Choosing Your Genre for Your Writing
Have you ever done work that didn’t really interest you? If you’re like others who have, then all you wanted to do was to get the job finished and get on with what really did appeal to you.
Publishing is like that. It’s really hard to be enthusiastic when you’re facing a genre that doesn’t interest you. Just because you think you probably would be good at writing a particular genre doesn’t mean you should.
Some people say the genre chooses the writer. Others say you can just pick one. The way to choose the best genre for you is to write what you actually enjoy reading. The reason is because you’ll have familiarity in reading that genre and you’ll have a feel for the type of stories that are published in that arena.
If you find yourself drawn to a particular type of book – like suspense – then that’s what you should write. Always write whatever it is that you read. If you enjoy reading young adult, westerns, dystopians, or whatever – then that’s what you need to write. Your passion for that genre will show through.
What if it’s not an easily definable genre? Go ahead and write it anyway. Never forget that writing is a form of artistic expression and the different expressions appeal to different audiences.
Don’t worry about it if you don’t know a lot about the genre. That’s easy to learn. For example, if you wanted to write suspense and you needed to know how the police would handle a crime scene, there are all kinds of online blogs written by experts that will give you the knowledge you need to write with authority. And those blogs are free.
If you want a lot of information at your fingertips, you can invest in eBooks or print books that cover the research details – so don’t let what you don’t know stop you from writing the kind of book you want to write.
Knowing whether you should write – fiction or non-fiction – is a choice you don’t really have to make. It’s possible to do both and do both successfully. However, that doesn’t mean you have to. You can write what you’re drawn to and some people are naturally better at one versus the other. Just always aim for whatever you’re passionate about.
With non-fiction, if you’re going to write something that you already know such as marketing or how to build a website or create a business, then that’s information where you’re the expert. So your time researching will be minimal. If you’re going to write non-fiction like true crime, then you’ll need to make sure your facts are absolutely correct.
Find out more about Kindle Self-Publishing in my recent article.