GENRE HOPPING - WHAT'S A WRITER TO DO?
A well known NYT bestseller spoke to our RWA chapter about what happened to her career when she switched genres. She had a well established brand writing historicals, which she did successfully for a lot of years. She wanted to expand, grow as a writer and try something new, so she wrote a few contemporary women's fiction novels. Her sales plummeted, and her fans went elsewhere for their historical fix. She says now that if she had it to do over, she'd have published the contemporaries under a different name. Hmmm.
Then there are authors like Christina Dodd, who successfully hops from historical, to romantic suspense, then paranormal, and everything sells. There are well known authors who write different genres under different names. Jayne Ann Krentz (Amanda Quick and Jane Castle) come to mind, so does Nora Roberts. But, hey, we all know who they are no matter what name they use, right?
I don't know about you, but I don't read just one genre. I also want to write more than one. I have ideas for historicals, contemporaries, westerns, and yes, more paranormals. What's a writer to do? Why can one author, like Christina Dodd or Julie Garwood, be successful with the jump, while genre hopping puts other's careers in a slump? I know Susan Elizabeth Phillips had to reinvent herself after a few of her books didn't sell well, but she kept her name the same throughout. Yikes! What's a writer to do?
Should a writer create a different brand for each genre? Is it better to write under different names, or is it better to stick to one name fits all? I don't want to be limited, so can a brand be all encompassing? I spend hours coming up with pseudonyms for my contemporaries, historicals and westerns. What if I'm at a book signing, and I forget who I am at the moment? (Sadly, it could happen.)
Then there's this tiny little ego thing inside me whispering, "Hey, I want credit for all of my books! Why would I change my name to one nobody knows is me?" Yeah, yeah, it's a business, but still, my blood sweat and tears went into creating the characters and their story. It takes a bit of ego to put your work out there, right?
Do you genre jump? Do you use the one-name-fits-all approach, or do you feel it's better to suit-up under a different nom de plume for each? Enquiring minds want to know . . .
-Barbara Longley, aka Kailyn Reilly, aka Noell LaPrairie, aka Bunny Hopsalot.
I do genre hop. I bounce between M/M historical and M/M contemporary, mostly. I have one in the works, a M/M space western, that does have me a little worried readers might go "WHUH?" lol.
ReplyDeleteI so far haven't seen any indication that my readers have a problem with the two current genres I write. It's all pretty obvious which is which so there shouldn't be any "OMG I bought this thinking it'd be contemp because that's what you normally write!"
I just don't have the time nor the interest to develop a whole other pseudonym and website and online presence. In addition to that, I've found that M/M readers are very flexible and tend to read across genres. They don't usually care as long as it's good and they get their manlove fix! :)
I use a nom de plume for my fairly-hot historicals, because my employers in the day job would take a dim view of some of my scenes! But I am now writing a contemporary that is less explicit, so I may use my real name for it. I'd like to publish something my real persona gets credit for!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting post, and greatly appreciated by the "split personalities" like me!
Hey, I guess I'm a split personality too. I'm an el. ed. teacher, so I'm taking a risk by publishing under my own name due to the love scenes, but I've made it clear my books are not for children.
ReplyDeleteI'm also writing a contemp. now that has no explicit sex, though it is a romance. I do get tired of writing sex scenes. It's nice to take a break from that.
I've had to contemplate this very question recently and decided to publish different genres under the same name. This was based entirely on my reading experiences. I reading many, if not most, genres. I have favorite authors. I've found my fav authors publishing in different genres to the one in which I first discovered them and in many cases loved their work regardless of genre. I would likely never have found my way to these books of theirs in the other genre if they'd used another name.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few cases where one of my fav authors changes their style in a way that's not to my taste in different genre, or perhaps they just write the kind of plots that don't grab me. This has never, though, put me off continuing to buy their books in the genres of theirs that I do love. I just avoid their genres that I don't.
This does mean that authors who write across genres need to make it clear in each book what the genre is - there was some fuss a while ago about historical authors slipping paranormal elements into their stories without any hint in the blurb, lol
I think that some of the failure might come when authors change genre (ie stop writing one genre to exclusively write in another genre) as opposed to writing across genres - if the readers don't like the way in which the author writes this new genre, they will stop buying the books in that genre, but I don't think many readers will stop buying the books by the author in the original genre
The exception to my personal opinion, I guess, would be writing in a genres that wanted to target across female/male borders ie if you're alias is linked to romance novels and you wanted to break out into thrillers targetted at men as well, then using a different name would be preferable. I don't know personally, of course, but I would imagine this was one of the considerations Nora Roberts took into account when using J.D. Robb
So far I'm only published in historical romance, but I'm working on a historical fantasy (think Naomi Novik) and I have ideas ranging from historical adventure fiction (think Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brian) all the way to fantasy set in worlds that closely correspond to ours without being quite identical (think Jacqueline Carey and Guy Gavriel Kay). And I have no idea whether I need a new pen name for any or all of these types of story.
ReplyDeleteThe common link in my stories isn't genre but time period--I don't want to write only romance or only fantasy or whatever, but I think I could happily write the Napoleonic Era for the next 40 years without running out of stories to tell (though I wouldn't mind branching out into the American Revolution and maybe the Civil War, I've got some interest in 18th and 19th century India that grew out of my Napoleonic Era research, and one of these days I'm going to leap back a couple millennia and tackle the Greco-Persian Wars).
So...yeah. I think there are readers who, like me, are fascinated by certain time periods and will read them in any and all genres, and I'd like them to know who I am and follow me if/when I'm published in fantasy. But there are romance readers who wouldn't touch fantasy with a ten-foot pole and vice versa and would be disappointed to buy a book with my name on it and discover a different type of story than the one they associated with me. So I don't know. At this point I'm hoping to have an agent to advise me by the time it becomes an issue.
I rarely change. My first love is RS. Once in awhile I write a straight contemporary. I have no desire to write para, historical or erotica. Do I see that changing? Nope. Happy in my rut!
ReplyDeleteFrom a reader's point of view, I think a lot depends on how strong your voice or style are. Jennifer Crusie does great sales on her single title romance/women's fiction, but when she has teamed with Bob Mayer in hopes of reaching a broader audience, it hasn't gone well. If the team writing books had been under a different name (for her), more of her dedicated readers would be on that band wagon.
ReplyDeleteHow strong is the voice of the pieces? Does your style change from book to book (series to series or genre to genre)? Are you still highly identifiable as the author of the 'other' stuff? Nora Roberts' style is very different in her two writing styles - and so is the audience.
Maybe that should be something more/additional to think about.
Good points, all. I agree that a strong voice can translate into strong sales no matter the genre, and Fae, to my way of thinking M/M is a genre no matter what the setting or time period. Maybe a lot of it depends upon how your career starts, like if I start out right away writing different genres, it's better than writing one, fairly formulaic type of book for years, and then suddenly switching, and like you said, Claire, the failure probably had more to do with the author abandoning her previous genre altogether.
ReplyDeleteI have an established career as an LGBT erotica writer under my real name. While there are still some elements of LGBT erotica in my fantasy, the style of writing is very different. Because I want to reach a much wider audience for fantasy, I now write as Jane Kindred. I don't talk about my other persona much when tweeting or posting as Jane (this is a rare exception), but I talk about Jane all the time under my real name, because I think my established fan base will want to read my fantasy, while I'm not sure the reverse would be true. (Clear as mud?)
ReplyDeleteMakes perfect sense, Jane. I have a friend who works in a profession where writing erotica could possibly cause her some grief. She uses a nom de plume for that genre, and writes under her own name for the tamer stuff. :0)
ReplyDeleteI jump. Boy, howdy do I jump. I do have a different pseudonym for my hot stuff, but my historical, RS, paranormal and plain ol' contemps are all MJ :)
ReplyDeleteI write under the same pen name for my paranormal/fantasy/steampunk because to me, they're all a little bit "out there", if you know what I mean. However, I am contemplating a genre switch, and I'm not sure I want to deal with promoting a new pen name or not. I guess it depends on how different my stories would be if I switched.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I know some NY authors are forced to come up with a new pen name and reinvent themselves by their publishers.
At the moment I want to genre hop sooooo bad. I'm writing the third book in a series and I keep getting ideas for other things. But I want to build this brand first. If I did get something pubbed in another genre I'd use a different name for sure.
ReplyDeletewell . . . there's really no one-size-fits-all! I love the "boy, howdy, do I jump," MJ. Boy, howdy I do too. I guess unless I stray into erotica, I'll be me. Although, I have an idea for a completely new genre, neurotica, hot sex for the neurotic amongst us, like, obsessive-compulsives, people with phobias, quirks, What do ya think? Would it go over? Ha!
ReplyDeleteVery thought-provoking, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteI've not yet had to make a decision because -- though I'm published (under my own name) in non-fiction and poetry -- none of my six novel manuscripts are yet available.
Of those six: two are 'screwball' romantic comedy and one is comedic romance. I'm inclined to have those (when published) under a name which appears to be female. I have three others in a series which really has no clear-cut 'label' -- also a logical reason they're not published yet. The first of these is probably not publishable. The second needs a niche. The third, after I overhaul the beginning 90 pages, might stand a chance. If it does, I'd like to see my real name on the cover ... because it's a tribute to the Greatest Generation.
I have 'starts' and concepts for dozens of other novels. They vary a lot. Some might be inspirational and some might be 'non-comedic' romance. I might need two different names for those. We'll see.
Jeff Salter
Okay, it finally posted on third try. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it, Jeff. It is a conundrum we all face, isn't it? I truly haven't decided what to do yet. My debut novel is a paranormal, and I have a sequel planned for that one. Right now I'm working on a contemporary single title. I might do a pen name, not sure yet. Argh.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion. Thanks to Barbara for starting it and for everyone chiming in with their experience.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to publish all my books under my name. I don't know how well I'd handle multiple identities. Also, building a brand is a huge effort. I'd like to build a central brand of solid writing, intriguing stories and then just tweak it as subgenres change. I'm hoping clear communication and respecting reader expectations will be enough and I get to be me all the time :)
I'm about to try with an urban fantasy series set in south-east Asia. It's a real gamble and completely different to what I normally write (SFR on the erotic side), so I'll be using another name. This is more to meet reader expectations rather than anything else. Good discussion. I really liked reading everyone else's comments. Even yours Jammy! (aka Jenny Schwartz; don't worry, we rib each other like this all the time)
ReplyDeleteI like the way you're approaching it, Jenny. I'm tending toward that stance myself. Kaz, your urban fantasy sounds intriguing. Great choice for the setting.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying this discussion, as it's a topic right on the top of my list right now. I went with a pen name for my contemporary romance debut novel RiverTime, because I've published quite a lot in non-fiction (cognitive neuroscience) under my own name as a part of my job. (I envisioned some very confused scientists pulling up romance when they're trying to get to brain and behavior). But the issue I face now is whether to take yet another pen name for the urban fantasy I've just finished. Worried I'll get a little dissociative...
ReplyDeleteRae - I know, huh! Can you imagine being at a book-signing and having to look at the cover to remember who you are that day?? I could so see that happening. With the day job, family, fledgling writing career, and the various committees I serve on, overload is a constant. My brain is always playing catch up.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a neverending discussion, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI currently write only erotica (but different sub-genres: historical, sci-fi, contemp...), but I *do* want to see my real name on a cover someday, so when I eventually tackle a non-spicy book, I want to publish it under my real name. Oh, and then I can talk openly about it with my family and they can actually read it! :D
Hah! I'm hearing a recurring theme here with the erotica writers. Most publish their work under a pseudonym. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering about this too, especially with the workshop stuff about branding. Fantasy and paranormal is definitely my niche but every once in awhile I get the urge to write something else. I actually have a finished historical that I keep dithering on whether to submit or not. I would only do it if I decided I was ok with it being under the same name. Two websites? Two blogs? Two everything? No way.
ReplyDeleteI write under a pen name (ha ha, obviously) but it's not because I write erotica (although I write less and less of that these days, my sex scenes are becoming more off-screen each time) but because I'm a hugely private person and simply don't want people to know my real name--and certainly not the public at large.
ReplyDeleteI have written several genres, fantasy, historical, sci-fi - but have kept the same pen name merely because 1. i've worked hard to creat that brand and 2. I write gay fiction so the pen name makes sense to me.
The only way I would ever change that pen name that I can see if I were start writing kid's books because I wouldn't want them to link "Lucius the adventurous cat" with my gay books complete with erotic scenes.
The people who changed their names within the same genre, I dont get, like Jean Plaidy - that just seems greedy!
I think it's a very personal decision. I do write just about every type of romance available, from sensual to erotic, and it's all under my real name except for my one m/m romance--and honestly, I think I should have just put my own name on that one, too. For me, it works. For other people, there are strong, sound reasons why it wouldn't. I think a lot of the reason I keep it all under one name is that I often slide between genres. I'd sit there fro hours asking "Is this so-and so, or such-ands such, or a little of both?" That said, if I get a big sale and the editor asks for a pseudonym, watch how fast one will happen!
ReplyDeleteErastes, you've chosen an interesting career path for one who does not wish to be known . . .
ReplyDeleteCindy, first of all, I'm now a fan. LOVED Steam & Sorcery, and I'm halfway through Motor City Witch.
I'm with you. If an editor asked me for a pseudonym, I'm prepared, but it probably won't be "Bunny Hopsalot."
Barbara --
ReplyDeleteMy reasoning is similar to Erastes -- I don't need people trying to track the real me down (especially those *special* folk out there who think that erotica authors are all sex-crazed kinksters -- whether I am or not is my personal business! Ha.) I have small children as well, so I don't want the connection made there, either.
I do agree, however, with the difficulty involved in building a second audience if you've already established one that knows you under a certain name. I fully expect issues with that if/when I publish in another genre. *shrug* So be it. It's the price I'm choosing to pay, yanno? :)
It's enough building one brand but the thought of writing and then creating a whole 'second' brand for a new persona gives me hives. I write historicals and contemporaries. The setting are worlds apart but the heat level's the same (frank adult :)). I've decide to keep the same name on both, as I'm a new author. We'll see how that goes. If it works, great, if not, I would consider making the switch.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I'm contemplating writing a straight historical and the question has come up from a number of people "What name?" In that case, I'd almost certainly go with my own name - more so distguish it from my romances than a desire to have it out there as another name.
Yeah, the thought of building more than one audience is daunting. What I'm writing now has much less graphic sex, and much more "implied" sex, which has me sighing in relief. I don't know how you erotica writers do it. (no pun intended)
ReplyDeleteBarbara, you could be Bunny Hopsalot for your more mellow books and Hunny Bobsalot for your steamier stuff. Sorry. I had to say it. Anyway, I write erotic romance under the name Toni Zuma and spicy-to-mellow work under another name. I work at a church, and although it's common knowledge I write romance, I REALLY don't want them seeing my name attached to an erotic romance when they're sniffing around Amazon looking for my other stuff. I'm afraid they'd use up all their prayers on "fixing" me. Great question, great discussion. TZ
ReplyDeleteBunny Hopsalot, Hunny Bopsalot! ROFL. Thank you so much for that, Toni. I guess everyone's reasons are there own, and bottom line is, you have to do what's right for you.
ReplyDeleteStill chuckling here.
What a great topic. That's something I've toyed with as well. I love Jayne Ann Krentz, but I also love that fact she uses other names for other genres. She's open about it, but you know an Amanda Quick book is a historical, whereas a Krentz book will be contemporary. I think that works best. Different names, but saying, hi, I'm so and so writing as X--paranormal writer. My two cents...Marie
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