Hodge podge of approaches

[Diviner]

I am currently simmering the ideas for my sixth novel. So far, I have finished three novels and have more than 50000wc each on two others. Though I have done some querying of agents, I have had no response yet but the familiar, "this is not appropriate for my list."

Despite all this writing, I am in lots of ways a beginner, and I certainly have not stuck to any one genre or one approach. My first works were YA fantasy, the next two were historical, and the new one will be a mixture of modern literary with flashbacks. Only now am I beginning to have enough confidence in my writing to hope for it to be literary. (My short stories have always been literary, but I have had only one published.)

What I am wondering from you more seasoned and successful writers is whether my way of working is typical or fraught with unperceived dangers. I am completedly serious about wanting to be a good writer, a published writer, and a successful writer (ultimately), but a systematic approach does not seem to suit me. Is it important for a writer to stick to one genre ultimately? Is it best to do less experimenting now, before I have found a market, and to concentrate on a certain type of work? I know that once I find a readership, they will look for a certain type of work from me, but is that how a writer starts out, already settled into a genre?

[soloset]

I am currently simmering the ideas for my sixth novel. So far, I have finished three novels and have more than 50000wc each on two others. Though I have done some querying of agents, I have had no response yet but the familiar, "this is not appropriate for my list."

I'm not more seasoned or more successful by a long shot, but I'm pretty sure if you're hearing "this is not appropriate for my list" you're probably querying the wrong people.

I'd be curious to hear what others think of writing across multiple genres too.

Oh, and congratulations on completing three novels -- I'm positively green with envy over here. :D

[James D. Macdonald]

Write what appeals to you. If your work doesn't appeal to you, odds are it won't appeal to anyone else, either. Don't limit yourself. After you've sold your first book it's likely you'll be asked to do more in the same genre.

Just concentrate now on a) finishing b) the best books you can write.

Writers who work in more than one genre often come up with pseudonyms to keep 'em straight on the bookshelves.

[Jamesaritchie]

There is, I think, a danger in spreaidng yourself too thin, in not mastering one form before moving on to another.

It's fine to write in several genres. I do this, as well. But I do think you'll have more success early on if you concentrate on one thing until you get it right. Which thing? Probably the one you most enjoy reading and writing.

Once you've managed to write a novel that sells, once you've learned how to write a publishable novel, this knowledge can be applied to pretty much any genre. I couldn't begin to stick to one genre and one type of novel over the long haul, but in teh beginning I think it's best to concentrate, to focus, on writing a singe novel that someone will want to buy. You can always branch out later.

[PeeDee]

I write where the ideas are and as is mentioned above, that's the smart thing to do. I don't read Westerns, nor do I have a huge desire to write them, but if the idea comes to me, then I sit down and write the western. THEN I worry about finding it a home.

Could it be a problem? I guess, maybe. If I wrote two western short stories and published them in SaddleBags Monthly or something, this might not be the most useful publishing credit when I turn around and query Analog, for example. Then again, I think I'd trust the editor to be professional enough to think "It ain't my genre, but he's published" and then look at my story. Then, I've just got to make sure the story catches his attention (easy. right?)