Ahhh temptation. I’m not referring to the cookies in the picture, but I’ll be damned it they don’t look pretty tempting too. Today, I’m talking about temptation as a writer.
While I tend to read some genres more than others, I love to read many different types of stories across genres. I especially love to read just about any subgenre of romance. While I think it’s important to read widely as a writer, it also comes with a great deal of temptation.
Temptation to write All The Things.
One day I want to write a sexy contemporary, and the next, I feel inspired to write an epic fantasy. The wonderful thing about romance is that it offers so many fun subgenres that can still be faithful to a writer’s core readership. But I do try to restrict myself to writing only romance, or stories that have very strong romantic elements. Not only because I’m trying to build a brand a writer, but because I enjoy books that have romantic elements the most.
And while I might like a shiny new non-romantic idea enough to start a story, I may not stay so in love when it comes to writing an entire novel. If I ever do, I’ll likely try to release the story under a new pseudonym.
Also, when it comes to authors who I love, I tend to love them in one genre, and resist following them into the new ones they take up. I try to remember this every time Serenity inspires me to write a space western. 
Do you prefer your favorite authors stick with a distinct genre (e.g. romance, sci fi, fantasy), or are you happy to follow them across different genres?
About Tiffany Allee
Oooo space western, go on. I actually wrote outside romance before getting pulled into this mad wonderful romantic whirlwind. But I do use another name. I’ve kept them pretty separate but as I’m so new to romance I’ll be interested to see what happens & what others think. Thanks for the post.
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Tiffany Allee Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 10:31 am
Thanks for the comment! I think using another pen name makes it easier, but I the temptation would be there for me to use the single name and hope fans followed me across genres. It’s difficult to decide the right thing to do when you get to that point, I’m sure.
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I’ve followed a few of my favorites to other genres within romance. While I still like them, I have found that I don’t like them as much as whatever originally made me fall in love with them. Once a historical writer in my mind, always a historical and the contemporaries just don’t hold as much punch- for example…. But I still read them!
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Tiffany Allee Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Thanks for the comment, Kimberly. I have always had a tough time following as well. But maybe that’s something I’ll work on.
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Yeah… I’m a genre whore. I read everything, and write in as many different genres as possible. Not by choice, necessarily, just because the ideas that come to me, come as a result of what I read, and when they come, they often cross genres a bit, but have to belong somewhere for ease of “shelving” in the virtual or real bookstore. I write cozy mysteries, less cozy mysteries, I have both light romantic suspense and dark romantic suspense in a file folder at home, I write paranormal, I write SFR – not quite space western, but the high concept pitch was “Firefly with sex” – I write contemporary romance, I have ideas for historical romance… and to come full circle, historical mystery as well.
Some of my readers follow me around. Some don’t. Some will try the (light) paranormals but have given fair warning they’re not interested in the (darker) SFRs. Some won’t read anything with sex at all, which is pretty much everything except the cozy mysteries.
The biggest problem with writing everything, is that it seriously screws up your brand. Readers get used to one thing from you, or a few related things, and then you come out with something totally different, and it confuses them. Not a good idea. If you can adjust the brand to allow for it, you might be able to make it work – I’m doing my best – but having too wide a brand is never a good thing.
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Tiffany Allee Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 10:36 am
Hi Jenna! You totally are, but I think you seem to be doing very well with it.
I think that if you’re very prolific and have been writing for a while, it’s probably something that you can do with success. I’m not there yet, but maybe someday.
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I’m with Jenna. I’m a genre whore – and I can prove it by saying that anything she writes I will probably read. =)
However, I also understand the brand thing. Currently, I’ve written traditional mystery (amateur sleuth, but I don’t know if it fits the “cozy” label), romance (with and without sex), and middle-grade fantasy. I haven’t worried too much about the use of pseudonyms or brand because I haven’t been published yet (but the middle-grade will probably be released soon from an independent publisher). I don’t really want to try to build a “name” following for three different “brands” (names). But I guess I’ll cross that bridge, or burn it as my grandfather used to say, when I come to it.
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Tiffany Allee Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Sounds like a lot of fun types of stories, Mary. And like you said, you can cross that bridge when you get there. I would think the only one that might be really important to consider doing under a different pseudonym would be the MG. But J.K. Rowling is using her MG name with her adult book, so what do I know?
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Jenna Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Awww, thanks Mary! I love you too!
On the brand thing… having more than one is twice the work. Three times the work once you add a third brand. It’s so much easier with only one – but you can’t always write the same things under the same name, which makes it more difficult. Especially when some of it is for kids. You don’t want them to pick up your adult stuff- especially the stuff with sex or violence – by mistake, so a new name is a definitely advantage.
But you’re right, branding is a first world problem… or, it doesn’t matter until you’re published. Until then, you can just have fun writing whatever you want. Sooner or later it’ll become an issue, though, and it doesn’t hurt to think about it ahead of time.
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Mary Sutton Reply:
August 18th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
The MG stuff will probably be the first to come out because that’s being done for an independent publisher. My contact is a media/PR guy, so I guess I should ask him what he thinks.
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