Felicity asked P.D. Workman:

Do you think it is important to establish a genre before you begin writing and how important is this at the promotional stage?

P.D. Workman Promotion is much easier if you have a clear genre fit. I have one that I am sending to beta readers right now that is not as clear a fit as some of my others have been, and I'm struggling to find the right browse categories and BISAC classifications in order to list it at the various stores. You want a fairly narrow category to help boost visibility, and I am having a hard time narrowing it down further than 'contemporary fiction', which is sort of a mess to be in.

It is not easy to promote a book if you can't say 'it's a young adult suspense about...' or 'a mystery/thriller...' or whatever. People want to know what it is in order to judge whether it is something that they would ever consider reading.

Since I started publishing, I have learned that writing a synopsis, coming up with cover concepts, and focusing on genre and category is easiest to do before you start the first draft, and helps to focus your writing during the drafting process and keeps your writing tight.

flag