Genre, Voice, and that thing we call Publishing [Week 2 - Part 4 ...

There are various aspects to think about before we begin writing. One of the most vital is to consider your audience. Your readers are the people who will decide if your story is remembered or falls into obscurity. It is important to target the right readers and you often do this through careful selection of your genre and aspects of voice common within that genre.

A biography, for example, will attract different readers than a memoir or literary fiction. When you write with a voice targeted to children you do it vastly differently than you write for adults. Even within the popular fiction categories, romance, crime, science-fiction, fantasy, etc. the readers can vary significantly and so does the way a writer tells those stories. A horror piece has a different tone than an adventure piece; a romance is vastly different to a sci-fi. Although each genre can contain elements of other genres most writing will fit, to some degree, in a particular category. For the sake of marketability it needs to.

As a writer, we need to consider the marketability of our stories before we begin writing them. Yes, it can be trendy to be experimental, (in fact, I?ll share more about the contemporary trend toward avant-garde next week), but it can be difficult to find a home among readers if we step too far out of their comfort zones. These days, the marketability becomes a major selling point when approaching agents or publishers. Even those who choose to self-publish their writing need to consider the marketability of their writing well before they publish their work.

Speaking of that thing we call publishing, there are a number of ways short stories are published in today?s modern times. Historically, short fiction was published in periodicals like newspapers and magazines. Occasionally they would be published in collections such as anthologies. These publication routes are still common avenues today. However, there is also a lean toward fewer paper publications of short stories with new markets online. Writers can still follow traditional routes for periodical and anthology publications in print and online or may choose to go it alone and self-publish their work.

Whichever route through publishing you ultimately take, you should first consider your readers and your intended market. These can influence the way you tell your stories and the way you develop your initial ideas. It will certainly influence the genre you target and, in subtle and non-subtle ways, it will influence your voice as your tell your story.

Source: http://www.craftingfiction.com/2012/09/genre-voice-and-that-thing-call-publishing.html

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