Category: Uncategorized

Today I’m welcoming Man Martin to the blog. Man is a writer, teacher, and founding member of the Perambulators living in Atlanta, Georgia. His debut novel, Days of the Endless Corvette, won him Georgia Author of the Year in 2008. His upcoming release, Paradise Dogs, launches in June from Thomas Dunne Books.

I was speaking to a fellow author at some gathering of writers or other and was moaning about the difficulty in plotting my new novel.

“What you need to do,” she told me earnestly, “is write a series of ‘set pieces’ the scenes you know you need to have, and then you just need to do the transitions to fill in.”

I smiled and nodded and thanked her for her advice. I’m always grateful for advice from more successful authors than I am, and just about all authors are more successful than I am. But I had no intention of doing what she said. The truth is, I wasn’t really complaining about the difficulty I was having, I was bragging. I wanted her to know I was working on a project that defied boilerplate approaches, that transcended them.

No doubt my friend had learned about writing “set pieces” from one of those “So You Want to Be a Writer” craft books. Craft books and craft essays are chock full of such helpful nuggets. For example, one book on creating characters says each character should have a tag (a word or phrase that defines her, such as an unusual name) a mannerism (a typical behavior or twitch such as pushing the glasses up the bridge of her nose or saying “My stars!”) and a relationship with someone or something, such as a cat whom she anthropomorphizes horribly.

I’m not spurning such advice, following it leads to perfectly serviceable narrative such as:

“My stars!” Eugenia Periwinkle exclaimed, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “Mr. Dowdle, you naughty, naughty pussycat, what have we said about using your litter box?”

The problem is, if you go about it that way, you’re going to end up with troops of characters busily pushing glasses up the bridges of their noses, clearing their throats peremptorily, cracking their knuckles, or whatever mannerism you’ve decided to foist off on them. No doubt Emma Bovary had her mannerisms, but I don’t recall them. It seems to me she merely acted as Emma Bovary would act in each given situation, and Flaubert was wise enough to let her get away with it. Does Humbert Humbert have a mannerism? He certainly has a tag – what do you do with a name like Humbert Humbert – and there’s no mistaking he has a relationship. But a mannerism? I don’t think so. Nevertheless, he’s absolutely as real and convincing a character as I’ve ever come across. I wept when I read the death of D’Artagnan. (I’m an easy weeper.) But I don’t recall his having a specific mannerism. He got into a lot of sword fights. Maybe that’s a mannerism.

I could go on about advice from other craft books, and again, I’m not entirely discounting the advice. Every serious writer I know is also a serious student of craft and has a personal list of rules, some learned by hard experience and some gleaned from essays on craft. When I feel my story is sagging somewhere, I have a hard look at it under the magnifying glass of craft. I have a hard look at it anyways.

But at the end of the day, you’re not a writer because you’ve read craft books, you’re a writer because you’ve read books. Writing comes out of overflow, we fill ourselves to the brim with words and living until we just have to write. Basing your writing on what you’ve learned in craft essays is a bit (I know this is an overstatement) like learning to paint by buying a “Starry Night” paint-by-numbers kit. If you follow the directions, you will end up with something quite pleasant to look at, but it ain’t gonna be Van Gogh and it ain’t exactly gonna be yours either.

You want to be a writer? Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Let your characters be what they want to be once in a while without pasting a tag or a mannerism on their foreheads. Let situations lead where they want to lead without aiming for the next set piece. When you get stuck, instead of digging out a craft book, reread Richard III, and ask yourself, “What would Shakespeare do?” Then go back and write some more. Then read some more. Then write.

***********

Look for Paradise Dogs, June 2011 from Thomas Dunne Books
Booklist: Paradise Dogs is “simply brilliant.”
Visit http://manmartin.blogspot.com
and manmartin.net

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter in the last week.

I’m delighted that now we have an efficient method of locating resources on writing topics when you need them—via the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine and software engineer and writer Mike Fleming’s ingenuity. The links I tweet (which are writers’ blogs, agents’ and editors’ blogs) all are added to the engine to make it easier for you to access the information you’re looking for.

Interested in a monthly newsletter with the top writing articles, blogger spotlights, and interviews with industry insiders? Sign up for the free WKB newsletter here: http://hiveword.com/wkb/newsletter. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and your email information is never shared.)

How to Punctuate Dialogue in Novels and Short Stories: http://bit.ly/h0EnDm

An editor on show and tell: http://bit.ly/hBIFiJ

Use a character web to track your characters: http://bit.ly/hCLgoI

3 types of secondary characters: http://bit.ly/fCq6cp

17 Places to Get Headline Ideas: http://bit.ly/edroWD

Description 101: Is Your Description Helping Your Story or Holding it Back? http://bit.ly/dEcdw9

How one writer’s nonfiction project came to life: http://bit.ly/gQFQps

What No Writer Should Ignore – Their Health: http://bit.ly/hWnm02

3 Guidelines for Creating a Title with Shelf Appeal: http://bit.ly/e30ua2

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: IRISH STEW http://bit.ly/gAiEfm @CleoCoyle

On Epistolary Novels: http://bit.ly/ewGLvd

On motivation: http://bit.ly/dH9RF7

Writer/editor @JaneFriedman ‘s thoughts on drinking + life + writing: http://bit.ly/dQCLXV

Types of writing warm-ups: http://bit.ly/dMBEJ5

The Armchair BEA: http://bit.ly/hKfWtH

Character traits instead of physical descriptions to identify characters & writing prompts for warm ups: http://bit.ly/eME5Yj @writeprompts

Turning Short Stories Into A Novel: http://bit.ly/fC4Jdr

50 Ways to Dodge The Blog Burnout Sucker Punch: http://bit.ly/eTbDPl

My Story Got Workshopped. Now What? http://bit.ly/hsKtbl

On conflict and the amount to have in your story: http://bit.ly/eRoy4G

Who’s Misusing Whose? http://bit.ly/fdP2l5

Scenes that do double-duty. Or when your characters need to unionize: http://bit.ly/e9KXwl

Making Writing Your Business: Specifying Actions: http://bit.ly/gzYwSe

Tips for writing a travel memoir: http://bit.ly/gJuc9C

Get control of your characters: http://bit.ly/glAotz

Read, read, read – and why you should: http://bit.ly/h5duUN

5 things stand-up comedians can teach you about self-publishing: http://bit.ly/fG4xbk

The role of memory in crime fiction: http://bit.ly/fg7j8y @mkinberg

A Defense of Traditional Publishing: http://bit.ly/fFMZUr

For Earth Day: 7 Ways to be a Green Writer: http://bit.ly/hoT4px @LauraMarcella

Ways for Writers to Stay Fit: http://bit.ly/hbJR9Y

The Skill List Project: Viewpoint and Story Experience: http://bit.ly/g8iwOY

Slow Blogging: A Commitment: http://bit.ly/gHGzVH

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Lemon Cookies for Easter http://bit.ly/eGGivt @CleoCoyle

An editorial chat on prose: http://bit.ly/eIFZFH

Fantasy Is Not Safe: http://bit.ly/h9eR98

Are you prepared to answer the question, “What’s your book about?”? http://bit.ly/fbdRlI @jamigold

Writing rituals: http://bit.ly/ekvaXp

Can’t Write? Draw: http://bit.ly/gNhzlN

Working Through an Agent’s Critique Letter: http://bit.ly/fZIYts @4kidlit

Guest Blogging Etiquette: Let’s Make a Deal: http://bit.ly/gvJ4gM

Things to consider before branching out into other genres: http://bit.ly/hoxZQv

What to Do When Your Writing Takes a Back Seat: http://bit.ly/f7ENtj

How to choose the best story idea: http://bit.ly/h9Ii1X

5 Critical Areas to Focus On For Writing Skills Growth: http://bit.ly/igIdVY

Self-editing checklist–voice and viewpoint: http://bit.ly/eTMFJT

How Amazon Recommendation Algorithms Help Sell Your Book: http://bit.ly/fh8Mr3 @thecreativepenn

Making the Author-Editor Connection: The Importance of Being Edited: http://bit.ly/ga3IjE

7 Reasons Why Your Posts Aren’t Getting Retweeted: http://bit.ly/ejBnvX

Got social media app challenges? A software trainer & writer wants to help: http://bit.ly/f9vHke @jhansenwrites

Why one writer quit querying: http://bit.ly/e4glqJ @keligwyn

Doubtlessly, there is doubt: http://bit.ly/exObqc

Writing Your Character’s Thoughts: http://bit.ly/h9uACh @CherylRWrites

A Yes-and-No Answer About Hyphenating Phrases: http://bit.ly/ig8sHh

Exploring the difference between having readers and having *fans*: http://bit.ly/huGo6J

Mental Signposts That Tell, Not Show: http://bit.ly/g1Jhi3

Defining foundation concepts: http://bit.ly/fQFjKO

7 Secrets of Creating Effective Email Campaigns: http://bit.ly/eP8jCF

A revision success story: http://bit.ly/gdG9cX

Beware Milli Vanilli Syndrome: http://bit.ly/giNYwT

Broadcastr Launches Android App: http://bit.ly/gkvJmR @galleycat

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Easter Dessert http://bit.ly/gEySIx @CleoCoyle

Is Myth Dead? What is Myth and how did we kill it? http://bit.ly/fOl4tb @agent139

4 Ways to Keep Your Lifeless Blog from Boring Your Readers to Tears: http://bit.ly/eZSWNz

13 Ways to Screw Up Your Query: http://bit.ly/fQMKOU

10 Tips for Writing Excellence From Top Writing Bloggers: http://bit.ly/eb3aJR

Help For Those Late Night Fights With Your Blog: http://dld.bz/Xtsj @jhansenwrites

Beneath Our Feet and Above Our Heads: http://bit.ly/eZ4Et4

On Earning Out: http://bit.ly/hWNNmK

7 Considerations When Writing Descriptions: http://bit.ly/dXuUTg @authorterryo

Standing Out in the Slushpile: Some Basic Tips: http://bit.ly/eAQCrU

What were this month’s most popular writing articles? Sign up for the monthly WKB newsletter for links & interviews: http://bit.ly/gx7hg1

Best of the Best – Speculative Fiction Resources: http://bit.ly/fu8KqU @bluemaven

Top 10 Reasons You Should Rewrite That Scene: http://bit.ly/fav9gu

5 brutal truths about feedback on writing: http://bit.ly/fq7GYz @jammer0501

If you’ve had near misses with agents and publishers – should you self-publish? http://bit.ly/hveW7E @dirtywhitecandy

Blogs and branding: http://bit.ly/gOFDNX

Writing and taxes: http://bit.ly/dR5H4H

Care and Feeding of the Discouraged Writer: http://bit.ly/iaItaE @CherylRWrites

Romantic comedy truisms: http://bit.ly/fI43lZ

Publishing, POD, eBooks, Self-Publishing—Indie Editor FAQ: http://bit.ly/eZuUIK

What Makes a Strong Female Character Strong? http://bit.ly/fL9usM

Do you know enough to self-publish? http://bit.ly/eUxi0U

Be a Transparent Tweeter: http://bit.ly/hKI4OZ

Mix your industry learning with writing time: http://bit.ly/f0yl9z @jamigold

A look at ‘quiet’ murder mysteries: http://bit.ly/e4H9c8 @mkinberg

Color theory and color symbolism: http://bit.ly/fx9gYI

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Quick Potato Casserole http://bit.ly/dWhmnR @CleoCoyle

10 Reasons Why You Should Be Blogging: http://bit.ly/g7hd82

Abstraction of interactions: http://bit.ly/hfSAma @RavenRequiem13

Mystery Writer’s Guide To Forensic Science – Paternity Tests: http://bit.ly/h0bvfj @clarissadraper

On em dashes: http://bit.ly/eqdQoj

When did your love affair with books start? How one editor’s love of books began: http://bit.ly/i3xdAV @p2p_editor

How Do Your Characters Sound? http://bit.ly/e4qMpc @Paize_Fiddler

Tips for designing your own cover from an author who’s done it: http://bit.ly/gIjNDz , http://bit.ly/hT38oa, http://bit.ly/fwHD9i @smreine

Will E-Books Save Short Stories? http://bit.ly/gKsXlV @ajackwriting

10 lies you might tell yourself while editing: http://bit.ly/hj3bfV @elspethwrites

Reality vs Drama (modifying reality to fit our story needs): http://bit.ly/hNDgxu

Turn Writing Weaknesses into Strengths: http://bit.ly/es6K6P

The entire NY Times “Writers on Writing” series: http://bit.ly/eAUAeF via @Quotes4Writers

Fictional Time Travel That Won’t Make a Physicist Cringe: http://bit.ly/gnVGx3

When Should Writers Worry About Copyright? http://bit.ly/g7SDJ7

12 Signs Your Novel isn’t Ready to Publish: http://bit.ly/i3tSDY

5 Tips for Getting Back in the Groove: http://bit.ly/hfN8tb @CherylRWrites

3 myths about agents: http://bit.ly/epLWL9 @tawnafenske

What Will It Take To Make Science Fiction Romance “Truly Excellent”? http://bit.ly/hmgxWx

Using the sense of smell in your writing: http://bit.ly/eMbJve

The reader’s experience: http://bit.ly/eK3h2G

Don’t hide info that readers need: http://bit.ly/frISMF

Design themes for your WordPress site: http://bit.ly/idaGYF

Independent tracking of eBook sales: http://bit.ly/elNYKk

5 helpful questions for building a story: http://bit.ly/hLxQjY

Writing in the Golden Age of Ebooks: http://bit.ly/gDtn7Z

Scriptwriters: A Procrastinator’s Guide to Surviving Act 2: http://bit.ly/g7ZpGh

Celebrating the ’empty nest’ of a new book: http://bit.ly/geaQpf

The Ebook Will Evolve. So Should Authors: http://bit.ly/hfVWIN

The writer’s thesaurus–now with entries for weather to join the entries for setting, emotions, symbolism: http://bit.ly/eIGRMO

How to develop raving blog fans: http://bit.ly/fZJODJ

The Writer’s Life? Only You Know: http://bit.ly/hJkRE4

Think Like A Publisher #8… Price, Discounts, and Sales: http://bit.ly/edGdg3

10 Reasons to Practice Freewriting: http://bit.ly/g0vVEi @CherylRWrites

What were this month’s most popular writing articles? Sign up for the monthly WKB newsletter for links & interviews: http://bit.ly/gx7hg1

Introducing The New Slush Readers: http://bit.ly/e9RB4f

Booksigning Etiquette: http://bit.ly/fbxSSD

The importance of pathos: http://bit.ly/gcGthd

Writing Your Character’s Thoughts: 3rd Person Limited POV: http://bit.ly/dKAPQI @CherylRWrites

5 Qualities to Consider During Character Development: http://bit.ly/i8DP77

Brainstorming tips: http://bit.ly/eJFH9b

Style Sheets: An Editorial Tool: http://bit.ly/hSJTvn

Key Story Elements – Ordinary World and Special World: http://bit.ly/eHj75K

How to Avoid the Comparison Trap: http://bit.ly/e7elw9 @keligwyn

YA Deals By The Numbers: http://bit.ly/e4qFiC

They’re Just Not That Into You: Dealing With Reviews: http://bit.ly/e9vL5N

An editorial chat on character development: http://bit.ly/fwqCT1 @dirtywhitecandy

Learn how to write a screenplay by studying great scripts: http://bit.ly/e1eC09 #scriptwriting

Freelancers–Avoiding Unscoped Work from Unreasonable Clients: http://bit.ly/gRV0dm

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Cadbury Creme Style Chocolate Easter Eggs From Scratch? http://bit.ly/hkCnEg @CleoCoyle

A Loose History of Vampires: http://bit.ly/fYBJcb

The Problem of Absolutes in Fantasy Literature: http://bit.ly/eMtibY

Do We Need Our Heroes to Slip? http://bit.ly/hq5UQP

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 4/15/11): http://bit.ly/e1eN2v

A roundup of interesting links for historical writers: http://bit.ly/fgg9YP

The Dystopia/Utopia Dichotomy: http://bit.ly/ihAXWr

Book Fair Bewares for Writers: http://bit.ly/gOQplX

Overstuffed Dialogue: http://bit.ly/eRADSv

27 ways to promote your book—before writing it, before launching it, & after publishing it: http://bit.ly/f7E43A

Need help with scene transitions? http://bit.ly/fivggV

4 Places to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing: http://bit.ly/eamUcz

When the Words Won’t Flow: 4 Tools to Try: http://bit.ly/ey9GkX @CherylRWrites

How Not to Use Speaker Tags and Action Beats: http://bit.ly/evgmqs

Just make the pancakes. http://bit.ly/ewkm9J @Christi_Craig

12 Weak Words We Can Turn into Strong Ones: http://bit.ly/dZ7EaA @keligwyn

Writing prompts to jumpstart creativity: http://bit.ly/fxp2iY @WritePrompts

Job-hunting advice for journalists selling skills in the digital market: http://bit.ly/eGeQoB

Novelist proposes to girlfriend in print (Guardian): http://bit.ly/gzkToV

The Aches and Pains of Being a Writer: http://bit.ly/fblaIr

E-publishing With a Publisher Versus Self-publishing: http://bit.ly/g11uQB

Slipping in Character Description: http://bit.ly/hnQSKy

How do you know which critique advice to take and which to ignore? http://bit.ly/hvPKBB

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Welcome Guest Blogger Amanda Flower http://bit.ly/fVBCoR @CleoCoyle

How To Amp Up Sexual Tension In Your Story: http://bit.ly/dSLNvg @RoniLoren

20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire You: http://bit.ly/fR5WXP

Should we jot down story ideas we get, so we won’t forget them? Stephen King says not to: http://bit.ly/gE4NkH @hektorkarl

7 Strategies to Keep Momentum When You Don’t Have Time to Write: http://bit.ly/hJ5d2a @CherylRWrites

Want to write a book but don’t know where to start? http://bit.ly/fjlaTJ

Mistaken Newbie Writer Beliefs: http://bit.ly/e7j6X5

Jewels in crime fiction: http://bit.ly/e8c7fD @mkinberg

My children were off all week for spring break. We had a lunch date with my sister yesterday.

My plan was to drive to uptown Charlotte, pick her up outside her building, and go off to a sub shop for a casual lunch.

The children and I were just about to hop in the car when I got a text. “How about,” my sister said, “if you park and come up in the building? We’ll visit for a little while and the kids can see my office. Then we can go for lunch.”

That sounded great, but the children and I looked really scruffy. I was wearing denim capris that had shrunk from staying in the dryer too long (oops) and a sweatshirt that had seen better days. My daughter had on an outfit that didn’t match and my teenage son looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. We looked all right for a sub shop with my sister (maybe), but not good for going into a skyscraper of a major bank and meeting my sister’s coworkers.

“Sure,” I texted. Then we all changed clothes before we headed out. :) We met some nice people on the 18th floor and looked like upstanding citizens.

I spend a good deal of time trying to make sure that I’m giving a good impression to readers, other writers, and people in the publishing industry when they encounter me online.

Making a bad impression in person isn’t good either, but at least those usually fade. If you mess up online, it lives online forever. It’s like the mistake that keeps on giving.

I know that, on Google, my website is the first thing that comes up. Which, actually, is bizarre because I’m sure my blog gets more traffic. My website (although it needs updating) tells people a little about me and my books and how to contact me or buy my books. That’s really its sole purpose. I keep it pretty basic. I think it’s important to have some sort of website to serve as a hub for our online identity.

Another important place to make a good impression is blogging. Again, I’ve got a way to contact me, something about me, and a little about my books. For me, blogging is my favorite way to interact online. Although I know some writers do tread into political discussions or other controversial areas….I’m just not going to go there. I’ve heard of a couple of writers who got negative feedback from different publishers for expressing some of their (strong) opinions. And again it’s the ‘making a good impression’ thing—I don’t want to turn off any readers, for sure. I wouldn’t assume that everyone shares my views on different subjects.

Online bookselling sites are other places where writers need to make a good impression. Actually, it’s good to create a non-impression there. We really don’t need to ever pipe up in the review section for our books. If we get a bad review, we get a bad review. Arguing with the reviewer really just looks unprofessional. There are times I’ve noticed, though, when readers have given a book a bad review because Amazon shipped it late, etc. In those cases, I’d just report the review to Amazon because it doesn’t have anything to do with the book. But I still wouldn’t defend my book online—I just don’t think the writer ever wins.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are tricky sometimes because it’s easy for words to be taken the wrong way. And I do recommend having a public Facebook identity and a private one. When my old friends from junior high want to friend me on my public page, I just gently suggest that they’d be more interested in my private one…and vice versa. Otherwise I’d end up being tagged in pictures from when I was 12 on my professional account. That would stress me out. :)

Looking back over this post, I’m realizing how cautious it sounds. I do interact a lot online every day—but I always read over what I’m saying before I hit ‘send.’ And with static sites (like my website), I try to make sure it’s just serving its purpose.

How do you work to make a good impression online?

I have such a hectic schedule that I usually end up writing on the go, scribbling out a couple of paragraphs when I’ve got a few quiet minutes.

I used to think that I was doing this writing without any kind of warm-up. I’m realizing now that that’s totally wrong—I’m warming up by my daily habit of blogging (and the fact that I write a little every day).

Warming up options:

Blogging—To me, blogging is one of the easiest ways to warm up for writing each day. Besides the great writing exercise, it’s a nice way to stay in the habit of writing, develop friendships, and build a platform.

Morning Pages—I’ve heard a lot about Morning Pages (a daily warm-up recommended by author Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way but haven’t actually tried it myself. She states that:

Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages– they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only.

Short projects (poems, short stories, articles): Completing short projects can help you feel like you’re making some creative headway, especially if it looks like the end of your novel is light years away. They’re also nice if you’re getting restless or bored with what you’re currently working on.

Prompts: Prompts aren’t only good for getting your creative juices flowing, I’ve heard some writers say that they can also inspire new direction for stories they’re currently working on.

Recently, Anjie from Prompts for Writers asked me to be a guest poster and write some prompts. I do really like Anjie’s site because she always comes up with more than one prompt—she’ll have a journaling prompt, one for poetry, one for fiction, etc.—and I think her site would be a great resource for teachers as well as writers. My post is up there today: http://promptsforwriters.blogspot.com/ . (As a side note, I know that she’s also looking for writers to guest there and write prompts…might be a unique part of some folks blog tours.)

How do you warm up for writing? Or do you jump right in? Or, like me, do you warm up early and then jump right in at several later points during your day?

I’ve noticed a school of thought among writers that agents are excited about having jack-of-all-trade authors in their stables—who can write a variety of material in different genres. It would mean the writer is more salable, right?

From what I’ve heard from other writers, this isn’t usually the point of view of their agents. I’m not speaking from personal experience because I’m only interested in writing traditional mysteries for the foreseeable future.

But I’ve heard that agents prefer it when writers specialize in a genre.

I think this is because you’re easier to brand as a writer to editors that the agent might know. I’m pretty sure that my agent is branding me to editors as someone who writes traditional mysteries with Southern settings. It definitely makes it easier for me to get work. If someone wants a series that fits my profile, they know they can contact my agent about it.

When a writer writes several different genres (not genre-blending, but different genres for different books), I think it muddies the waters a little, in the agent’s eyes. Now they need to brand you several different ways to their contacts. Maybe they need to develop new editorial contacts in areas where they haven’t before.

I know that if I suddenly decided that I wanted to write children’s picture books, I would need to find another agent for those books. My agent doesn’t handle that—she says so on her site. I would be asking her to make totally new relationships with people in an area she doesn’t plan on working in. Besides, I would want an agent that specializes in those types of books and has contacts in that genre, anyway.

If I were to switch genres, I’d almost definitely do it under a pseudonym. That’s because I wouldn’t want my mystery reading base accidentally buy books that are a totally different genre—possibly one they don’t even read. That would be a good way to lose some readers.

Writing under a pen name basically means starting over with a fresh platform…getting that name known on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. You’d have to work to tie in your pen name to your real name (that’s already branded.) I’ve done this and it does take a lot of extra energy.

Agent Wendy Lawton wrote a great post some time ago on the Books and Such blog about switching genres. She points out that most of a writer’s dedicated readers don’t want to follow along into new writing ventures. She states:

They have expectations. They don’t want you to write like Jodi Picoult. If they want Jodi Picoult, they’ll buy Jodi Piccoult. They want you to write like you.

Another point that Wendy Lawton makes (that I hadn’t really thought of) is this:

And wanting to write it all– even if we can– displays a strange kind of hubris. It’s like you are saying you are all any reader needs. “You like mystery? I’ll give you mystery. You want a tender memoir. I can do that. You want literary fiction. That’s me. You want a book on how to save your marriage? Let me get right on that.”

All that being said—I’m likely going to branch into other genres at some point. I’d like to have another 25 years in this business and at some point I’m going to be interested in trying other things. I’ve already decided that when that day comes, I’ll probably have to query an agent for that particular genre and also write under a different name.

In the meantime, I’ll write magazine articles, poetry, and the occasional short story to just shake things up a little bit.

Are you a writer who writes different genres? How are you approaching representation and promotion?