Author branding - writing in completely different genres

I don't know that it's a bad thing, per se, but it could be difficult to find an agent that can sell in all the genres. Most of them specialize by necessity, because part of agenting involves having a personal relationship with editors and each of them knowing what the other offers.

You'll have the best luck pairing the horror with the dark fantasy. Many of the publishers span that line. The light romance will be trickier, but a separate pen name could help with that. In other words, it's not impossible, but will take a little effort.

Many do exactly that. Writers worry far, far too much about "branding". If you can write a good, publishable novel that readers really like, all else will take care of itself.

There's a LOT to be said for separate pen names. I wish I'd started a pen name for my children's books when I started out--would have made my life a lot easier.

Part of...err..."branding" for lack of a better term...is telling the reader what kind of book they're getting before they buy it. If you write all over the map, that's fine, but the reader (particularly if light romance is one of yours!) may be "I want fluffy light romance today!" and then picks up your dark fantasy book and goes "OH SWEET JESUS WHY THE DISMEMBERING" and then you can lose a reader because they don't know what they're getting from you.

Write like an angel so that anybody who reads you will go anywhere with you, and you're golden...but I don't know many authors who can count on that. (Neil Gaiman comes to mind, but that's rarefied air.)

It's not a bad thing to write multiple genres, but it's a bad thing to confuse readers.

Pen names

My agent does not rep romance (which I have pubbed before) He's stated he's happy for me to keep subbing/pubbing in that genre, he just does not have the contacts.

If you talk to your agent and agree that X genre they don't deal with will be handled by another agent...

If you talk, hammer out an agreement, it's fine.

Talk

You can build a brand with more than one name

It actually CAN be a bit of an advantage, sometimes.

I have a contract for a contemporary romance series with a publisher that was ADAMANT I not publish any other contemporary romances until that series was wrapped up. Like, they would not budge. If all I wrote was contemporary romance it would have been a real issue, but as it was? No big deal. We just made sure they defined "contemporary romance" in a way that wouldn't interfere with my m/m, NA, YA, or UF writing, and, tada! Contract acceptable!

10trackers said:

This made me snorfle.


Thanks for the advice, guys. Why must there be so many genres?!

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Nothing wrong with a good snorfling between friends.

I hear what you say. Genres are useful in some ways, limiting in others. I often feel like subverting the hell out them sometimes and get met with the critting equivalent of a blank stare sometimes.

As for me, my published short fiction (which is all over the map, genre-wise) goes out under my full name. If my YA novels get published, I'll be using my initials rather than my full given name.

RedWombat said:

"I want fluffy light romance today!" and then picks up your dark fantasy book and goes "OH SWEET JESUS WHY THE DISMEMBERING"

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10trackers said:

Why must there be so many genres?!

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FWIW, I'd read light fluffy romance with dismembering.

Hell, that would probably get me to read light fluffy romance in the first place.

This is such a great question. I like to write adult fiction but am currently working on a YA novel and thinking about an autobiography next. As a writer I am enjoying all of it but as a novice am definitely wondering how it all plays out logistically

Sherry Thomas mainly writes historical romance, but she's also written YA fantasy recently. Mary Jo Putney mostly writes historical romance, but she's written paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, YA. It can be done.

Hell yes. I have a lit agent for my kid lit, and I have a manager for my screenplays.

I can't write one genre. I get bored. I've written and published HF, crime, fantasy and NA/dystopian. I'm writing my first sci fi now. My publisher told me my strengths lie in HF but I can't do just one genre.
Maybe when I have written all I could, I might stick to HF. So far it hasn't served as a problem for me but that may change in the future.

This is one of those questions where the answer is IT DEPENDS. On you and what your preferences are. On the kinds of stories you write. On the market for the stories you write.

For my fiction I use a shortened version of my own name. So far it's scifi/fantasy, but if I write procedural detective or techno-thrillers (both on my to-do list) I'll use the same name. But for non-fiction technical books I would use my full name including a middle initial because that has been established by my many years at NASA and Boeing.

Nora Roberts, as another example, writes romances and mystery/romance hybrids under her established name. Her near-future mysteries with a dab of romance go out under J. D. Robb.

Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins, on the other hand, used the same name as those on her popular middle-grade books The Underland Chronicles.

And most of us know that J. K. Rowling published her first detective novel under a pen name. It sold the usual modest numbers of a competent first-time mystery novelist, not bad, not terrific. Then she was outed and the sales went way up. (Some cynics believe she orchestrated the outing, but I doubt it. When you are the first billionaire novelist do you really care about MORE money and fame?)

I have a question that relates to this thread: How many different pen names should an author have, and are there times when it's acceptable to write in different genres with the same name?

I write contemporary romance as well as horror/thriller/mystery stuff. I also write contemporary stuff that isn't romance (not sure if it would be classified as women's fiction or not--the one I currently am working on is similar to The Fault in our Stars, but with adults).

Would I need three different names? I've been told I shouldn't try to sell romance and other contemporary writing under the same name because the romance readers might think a story is a romance and then be pissed when it's actually a tragedy. I understand that. But could I possibly write both contemporary adult fiction as well as horror/other darker stuff under the same name?

I was thinking...

Andi Loveall for romance.
Andi B. Loveall for other contemporary.
A.B. Loveall for horror and other darker/supernatural stuff.

Or is that just crazy? Still trying to figure out how this whole branding thing works.

I asked my publisher once if it was worth changing my pen name for non historical fiction novels I write. She believed it was unnecessary however if I ever become well known (it's a pipe dream) I might just as JK did. However a little selfish part of me wants everyone to know I write multi genres as well.

kelliewallace said:

However a little selfish part of me wants everyone to know I write multi genres as well.

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That's just how I feel and why I only want to use variations of my real name instead of a pen name.

Well, Iain Banks wrote mainstream/literary fiction, and then very successfully moved into SF, using the extremely subtle pen name 'Iain M. Banks'.