Changing it up

Thoughts on writing in a new genre and/or category

In today’s newsletter, I’ll be answering a reader question. Liz asked¹:

Can you talk a bit about how to change genre without losing your unique voice and/or the things readers have grown to expect from your stories?

This is paraphrased because I asked for newsletter topics on insta and then foolishly forgot to save the responses before the poll expired and they were lost to the digital ether.

This question stayed with me though, in part because it is something I’ve experienced many times throughout my career (if you’ve been with me for awhile, you know I love to jump genres), and also because it’s very timely for me! I am—yet again—in the midst of trying something new.

In short, I feel particularly qualified to speak on this topic.

Before I dig into this question, I want to state that it is not inherently bad to write the same type of story over and over. Nor is it inherently risky to jump genres and/or change category (audience group). There are pros and cons to either path.

Many writers have built their career around delivering a certain type of story. If I say Stephen King, you’ll think horror. If I say Nora Roberts, you’ll think romance. The best part of a writing in a particular sandbox is that once established, your readers will know exactly what to expect from you. When folks know what to expect—and when they crave more of that recipe—they become repeat buyers. Loyal readers.²

Of course, many writers don’t want to write the same genre from now until forever. We want to play in new sandboxes, so to speak, and that usually manifests in a genre shift. And yet even when we explore new types of stories, certain elements of our artistic style tend to follow us, often unintentionally.

Liz, you asked about how to maintain your voice/style when making a genre (or audience) switch, and my short answer is that you don’t really have to worry about it. Chances are you will instinctively bring the things that make a Liz Book with you to the next.

For instance, I’ve written several genres at this point (dystopia, western, sci-fi, horror, fantasy) and my novels have been published for two age groups (mg and ya). But across all these books, a few key elements keep popping up: Character as setting, found families, and big third act twists, to name a few. I’d also describe my books as action-packed and tightly plotted, and most have feminist themes woven throughout.

All of these things, together, make something an Erin Bowman Book.

I didn’t intentionally set out to do this, it’s just how I write. These are things I’m naturally drawn to, so the elements have followed me from book to book. If you are worried about losing some of the style that makes a novel a Liz Book, try writing a style list for yourself. What things do you not want to lose in your genre (or audience) jump? What things do you love most about the books you tend to write? Write these things down and then revisit the list at some point down the road. (I vote for during revisions; don’t worry too much about it during an initial draft.)

Reaching readers

When you have a distinct style—when there are elements readers come to expect from your works—a genre jump can be less jarring for your fans. They may even be willing to follow you to the new genre because they are eager to see how you incorporate the elements you are known for into that new sandbox.

To go back to my earlier examples, Stephen King has jumped (and blended) genres many times throughout his career, playing with sub-genres like western (The Gunslinger), fantasy (Fairy Tale), or historical fiction (The Green Mile). But no matter where he takes his stories, readers know they can expect a dramatic and suspenseful tale, packed with supernatural and/or horror elements. Nora Roberts is similar—there is romance at the heart of her novels, regardless of whether she’s building her story with thriller or fantasy elements, or in a contemporary or historical setting.

If you deliver an entertaining story, many readers won’t care about the genre packaging. You’ve earned their trust and entertained them in the process, so they’ll follow you.

Of course, a shift in category (audience group) is far more drastic and many readers won’t follow an author making these jumps. Sometimes they simply can’t follow because the shift is outside their comfort zone or reading skillset. (E.g.: MG readers won’t follow an author who jumps from fantasy MG to adult horror.) Other times readers are simply unlikely to follow due to personal tastes. (E.g.: an avid adult romance reader is unlikely to follow an author who jumps from adult romance to sci-fi MG.) Of course, an author of YA may very well carry over readers if they shift to writing adult, simply because teen readers age out of that category with time, plus many readers of YA are adults to begin with.

But here’s perhaps the most important thing to remember: It’s okay if your readers don’t follow you when you make a change, because every genre or category shift is a chance to reach a completely new audience.³ If you bring some existing readers with you, great! But retaining all of them shouldn’t be the goal.

The business side

Of course, publishing is a business, so our agents and publishers may not always agree with us regarding when to make a leap to a new genre or category. A publisher may want us to stay in a certain lane, to be their fantasy/sci-fi/romance/etc author. An agent may think it’s best for an author to release another book in the same genre or category before trying something new.

I am neither an agent nor a publisher, so I can’t speak too much on this angle, but in my experience there is always a strategy to these jumps, so have candid talks with your team.⁴ Keep in mind that if you are in a valley, career-wise, changing things up could be the best way to rechart your course.

The first time I made a genre leap, my career wasn’t in a rut, but I had written two SFF projects that went nowhere. So I hit pause on that genre and tried something completely new that I was also passionate about—westerns! After my westerns, I wanted to write SFF again, to not be constrained by historical facts, so I moved back into the sci-fi space, but I threw some horror into the mix. I ended up with two different publishers: one handling my historical fiction novels and the other with my sci-fis. This allowed me to write from the heart while also allowing my publishers to have a strategy regarding the type of books I put into the world. Within each pub house, I had a “lane.”

Each time I made a genre change, it was mainly because I desired it from a creative perspective, and I’ve been very fortunate to shift gears without much pushback. Of course, all these projects had those elements I shared above—the makings of an Erin Bowman Book.

Today I’m working on something very different. New genre and new category. There’s not too much overlap in terms of style with my previous works, though it does have a touch of found family and character-as-setting tropes. It is scary to drastically shift gears. But I am also in a position where I have nothing to lose and everything to gain from a dramatic shift.

Maybe some past fans will follow me, maybe they won’t. But a new genre and audience group means a chance to reach a whole new segment of readers. And I love what I’m working on. So it feels like a win-win.

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Liz, I’m not sure I answered your question so much as I said, “Don’t worry about it,” but perhaps that is an answer in its own way.

In my opinion, there are too few guarantees in publishing to not be working on a project you love. So if you foresee a genre or category jump in your future, I think it’s worth exploring. It can be scary to make a shift, especially when there is no way of knowing if the shift will pay off, but you have to trust your muse and intuition, and above all, you need to believe in what you’re writing. If you love the idea, if you are excited by the story, if it’s a tale you simply have to tell… Well, then I see no reason why you shouldn’t give it a go.

Writers aren’t machines. It’s okay if our books’ various premises don’t sound like they’d share an author. In the vein of Taylor Swift, it’s okay to have eras. It might even be creatively necessary.

So write that next thing. Some of your innate style will be there, and some of it will be new and fresh and different. And isn’t that freaking amazing? Isn’t that the whole point of art?

Until next time,

Erin Bowman is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books for children and teens, including the Taken Trilogy, Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden, and Dustborn. A web designer turned author, Erin has always been invested in telling stories—both visually and with words. Erin lives in New Hampshire with her husband and children.

1. I think it was Liz who asked this, but if I’m remembering wrong, please forgive me!

2. They also become willing to take a chance on you if you start changing things up, but more on that in a moment.

3. Literary agent

Eric

Smith also emphasized this exact point in his recent posts on jumping genres.

4. If there doesn’t seem to be a strategy, that’s perhaps a sign to ask more questions and/or push back.