Welcome to Tuesday Book Chat.
This is where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week. As we are a faith-based group the questions refer mainly to Christian fiction or non-fiction.
Today’s question is:
Do you prefer when authors stick to one genre – or genre-hop?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation by commenting on this post or on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group. Remember to comment today on Tuesday Book Chat to enter the giveaway.
Let’s chat!
This is a curly question. Ironically when I first saw this question, I thought yes cos a couple authors who do genre-hop I have liked one genre not the other. But then I remembered A couple of my favourite authors “genre-hop” and do it really well. Penny Zeller and Susan Page Davis. However, there are others who haven’t done it as well often they use the same tone and style just changing the genre. This often feel like the book is set in the wrong era.
If you are a good author you will be able to genre hop but to save confusion to your readers a pen name can be helpful. Especially if you are going from Christian Fiction to General Market.
I look forward to reading your comments here or at the FB group.
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As long as they write well, I don’t mind.
I love Irene Hannon’s books and she writes in both suspense and romance. It’s great because it means she puts out 2 books each year.
Davis Bunn has done it as well – suspense and romance, but he also writes under the name Thomas Locke when writing science fiction.
Thanks for commenting Beth. I agree many authors can do it well and I have read probably more of Irene’s Romance than Suspense.
I like how Davis Bunn has a pen name for Science Fiction as it really does have a different audience. Its like a few authors who write romance but also Thriller have pen names. This is more what the question was asking. Not if authors should write other genres.
1) Writers have to write what God asks them to write. We can’t tell an author, ‘You shouldn’t have branched out.’ We aren’t their Lord.
2) Artists also need to stretch and grow and evolve and try new things.
3) In short, we are artist and art: we are His workmanship, and we do His pre-prepared works.
4) There aren’t enough genres anyway. Be a genre-buster like Mazzy Adams!
I don’t think we are wanting to tell authors what to write as that’s not our place. Part of the question came from readers where they get confused when the marketing isn’t done and are use to an author mainly writing in one genre then changing to something totally different. I know of a few authors who have a pen name when the genres are so different. Romantic Suspense and Regency. I know another who did this for Historical and Suspense. Meredith Resce did this for some of her books too. My bigger struggle was authors going into general market when I didn’t know and suddenly getting a spicy book from an author I had previously read Love Inspired books by. (I actually do like genres I like to know what I am reading)
I would not have classified it as telling the author what to write. Rather questions like this are just feedback for the author’s consideration.
I don’t like authors who switch genres, and that’s my personal preference. If they switch, I rarely switch with them and usually stop reading their books. So, from my point of view, an author who “relies” on sales from me might want to know I likely won’t continue buying their books if they genre-hop.
Hi Dienece, I’m with you on this point. I don’t follow the majority of authors who I’ve read into a new genre. One reason is I have limits on my reading time. I need to be in the right mood as well to move outside my comfort zone genres. I have to be a super fan to auto-follow authors into other genres and it usually takes reading many of their books in the same genre to grow that amount of reader loyalty in me.
True. I have followed a few, but only because I was a massive fan of them. And even so, one or two of them I dropped after a book or two. And for some, it still took me a while to become a fan of their new work. Which is one of the reasons, I don’t tend to do that anymore.
I have so many other things I could read, that it doesn’t seem worth the few books it takes for them to settle into the new genre.
That makes sense do you still read the genre you like that they read? I have a few authors I only read the genres I like.
For some reason, I can’t reply to Jenny’s comment. But the answer is yes, if they continue to write in my favourite genre I will read those. However, a few stopped writing in it altogether, so I quit reading them.
Thanks for answering not sure what the issue is with the replying.
Hi Jenny, Good question. I’m answering first with my reader hat on. I don’t mind as a reader as long as I know what I’m getting and the book description and marketing materials are accurate. I’ve also been burned by accidentally making false assumptions about book content based on previous books. Goodreads reviewers are very vocal when the book description and marketing materials don’t match the book content.
From an author perspective it’s a personal choice. But authors can’t have it both ways. I’ve been disappointed to see authors getting angry with readers for not following them into a new genre. The respect needs to work both ways and the importance of authors respecting readers can’t be underestimated.
That said, it’s unusual to hear readers complaining publicly about authors switching genres. Twenty years ago it was more common. There are so many great books out there (the market is flooded with books) which means readers can easily find other authors to read in the genres they prefer.
Totally agree. I also am one who can get a little annoyed when an author switches from Romance to Women’s fiction for example without much warning and the blurb makes it sound like its still Romance. Had this happen a few times. I don’t mind an author writing other genres I think what the question was meaning was if they are changing and its a big change do you like to be fore warned or do you like when they use a pen name so the genres are kept separate. Jo Grafford/Jovie Grace does this really well. For her historical she uses Jovie Grace and her contemporary books she uses Jo Grafford.
It’s frustrating when that happens and I find it can spoil the story. The last book I DNF’d many months ago was advertised as romance (in the series title). As I read, I was looking for romance and getting annoyed because the focus was on a side character situation rather than the romance. Had I known it was more women’s fiction than romance, I wouldn’t have been looking for the romance that wasn’t there and instead would have appreciated the women’s fiction story elements and likely enjoyed the story. I’m usually an easy to please reader but if my expectations are wrong at the start, it can ruin a great story. I have reread books like this later (with the right expectations) and enjoyed them. All that to say I’m the reader who likes to know exactly what I’m getting upfront and I always read the book description before I start reading.
I both do and don’t like pen names. If I can’t easily get the connection between the two, then it can be frustrating. I like it when author bios (especially on Amazon) explain that the author also writes X-Y-Z genre under this pen name. Then I can connect the two really easily.
That makes sense. Its a little like early 2000’s Jillian Hart wrote both Christian Fiction (LI) but also some what was then call sweet clean which were more Christian worldview but completely clean. She used the same name but it was the covers you could tell the normal print was the CF and the italics titles were the Sweet clean books. Mostly her CF titles were LI which really helped. But nowadays the sweet clean is a totally different catagory. Authors like Susan Page Davis has been doing this since she started writing and because I like the genres she reads I am happy to read her books. I haven’t read all the PI books but she is ok with readers just reading the genre they like.
I rarely follow authors who genre hop. Even if they are currently writing two different genres when I find them, I tend to stick to one side rather than both.
Funnily enough, there is one author who writes both contemporary and historical, and I actually like her contemporary better, even though historical is my favourite genre. Her historicals are good, but I don’t get excited when I see she’s released one of those like I do the contemporaries. It could be because I’ve gotten really into the contemporary series she is releasing, so I’m exciting when a new one of those comes out.
I can understand that and there are some authors I will read one genre they write but not others but its because there are genres I really don’t like. Even if my all-time favourite wrote the genre I still wouldn’t read it. Most authors understand not every reader is their reader.
That is interesting. If I use Penny Zeller as an example, I tend to read her contemporary romances and romantic suspense before I read her historicals. I have loved every book of hers that I’ve read so it’s my current reading preference for contemporary and suspense over historical that’s dictating my reading choices from her extensive backlist and catalogue of books. If I had unlimited reading time, I’d read them all! That’s because I’m one of her super fans and I trust her to deliver books I’ll enjoy. It takes time and many books to build that level of reader trust.
Good point. Sandra Ardoin is one of the authors I was talking about, and she has an extensive list which I just don’t have time to read (or the money because they aren’t all in KU). But I have enjoyed everything of hers I’ve read. But finding the time can be so hard sometimes!
I agree on time my TBR list is so long if another book wasn’t written for 10 years I would still have books to read.
I don’t mind if authors write in different genres. I’ll try out the new ones to support them and if I like them I’ll keep reading the series, if not I stick what I’ve liked from them all along.
Thanks Cindi for your comments. I do this too unless I don’t like a genre. There are authors I started reading after they changed genre.
I don’t mind if authors genre hop. If It’s another genre I enjoy, the it just might mean more books for me to read.
Thanks for Commenting. and true more books to read.