can go to the Book Country Genre map. This is a good starting point because you can fine tune what your genre really is that you are writing. Not only that, it does give you some suggestions as to other authors that write in that genre.

Remember, if you pitch something to me claiming it is one thing and then it is something else, you will probably be seeing a rejection letter shortly. I know you don't want that and I certainly don't want to write one.

Write What You Know

We have all heard that expression before. We need to write from what we know. We write from our own experiences. Unfortunately, in this business of publishing, I have seen far too many authors ignoring these rules they tell others to do. Authors are now writing from what they know.

What do I mean? This is the whole issue of trying to write in that newest and hottest trendy genre. Authors are always jumping ship on their current work in progress when they read an article, or hear and editor or agent talk about the hottest new trend. Time and time again, I have heard authors say "I heard Editor X is really looking for a story about [fill in the blank]. I have this great idea for a project that might work so I am going to go and write it." WRONG!!!!

Now there are several problems with this statement. The first is, when we as editors and agents say something like that, we are hoping that someone already has a project along those lines. We aren't looking to wait 3-6 months to find it. That opportunity will be gone and we will have moved on to a new idea. But the second issue, with doing this is the bigger issue. Does the author have any experience in that genre.

I am going to use YA and New Adult as the model for this discussion, but it can really extend to any other genre out there. When these two genres really took off, a ton of authors started diving into writing their versions. For many, however, they had no experience with this age group. Sure, they were this age a while ago, but that was it. Many didn't have kids in the house this age, they weren't working in careers around this age group. They weren't even reading this genre. They were completely isolated from it. But now, they believed they would immerse themselves into this genre.

When authors do this, the stories become too forced and too cliche. The characters say and do things that seem so out of place. All of this stems from the author really lacking a true understanding of the genre. There is much more to a New Adult novel than simply a college student worrying about dating and getting a job. It is a mindset.

I have always found it interesting how many authors submit stories for me for lines within Harlequin because the genre and word count fit, but when you ask the author how much they read of the line, you find they haven't really read it before. They read other genres or they read single title. This tells me a lot.

You might be wondering if you can learn to write in a different genre and the answer is a resounding yes. You certainly can, but it takes time to really learn the genre well. It takes time to figure out the little nuances that make it special and unique. When you spend the time reading the genre, you do see those common phrases and patterns, but more importantly, you start to see WHY the author used those techniques and WHY that technique had an impact on the story.

When editors and agents tell you to "read what we produce" there is a reason to it. Despite what some of the authors think out there that this is just a subversive ploy to increase sale, the reality is they are trying to help you. They want you to find that perfect match to the publisher.

Maybe, just maybe, if you start listening to that suggestion and write what you read, you might find those rejection letters decreasing and maybe get "the call" you have been hoping for.

Understanding New Adult

The hottest new trend out there in the publishing world is the New Adult Genre. I wanted to take the time to really explore and understand this genre. I do think there are a lot of authors out there that are missing the point of the goal of this style of writing.

To start with, let's talk about how we define specific genres of writing, I think that too many people seem to think it focuses on things such as word count or the topic. For example, many people seem to believe that the difference between single title and category is the word count. For those you who have been here on the blog before, you know that, while word count does have an impact on the story, the real things that make a story single title or category are the voice, the focus on the relationship and the depth. The same thing happens with New Adult.

First of all, we have to understand who the target audience is for New Adult. This is supposed to be readers in the 18 to early 20's age group. This means that the odds are, the protagonist will also be in this same age group. But here is where we leave the basics of character type and focus in on the real idea behind this genre.

It is all about the theme and the message. I have to say, I heard the best definition at the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association conference this last summer. I honestly don't remember which of the editors (although it might have been an agent) said this, but it was pretty much right on the money. "New Adult takes on the theme of Oh Crap, who am I and now what am I supposed to do???

If we think of this age group, they are often leaving the confines of the safety of the the educational world and now have to enter the mean and scary "real world." This is really a tough time. We have all of these things we think we know, and yet we find ourselves realizing we really don't know as much as we thought. This is when we start realizing the mistakes we have made along the way. This is also the time when we start to think that maybe some of the things our parents said might have been true.

But there is also another aspect of this age group. This is when our emotions and senses are really peaking. We look at the world with this thought that "we can change things" and "we believe we can do anything" Emotionally, this is also when we are taking our relationships to what we think are mature levels. We start thinking marriage and long term relationships. We start seeing our "significant others" in a pretty idealized view.

It really hit me this weekend, but the song, COP CAR by Keith Urban really does tap into all of the emotions we should be seeing in this genre. Consider what is going on with the two in the story.

• They go out on a date to simply watch airplanes, of course they think they are immune and go to a location marked No Trespassing. This is that element of "nothing is going to hurt us."
• When the cops do show up, he realizes his mistake but now it is too late and the only thing he is thinking is about how her dad is going to kill him.
• But, he sees this bad thing as a good thing and knows he would get in trouble again for this "perfect girl." Remember, at this age, during the moment, everything does seem perfect!
• He even refers to this a "surviving the night" as if this really is a dramatic experience. In reality, looking at this in hindsight, most of us would see this as nothing more than a stupid teen thing.
• In this middle of this crisis, what does he see? Not the crime. Not the criminal record. He sees a beauty in the moment. He is impressed with her craziness as she has a hysterical fit for the cop and wants to run. Later on, he even thinks it is funny when she mouths off about wanting a cigarette.
• He even moves this relationship all the way to full blown love because of this one moment. 
• He equates her mouthiness as innocence.
• He even remembers the whole scene (again in hindsight) as a full date night as they are handcuffed in the back seat of the patrol car. He has them talking, getting to know each other and laughing about this whole thing.

The idea here is that we see an innocent (I used this as more of being inexperienced) and overly dramatic reaction to the world.

Your characters in a New Adult novel are really trying to figure out all of these rampant emotions, feelings and thoughts. In many ways, what the New Adult generation is dealing with is the same teenagers face when the hormones kick in, but on a more mature level.

At this point, I do need to say one thing. There seems to be a misconception that New Adult is simply YA with sex. This is far from the truth. Yes, we understand that the New Adult generation is faced with the new challenges of sexual freedom, but this is not the entire thing.

In an article written by Kelsey Manning titled FEARS OF A NEW GRADUATE she really highlights
some of those concerns.

Fear #1: Not living up to my own expectations
Fear #2: No longer being in a place where learning is an ostensible goal.
Fear #3: A job with no definite end point.

Danielle Kushner read Kelsey's thoughts and went on to add..."I feel that you enter college thinking it is so unstructured – you have all of this new freedom"

Honestly, I couldn't say this any better.

For authors wishing to dive into this genre, I think it is crucial that you take the time to really examine what you are writing about and why you want to write the story. What is the "take away" you want to have for your reader? What is that big life lesson you are trying to instill in your reader.

These readers want the "real world". They too are trying to figure things out and your story, with your characters, might be the guiding force for them.

Reinventing Yourself

The goal of most writers is to have longevity in this business. We want that career that spans decades and you continually have those followers who are always excited about your latest release. Unfortunately, to have that longevity requires authors to always be looking at ways to adapt and reinvent themselves. In other words, the writers need to evolve over time.

I do find it interesting that when we talk about the idea of reinventing our writing career, bloggers, articles and workshops often speak of taking off in a completely new direction. We're not taking about small changes but complete reversals from what we have been doing. Why would authors have to do this? The answer is simple. They waited too long to make that change. They got to the point that the career was getting ready to completely go over the cliff into oblivion.

I remember early on in the agency, I met a writer who had a kicking career in chick lit. She had a great following and great numbers. She even had a chance to slightly evolve that great voice she had into the paranormal with some great chick lit/vampire series. But then the bottom dropped out. The term chick lit was no longer a term you wanted to be associated with and she was done. Now here is the problem with her situation. We all saw the signs that this genre was going away. She was already heading in the direction of the paranormal with the vampire stories. But she didn't evolve that way. Instead she attempted to "reinvent herself" and she dove into the romantic suspense genres. And she failed.

Her failure came from a lack of understanding this genre well enough. Shifting into something this drastic was just like her starting from scratch. Her readers didn't follow her because these were people who liked that "snarkiness" of the chick lit, or liked the uniqueness of the vampire and the paranormal. They weren't into the romantic suspense.

In reality, there is never a reason to completely reinvent yourself and to take on a new persona, IF, you are paying attention to the market, paying attention to your readers, and finding ways to make the changes slowly.

Let me give you an example from a historical author I work with. She is knee-deep in Regency, but there have been times that the market shifted and people were shying away from that time period (it didn't last long). So what did she do? She shifted her time focus. Moving it ahead a few years and plopping her stories in the Georgian Period or moving it later into the Victorian period. This might not seem like a drastic change, but it was enough to "reinvent" herself long enough to work through the time period. She is doing it once again by moving the stories outside of England. No, it is not a drastic change, but over time, she has been inching her characters bit by bit into other regions. They stay a little longer, they interact with the population a little more. The book she just wrapped up now took place entirely in France - an area normally considered "off limits" in historical writing. Why did that shift work? It was a slow reinvention where she kept one foot in the familiar and one into that new area. I should also say, her readers were loving it and now ask for more of the stories in these different time periods. Instead of starting from scratch, she is picking up a wider range of readers along the way.

I will say, if you do find yourself in the position like that earlier writer I spoke of, not only did you wait too long, but you need to stop and consider what type of reinvention you want to take on. My recommendation is to not go in a completely different direction, but to find what it was your readers liked with that first genre and then find a way to adapt that into something new. Not only will you keep your readers, but learning the new genre will not be such a chore.

You Can't Please All Of The People All Of The Time - The problem with cross genre writing

There are a lot of writers out there trying out the idea of cross genre writing. In essence, the idea of this approach is to bring in two different genres into the same story. I have mentioned a couple of authors who have done this. I personally have always like the approach Kathryne Kennedy did with her Double Enchantment series where she brings in Fantasy to a Historical world. But, I do think there are many of you that are trying to do this for the wrong reason.

I have heard authors say that by including all of these elements, they will be able to tap into the readership who like each of these styles of writing. Although this sounds like a great idea, in reality, it isn't necessarily going to work that way. Instead of bringing in those other authors, you will now steer away those people who liked one of those two approaches.

Let me use Kathryne's story as an example. Again, her story works, but I think you will understand what I mean. People who read historical romances love this genre because of the accuracy of the time, the wonderful world building that transports the reader to a world that we only read about in history books. Their is a particular tone and voice to that genre. On the other hand, people who like Fantasy romances like it because of the heavy role magic and this mystical world plays in lives of the characters. At some level, they like the fact that this world really doesn't exist.

Now, if I am someone who reads those historical novels, I am probably someone who wants accuracy and the truth. Mixing in something that we know doesn't fit in that genre is not going to work well with my mindset.

This is just one example, but lately, I have seen a lot more of the cross genre writing that pushes this even further. We see stories where the author is marketing the book as a women's fiction piece with romance and paranormal but with a twist of science fiction since it is in the future. Their goal? To get readers in all of these areas to like the story. This is simply too much.

We also run into the other issue of knowing where we will market this book. I have talked about that here on the blog before. Whether you are in traditional publishing and bookstores, or e-publishing and doing all of this digitally, your readers will need to know where to find your book. Booksellers, whether digital or brick and mortar, will not put your book on every shelf in the hopes of making the sale. They need one shelf. Along the same lines, the agents have to know who to send your book to. Even more specific, you have to know which agent to send it to. I might like women's fiction here at Greyhaus but I don't like science fiction. Those elements of romance and women's fiction will not be enough to get me to look past the science fiction.

Just think of it this way. Using cross genre writing works if it is done correctly and with genres that do work together. Adding a bunch to make a sale, is not going to work.

Stick To Your Genre For A While

I know, I know. There have been a ton of writers lately writing in multiple genres and really hyping this approach up. I get it. But, as an agent, I personally recommend to NOT do this until you have become an established author with a following. Let me explain.

As a new author, it is important to really find your niche and find your voice. This takes time. Sure, you might jump around a little to find exactly where you want to write, but once you do, stick to it. Learn it and grow with it. But, there is one other twist to this that I think many authors fail to think about and it all comes down to marketing.

As agents talk to editors (or writers go directly to editors or agents) we are often looking at selling the author and not simply the single book to that person. We have talked about that this week with working with authors for a long period of time. Now, there will be times that sometimes a project just doesn't work out right with that editor. It might be the plot or it might simply be the execution of that single project. In any case, we often get a comment like this one that I just got back from a previous rejection from an editor: I believe you had mentioned that [author] has other story ideas and manuscripts. If she does and you think one would be suitable for [me], then I would be delighted to read it." (I took out the author name and line just for anonymity).  Seeing something like this is great, especially when the rejection came back with the first lines saying she really loved the author's writing and voice. Now here is the problem. The stories we have don't fit her line. We have no fall back position on this one.

I do have to explain that we had not planned to submit to this individual but the work ended up heading into this editor's hands via word of mouth and so forth. The writer does have a series of books designed for another line/editor, but I think you can see from this response where it puts and author if they are jumping around all over the place.

As an agent, when I look at signing an author, I do look to see what else that person has to offer. This is especially the case for people wanting to write for category lines such as Harlequin and Entangled. Your success with those lines is building up a name recognition in that line. Later on you can move around, but you need to get those authors following you. It is for this reason, I often ask what else the author might have that would fit that same line they submitted to me for.

Please don't get me wrong. Playing around with other genres is fine. Writing in multiple genres is fine. But, there are downsides to this, especially for new authors trying to make that first big break.

Write What You Know

It is time to talk about following trends in the market as well as what you should be writing for your stories.

I always find it interesting the number of authors out there, who, despite all of the comments agents and editors make about "not following trends" are out there following trends and trying to write in the new hot genre. When YA came on board as being "the new thing" authors who hadn't read anything in the YA genre since they were kids or they had kids in their house, dove in with full force. We saw the same with chick lit, romantic suspense, and now with "New Adult."

So what is the problem with this? It comes down to one simple question. What do they know about this genre?

Every genre out there has its own unique twist of intricacies. Young adult is not simply about writing with teenage characters. New Adult isn't just about writing stories with those 19-22 year olds. Scottish Historicals are more than guys running around in kilts saying "Doona." Unfortunately, I do believe that far too many authors are believing just that and the consequences are probably not what we want.

First of all, for many authors, the number of rejections go up. It becomes very clear to an editor or agent in those submissions we read. The writing is forced, the language becomes stereotypical and cliche, and the life of the story is just not there.

Secondly, and I do think this is a bigger one than we want to consider, the quality of the over-all writing we see hitting the book shelves is declining. We see publishers throwing their already-known authors into these genres and, although the books may sell, the stories really lack that quality we liked so much when they were writing in the other genres they knew well.

Now I am not saying you cannot write in other genres. What I am saying is that you need to take the time to really learn that genre first. Do your research. Read the authors who have been working in that genre first and dissect the heck out of their stories.

You may find some great success!

You Can't Make Your Story Into Something It Isn't

This last weekend, I was at the UW Madison's Writer's Institute. I love conferences because it really brings the professionals back into contact with the writers (something that I think needs to happen more than it does). In any case, I heard a couple of writers talking in the hallways about their projects and something one of them said really hit home.

This particular author was talking about some comments that they had received from one of the editors or agents during the pitch session. I don't remember exactly what the author was pitching, but it was what they were going to try to do next that stood out. Apparently, the story they pitched might not be what the individual was looking for. Still, there had been a request made. But here is the twist. The writer was planning on adding a few things to the story to make it more of the genre the person was supposedly looking for.

Now, here is the point of this blog. Your story is what it is. Just adding a few things to the story, making it longer, making it shorter or deleting specific scenes or characters is not going to change what your story is.

When we talk about the genre you would market your story as, simply describing it different ways doesn't change the actual story. You are simply spinning it in a different way.

I was talking about this specifically in the session I taught over the weekend about defining romance and women's fiction. In the case of a romance, one of the criteria that puts a story into this genre is the happily ever after. Therefore, if your story doesn't have that element, it doesn't immediately put it into another genre. It simply means that you are marketing it the wrong way. Along the same lines, simply adding the happily ever after doesn't make it a romance. It will still be whatever that other genre is you wrote with a happily ever after.

You have to understand that your story fits a certain category, not simply because of one characteristic, but a combination of several elements. It is the interaction of all these elements that make it what it is.