Pros of Being a Multi-Genre Author
– Freedom! You get to stretch different skills, experiment with different writing styles, plots, settings… literally the possibilities are endless. Also those skills you hone in one genre, you can then bring to another genre, giving you more breadth and experience as a writer.
– You reach a broader swath of readers! For example, I’ve encountered readers who “read everything but sci-fi” so it’s really helpful that I can also offer fantasy, paranormal mystery, and even a children’s picture book.
– You can flex with the market. This one is a little trickier, because while I would never recommend writing for the market alone (it’s too fickle and the risk is too high that would be a lot of unsatisfying work for no payoff), I also think ignoring it completely is also unwise. For example, lately, I’ve been hearing from a lot of industry professionals that YA (which I write the most) is struggling, so I’ve largely shifted my focus to an older market.
Cons of Being a Multi-Genre Author
– Your “brand” that you market becomes nuanced rather than straight forward. For example, I usually market that my stories lean heavily into sweet, green-flag, heartfelt relationships, fast-paced writing, and found family – whether that be in contemporary romance, fantasy, sci-fi, or paranormal.
– When you shift genres, you can’t necessarily rely on your established readership to embrace a new genre. They might, but there are many readers out there who like to stick to their established favorite genres. So, when you shift, you have to hustle a little harder in your marketing ot reach your target readership. For example, I just published a cozy paranormal workplace mystery and it may not be the right cup of tea for the readers who loved the epic stakes & intense action of my sci-fi series.
– You have to be very explicit about content. Since I write picture books, middle grade, young adult, and new adult, I try to publish content guides so people know exactly what they’re getting into. For example, if someone were to love my (unpublished) kisses-only sweet YA contemporary romcom, they need to know that my upcoming fantasy horror has violence, swearing, and a closed door scene. Because the last thing I want is for a reader top pick up a book and get content that they were expecting (in the worst way.)
Thanks for reading!
