Genre Expectations

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This is another one of those posts that comes with a proviso…as a writer, you’re in control of your book and no one else makes the rules.  The advice I’m about to give isn’t for everybody and it isn’t for every book.   It’s directed more to writers who are looking for a leg-up in their commercial fiction category and who are primarily writing to a specific audience.

It’s also a post that goes hand-in-hand with others I’ve written on how much easier it is to write in a particular genre (if you have a mind to).  That’s because there are specific reader expectations per genre.

I know a lot of traditionally-published books are rejected by agents and editors because they don’t follow genre expectations.  An agent knows that makes a story tough to pitch to an editor…who knows it’s tough to market to an audience.Continue reading

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