What to determine when choosing your next story genre-wise
Lately, I have been thinking about writing and the success we receive in it all. Being an Indie Author definitely causes me to think of the stories I put out in a way that I never thought I would have. Simply because I don't have a publisher or an established reader base behind me to launch. I need to start from the ground up.
What do I mean by this?
Sure, every writer needs to think about their book's marketability. You want to not only write in a genre that you enjoy, but you want to write in a genre that readers can connect with. One that you can easily insert yourself to grow your own reader base.
I know other writers who have felt the struggle of low sales and wondered, Did I choose the right genre? And that simply breaks my heart.
After hearing these tales of whoa and where did I go wrong, I got to thinking. What should you determine when choosing your next project genre-wise?
Narrow Fields- The first blaring fact that hits home to me is that unless you are undeniably able to hit it out of the park, I would stay away from niche genres until you feel you have enough return readers to make it work. ( I say this with so much love.) Niche Genre's have a much smaller reader base and they are much harder to find. To determine if a niche is right for you right off the bat, test it on some beta readers interested in that genre.
Genre Market Research- When inspiration strikes, my first thought isn't to say, I better check how the market for that genre is right now. However, the longer that you write and work your creative brain, you slowly start to find these thoughts worm their way in. If you are writing purely for the joy of writing, disregard market genre research. If you are looking to start making a name for yourself as an author, see where your idea fits in the market right now. Would it do well? What aspects do well that you could intertwine in your own?
Networking and Connecting- Social media is going to be your most useful tool when it comes to networking with other authors in your chosen genre. Talking with them about what is working and not working is one of the best ways to determine what you can change to make things work in your favor. However, there is always the saying, what works for me may not work for you. Which is very true! But, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?
Now, this isn't by any means to imply that these are the go-to ways to make it as a big-time author. ( Because I know I'm not, just a small fish in the sea.) I know that when I wrote my first and even second books, I simply wrote for the love of writing and started learning about how it fits into the market for readers as I went.
My personal opinion is that you first find an idea that truly resonates with you. You want to be able to love and enjoy what you are writing. (Because if you don't, it shows in your writing.) As your start to form and develop that story, keep the genre's market in mind and start forming your marketing for it early on. Every person has their own journey when it comes to being a writer/ author and not one is the same.