What is Your Genre and Why Does it Matter?

What is Your Genre and Why Does it Matter?The word "genre" can mean a lot of things in the publishing world, from a set of story tropes or archetypes,a set of reader expectations,to a vital marketing tool that will determine your all important place on a bookstore shelf. Most of the time, the genre you're writing in is obvious to everybody involved, but it can often get complicated, and even too complicated. Every author needs to know when and how far to narrow in on sub genres like Steampunk

The word "genre" can mean a lot of things in the publishing world, from a set of story tropes or archetypes,a set of reader expectations,to a vital marketing tool that will determine your all-important place on a bookstore shelf.

Most of the time, the genre you're writing in is obvious to everybody involved, but it can often get complicated, and even too complicated. Every author needs to know when and how far to narrow in on sub-genres like Steampunk or Paranormal Romance, or be sensitive to the business decisions behind calling a novel either "horror" or "urban fantasy."

Philip Athans has spent the last thirty years as an author and editor primarily in genre fiction, especially science fiction and fantasy, and has seen the publishing business from the inside even as it's moved into the so-called ebook and indie publishing "revolutions."

In this 83-minute tutorial video, Phil Athans looks at the major genres not just in terms of story content, but the commerce behind those divisions:

• What is "Genre"?
• Why Genre?
• The Genre list
• Mixing Genres
• Genre Markets
• "Transcending" Genre

Learn to embrace your chosen genre,and how to carefully choose a new one!