Do we really need genres anymore? (updated)

It's not the first time I've talked about not wanting to be stuck in a genre: and it probably won't be the last. Are genres too confining?

The problem is that as soon as we put books in a category, it limits your audience. It suggests it's the central theme when most books, movies, and television shows can dip into a whole range of genres. You can watch a detective show and catch a little romance. You can read a detective book and stumble across some unexpected humor. Sometimes stating that a book is a specific genre only shows your potential audience a portion of what they can expect. It's like introducing your new friend and describing her as a journalist: when she's also a mother, a wife, an activist, and maybe even a volunteer in her community. The one-word description limits our view of who she is when she has so many aspects to her personality. Books are the same.

Another issue with having a specific genre is that it limits your audience. For example, if I learn a book is a 'romance', you've already lost me. It doesn't matter that perhaps it's only one element, and maybe the novel is full of humor, drama, and other things. I might enjoy it but, I've already written it off as 'not my kind of book'. This is another reason why I'm iffy on genres. I write books that more or less fall under the thriller-suspense categories, but I have a lot of other stuff going on, including romance, dark humor, maybe even a little horror from time to time.

I guess the point is that good books, movies and television shows have many different things going on. We have short attention spans and need lots of colors lighting up at once or we get bored. I'm not sure if genres are as important as they were in simpler times. What do you think?

Why I have 10 different lives 🤪(updated)

As if keeping track of my own life wasn't enough, I have about ten more to deal with every day. Of course, this is a statement most fictional authors can safely make. We got a lot of stuff going on in our heads, and somedays, it's easier to sort out than others.

When you think about it, fictional authors have to keep track of a lot of stuff: details about our characters, what they are doing, thinking, feeling, their quirks, what they love, and how they feel about other characters. In other words, picture your own life, times ten.

What makes things even more tricky is when you throw complex characters into the mix. Unfortunately, not all authors do, and that's why some books fall flat. We, as humans, are complex, so we most relate to characters who are the same. We don't always understand ourselves, and sometimes, we also don't understand our characters.

Keeping track of everything can be tricky. I have notes about each character, but sometimes I miss important details and have to backtrack. For example, I have one character who has celiac disease. Every time this character sits down to eat with the group, I try to make sure there's gluten-free food mentioned.

I think you have to be dedicated to your craft if you write fiction. Your mind has to be traveling in several directions at once and, it can be exhausting. Someone recently pointed out that this might explain why I'm so tired after writing. There are days when I literally could take a midmorning nap after an early morning writing session. It might also explain why I can't keep track of my own life. Who has the time?

    

Why I don't give away free books anymore 🧐(Updated)

Never say never. However, when it comes to giving out free books, I prefer to support those who support me.

When I published my first book in 2010, I was open to giving away some free copies. This was mainly through a contest in an online women's magazine (which may or may not have sent my books to the winners) as a way of finding new readers. In the end, this experiment was a failure; and although I've given away free books (both paperback and ebooks) since that time, in most cases, I'm sad to say that the books are often not even read, let alone reviewed. So, any hope of bringing in future sales or even feedback gave disappointing results to this experiment. This has led me to believe the old idealogy that people don't appreciate anything they get for free.

Of course, it's not always true. I find that usually, it's my most loyal readers that appreciate a free book now and then, and in fact, it's for those same people that I write for in the first place. Loyal readers are the first to give me feedback, reviews, and tell others about my books, and in fact, the people that writers should value the most. 

It's not my place to tell other authors what to do. My experience might be different from someone else. It's hard to say. I just feel like when you give something away for free, it can sometimes lose its value. I also know that writers spend a lot of time and energy writing books, that these characters are very close to their hearts, and like anything close to the heart, you must be somewhat protective. You must see that it has value and make sure others see this too.

Let's talk about my YouTube channel 📺(Updated)

In a world of glitzy, glamorous, and finely-crafted YouTube channels, mine is a bit of a clunker in comparison. But that's ok.

When I started making YouTube videos, it simply was to tell people about my books. I wanted to keep it straightforward, not get into anything fancy but use my channel as a way to connect with others. It allowed me to reach people from across the world and show them the person behind the books. The idea of editing, creating an intro, considering lighting, etc wasn't my biggest concern.

Now, I'm close to 200 videos in, and all these things still aren't important to me. What is important is showing people the real me. I speak honestly about my writing and giving viewers some information. I have considered putting more work into the channel but at the end of the day, it should be more about my writing than becoming a YouTube star. Not that I'm saying anything negative about those who make the extra effort, quite the contrary, but for me, my focus isn't the number of views and subscribers (which is good because I don't have a lot 🤣) but simply putting the information out there for those who are interested.

I enjoy doing these videos and having the opportunity to talk about my writing. I'm very fortunate to live in a time where all this is possible. 😃