Cross-Pollination: The Future Is Genre-Blending

Plus, discover the 7 deadly sins of editors. [Web Version »]( &p1=%40oAyLgJRt48WKMGS21DZOcd40XFXDTR7Nt%2BF18tmpSrs%3D) [Guide to Literary Agents 2019]( ) [Name]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) Cross-Pollination: The Future Is Genre-Blending Imagine, for a moment, that you're standing on top of a grassy hill. Spread out before you is a vast meadow of wildflowers. It's an ocean of undulating color -- slow, kaleidoscopic waves as far as the eye can see. It's the peak of summer and the fragrant breeze smells of fertility -- rich soil and uninhibited growth. That sprawling meadow is the current landscape of popular fiction. The golden yellows of mainstream fiction are everywhere -- patches of daisies and towering sunflowers -- but so, too, are the various shades of genre fiction. The scarlet sage, red poppies and crimson clover scattered about constitute romance. Fantasy is blue sage and chicory. The whites of wild carrot and wood anemone are science fiction. Purple flowers like cow vetch and violets are mystery and thrillers. The orange of the tiger lilies is horror. It's a spectacular sight, and if you look closer, you'll notice vast stretches where the flowers have cross-pollinated to create new blooms with multi-colored petals of varying sizes and shapes. The beauty of this new, hybrid flora is breathtaking -- reds blending with oranges and yellows; melanges of purples, blues and white. The combinations of color are seemingly endless and appear to be changing right before your eyes. Now, if I were to ask you to visualize this scene roughly three decades ago -- the metaphorical meadow would've looked radically different. Walls built of fieldstone would snake throughout the landscape, separating the wildflowers by color. There's no doubt about it: Today's climate is one in which genre-blended novels are a fixture on bookshelves and bestseller lists. And understanding this ever-changing landscape of popular fiction will help you learn how to take advantage of the opportunities arising from those ecological shifts. The Old-World Model Back in the late '80s and '90s -- before becoming a book critic -- I managed multiple Coles and Waldenbooks stores in New York and witnessed this strict demarcation firsthand. The rift between fiction and the various genre categories was much deeper than simple shelving designations. The vast majority of book buyers -- at least the ones in my stores -- had relatively fixed reading habits. There were a handful of romance readers, for example, who came in on the same day every week to purchase all of the various Harlequin offerings. They would head straight to the romance section, gather up the new releases, then head to the cash wrap. Science fiction and fantasy readers rarely scoured the mystery shelves. Literary readers seldom explored the genre fiction aisles. The boundaries between categories were clearly defined. If you ever examine a novel released back then -- and in the decades before -- chances are good that you'll find a label of some kind on the cover classifying the novel's category. I've got hundreds of old paperbacks on my shelves with their category right on the spine: "Science Fiction," "Fantasy," "Mystery." While these labels were arguably just another way to market the respective titles in an overly straightforward way, they were also useful in accurately describing the narrative content. Romance novels, for example, featured classic romance elements -- readers knew a novel labeled Romance wouldn't contain sentient robots or insectoid gods from another dimension bent on wiping out humankind. The marketing of novels back then was all about familiarity: familiar cover art philosophies, familiar storylines, returning readers to that safe, comfortable headspace again and again. [Read more...]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 [The 7 Deadly Sins of Editors (According to Novelists)]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) [Story 1]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) A healthy relationship between author and editor can send your story to heavenly heights, but a poor partnership deserves its own special circle of hell. Maintain this sacred bond with advice from a longtime writer-editor duo on how to forgive each other's trespasses. [Read More...]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) This article details the novelist's perspective, but be sure to check out the [7 Deadly Sins of Novelists (According to Editors)]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) too! 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Your feedback will help us to better meet the needs of writers like you. [Read More...]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) [Literary Agent Alert: Alexandra Levick of Writers House]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) [Story 3]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) Literary agent alerts (with this spotlight featuring Alexandra Levick of Writers House) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. Discover what she's looking for and how to submit. [Read More...]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 &p1={EMAIL}&p2=146276780 [Jess Zafarris]( &cid=DM80497&bid=815073542) Jess Zafarris Follow [@jesszafarris]( ) Jess Zafarris is an energetic multimedia journalist with more than 8 years of experience writing and editing, and the content director of Writer's Digest. Please do not reply to this email. We are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have. 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