You Asked: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Genre’s

October 31, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 3 Comments

Welcome to another, You Asked, the Experts Answer, segment. This week ‘s question is: What are the major literary genre’s?

In simple terms, genre is the type of story you’re writing and it’s best if you know where your story fits before you begin; however, sometimes it evolves as your storyline develops.

Knowing where your story belongs is important. Agents and editors look for books that fall within the genre they represent and choosing the right one is invaluable in marketing. But, deciding on a genre can be a bit confusing given the number of sub-genre ‘s and the way they overlap.

Major Genre’s Include:

Romance
Crime & Mystery
Thrillers
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
Horror
Literary
Mainstream

In addition, Women’s Fiction and Upmarket Fiction are two genre’s I believe it’s worth mentioning. These two fall between literary and mainstream fiction.

Women’s Fiction is more commercial than literary. Usually written by women, for women, and the stories (about women) appeal to a large mainstream audience. You can find more about this genre at Find Me An Author.

Upmarket Fiction is a blend between literary and commercial fiction. Relatively new, this genre is growing in popularity, especially with agents. Check out Chuck Sambuchino’s, article on Upmarket Fiction at Writer’s Digest.

Sub-Genre’s: Too numerous to include in this post, I’ve provided you these resources for examples of the most popular sub-categories.

To date, there is no complete list of genre’s, but The Book Industry Study Group (BISG), working with publishers, has compiled the most comprehensive list.

To find out more including the most popular genre’s, free downloads, and access to the book genre finder, check these out.

Now Novel outline the major genre’s in their post, Genres of writing: How to choose your story’s vehicle.
Writer’s Digest offers a free genre description download.
Writer’s Relief offers a whole series on Genre Defined.
Book Genre is one of the best sites and offers the book genre finder with complete listings.

In the next segment of, You Asked, the Experts Answer, we’ll look at: How do I identify my books genre?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

Forget About Getting Rich

September 27, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 14 Comments

via The Average Earnings of Authors | A Writer’s Path and Guest post contributed by Sara Wolf at the Blooming Twig. The Blooming Twig is an independent publishing house that also produces writing blog posts. For more information, check out the Blooming Twig and A Writer’s Path.

A big thanks to Ryan Lanz and Sara Wolf for bursting my bubble. I’m no Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, but hey, I have aspirations for my still unfinished novel. I imagined my book on the New York Times bestselling list and after selling the movie rights, visions of rolling in money. But, according to a report by the University of London, it ain’t gonna happen.

Photo Courtesy of toonbarn.com and Google

Here are the highlights of the University’s study (based on 2,500 working writers):

54% of traditionally published authors and 80% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000 a year.
In 2013, 17% of authors made no money writing.
Less than 1% of self-published and more than 5% hybrid writers earn more than $100,000 per year. (Hybrid writer -an author who utilizes both the traditional and self-publishing systems in order to retain control of her own work).
According to award-winning author, Phillip Pullman, over the past ten years, publisher’s earnings have remained steady; writers incomes have decreased an average of 29%.
Fiction authors make more money than non-fiction or academic writers.
Women writers make 80% of what male writers make. (What! Who’s surprised?)
The report summed it nicely, “It appears that writing is a profession where only a handful of successful authors make a very good living while most do not.”

There you have it; not many of us will become rich from writing. Most of us write because we love to; it’s part of who we are.

I published my first article in 1989 and the excitement I felt is hard to describe. It’s an accomplishment of which I am still very proud. That first article happened a long time ago, but each time a story or article of mine is published, I get those same feelings. There’s something special about knowing other people are reading and enjoying the words I have written.

What about you? Do you write for fame and riches? Have you earned income from your writing? Share your success. Want to read the full article? You can find it here.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story. And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter @cofcmom, and Contently.

How To Pick an Agent (and Live Happily Ever After)

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

Finding an agent is a thrilling and anxious time. I’m not at that point yet; however, I hope to be soon. Thanks to Ryan Lanz at A Writer’s Path, I have a blueprint, of sorts, to help me through the process. Thanks, Ryan for sharing this valuable information. Take it away.

Please note: This was originally a guest post contributed by Christina Dalcher. You can check out more of her articles on her blog. Christina has a Ph.D. from Georgetown University in Phonology and Phonetics.
I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story.
And as always, you can follow me on Facebook at SheilaMGood, Pinterest, and Twitter @cofcmom.

Is Your Manuscript Ready for Primetime?

August 12, 2015October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

You’ve finally reached the pinnacle, revisions are complete and your query is perfect and your manuscript ready. You’re anxious to contact agents, but is it really ready for primetime?

Before you hit send, read Ryan Lanz’s, A Writer’s Path, 16 Query Tips From Literary Agents.