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A blatant example of an author switching from straight literary fiction to slipstream is Margaret Atwood. Have any of you read The Handmaid's Tale? That's slipstream. (the link says it's Science Fiction/Speculative, but I beg to differ! It's set in the real world and is VERY real and very WEIRD, and has no 'fantastical elements,' so to me it suits Slipstream better.)
Anyway, this discussion brought up the title of this post. My publisher said she has recently noticed a trend in debut authors wanting to experiment AFTER they are published, which is sorta illogical. I should have gotten a few examples off her, but I forgot. Nevertheless, the questions still stand:
Do you think it's wise to switch genres without using a pen name after you've established your audience? Do you think your audience will still want to read your work when they have a certain expectation of what they are going to get and then it suddenly changes? As a reader, would you be interested in reading a Romance written by a novelist whose previous work was Science Fiction, for example? As a writer, what do you think the effects of such a decision might be? Do you think it would be beneficial to a writer's career, or do you think it might destroy it? Why?
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As a writer I don't want to be held to a certain genre. My life is made up of many different things, I read many different genres, so why should I only write one?
ReplyDeleteAnd I would hope that any author I like I would like for the writing, not the type of story. So any story they tell would be just a good because they write well.
I don't find it illogical at all that a writer would want to switch genres. I wrote my first book in the genre that I feel is 'mine' - fantasy. Now, while writing a second book in sci-fi, I am a better writer and so the book is doing better. I imagine I will have a far better chance of picking up an agent with it. But I'm a fantasy writer. Am I suddenly supposed to want to stick with sci-fi just because that was the book that got published first? No.
ReplyDeleteMy first book was purely commercial, my second less so, my third will qualify as literary (where I intend to stay). I don't see any problem at all with switching genres. Except, of course, that a disconcerting number of agents and editors think you shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI think change is important to a writer's growth - but it also carries a lot of risk. Experiments can swing both ways. You can either expand your audience or alienate your original one.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in advertising & marketing and in that world, the golden rule is it's suicide to change a brand when something is working. Remember Coke? If a writer wants to change genres, then change your name...i.e. Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb. Writers may know how to write, but that doesn't make them gurus of marketing. And trust your agent.
ReplyDeleteI think there should be a few books in the same genre before switching. I bought the second book of a published author and it was totally different. The author lost a fan.
ReplyDeleteBut on the flip side, she probably gained new ones.
James Patterson is all over the map, why not other authors?
ReplyDeleteAnd if I decide to switch, I don't think science fiction to fantasy would be a big leap.
I'm with Alex. Tess Gerritsen switched genres. I'd like to see a list of successful authors who committed career "suicide" by switching genres. Coke changing its recipe hardly compares.
ReplyDeleteJames Patterson is not the example we want to get into here, sorry Alex.
ReplyDeleteI think it really depends. A truly great writer can probably write in almost any genre, and pull it of. Cormac McCarthy has gone from Western, to Crime, to Near Sci-Fi (Post-Apocalyptic), but technically his writing is so literary that all his books are just kind of literary.
I imagine you could pull that off.
On the other hand you have to play to your strengths. If someone is really good at writing romantic comedy the chances that they can write Sci-Fi/Fantasy well are just ... well, very slim.
Just because Patterson has a horde of ghost writers that churn out hundreds of books from YA paranormal to adult thrillers, AND they sell well, doesn't mean they're great books, but I suppose it depends on what you want to accomplish. If money is your goal you can't go wrong with the Patterson model.
As a writer, I don't want to be confined to a single genre. However, speaking from a marketing standpoint (yes, that may be crassly commercial, but if we don't sell books, how can we afford to keep writing?), I think it would be wise to publish something wildly divergent under a new name. Even if the readers know you're the same writer (as everyone knows Nora Roberts is J.D. Robb), it's a signal to prepare for something different.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read everyone's response so I hope I don't say the same thing but I don't believe creativity can be confined. You write what your heart tells you to write, regardless of genre.
ReplyDeleteI am by no means an expert. But as a reader, if an author's writing strikes me in one area, I'm willing to read material they explore in other genres. As a writer, I want to explore where my writing heart takes me.
ReplyDeleteI understand why authors have pseudonyms for different genres, but I don't think it's necessary. As a reader, I love it when I see an author I like has written in a new genre. But I read all genres so maybe that's why I don't mind!
ReplyDeleteJames Patterson is a terrific example of an author known for his thrillers who has also written bestsellers in the romance genre and children's genre (and others) and keeps the same name. I think that's smart!
I wrote a post about this a few weeks ago calling it the 'genre hop' I personally think that you should write the story that comes to you and not worry where it fits. Maybe that's not how agents and publishers feel, but I don't think you should set a book aside because it doesn't fit on the narrow path you've inadvertently set for yourself. I always wish that my favorite authors would write something totally crazy (my dream is for Jhumpa Lahiri to write sci-fi) Thanks for teaching me about Slipstream. I've never heard that term before.
ReplyDeleteA new author might be better off writing under a different pseudonym when switching genres. Only because they haven't really established themselves yet. New readers will almost always expect more of the same. However, if you have made a name for yourself and enjoy a level of popularity, then you might get away with switching things up a little. Having a preset fan base makes it easier to switch, because if they really like you, they may be more open to seeing what else you've got.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the question you must ask yourself is are you a product or a person? I think it's fantastic that some authors can really build their audience and push their career forward by writing in only one genre. Sticking with one genre is definitely smart and makes a lot of sense, and if they love doing that, then more power to them! But I certainly can't do that. As you know, all my books coming out with Rhemalda are in different genres. This is one of the main reasons I went with a small publisher to begin with. A larger publisher or agent might keep me confined in what I write and put out there. Rhemalda has not done that. With them, I feel like I have the freedom to explore and write where my heart leads me.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said a hundred times before - I write stories, not genres. If I ever find a genre where all my stories seem to naturally fit, that's great, but I will never force them. I'm not writing to please everyone else. If that ends up "ruining" my career, so be it. I never started writing to just have a career, anyway.
I think very few of us want to be genre bound and I'd be very frustrated to think I'd been pigeon-holed. I know publishers prefer you're consistent, though, so there is sort of a sweet spot for WHEN. If you do a couple from the get-go, it is harder to establish brand, but I think you are then allowed to forever. Otherwise, you probably have to wait a few books so people 'know you' and then it can be marketed as 'different in this way' from earlier stuff. I'm determined to have at least two, possibly three genres I write in, but I know it won't be all that easy.
ReplyDeleteI write all over the map. I've published horror short stories, paranormal YA, fantasy romances, romances. I've also written PBs although I haven't published any yet. I write for all ages and don't want to be boxed in my genre. One thing that I think helps me be able to write for more ages is that even my adult books could be read by YA readers.
ReplyDeleteSome authors switch between genres with no problems. James Patterson, Lauren Myracle with her recent YA release, James Dashner... I think it's probably best to wait until you are a fully established author, though. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteI don't find it fair to hold one person to one genre- Naturally there are many authors who like to write only one genre- but even classic authors had variance.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be unrealistic for readers to only expect an author to write one genre-
However- if they do write more than one genre they may find they have more popular stuff or a better following in one genre- then in another.
My writing road had a fork, and since YA is what happened first, my more radical, literary side is going to played out with a pen name. I've struggled with accepting this, but I think overall it would be better to let this fictional me take the blame for all the crazy stuff I write sometimes.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think it's good, mainly because readers come to expect something from you and if readers like one novel, they usually want more of the same from you. I've head this advice from many well-known authors: be careful about your 'break out' novel, because it's probably what you'll be doing for a long time!
ReplyDeleteIf you want to experiment, I'd say use a pen name. Just my opinion! :)
Although I am not an author I would switch genres, it's good to write about a different subject, researching, and other things is what is exciting about change.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said one could always use a pen name.
Yvonne.
Hi Jessica, Hope the stringbridge tour sign up is going well. Writing is such a funny thing, If you stay in one genre and it's not a flowing series, some writers become predicable, only the places and charators really change, not always but often. To be versatile and write about differant genres, fiction horror,fantasy,crime, etc, there is just one thing I feel the book must have! Your full heart, you must what too. Not just give it a go!Writing differant genre stories, is not like trying a new ice cream flavor just cause you think it might be fun. If it's in your heart then write it, as there is no garentee that the readers will like everything we write, no matter which genre it's in.Good luck.
ReplyDeleteSherman Alexie is a GREAT example of how this works. He has mastered literary fiction, young adult fiction, and the short story collection.
ReplyDeleteSince my second book isn't young adult fiction-- it's more women's/literary fiction. Here's hoping...
I think this becomes a branding issue. Atwood can do science fiction and it's still Atwood. Her brand is her writing. You know what you get with her. Perhaps it depends on how niche-y your writing is or how strong a following you have. Gaiman can write comics, picture books, novels, etc. But he is Gaiman!
ReplyDeleteExcellent questions. Personally,I like to write all sorts of things. I've written one completed book, a YA Dystopian, am in the editing stages with a recently finished contemporary lesbian romance/coming of middle age story, and I'm dreaming up five or six other future novels varying between YA and adult audience, though the genres are mostly either romance or some other form of realistic fiction. In my mind, there's a very distinct string through everything I write and that's people living in the real world discovering what REAL is to them, whether teenager or adult, gay or straight, through love or drugs or music or (mis)adventure. Will an audience see it that way? Maybe. Maybe not. Might I have to get a pen name for one of my audiences some day, it would be a sad thing for me to do, but it could happen. But to make an analogy from one singer/songwriter guitarist to another, music goes deeper than genre. The originals, the ones who created their own form of music and became famous for it, are the ones who drag from all sorts of influences. They're the ones whose songs are different from album to album, but always have that same distinctive, intangible thing. Should novelists be unable to have that?
ReplyDelete<3 Gina Blechman
This is a really great topic, and one of the things that's been holding me back from getting stories down on paper. I hate the idea of choosing to write in one genre and getting stuck, so I blog and freelance instead of committing myself.
ReplyDeleteReally appreciate reading through all the comments and thoughts.
The idea of a pseudonym could be attractive, though I wonder if that would result in less financially attractive book deals? My understanding is that each subsequent book will command more money if previous books have been commercially successful, so it would seem in the case of new writers the author wants to maintain his/her name? Tough call!
I am so excited for your book to come out Jessica!!