By Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist. Please sign up for free updates at http://eepurl.com/ceSobT
Many authors specialize in one genre: they’re romance, mystery, crime, science fiction, or literary novelists. In other words, these authors only write novels that fit into their chosen genre. This practise often makes sense because the author can build an audience by marketing his or her books to fans of romance or mystery or science fiction novels.
I have chosen not to do this.
My first novel, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018, is a romance. And I really enjoyed writing it. But I never set out to pen a romance novel. My intention was to write the story in my head, and that story just happened to fit into the romance genre.
I’m now working on my second novel, and there’s nothing vaguely romantic about it. In fact, I’m not quite sure of which genre it could fit into. But, once again, I haven’t set out to write a novel in a specific genre; I merely have a compelling story to tell, and I want to share it.
For me, the most important thing is the story, a story that just needs to be told, a story that opens your eyes, makes you see reality in a new light, touches your heart deeply. If I limit myself to writing novels in one particular genre, I might end up limiting my imagination, and I won’t be able to tell the stories I really want to tell. I simply can’t function that way.
I have nothing against novelists who choose to write in one genre. Many of them are great storytellers and masters of their genre. But I prefer the freedom to write whatever I feel strongly about. I may or may not write another romance novel, but I have plenty of interesting stories to tell.
Photo credit: jaci XIII Window of the universe via photopin (license)</a>
Kathleen Jones’ first novel, Love Is the Punch Line, a midlife comic romance set in the world of stand-up comedy, will be published in April 2018 by Moonshine Cove Publishing. Visit Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist, online at https://kathleenjones.org/
or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/joneslepidas and sign up for free updates at http://eepurl.com/ceSobT
Kathleen Jones, The Quirky Novelist 