Exploring Genres - Picture Books & Chapter Books

by Penny Reeve

Picture books and middle grade – invitations to the world!

I was in conversation with my daughter the other day and, as is fairly common at our place, the
conversation turned to books, children’s books in particular. She related how, upon sharing her
excitement at discovering the children’s books section of her university library, none of her young adult friends understood her enthusiasm.

‘They don’t understand,’ she commented. ‘They think, just because they’re grown up now, they should leave children’s books behind. They don’t realise some of the best books written are children’s books.’

Of course, I agreed. I’m a children’s book writer!

But, feelings of successful parenting aside, I do believe she has a point. Somehow our society has decided that children’s books, picture books and middle grade novels and the like are simple. But I’d encourage you to go browsing, next time you’re in a library or a bookshop, and take a closer look.

Children’s picture books and novels can be fun, silly, hilarious, rebellious, challenging, heart breaking, tear jerking, thought provoking and altogether beautiful in a way that no other genre can imitate. AND they have the incredible ability to do all of this, frequently at multiple levels (so each reader – despite their age and experience – can connect with the text in their own way).

So what exactly are the features of the genre that allow for such depth and, in my opinion, treasure worthy pieces?

Picture books

A picture book is a book in which illustrations carry a significant (if not majority) role communicating a story. A picture book cannot exist without it’s artwork, but some can exist without text.

The conventions of writing a picture book are very strict and they are known, for good reason, to be some of the hardest pieces of writing to pull off. Here’s why:

- A picture book needs to fit within 32 pages (and this includes the title page and imprint pages). So it’s typically 14-15 page spreads.

- Picture books are typically only 600 words long. (So that’s the WHOLE story in 600 words, or less if possible)

- The text of a picture book must be written in a way that allows an illustrator to extend, enhance and fulfil the storytelling.

- Many times illustrators and authors never meet, so the text must be as perfect as possible, often richly poetic (though not necessarily rhyming) with absolutely NO wasted words.

It is this mysterious interplay between words and pictures in great picture books that is the wonderful strength of the picture book genre.

Some highlights in the genre:

Check out the illustrations of Jesus as a child in Mighty Mighty King (Penny Morrison and Lisa Flanagan)

Notice the powerful role of illustrations in When I See Grandma (Debra Tidball and Leigh Hedstrom)

See the gentle communication of emotion and personality in Same (Katrina Roe and Jemima Trappell)

Children’s novels

Children’s novels are another genre that’s worth dipping into for us ‘grown ups’ but also for sharing with kids. 

From a literacy training perspective, they bridge the space between picture books and young adult novels. Whereas picture books assume an adult reader and child listener, children’s novels assume a child will, at some point, approach the book alone. This inevitably creates child friendly structure for the book in terms of:

- Word count. At the lower end of the scale are ‘Chapter Books’, these are a child reader’s first foray into the novel genre and word counts can be as low as 1000. The upper level nudges closer to 40 000 words for what is considered ‘Middle Grade’.

- Chapter length. This can vary, but is usually kept shorter than YA to encourage a fluid, realistic reading experience for young readers.

- Child protagonists are usually at a similar age to their intended reader.

- Plot complications, characterisation and description. Although these must be heavily worked by the author to make for authentic writing, they are communicated sparsely and with precision. Young readers aren’t going to tolerate long descriptive passages of the view from the cliff top, and yet (especially if that cliff top is important to the theme/setting/plot) they need to know what it looks and feels like. So a light touch is required.

- Illustrations. Many children’s novels include illustrations of some sort. The occasional black line illustration etc. The longer the novel, the smaller a role such illustrations play.

Some highlights in the genre:

The Grand Genius Summer of Henry Hoobler (Lisa Shanahan) is a beautifully written story of friendship, bike riding, courage and family.

My Tania Abbey novels tackle issues of faith, friendship and responding to poverty amid a setting of everyday life.

Kelsey and the Quest of the Porcelain Doll (Rosanne Hawke) is a lovely adventure story for young readers and considers topics such as belonging and learning about different cultures.

Author bio:

Penny Reeve is the Australian author of more than 20 books for children, including the CALEB Children’s Category award winning Madison picture books. She writes to empower children to engage with - and respond to - the world around them. Her most recently published books are Camp Max (a children’s novel for 6-10 year olds) and Out of the Cages (a YA novel about human trafficking). You can learn more about Penny and her books by visiting her websites:

www.pennyreeve.com and www.pennyjaye.com

Exploring Genre - Young Adult

by Cecily Anne Paterson

Want to start an argument? Ask someone in publishing to define ‘YA’. Don’t know anyone in publishing, but you’re still curious? Just enquire of Dr Google, who’ll spit you back more opinions about what YA is and what it means, than you’ll ever have time to get through.

I have an apparently controversial task ahead of me.

What is YA?

So what is YA? It’s the short-hand term for ‘Young Adult’ books and stories. As to who those ‘young adults’ are exactly, well, that’s anyone’s guess.

It’s safe enough to say that a YA book will feature a teenage protagonist who faces a challenge, learns and grows.

Here’s where it gets tricky: if the character is 12-14 years of age, some people will say it’s a ‘teen book’. They’d argue that a young adult is 14+, and I can understand their reasoning. A kid of 13 is dealing with different life issues than a young person of 16, and that young person is a different creature again in comparison to an 18 or 19-year old.

So within YA, perhaps we have three categories: teen, featuring characters aged 12-14, YA, with a character who is 14-17, and New Adult, following a protagonist who is aged 18-21.

What are YA books about?

Just like books for younger children deal with different issues according to age, you’ll find a huge variety of subject matter – and standards of what’s acceptable - within the YA genre. While you might not find sex, drug and alcohol use or swearing in a book at the younger end of the spectrum (they have to get past parents and librarians after all), you’ll almost certainly find some or all of it as you head up to the New Adult end.

You’ll find in current YA titles a tendency to feature characters from diverse backgrounds, religions and cultures. YA loves to tell tales of ‘outliers’, or the people who don’t fit in. Words like ‘searingly honest’, ‘an unflinching look at life’ and 'achingly funny' sell YA books. They can be brutally honest, sizzlingly harsh, and unbearably beautiful.

Years ago, YA books were often known as ‘coming of age’ stories. A young person can ‘come of age’ whenever they understand themselves or something in their world differently, whenever they cross a threshold or have a significant ‘first time’ experience, and whenever they move out and away from what has constituted safety in their life.

Because we’re dealing with young people, YA titles have all the feels, and lots of them.

My mother once read my (younger) YA title, Invisible, and said, “Well, there was plenty of teenage angst in it.”

“That’s the point,” I said.

The richness of working with a teenage protagonist is that they do have all that angst, and passion, and energy, and terror, and bliss, and wonder. Life is tough, and the first time you deal with it as a young person, you haven’t learned the wisdom older people use to discern truth from lies, shield yourself from unnecessary hurt, or set limits. The passion and intensity of young people is what makes them such wonderful characters.

Additionally, seeing the world through the eyes of a young person means that a YA writer can comment on society in unique ways. If Suzanne Collins had told the story of Katniss’ mother, The Hunger Games would have been an entirely different story. Instead, readers follow angry, idealistic Katniss into the dystopia of the Districts and its lavish Capitol, gaining with her a thirst for justice and peace, and a longing for change. 

It’s no coincidence that some of the best dystopian literature is found in the YA genre: it’s young people who have the passion and energy to make the world better.

Some Christian YA books I've enjoyed

I'd recommend Penny Jaye's Out of the Cages.
I'd also recommend Roseanne Hawke's books.
And Claire Zorn is a multi-award winning writer who is also a Christian.

Who reads YA?

Obviously you’d expect that teenagers would be keen to read books featuring characters of their own age, and you’d be right. But—and this has been a surprising development over the last 25 years— it’s not just young people. Adults are keen readers of YA and New Adult books.

In fact, adult readers make up 55 per cent of the YA audience, for which we have to thank Harry Potter. Before JK Rowling’s ascendency it might have been shameful to be seen reading a ‘kids’ book’ but a YA book in a grown-up’s hand is no longer notable.

Adults read YA because they still relate to the characters, because they still appreciate a challenge, and because a good, well-told story is still a good well-told story, no matter how old the protagonist is.

What about you? Do you read or write Young Adult or New Adult books? Which ones have you enjoyed reading or would recommend and why? 

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Cecily Paterson writes ‘brave-heart’ stories for girls aged 10-14, which puts her books at the very youngest end of the YA spectrum. Her novel, Charlie Franks is A-OK won the CALEB Prize in 2017. Find her at www.cecilypaterson.com

Exploring Genres: Biblical Fiction

by Susan Preston

“Those who call themselves Christians and attempt to follow biblical morality as they understand it are now among the most persecuted religious groups in the world (Newsweek, January 4, 2018). Sadly, this is increasingly true even in nations where “Christianity” is considered the predominant religion.”

So, if Christians are being stopped from sharing their faith with others who are interested how can we fulfill Christ’s commission to ‘go into all the world?’

I heard a minister say, “People prefer their truth wrapped in fiction.”

If that is the case, Christian writers are demonstrating and sharing their faith – not necessarily overtly, which can put some readers of, but by the way they write their characters’ lives.

Where does Biblical fiction fit in to this?

Apostle John series by Susan Preston (new covers)

Because, as Solomon wrote in Eccl 1: 9 “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

We can be encouraged, inspired and even challenged by the lives of those who have ‘gone before.’

The first Biblical fiction book I read changed the way I understood the Bible. Before reading Lynn Austin’s first book in the Gods and Kings series, much of the writing in the Bible was, to be honest, boring. After that, I never read anything about Hezekiah again without ‘seeing’ him as a person.

I used to run church kids groups and holiday programmes. After several years it was rather ‘ho-hum’ another lesson on a parable.

If it was now, my lessons would be vastly different. In researching for what I thought would be one book, I discovered so much about the life, the times, the challenges and the faith of the people through the centuries.

To include some of this in a story/book/series gives the reader a much better reading experience as pointed out by Debbie Roome in a recent post in a post called Story Telling in 3D.

Many ‘Biblical fiction’ writers appear to be taking research from some of the old movies like Ben Hur and others of that era.

Modern saddles were not invented until 365 AD.[JO2]

“The first saddle is believed to have been invented in 365 AD by the Sarmations. Proud horsemen who used their horses in battle and also sacrificed them to the gods, their saddle creations were brought back to Europe by the Huns.”

They did not include stirrups. This is the history of stirrups –

“The stirrup was invented in China in the first few centuries AD and spread westward through the nomadic peoples of Central Eurasia. The use of paired stirrups is credited to the Chinese Jin Dynasty and came to Europe during the Middle Ages.”

Well-written, and well researched Biblical fiction brings life to the words in the Bible. (Both Testaments.)

When Jesus taught it was from ‘the scriptures’ – there only was an Old Testament, and this was what He taught from. After Him the Apostles used the Old Testament, and the letters of the other Apostles.

Understanding the pain

There were many ‘pain-points’ for the people of the Bible.

To the Israelites the Temple was where God dwelt. In many instances the Bible shows that the Temple was what was worshipped, not God.

Understanding this helps a writer of Biblical fiction better bring those people to life.

The day was counted from sunset to sunset, not as with our modern calendars. This was one of the most difficult things for me to ‘get my head around.’ The next day started as soon as the sun set on the previous one.

People, even in New Testament times, did not sit down to a dinner of ‘meat and two veges.’ Meat was only eaten on special occasions. If they were near a sea, or large lake, fish would be part of their diet… but not all the time. In the Old Testament, a time when meat would be eaten by a family was after a ‘peace’ or ‘thank’ offering had been made.

Biblical fiction can be a joy to read

Some writers of Biblical fiction have done the research necessary to make the books authentic. One such – Lynn Austin’s Biblical historical series. (There are two different series.) Jill Eileen Smith gives us a peep at some of the ‘heroines’ of the OT as does Mesu Andrews. 

Nearer the time period I write about, Carol Ashby has done an awesome amount of research on Roman times, and Carlene Havel is a recent discovery of a great writer.

As for me…

Three of my books have won awards, and all had great reviews from Readers’ Favorite Book Reviews.

I put a great deal of research into everything I write, as I imagine other authors do.

Sometimes, I am a slow learner. A long time ago I was told my book covers do not reflect the genre they represent… but I loved the images, four of which were from a Christian friend in Tasmania, a gifted photographer.

Well, I finally listened and had new covers made. Time will tell if they DO reflect the genre.

You can see them here… http://www.susanprestonauthor.com/apostle-john-series-2/

I read other genres, but Biblical fiction is close to my heart now that I have ‘met’ the people behind the words in the Bible.

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Susan Preston’s Christian faith is important to her, but she does not preach in any of the stories, instead, respecting her reader's right to make up their own minds.

She describes herself as a story-teller. Research, fascination and curiosity became a combination of treasure hunt and mystery tour. (She is still researching.)

Susan’s life experiences were not always happy – the death of a son, then in 2013 the death of her husband/best friend. The emotions from all these experiences contribute to her understanding of the people of the stories.

She was a registered Psychiatric nursing sister, a registered computer trainer and assessor, possessor of the Master’s qualification for Microsoft Office 2007 which she says comes in very handy, and has numerous other qualifications.

Susan says, “The ‘people’ in the books have become ‘family’ as I learned to walk in their shoes.”

Genre Trends

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Over the last year (2017), our CWD/ACW posts have explored different genres. We have just scratched the surface and will be looking at more genres in the coming months.  However, last year Ian Acheson suggested we look at current genre trends for 2017.

Why Worry about Genre Trends?

What difference does this make? Some genres tend to be more popular. Romance is generally big, and also thrillers, mystery and crime as well as science fiction and fantasy and children’s picture books. In non-fiction, cookbooks, self-help, biographies might be popular. In recent years, there have growing trends for Young Adult and Graphic Novels. On the other hand, literary fiction may have a more limited, perhaps refined audience whereas poetry – once the Queen of literature – is often hard to sell.

And different sub-genres – Amish or paranormal romance or dystopias or Nordic noir or solar punk - may be all the rage -- often on the back of a popular block buster (Twilight, Hunger Games, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) or ongoing trend (like Amish). Or, perhaps the once favourite genre is already passé.

Of course, trending could mean either what readers buying/reading OR what agents and publishers looking for/accepting. It stands to reason that what readers want and what agents and publishers are looking for are the same thing – but not always. For instance, publishers may choose more literary titles or have particular biases and interests. And there are often big differences between what sells from the big publishing houses compared to the big sellers for Indie authors.

 Knowing which genres are trending may help in choosing or refining our target audience and the genre we write in.  Writing to a popular genre or sub-genre can make a difference to how many readers and royalties we garner. If you have more than one potential project, knowing the trends may help choose which to write next. Or maybe we can tweak what we are already writing to appeal to a specific audience. 

Even so, there is often a niche audience for most sub-genres, even obscure ones. Besides, a trend may be on its way out of a saturated market by the time it takes to write our book and get it published. And predictions are just that – predictions – at best educated guesses based on current trends, at worst just plain wrong.

Besides, there may be good reasons why you don’t want to write a particular genre or sub-genre, no matter how hot it currently is. It’s better to write what you are passionate about, than to slog out a book in a genre you hate because it sells (readers will notice). 

So, what are the trends?

In General

In A D Hurley’s 2017 report on Amazon sells, Romance took 66% of books, with 87% of the top 100 selling slots. Other top-selling genres go to Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Children’s, and Literary Fiction, respectively. Whereas, for the Big 5 publishers literary fiction heads the list, then 2. Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, 3. Children’s, 4. Non-Fiction, 5. Science Fiction/Fantasy and 6. Romance.  Small press publishers might have their own preferences and specialities.

Within the broader categories, some subgenres are trending.  Hurley reports (2017) ‘LGBT books have seen a 200% increase, comic books and graphic novels — an 119% bump, and Teen and YA novels are on a 63% rise.’ 

Dena of Batch of Books suggests that YA & Children’s books with diversity (people of colour, disability, woman and LGBT), unique or strong woman characters, humour and ‘love, hope and dreams’ will do well in 2018  Other pundits suggest an increase in mystery books. While some suggest, in contrast to the pessimistic dystopian books, the optimist Solar Punk is making its mark.

Other areas that is growing, according to Lauren Wise, are novellas, anthologies, and co-authoring and book bundles. In part as marketing strategies for authors, but also because shorter fiction is easier to publish as an e-book, and readers often have less time and appreciate shorter reads.

Some of these trends provides a challenge for Christian authors, but also an opportunity.

Christian Books

Non-fiction (Bibles, devotionals, Christian living and biographies) probably dominate the Christian market. How do genre trends translate into Christian Fiction?

USA

Traditionally, in the USA, Christian fiction has been driven by romance, historical and biblical fiction – with a strong emphasis on Amish and bonnet fiction. 

For 2018, Publisher Weekly reports that some suggest Amish is waning, while others feel it is still going strong and that there may be a trend toward romantic suspense. Speculative fiction and mystery have struggled with CBA though there has been a trend for cross-over and edgier fiction with small press – such as Gilead’s acquisition of Enclave and expansive publishing model -- and a move to more realistic fiction that addresses difficult issues with some publishers.  (See also this.)

Australasia

The Australian and New Zealand markets are much smaller, especially in Christian fiction and non-fiction with limited publication opportunities and difficulty competing with big titles from across the Pacific.

Christian readers downunder often favour more realistic, maybe edgier, fiction than the America market. Once again, romance is a major player, though Rhiza Press publishes a range of genres, and Stone Table Books is actively looking for speculative fiction. Perhaps mystery and (non-romantic) thrillers are underrepresented.

The Future

Whatever the trends, God holds the future. And while it’s in some ways harder than it was a few decades ago, there are different opportunities as well. Part of our challenge is to respond the heart cries of the world with the grace and hope of the gospel - whether explicitly or implicitly. 

So over to you – What trends would you predict for 2018? What’s your favourite genre or sub-genre to write or to read? And what’s the strangest genre you’ve come across?

ACW/CWD Cross post.

***

Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users. She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children. Find her on Facebook or at her webpages Jeanette O'Hagan Writes or Jenny's Thread.

Exploring Genres - Short Fiction

by Jeanette O'Hagan

This year, the cross posts between Christian Writers Downunder and Australasian Christian Writers are focusing on genre. So far, we’ve had posts on meeting genre expectations, in Space Opera and Superheroes, Portal Fantasy and Secondary World Fantasy, Poetry, Free Verse and Verse Novels , Regency and Historical Romance, Rural and Medical Romance and Supernatural Fiction.

This month we are exploring 'short fiction'.

Short fiction can come in any genre - and a range of sizes, from six words up to 50,000 words. And while it may seem easier to write less, short fiction requires it's own set of skills to do it well. 

Types of short fiction: 

1. Mirco-Fiction - up to 100 words. 

Though hard to write well, these are becoming increasingly popular with mobile phones and texting and twitter (140 characters). Clearly, every word must count. 

Ernest Hemingway's famous example of a six word story is as follows 'For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.'

2. Flash Fiction - between 100-1000 words. 

These stories can be used as 'palate cleansers' between longer stories in magazines. 

The Faith Writers Challenge requires no more than 750 words on a weekly theme (and the best are collected and published by Breath of Fresh Air Press in the Mixed Blessing books). A number of members have appeared in the pages, including Nola Passmore, Simon Kennedy, Jo Wanmer, and myself. 

Writing flash fiction helps tighten one's prose. The focus is often one or two scenes or on the climax of the story.

3. Short Story  - between 1,000 - 7,500 words

This is often what we think of as a short story. Many competitions, periodical, 'zines and anthologies require this length - often around 2000 to 3000 words.  Speculative fiction (sci-fi and fantasy) have bigger words counts of between 7000-10,000 words. For instance, two spec anthologies that I had successful submission to - Tales from the Underground and Quantum Soul preferred stories around 10,000 words.

There is more room to manoeuvre, but focus and tight writing are still essential. It's important to streamline --- limit the story to a short period time, small cast of characters, with few if any subplots, and start the story close to the finish. 

4. Novellette - 7,500 - 20,000 words

A novellette falls in between a short story and a novella. Heart of the Mountain started life as a short story (my original attempt at the 7000 word limit for submissions for Glimpses of Light anthology) but blew out to over 11,000 words, so I wrote Ruhanna's Flight instead (7000 word exactly). Later, I expanded HOM to 15,500 words.

Yet, I think there is confusion with the term 'novellette'. For some, it means a novella. Many others have never heard of the term. So, I've called Heart of the Mountain 'short novella'.

5. Novella - 20,000 - 50,000 words

A novella (and to some extent a novellette) allows more complexity, with perhaps more characters and twists and  develops over a longer period of time. 

Some famous classical works are novellas - for instance Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), H. G. Well's The Time Machine (1895), Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol (1843),  Geroge Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) and many others.

Presentation

Periodicals, zines, collections and anthologies are usually the home of short fiction.  

However, short fiction can be published on it's own. For instance, I and others (like Aussie authors Adam Collings, Sue Jeffreys or Meredith Resce) have published short stories or novellas as stand alone e-books. Novellas, particularly, can be published on their own --- both as e-books and also as print books. 

When I decided to publish Heart of the Mountain, I planned on an additional three novellas with the intention of combing all four into a single print volume. I thought that each novella would be too small to publish on their own (especially in the case of HOM). However, I have now published both Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal as stand alone print books and am very happy with the result, especially as the books are aimed at the Young Adult market. I chose a smaller cover size (8x5 inches rather than 9x6). 

Short fiction can also be collected in boxed sets - as for instance An Aussie Summer Christmas Boxed set - which allows fans to sample fiction from a range of authors - in this case Andrea Grigg, Narelle Atkins, Rose Dee, Meredith Resce, Marion Ueckermann and Lacey Williams. 

Another innovative approach is publishing short fiction as a series (similar to TV series) in which 'episodes' within a 'season' are published with individual story arcs plus an over-arching series arc. Adam David Collings is taking this approach with his Jewel of the Star series, having so far published the 'pilot' Earth's Remnant which sets up the series, and a prequel episode.

Short fiction has advantages for both readers and writers. 

For readers:

• In a time-pressed word, short fiction can be enjoyed without a huge time investment - often over half an hour or a couple of hours. One can start and finish a story without having to worry about when one might get a chance to read again.
• It also gives the reader a chance to sample a range of unknown authors. This is especially true for anthologies or boxed sets, which include a range of authors, one or more of which may be already known to the reader. 
• At its best, short fiction can be thought-provoking, evocative, original, experimental.
• On the other hand, short fiction may leave a reader wanting more character development and/or world building or plot complexity. 

For writers:

• It's a great way to break into the market, as there are many opportunities for competitions or anthologies or to self-publish.
• While not easy to write, short fiction requires less investment of time and money (for editing etc) than a full length novel.
• Short fiction can help a writer to hone her (or his) skills - to write powerfully with less words, to set the scene or show character without the fluff, to better understand plot and story structure.
• Short fiction can be an opportunity to experiment with subject, genre, approach without a huge investment in time (so it's not so critical if it doesn't work out).
• Short fiction tied into the novel world can be a way of either introducing the novel, continuing momentum between novels (and keeping fans happy), filling out the story world,  and/or as a freebie in promotions. 
• It can be fun to write.

Perhaps short fiction are like an artist's sketch compared to a fully developed painting. Both can be beautiful, both have different functions, both tell a story.

Over the last four years, I've enjoyed playing with short stories at different lengths and have had several published in a range of anthologies. Generally, a story has it's own innate length. The trick is limiting the complexity or the number of needed scenes for the word count and then paring back the excess wordage. Sometimes this means sacrificing scenes or elements you like (or deciding to try again with another story).

Have you written (or read) short fiction? What do you like (or dislike) about this form? Who do you think does it well?

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Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users.

Recent publications include her novellas Heart of the Mountain and Blood Crystal and short stories The Herbalist's Daughter and Lakwi's Lament and her novel Akrad's Children. Other short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies, including Glimpses of Light and Futurevision with three anthologies coming out this month - Redemption anthology, Tales From the Underground, and Quantum Soul.

Jeanette continues to write her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements.

Find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websitesJennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes . if you want to stay up-to-date with latest publications and developments, sign up to Jeanette O'Hagan Writes e-mail newsletter.

Exploring Genre - Rural and Medical Romance

by Nicki Edwards

This year, the cross posts between Christian Writers Downunder and Australasian Christian Writers are focusing on genre. So far, we’ve had posts on meeting genre expectations, in Space Opera and Superheroes, Portal Fantasy and Secondary World Fantasy, Poetry, Free Verse and Verse Novels and Regency and Historical Romance . 

Today, I'm looking at the place of Rural and Medical Romance.

I like what Iola Goulton said in a previous post that book genres are like food. If we go out to our favourite restaurant and order the usual and something different is served, we are disappointed, especially if we’ve been eagerly anticipating that familiar taste.

Book genres are a bit like ice cream. I have two or three flavours I keep going back to – English Toffee, Honeycomb Crunch or Cookies and Cream.

It’s kind of funny my tastes are so narrow as I’m one of those odd people who thrive on change, but when it comes to food and books, I’m always drawn to the familiar.

For me that means romance and women’s fiction. 

So what is romance, why is it my favourite flavour and why do I write medical-rural romance?

Romance can be classified into many sub-genres - contemporary, erotic, historical, rural, paranormal, regency, young adult, medical, Christian, romantic suspense . . . you get my drift. The list is probably never-ending.

All romance novels have a central love storyline and an emotionally satisfying ending. Beyond that, they can be set in any time or place and have varying levels of sensuality from sweet to spicy.

Women’s fiction are women-centred books that focus on women’s life experiences. These books are generally marketed to woman.

My latest book, One More Song which comes out in November 2017 is being marketed as both romance and women’s fiction.

When I started writing in January 2014 I was encouraged to “write what you know” and “write what you love”.

What I know and love is medicine and nursing, and it is from this I draw my writing experiences. I also love the gorgeous rural backdrop that sits behind small town Australia. I love the people in regional and rural communities and therefore it seemed a natural fit for me to write heart-warming medical dramas set in small towns.

My books explore the realities and complexities faced by people in regional and small towns with plots involving dramatic accidents, illnesses and critical medical situations. Think McLeod’s Daughters meets A Country Practice with a touch of All Saints thrown into the mix!

People ask why the rural romance genre is popular and why my books have sold so well. I think readers have an appetite for stories set on the land and they love strong, ordinary, everyday Aussie heroes and heroines. Whether it’s the city girl finding a new life in the country, or rural characters living their lives working the land, there’s something relatable for all readers whether they live in the country or the city.

Lucky for us writers of this genre, readers can’t seem to get enough of our stories. Perhaps because there’s something romantic and almost mystical about the Australian outback. Or perhaps because many city dwellers have an escapism mentality when it comes to the idea of a tree change or ‘escape to the country’. Ironically, ask any farmer and they’ll tell you there’s nothing romantic about living in the middle of nowhere!

Obviously authenticity is crucial in rural romance as with all genres. A country person can tell a mile away if a writer is faking it. It’s the same with the medical side of my books. Anyone with a bit of medical background and Dr. Google can be my harshest critic. I have to get my facts right.

What I love about writing small town medical romance is that the story is all about the community and the people, not just my hero and heroine. The setting is as important as the story because when people in small communities are thrown together into a medical emergency or crisis situation it makes for great dramatic fiction, especially when my heroine is the medico saving the day. I love demonstrating nurses and doctors working together doing amazing things because that’s what I see every day when I’m at work.

As a medical-rural romance writer I get to tackle all kinds of interesting rural and medical issues, whether it’s the problem of depression and suicide in the bush, or the complexities of care people in small towns face such as the lack of facilities and equipment or trained medical staff. I love showing how small towns rally together and just make things happen.

Despite tough publishing markets in recent years, the romance genre continues to do well but for all its market success, it still encounters a lot of snobbery from readers. There’s a dismissive attitude towards it. Additionally, as a Christian, one thing I’ve encountered is the presumption that if I write romance it’s probably smutty. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s a huge range of sensuality in the romance genre and my books are at the sweet or “clean” end of the scale with closed door, fade-to-black sex scenes.

The exciting thing for me as a romance author is our readers are extremely engaged and they’re voracious readers. It’s not unusual for a romance reader to admit to reading a book a day! I’m blessed with how the romance reading community have embraced me and my books and I’m also fortunate to be part of a group of romance authors who have a website specifically set up for readers who love rural romance. You can check it out here: www.australianruralromance.com)

Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage, she spent her formative years riding horses and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own.

Nicki writes medical rural romance and when she isn’t reading, writing or dreaming about rural life and medical emergencies, she can be found working as a Critical Care Nurse in the Emergency Department or Intensive Care Unit, where many of her stories and characters are imagined.

Nicki and her husband Tim, a Pastor, live in Geelong, Victoria. With four teenage/young adult children, life is busy, fun and at times exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything. Visit her at www.nickiedwards.com.au to find all her other books.

Nicki’s latest book One More Song published by Pan Macmillan Australia will hit the bookshelves on November 28th, 2017 but is available to pre-order now wherever e-books are sold.

On Genre ...

By Iola Goulton

Welcome to the first Australasian Christian Writers/Christian Writers Downunder joint post for 2017. This year, we’ve decided to theme our posts, and our theme is GENRE. Genre is important in publishing, in fiction and in non-fiction. If you’re anything like me, you have favourite genres, not-so-favourite genres, and read-on-pain-of death genres. And you can get a little upset if a book doesn't meet your expectations.

Genre is like food.

My husband and I often go out for Saturday brunch together, sampling some of the many cafes in our area. He has two go-to orders: the big breakfast, or the hash brown stack. Each café tries to make their offering a little different, so what you get with each order varies. The hash brown stack has several hash browns, and may come with bacon or eggs or sliced tomato or sliced avocado. The eggs might be fried, poached, or scrambled. But the key is that it’s a stack: there are two or three hash browns in a stack, with the other ingredients layered in between the hash browns. The clue is in the name.

Or so we thought.

We tried a new café recently, and my husband ordered the hash brown stack. But it wasn’t a stack. It was three hash browns slapped on a plate beside some fried eggs, with a bowl of slushy baked beans on the side.

Not what he’d expected.

When we visit a restaurant and order a meal, we have expectations about what we’re going to get. If I order a hash brown stack, I want hash browns. In a stack. With stuff in between them. It occurred to me there are a lot of similarities between café menus and bookstores, real or virtual.

We look around, decide what we want, and feel unhappy if our expectations aren’t met.

How many times have you finished a perfectly good book with a "meh" feeling, because it wasn't what you expected? Perhaps it had been billed as romantic suspense, but there wasn't enough romance. Or enough suspense. Perhaps you'd bought a tell-all biography and found most of the information was stuff you'd already read online. Perhaps you'd been looking for a devotional with new insights into the Bible, and got the same tried-and-true clichés as in the last three you read. Or worse, perhaps you got a "creative" interpretation of the Bible.

As authors, we need to understand our readers and what they expect. 

We need to understand our readers, and manage their expectations. Part of the way we understand and manage reader expectations is through genre. If you're not sure what genre you write, then I suggest you need to read more. I'm not the only person who suggests this. So does Nola Passmore, in her recent post at Christian Writers Downunder. And so does Stephen King, who says:

We've talked a bit about genre before at Australasian Christian Writers, including brief explanations of several major genres:

• Romance
• Mystery, Suspense and Thrillers
• Fantasy and Speculative
• New Adult

Our 2017 joint ACW/CWD posts are going to go into these genres in more detail, and investigate some lesser-known genres.

Here's another reason to consider getting your genre right: marketing.

Selling books.

Genre is vital for selling books. The recent Author Earnings report shows that 69% of all US book sales are online. That's not just ebook sales, but ALL book sales. Many of those sales are through Amazon, and the key to Amazon sales success is getting your book categorised properly. Meaning, getting your book categorised in the right genre. Last week, I read a blog post from an author who was disappointed by the sales of her first solo single title novel (she'd co-written other single title novels, and had a number of category romance novels published).


When I checked her book on Amazon, I saw her publisher had messed up her categories: they'd categorised her novel as historical ... and as contemporary. That's not going to help sales. Sure, readers might find the novel, but it's also going to confuse them—and potentially lead to critical reviews from authors expecting a contemporary mystery, and getting a historical adventure/mystery. I see this a lot. Novels categorised as non-fiction. Novels listed in the wrong category, or one that doesn't seem consistent with the book description.

In other words, a lack of understanding of genre, and the way it influences and reflects reader expectations.

Take my food example: my husband was disappointed with his hash brown stack because it didn't meet his expectations of what a hash brown stack should be. It's not that there was anything wrong with the individual components of the meal, or that the meal didn't taste good. It's just that it wasn't what he was expecting. Readers are the same. They're not browsing the Classics shelves looking for the latest Love Inspired Suspense (or vice versa). They're not cruising the romance shelves looking for poetry.

Readers know what they want, and they expect those expectations(!) to be met.

And that's why we're going to be looking at genre in our joint posts during 2017. Please join us!

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more at www.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
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Launching Your Book Baby

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

CWD/ACW Cross-Post

Christenings, twenty-first birthday parties, weddings, ship launchings, bridge openings, house warmings—all ways to celebrate new beginnings.

Having a book launch provides a great opportunity to celebrate your book, make a splash, spark initial visibility, and it may be the one time people don’t mind if you raving about your book.

So what makes a successful launch?

Be clear about your goals.

What do you hope to achieve with your launch. Is it primarily to celebrate your achievement and/or to bring your book to attention of potential readers and fans and/or to make some initial sales?

 Who is your target audience?

A family history may (or may not) be targeted more at the extended family rather than history buffs or members of the historical society.  An e-launch of a book aimed at techno-challenged seniors may not be the best choice.

Be prepared

• Make sure your book is properly edited, critiqued, formatted and ready to publish in time for the launch.
• Talk to your publisher (if traditional published) to work out what they offer & what they expect from you.
• Start planning well before hand— the type of launch, who you’ll invite, giveaways etc.
• Have a budget— this might be small or large but you don’t necessarily have to spend big to have a successful launch.
• Maybe form a ‘street team’ —a group of people who are enthusiastic about your book and who are prepared to review and promote it via word of mouth, sharing links etc. and therefore create a buzz early on.
• Make sure you have enough books on hand (if physical launch)—allow leeway for delays or mistakes in printing/sending.
• Reviews—arrange reader reviews (through advanced reader copies) several weeks before the launch.
• Announce your launch—through social media, your website, email list etc (your platform).

Decide on what kind of launch

Most people, when they think of a launch, think of a physical one—with a physical venue and physical (print) books but you can also have an e-launch (or maybe combine it with another event).

Physical launch

• You need to arrange a time and date, venue, decorations, suitable refreshments and activities or entertainment.
• Send out invitations to friends and family, fans and readers, and other interested parties.
• Advertise—on Facebook (unpaid & paid), announcements of new releases (e.g. ACW), other social media, blogs, among groups that might be interested in your book, local media etc
• Make sure you have enough books for people to purchase on the day.
• Have activities, giveways—maybe takeaway items with your brand or book title such as bookmarks, T-shirts or coffee mugs.
• You could have a launch theme (does your book have pirates, horses or dragons in it; or maybe it’s set in an exotic location or celebrates a certain kind of cuisine.)
• Unless you are big name author or celeb—it’s probably best not to charge entry. If you do charge, include a signed copy of the book in the price.

Pros of a physical launch— a sense of connection, you have the books there to sell and they can be a lot of fun. Besides, not everyone is on social media.

Cons—not everyone can attend especially if they live at a distance and it can be more expensive and take greater organisation.

E-launches

It is possible to have a virtual-launch (eg Facebook or Twitter) and these (depending on your target audience) can be quite successful.

While I’ve heard of Twitter-parties, my experience has been with Facebook launches.

• Set up the event (date and time) on Facebook & invite interested parties to (virtually) attend and suggest inviting friends who may be interested.
• With an anthology—different authors can have 5 min intro and then each offer giveaways, prizes etc —which can result in a very fast-paced exciting launch with lots of offers and interactions.
• If you are the only author—you can invite other authors will similar book/readership to participate and/or just do it yourself. Make sure you have a list of questions for competitions or discussion:
•    About you as author & the writing process
•    About the book or book series, its characters and or narrative world
•    Related to the setting, the themes or issues
•    About the reader—their favourite book or genre, tastes, or opinions
• Tie in the giveaway into some activity—signing up to email list, liking author page or twitter account, Giveaways can be vouchers, or free books/short stories/illustrations or services (editing, providing a graphic) or inclusion in next book (ie they can name a character)

Combo:

Have an event on Facebook & with posts leading up to the physical launch.

Tie the launch in with other promotional activities.

A launch works best if you tie it in with other (ongoing) promotional activity.

• Blog tour— a ‘tour’ of participating blogs in which your new book (and you) are showcased, you can have giveaways for each blog and/or one big one at end of tour. Treasure hunts (with questions or comments on each blog needed to win). You may want to look at ways at keeping the different blogposts fresh and interesting—a different set of questions to answer, an excerpt from the book, or an interview with one of the main characters in the book (if fiction) or some interesting titbits of research about the culture, setting or period.
• Giveaways— leading up to the launch maybe set up a Rafflecopter giveaway or other giveaways on your blog. You could also do a Goodreads giveway or Amazon promotion.

Follow-up:

The launch is just the start. It takes time to build traction in the market, to get visibility— so you should continue to promote your books (without putting everyone off by a constant, annoying ‘buy my book, buy my book’ drone).

Look for opportunities:

Encourage reviews if you can, guest blogs, book signings, visits to groups connected to your target audience (schools, family history groups, women’s groups).

Don’t despair—remember the long-tail of publishing:

In the past books had a definite (and short) shelf-live. Unless a genuine best seller, a book often had a 6 week turnaround in the bookstores. So it was important to make a big splash at the beginning.

These days, with e-books, online buying and print-on-demand (POD), a book effectively never goes out of print. It remains available for purchase long after the launch. So even if your launch rates barely a blimp on the radar and you don’t make any Amazon best-seller lists, if you continue to promote your book/s, it’s possible to build up a visibility over time. This works best if you have more than one book, so keeping writing is also important (and because, after all, that why you are a writer in the first place).

And when all is said and done, while we can plant and water, it is God who 'gives the growth'. (cf 1 Cor 3:5-9)

Have you launched a book or participated in the launch? What things would you recommend as part of a successful launch? 


This post was also published on Australasian Christian Writers on 6 June 2016

Jeanette O’Hagan enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. She is writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series—a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. Her short stories and poems are published in a number of anthologies including Glimpses of Light, Another Time Another Place and Like a Girl.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and, more recently, a Master’s in writing. She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life and communicating God’s great love. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .