Two common posts in my social media circles can be boiled down to, “I’m looking for Fantasy authors to read!” or “What genre do you write in?” As an author always on the lookout for new readers, I typically respond with, “I write Gaslamp Fantasy, among other things,” or “I’m a multi-genre author.”
Those things being the case, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword.
The Goods
The good things about writing in multiple genres are manifold.
You have a lot of tools in your chest. Every genre carries with it a number of tropes, traditions, and styles. Mastering those broadens your abilities as a writer. That’s especially true these days when genre mashups are becoming more common.
Say you’re writing a fantasy novel. If you’ve also written in the Romance genre, it’s easy enough to turn it into a Romantasy (they’re SCREAMINGLY POPULAR). Or if you just want to add a romantic B plot, you have the tools to do so.
It gives you multiple income streams. The popularity of genres waxes and wanes depending on what’s in the zeitgeist at any given time. If Fantasy isn’t selling so well, but all anyone can talk about is Sinners and you have a vampire novel, you’re golden.
Some writers write to what’s popular at the moment. It’s a bit different from my previous point, but related.
If you’re the kind of writer who can pick up on a coming wave and bang out a novel to ride it, it helps to have the ability to write in almost any genre. And once that work is done, you can circle back to points one and two.
The Bads
One of the biggest issues I face is that I’m only capable of writing a limited number of stories in a given year. Many readers want a long series to become invested in. Because I enjoy writing in various genres, I don’t typically shoot for that sort of, potentially very lucrative, market. I do have series, albeit very short ones at this point… and they are in different genres.
That means when a reader finishes, for example, my young adult science fiction novels Ginnie Dare: Crimson Sands and Ginnie Dare: Blockade Runner, I don’t have any more YA science fiction to offer them yet. That time will come, of course, when book three comes out, but it’s not here yet.
It means I occasionally have to get creative when it comes to cross-selling. Even at my most creative, though, I can’t in good conscience offer Blood Borne to a twelve-year-old.
Overall, I find the enjoyment I get from writing broadly vastly outweighs the marketing struggles I have, and those struggles can even be turned into advantages under the right circumstances.
But when beginning writers ask the question, “Should I stick to one genre?” I want to make sure they know what both sides of the coin look like. And I think it’s also something you, my audience, might wonder about.
So, what are your favorite genres to read and/or write in? Sound off in the comments!
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