Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Oct. 19

I write a lot of everything. Whatever kind of story tickles my fancy. Some people hate this. They shake their heads and say- no, you can't develop a loyal brand that way. Your readers will want only one thing out of you. Fine. If readers are indeed so fickle as to expect only romance from me, I'll write with a pen name. Why not? Branding is a funny thing for writers. James Patterson took his name and created a brand that now works in every genre from childrens' books to romance to thrillers. He started slow-sure. He uses other writers to write the books-sure. But hey, if your work isn't taking off in one genre and you can write another- I say try it. What do you have to lose? If Stephen King hadn't changed genres he'd have never gotten to be so well known. Sometimes prevailing wisdom doesn't work for an individual. If it's not working for you- try doing your own thing and see what happens. After all, we never know where life and the market will take us next. Cheers~

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