Anyway, I’m a born YA writer… I read it, I write it and love it. I don’t feel boxed into this genre becuase YA can have any variety of secondary genres in there. Is there a YA guild or something out there? I’m new to the field.
thx

Nina 🙂
http://ninabadzin.com

LOL…glad you enjoyed. I share my pain so others might learn :D.

lol. By the way, have we met because you seem to know me…

I recently began to reach out to other genres myself, I am the the born fantasy writer. I learned in my class, with Jennifer Holbrook-Talty, the importance of learning from other novels and writers concerning point of view alone. Since then, I have picked up novels I never would have even glanced at twice before and it has really impacted my writing. In fact, I just picked up another novel today at work. (they have a book shelf there for you to leave or take books from) It covers alternative religious history, an undertone/overtone in my novels. So, outside genres can be a huge help.

As for the above post, Kristen, the link concerning the Fantasy Writers of America wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be, and the site can use ten face lifts and a tummy tuck, but it does have some helpful information. Thanks.

First of all THANKS! Yeah, I hear you. I finally had to just pick one. When you’re a new writer I do recommend experimenting with genres and see which one you like. The problem is that if ur a Dabbler like me…you love them ALL. Just pick one and stick to it. Bob Mayer is an AMAZING author. He has hit the NY Times best-selling list in 5 genres. But, because he has genre-hopped, he isn’t a household name like Clancy or King, and who knows? If he’d stuck with one genre he might have been. Can you genre hop? Sure. But you likely will spread yourself too thinly. Bob is brilliant and a feak of nature…so ignore him for the most part. Most of us don’t have brains that big, LOL 😀

For example, book 1 is suspense/psychological. Well, after the rewrite it will be anyway. It sort of flopped around like a dead fish at first. The second is literary fiction, and the third is Christian fantasy. See what I mean? I’m not sure if going all over the place like that is normal or if I’m in a weird, and painfully long, hunt for my niche.

Oh, well. I’ve fought with myself over this for some time now. I am attempting to relax and enjoy the ride. It’s sort of fun trying to write all of the different genres. I’m sure one will ‘float’ to the top as my strong point. Maybe. I hope. 😉

Keep the posts coming! I look forward to each one.

That’s a good question. Marketable just means that there is a frame of reference. For instance, you open a restaurant, what is the type of cuisine? If you can’t quantify that, you are going to already have a bugger of a time marketing. Just because you pick a genre doesn’t mean that you have to write stale, formulaic writing, but it will give you guideposts for that genre. If you write 150,000 word YA, that is a tough sell. Agents know teens already have a short attention span, so they know 150,000 word book would be a bad investment.

A lot goes back to why are you writing? If you want a career as a best-selling author? You generally need to write genre books. Like if I want to make a zillion dollars owning a restaurant, it is a good idea to open a pizza parlor. Why? Appeals to the most people. But, if you are writing to be considered literature or win the Pulitzer, then not as important to write genre stories. Genre books sell more simply because they have existing followings/fans.