Know your Genre

It's conference season, and the Diva is beat. Expect hot and cold running typos in the posts over the next two months or so.

Before you craft a query letter, or pitch an editor, be sure you know what genre your manuscript fits into. Stick with ONE genre in your pitch. Each genre carries its own set of editorial expectations. If you've prepared me for a paranormal fantasy, then I expect the end product to fall within the boundaries of the genre you defined in your query or pitch.

Yes, I've seen well-written projects that defy genre placement. I've fallen in love with a few. I've also been around long enough to know that such projects seldom make money--especially when coming from first-time authors. It's sad, it sucks, but it's true.

If I can't convince the powers that be that your book will turn my house a profit, it won't be going to print, no matter how much I love it. In order to build the case for any project that captures my heart, my market analysis will be based on the previous successes of books very similar to the one I'm trying to push into print.

I'm constantly amazed how many letters I get from authors who have crafted novel length projects, but can't manage to define the genre their project fits into.

Text in Transit provides a great place to begin when trying to decide how to best describe your project. If you have any idea about where your manuscript belongs in the literary scheme of things, figure it out long before you type the words, Dear Editor.

Taking the time to know your genre. Writing within the rules of that genre makes it easier for me to build a case for your book should I happen to fall in love with it.