Why Forcing Your Book Into the Wrong Genre Only Hurts You

This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. If you buy something through one of those links, there is no additional cost to you, but I may receive a small commission, which helps pay for my continued work. Read my affiliate disclosures here.

I have recently seen multiple authors insisting that their book fits one genre, but refusing to adhere to the rules of that genre in the same breath. Not surprisingly, not long after, they’ll complain about low sales and negative reviews, but have no idea why. Well, I’m here to tell you the tough truth:

Forcing your book into the wrong genre only hurts you.

I see this the most with romance novels, because the romance genre tends to be very picky. There are many subgenres to sort out the particulars, but there are still a handful of rules that all romance novels, no matter the subgenre, must adhere to. The stickiest, in my humble opinion, is that every romance novel must have a happily ever after (HEA), or, at the very least, a happily for now (HFN). There are no ifs, ands, or buts about this rule. If there is not an HEA or an HFN, it’s not a romance novel.

There are, of course, some loopholes here—say, you write a three-book series about the same couple, and the first two books end in cliffhangers, but by the end of the third book, everything is resolved. The characters aren’t necessarily happy at the end of the first two stories, but they are happy at the end of the series. Technically, this can still fit into the romance novel genre, but you probably shouldn’t break any other romance rules while you’re at it (heaven forbid, one of them cheats!) or you’ll have romance readers knocking down your door. The only reason you can call the three books romance novels is that the romance is the most important plotline, and also, the characters are going to end up happy in the end.

On the other hand, if your characters all die at the end, a la Romeo & Juliet, you do not have a romance novel on your hands. But, you say, the romance is the most important plotline! Well, that’s great, but there is no way to have a HEA or HFN in this story. But, you insist, it has to be a romance novel. You love romance novels, and romance readers will probably love this book!

Let’s back up for a moment. What’s the point of choosing a genre in the first place? Yes, it’s a way of categorizing books in the library and in bookstores, but even more than that, it’s a way of getting your book in front of the right readers. It’s the reader’s job to know what type of books they like, and then search them out. So a romance reader probably has all the typical romance reader expectations: the book must end with an HEA or HFN, there’s no cheating, the romance is the most important plotline, etc. They can confidently pick up any book marked Romance and know that it’s going to satisfy all of these requirements. They know that they won’t be disappointed by sad endings or other plotlines overshadowing the all-important romance.

Perhaps you write a novel that’s been in your heart for years. You can practically see the scenes jumping off the page, and writing the full-length novel is one of the easiest things you’ve ever done. You title it Romeo & Juliet 2.0 to make sure that romance readers know this is the one for them. The story follows two modern young adults from opposing football teams who fall in love despite their families’ hatred. They split up in the end, but that’s better than dying, right? You’ve even twisted some of the elements—it’s now darker, grittier, and even has some paranormal elements to it.

So let’s say that you insist on calling R&J 2.0 a romance novel. A romance reader is going to pick up your book with those romance genre expectations, and what will they find? They’re sure not going to find an HEA or HFN there! And now, that romance reader is pissed. They feel disappointed in the story. They’ve been let down. Their expectations have not been met. And so they write a negative review on Amazon, and on Good Reads, and maybe at an independent bookstore or two for good measure. They tell their friends your book sucks. They refuse to read another book from you in the future. They move on to other romance novels that they expect will live up their expectations.

So who is hurt here? Yes, the reader is still pissed, but in the end, by forcing your book into the romance genre, you only hurt yourself. You hurt your reviews, you hurt your sales, and you hurt your career.

Now alternatively, you could have placed R&J 2.0 in a more appropriate genre, like dark fiction with romantic elements. Now, the right readers—who enjoy tormented characters and dark themes, and don’t care about happily ever afters—can find the book. These are the readers who will love your book, who will write positive reviews and share with friends, and who will pick up your next release without a second thought.

I know that as authors, we can become attached to a particular genre, especially if we’re avid readers of that genre ourselves. It’s tempting to say that we fit into a genre, even if it’s not quite the right fit for us. But next time you’re choosing a genre for your book, think twice. Are the readers of that genre your target audience? If not, it might be time to reconsider a new genre.

Anyone Can be a Writer, and Other Editing Philosophies

This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love. If you buy something through one of those links, there is no additional cost to you, but I may receive a small commission, which helps pay for my continued work. Read my affiliate disclosures here.

I’ve been doing this for a while now—this being reading and editing and haunting the publishing industry, unable to leave it alone—and when you’re around something for quite some time, you’re bound to develop some opinions. And oooh, do I have some opinions for you.

It’s in developing these opinions that I’ve established some philosophies in my business. These philosophies dictate how I edit, what I teach my clients, and how I encourage writers.

Anyone can be a writer.

When I see writers struggling, it’s common to hear things like, “I’m just not meant to be a writer,” or “I can’t do this.” Neither of those things is true. You see, anyone can be a writer, and everyone can do this, but you just have to do it. And so perhaps what separates the writers from the non-writers is that the non-writers just don’t want it enough to prioritize it right now. And that’s totally okay.

But if you do want to be a writer, that’s where the magic happens. When you really, really want to be a writer, you find the time to write in the stolen moments, and in the moments where you’re not writing, you’re thinking about it and planning and dreaming and jotting down lines in your Notes app so you don’t forget them later. You’re setting boundaries with family members and reading books about characterization so you get better and better. You can’t help it. Being a writer is in your soul.

And so anyone can be a writer, you just have to want it bad enough.

You must know who your target audience is, and no, it’s not “everyone.”

If I had a nickel for every time a new author told me their book was for everyone, I’d have retired from editing years ago.

No one thing appeals to everyone. Not sunshine and rainbows, not the scent of fresh lavender in the summer, not freshly baked cookies on an autumn afternoon, not even chocolate.

So if you tell me that your ideal reader is “everyone,” it’s as good as saying your ideal reader is absolutely no one.

There’s power in knowing what type of reader would enjoy your story. There may be several types of readers that would enjoy your story, and knowing that gives you even more power. Yes, there will always outliers, but when you’re publishing your book, you need to know who your average reader will be. Knowing that will inform your cover art, your back cover blurb, the length of your book, your genre, your marketing, and so much more.

The first draft is for the writer, and the subsequent drafts are for the reader.

It seems to me that most novels begin with passion from the writer—that spark of an idea, that zing of creativity. It can be intoxicating and alluring, and gets the writer excited. And so the writer writes, crafting a novel that, to them, is perfect.

But that’s not the end.

Because at the end of the day, the end user of that book is not the writer—it’s the reader. And so, after the first draft, that reader needs to be considered. Things may make sense to the writer, but not to the reader, and this second draft is meant to find these things and fix them. It’s as if you’re fixing up your book, swaddling it in a nice scarf, and sending it off to kindergarten by itself for the first time. You must prepare it to be on its own and in the world, without you to care for it.

To successfully break the rules, you must first know the rules.

In writing, I believe that most rules are in place to help the reader more easily read. For this reason, consistency is important, formatting has standards, and rules must be followed. But sometimes, when you know the rules, know why the rules are in place, and why they’re important, you can break them. This, in essence, becomes a stylistic choice instead of a negligent one. If, instead, you don’t know why writers format things in a certain way, you may format your novel however you see fit, with unicorn stickers and multicolored backgrounds and thirty-seven different fonts. This will, undoubtedly, anger some of your readers, triggering refunds and bad reviews and pitchforks. It’s definitely worth knowing the rules first.

You will only get out of your book what you put into it.

This is where I implore you to take it seriously. Spend some time learning to write by following blogs. Find a community to commiserate with, whether in person or on Facebook. Invest in a good editor (hey, that’s me!) and a cover designer. Look before you leap, and make intentional decisions. Treat your book like something important to you, because it is.

Now, for the unsexy part: after your book has been published, and after you’ve celebrated this enormous feat, you cannot just stop working on your book. Now is the time to promote it in the same spaces that your ideal audience hangs out. Put that title and cover in front of the right eyeballs over and over. Talk about your book, quote your book, share behind the scenes looks at your book. If you do this, you’ll be selling not only your book, but also yourself, and that’s how you get readers who keep coming back with each subsequent novel.

Take the time to develop your own writing philosophies, and if what I mentioned above resonates with you, if you really want it and are ready to invest in yourself and the novel that you’ve poured yourself into, reach out for a quote!