Practicalities of writing different genres

I’ve heard it said numerous times, “Don’t switch genres. Every time you do it is like starting all over again.”

Yet authors still switch genres, myself included.

My experience of writing in different genres (non-fiction and contemporary)

I started by writing non-fiction and never dreamed that I would write novels. All of my non-fiction was practical and included books on evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual warfare.

Then I wrote a contemporary Christian novel that ended up being a six-book series. Its official genre is ‘women’s fiction’ although I hadn’t heard that term when I wrote it. I call it ‘issues-based’ fiction for it looks at issues in ordinary people’s lives like forgiveness, low self-esteem, anger, abandonment … women’s fiction takes us on a journey as the characters mature and change. Strangely, there is no ‘men’s fiction’ equivalent and some of my stories have male main characters, yet the feel of them is similar.

In early 2023, I published the first of my Old Testament series. Using what I’d learned about publishing I aimed to release the first three books of the series as quickly as possible as it is hard to market a series of less than three books.With three books I can also release the first three-book collection in between books three and four.

Every additional book in the series will help sales.

But so far the advice that writing a new genre is like starting again has been correct both times. I’d already written two non-fiction books before I launched into fiction. I had to overcome a lot of skepticism that a non-fiction writer could write decent fiction. I’ve had comments like, “Oh, these are real books!”

I didn’t know what I was doing when it came to selling novels and I had initially assumed I was writing a standalone. Thankfully the Lord knew that writing series was better and he seems to have had the six books in mind well before he revealed it to me. In those days, I sold about ten copies/month of each book in ebook but as the series lengthened, sales increased.

A new series and genre (historical)

So when I switched to the Old Testament-era novels, I assumed that ten ebook sales/month/book was about right. My sales have been lower than that. My print sales readers seem to have switched genres fairly easily but ebook sales have been slower.

One issue with what is called ‘Biblical fiction’ is that the two words seem a contradiction. Many readers have strong feelings against the genre because they fear that the author will mess with the Biblical stories. That is a legitimate fear. I have had to win readers one at a time. Each one who learns to trust my handling of scripture, then recommends them to others.

Reasons why you might write in different genres

• Creativity reasons – an author might become bored of one genre or simply have lots of different ideas in different genres.

• The first genre they wrote in might turn out to be unprofitable or they simply decide they don’t like writing in that genre or prefer another.

Ways to make genre-switching easier

• If possible, stick to a broad genre area. For example, you might write different kinds of fantasy or science fiction/dystopian. Or you might switch between historical and contemporary romance.

• Write several of the books before you release the first so that you can quickly reach that 3-4 books which makes marketing and sales easier.

What if you do a major genre switch?

Some authors do major genre switches but they use pseudonyms to publish each genre under a different name. This comes with both pros and cons.

I didn’t want to write under different names because it would probably have meant complications with websites, marketing, branding … and my books might be different genres but the spiritual qualities are similar. I also sell lots of print books at seminars (usually on Bible storytelling which is the topic of two of my non-fiction books and strongly linked with Books 1-2 of the contemporary novels and of course, all the Old Testament novels). I am confident that sales will eventually pick up.

Maximizing your chances of success with a new genre

My first series is best read in order, which means that all advertising and applications for promotions are based on Book 1. I have learned from other authors and changed things for my second series.

My tips are:

• Write standalone books that share a theme or setting or something else. For example, they could be multiple stories set in a village or the stories of siblings or friends … Or they could all be stories of people that suit a theme like reconciliation or ‘lost and found’ …
• It is fun to have some links in the series (like cameo appearances of other people in the series) but try and make sure that the series can be read in any order without ruining it.
• Aim to write at least six in a series. I try and write in multiples of three because it is easier to then have a collection of Books 1-3, 4-6 …

My Old Testament series is chronological but is called Light of Nations and looks at different people groups impacted by the Israelites. Currently, it has included stories on Amorites at the time of Abraham, Egyptians during the Exodus, and Hivites during Joshua’s time.

What advice do you have for authors considering writing in different genres?