Diversify, Diversify

In my sometime role as Mentor-to-the-Future-Stars, I'm frequently asked to make judgement calls on a variety of publishing career issues. If I had to condense all my advice into one word it would be: Diversify. There are three distinct areas in which I think a canny writer will diversify her/his resources. You will find different viewpoints on this, but this is what works for me -- speaking as someone who has been writing and publishing successfully for over a decade.

I) Try different things. I'm not saying write a bunch of crap you don't enjoy just for the money, I'm saying don't be afraid to try something new, to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It'll make you a stronger writer -- and you'll find new readers. I write strictly in the M/M sub-genre -- usually within a mystery or romantic suspense framework, but this last year I've branched out and started writing action-adventure. And guess what? I really enjoyed it. It was fun and fresh, and we all need to keep it fun and fresh. Last month I pushed myself a little further and wrote my first romance with an anti-hero protagonist. Sure, one or two readers were a little uncomfortable with Mark Hardwicke, the narrator of I Spy Something Bloody but mostly what I'm hearing is it's the best thing I've done with the exception of the Adrien English series.




II) Try different formats. Electronic publishing offers everything from flash fiction to full-size novels. Try your hand at these different art forms. Sure, you're going to be better at some than others -- and you'll want to know your strengths and weaknesses -- but don't be afraid to try anything and everything. The more you write, the more you hear from readers, the better you get.

Also...speaking of different formats, print and ebook audiences are not necessarily the same. Male readers, for example, still typically buy mostly in print from brick and mortar booksellers. Not all successful ebooks translate into viable print projects, but it's certainly worth considering. Break into print by submitting to anthologies -- watch for submission requests from the big houses in your genre

III) Try different publishers. I'm not saying try every fly-by-night operation that opens up a website. Pick your publishers carefully. You want a publisher with a good track record -- that means stability and good word-of-mouth from both readers and other writers. You want a company that turns out a quality product. Remember, you're looking for a longterm partner in your writing career. That means you need a publisher who is at least as interested in your success and happiness as they are in their own bottom line. When you find that partner, do your part to keep the relationship healthy, but never put all your eggs in one basket. Different publishing houses have different reading lists. There will always be some crossover: M/M readers will often buy primarily from two or three houses but distrust smaller, lesser publishers until they've established some kind of track record. Your job as a writer is to get readers so addicted to your work that they'll follow you and your brand of fiction anywhere, regardless of where you publish -- but that doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and a lot of work -- and a lot of writing.