There are people who say that writing in multiple genres is not a good idea, and I get it. I remember Bo Jackson, the athlete who played both in the NFL and Major League Baseball. He was an All Star athlete for both the LA Raiders and the Kansas City Royals. But playing for two professional sports team—with overlapping seasons—didn’t serve Jackson well. Many believe he never reached his full potential in either baseball or football because he never had the time to develop. The same might be said for authors: writing outside of a specific genre can impact sales or author visibility.
Why Write in Multiple Genres
As writers, we are compelled to write all kinds of things, and they seldom fit into neat little genre boxes. I’ve mentioned this in the past when I spoke about the 2018 Short Story Challenge. From the prompts I found to start the challenge, I wrote fifty short stories, some of which have since been published. A recent one appears in Rope and Wire, a western short story website with many contributors. I was happy to submit Whisper, a short story about a sheriff gone wrong to the site and thrilled to receive another writing credit when it was published. (They even gave me an author’s page.) I also enjoyed writing the story and flexing my author “muscles” in the process: it’s kept me fresh and invigorated as I try to tailor my writing to the expectations of very different readers. That’s a good thing.
Why it May be a Challenge
An article on writing in multiple Genres from the Your Writer Platform website raises questions about the ability of an author to succeed in multiple genres. Not having a clear specialization or niche as an author makes marketing and visibility challenging, resulting in lower sales figures when publishing outside of their main specialty. This is a challenge for someone who is building their author brand. Some writers address this by using a pen name Even powerhouse Nora Roberts did so when beginning her futuristic suspense novels as JD Robb. On the other hand, Jonathan Maberry, another author who writes in multiple genres said his name is his brand: using a pseudonym only dilutes his efforts, forcing him to create multiple websites and marketing campaigns that could otherwise be served through a single website.
For now, I don’t feel the need to create a pseudonym (spoiler alert: I already have one). I’ll wait until I have enough of an identity or brand that it might make a difference. Time will tell.
