your market is more than your genre

Since I published my first novel Memorial Day last year, I’ve been working hard to finish my second novel, while also keeping up with the other things independent authors need to do for themselves.

As I’ve moved from writing-mode into editing-mode, I’ve been thinking more and more about who might want to read my second novel – and that has inspired me to blog about something I wished I had understood when I was finishing Memorial Day. And that is…

Your market is more than your genre!

The reason this has been on my mind lately is that I am still haunted by (positive) comments from agents who had read the full manuscript for Memorial Day, but who passed because they could not “put their finger on what the market would be” and that they were “not sure how they would be able to market it.”

To be honest, I didn’t really know what they meant until I was nearing the end of draft two for my current project. With Memorial Day, I was deeply immersed in trying to stretch literary convention by mapping the entirety of Joe DaSilva’s life to the classic “hero’s journey,” and I was consumed by the challenge of pulling that off when the journey he was taking was almost entirely internal.

When an agent asked me who I thought my readers would be, I thought my response was perfectly logical -- “Readers of historical fiction.” Of course, that naive response demonstrated that I had no idea what my market was because there is so much more to the genre of historical fiction that I clearly had not even considered.

I’ll admit, I was not fully aware that historical fiction has at least twelve sub-genres (and probably many more), including : historical romance; historical mystery or crime; biographical historical fiction; alternate history; historical adventure; historical fantasy; military and war historical fiction; nautical historical fiction; western historical fiction; cultural historical fiction; historical sagas; and literary historical fiction.

And what about Memorial Day?

Well, it has an element of romance and unrequited love, but that’s not the core of Joe DaSilva’s life story. Several chapters also deal with Joe’s experience as a prisoner during World War II, but that part of the book represents only a few chapters of his story. Almost all of the book revolves around Joe’s nautical upbringing, but honestly, it is more of a way of life for Joe than what readers might expect from a typical nautical exploration story.

So, I suppose that leaves “historical saga” as the most likely genre for Memorial Day because the story bookends seventy years of Joe’s life with his best friends, Bill and Peggy, and makes evident the burden of history on the inhabitants of a small New England town.

And yet…

Since many reviewers insist that historical fiction should be set at least fifty years in the past, I’ve also been told that Memorial Day technically might not even be historical fiction. Even though the story begins in 1926, the fact that it ends in 1996 means that many reviewers do not accept that the novel fits the genre I intended!

Hard lesson, for sure.

But, this time around, I’ve been more intentional in my thoughts about how different kinds of readers will experience the events that propel the heroine to the climax of the story. 

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Why does it matter that your market is more than your genre?”

Well, as an independent author, confusing the two can lead to costly marketing missteps that target the wrong audience. Even if you do a much better categorizing your book than I did based on its content and style, you have to be certain that you are targeting a market that pertains to the specific group of readers the book is aimed at (e.g., young adults, new mothers, tech enthusiasts, history buffs).

If you focus too much on adhering to genre conventions, as I did, you might forget to consider groups of readers with which your book will resonate the most. For example, a mystery novel might follow all the typical genre patterns, but is written in a style or addresses themes that are more appealing to a specific demographic, such as older adults or fans of historical fiction.

More simply, the style, content, and themes of the book determine its ideal market, not just its genre. And this is critically important to consider during all stages of the creative and publication process because you will need to make the same important decisions for every work of art at every stage of your creative journey.

For instance, are you motivated more by artistic integrity or market considerations? If you are motivated by creating art for art's sake, and feel a deep conviction that the most authentic and powerful works come from a place of personal passion and truth, then you should prioritize your genre, creative vision, and artistic integrity over market trends.

On the other hand, understanding your market will be crucial to finding readers who will embrace your artistic vision and help you expand the audience for your passions and truths.

I am a firm believer that, in the initial stages of writing, it's better to let creative ideas flow freely without the constraints of market considerations. That’s why I hand-write everything in the early stages, so that I am not tempted to start editing, fact-checking, and measuring my work against other authors’ while I am still exploring the characters and story. I know that focusing too much on the market will stifle my creativity and lead to contrived and formulaic work. 

But now that I’m further along revising my second novel, I am starting to consider how it might fit current market trends. I can see the benefit of tweaking aspects of the story, considering the target audience more closely, and different ways that I might want to adjust future querying and marketing strategies… especially if I go the independent route again!

For you, your genre and format may mean that you need to be more attuned to conventions and the expectations of your readers. If you are writing romance and mystery books, you will find that they are very closely tied to market demands, while market considerations for children's books are particularly important due to the unique preferences and sensitivities of the demographic.

Finally, your publishing goals are another major reason to remind yourself that your market is more than your genre. If you are determined to achieve your writing goal through traditional publishing, market considerations take on even more importance. Publishers look for marketable books that fit current trends and have a clear target audience.

If you are planning to self-publish, you will definitely have more freedom, but I can tell you from experience that you will bear all the responsibility for marketing your book. Understanding your market as you are writing will help you target the right audience and make more (cost) effective marketing decisions.

And since you are your own marketing department with a limited budget, you will want to make sure you get the best return for the effort you have put into your practice and your art.

I hope that sharing these insights helps you strike the right balance as you consider the needs and conventions of your market and your genre. Stay tuned for my next in a series of blog posts about “What I’ve Learned Since I Became an Indie Author.”

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