Genre as a Marketing Aspect

This was originally posted on Incandescent Books in August 2011 (blog is now defunct).

I've pasted the guest post here for now :)

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Genre as a Marketing Aspect, by Jess C Scott

Jess C Scott, author of Primal Scream and EyeLeash: A Blog Novel

Independent publishing offers tremendous opportunities to writers everywhere. The indie publishing model is speedy and efficient, and allows a writer to have full creative and business control.

I decided to self-publish my debut book (EyeLeash: A Blog Novel) in June 2009. I published my first erotic anthology in August 2009. Both these books (and many of my subsequent novellas/novels) aren’t exactly “commercially categorizable.” They don’t fall neatly into a specific category. These types of books can be problematic for mainstream publishers, who have certain expectations with regards to the business of commercial genre fiction.

I’ve always liked concentrating on giving readers/customers a good story (I usually aim to present a combination of style and substance; to produce something that’s entertaining yet meaningful). I’m less interested in plugging into a hot genre that’s popular today but that could possibly fade away tomorrow. I’m interested in sharing my thoughts and feelings via the written word, and always improving on my craft to be the best storyteller I can be (with both mainstream and alternative work).

Genre and the category are labels I think of when doing marketing/promotion, and/or if I need to keep certain themes of a specific genre in mind (like the rigidly divided social order which features in the ‘cyberpunk’ genre, for instance).

Keeping “the genre” in mind can be limiting, which is the last thing I want to impose upon myself as a writer. Commercially, I’m aware this means I may initially lose out, since I don’t like following fads and trends (which the mainstream publishers -- and mainstream audiences -- demand).
And while I’m not entirely closed off to the possibility of being traditionally published one day, I’ve never intended to keep all my novels in the dark because they couldn’t be neatly labeled.

Maybe one day I’ll write something which does fit neatly into a specific genre, but it won’t be at the expense of my multiple-genre-crossing alternative work, which is the department where I frequently challenge myself to improve both spiritually/artistically, and professionally.

Writing is a craft to me, and I’ve always maintained a strong commitment to quality. This applies to both my alternative (mostly erotic) and mainstream (mostly urban fantasy) projects. No matter what genre label I decide to ultimate place on any project, I always keep in mind the (slightly paraphrased) words of Jeffrey Gitomer (the #1 sales authority in the U.S.):

“Offer value, if not, all that’s left is price/genre/the marketing aspect.”

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LINKS:

Website: http://www.jesscscott.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jesscscott
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jessINKbooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jess C Scott is a contemporary writer working in a diverse range of genres, such as experimental fiction, erotic fiction, new media, young adult fiction, poetry, urban fantasy, and cyberpunk.

As a creative professional, Jess experiments with a variety of genres and styles to produce original work which stands out from “the same old re-packaged mass-market pulp (Bibrary.com).” Her erotic writing focuses on psychosexual themes (not porn) and love/emotions (not fluffy formulaic romance).

Jess has always aligned her business goals with her personal values.

She continues to identify herself as an author/artist/non-conformist.

E: missfey@gmail.com | www.jessINK.com

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