When should you ditch the genre you’re writing in and try something new?
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A Podcast on the Craft of Writing by Author Michael Campling
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Episode Notes
We discuss:
Reasons for ditching your genre and writing in a new one, and we touch on some of the pros and cons.
Switching genres is a long-term decision with many implications – it isn’t a quick fix.
There’s the lure of the shiny and the new, but you may need to think about building up a new readership from scratch. How many books will it take to make it in the new genre?
Is the new genre very competitive or is one that lacks a distinct readership? Buying a k-lytics report may help you to decide.
Jumping on a hot niche? Do you really understand what those readers want?
If you have a clear intent and you’ve thought out your reasons for switching genres, it can be a good move.
Do your research and assess the workload.
If you’re doing well in a genre, do you really need to change?
Can you experiment with a short project, e.g. a novella, to judge if the genre is a good fit? Perhaps you could try out an episodic format, writing one chapter at a time. Are people howling for more?
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