by M. L. Buchman
Romancing the Genres began eight years ago in May 2011. Curiously enough, my career as a writer began taking off about the same time, so I find myself looking back and going...Huh!
Some of that is a really good Huh! Seven years ago my writing career took off. Why? I think it's because I created something new. The first women of the Night Stalkers helicopter regiment--the women who were so good that the rules couldn't keep them out of the US Military Special Operations. I also work on my craft like a demon, but I've always believed in doing the best I can at something, even when I don't know what I'm doing. Perhaps especially then.
And I'll actually get to the real reason I think it happened down below.
On February 2012, with the launch of The Night Stalkers #1, The Night is Mine, I officially became a romance writer. A romantic suspense writer. A military romantic suspense writer.
To say that's not how I saw myself up to that point would be a vast understatement. I was a science fiction writer, by God. Except my first novel in 1997 was a fantasy. And while the second one was a miserable attempt at military SF (trust me, skip that one), my third novel was hard SF. I'd finally come home. I'd written THE epic masterpiece...which them accumulated some 70-80 rejections and has never taken off.
Now I do have an excuse for what happened next. At one of my first signings (back in the late 1990s), I met a major Western writer, John J. Nance. Okay, perhaps you know him as a major bestseller of Airport thrillers (which he was and is). But he absolutely is a Western writer the way I'm an SF writer. Except he couldn't sell the westerns despite being one of the biggest names in publishing at the time. Why? Because his agent and publisher didn't want to risk dinging his name. In fact, they wouldn't even take it on under a pen name in case word got out.
He said to me, "Try out everything you want to write before you break out. Once you do, you'll be trapped forever in that genre."
Perhaps not the cheeriest outlook, but he was worth millions per book and I'd made about $600 with my writing by that point.
So, I listened.
Perhaps the pinnacle of my odd quest to answer his call was the year of 2011. I had sold the original four books in The Night Stalkers series in 2010 and delivered all of them by late 2011. But even with a full-time job, I wrote faster than two-per-year. This was back before the Kindle Christmas, back when having a book published indie was almost unheard of (we sure hadn't come up with the "indie" label yet).
In 2011, I released (some were written earlier):
- My Second Dark Ages fantasy, Monk's Maze
- My science fiction apocalyptic masterpiece, The Nara Reaction
- Book #1 of a lighthearted Dead Chef thriller series, Swap Out!
- Book #1 of my most successful Where Dreams contemporary romance series, Where Dreams Are Born
- And then in February 2012, The Night Is Mine became my first military romantic suspense
Five genres in one year. The power of indie had arrived (too bad the first couple didn't sell better, but they were early books). My thrillers do nicely and the Where Dreams series (5 novels and 3 short stories) has been a perennial seller that I really love.
Did I stop there? Of course not! Since then I've sprouted: Paranormal(ish) romance, sweet romance, non-fiction, 2 historical romances (that, thanks to some wise advice, never have and never will see the light of day, not even under a penname [trust me, it was good advice]).
Oh, did I mention that this fall I'm launching a brand-new techno-thriller series?
So where am I going with all this?
I have a successful romantic suspense career (74 novels and short stories). I have most of a second career in contemporary romance (25 titles). Yes, I also have 5 thrillers, 3 fantasies, and over 18 SF (all but those two early novels are short stories--so far).
I've counted it a couple different ways, but I've roughly written in 8 genres in 8 years. Is this sane or rational or a well-planned, well-organized strategy in any manner, shape, or form? Absolutely not!
But what it has been is massively fun!
Yes, I have some fans who will never read my (pick a genre). But if I limited myself that way, then I'd never have the fans who will only read that genre.
You see, I finished the first draft of that techno-thriller just today, mere hours before this blog went live. (In fact, it's a good thing I finished it when I did or this blog might never have existed.) And what did I achieve by writing a new book in a new genre that may never take off?
Well first, maybe it will take off.
But second, it forced me to reconsider how I tell story. How writing so many romances has shaped and honed my voice in ways that I wasn't aware of.
I was talking with my now-pal Damon Suede the other day. (If you're going to be at the RWA National Conference in New York this July, look for our talk with SC Mitchell, Men Writing Men in Romance.) And we talked about breaking "the box."
That's what The Night Is Mine did and I firmly believe that (on top of craft) that's what finally started my career. I broke "the box" and was perhaps the first author to put the women in combat positions and placed my love stories in the theater of Special Operations.
Breaking the box is what I also tried to do with my Henderson's Ranch series in which the second story and the last novel, Big Sky Dog Whisperer, were about a veteran who lost a piece of himself and became more of a man in the end than when he'd been a SEAL. Am I the first to write about wounded vets? Of course not. But it sure broke any box I'd been comfortable writing romances in. When I first created Stan in Reaching Out at Henderson's Ranch, he got the love of a dog and I figured that was all he'd ever get from me. Instead he concluded one of my most successful series, one-armed dog trainer, scarred face, and all.
It's what I did when I wrote this crazy thriller.
I forced myself to keep growing.
Yes, I've written in 8 genres in 8 years and I count myself stretched in way more than 8 ways.
I can't wait to see what the next 8 years brings.
Love to hear how you challenge yourself to keep it all fresh.
(Hint: I can honestly recommend not doing it by writing in 8 genres. 😉 )
M.L.
"Matt" Buchman has over 60 novels, 90 short stories, and a
fast-growing pile of audiobooks out in the world. M.L. writes romance,
thrillers, and SF&F…so far. Recently named as The 20 Best
Romantic Suspense Novels: Modern Masterpieces by ALA’s Booklist, he has also been selected three
times as "Top-10 Romance Novel of the Year." NPR and B&N listed
other works as "Best 5 Romance of the Year." As a 30-year project
manager with a geophysics degree who has: designed and built houses, flown and
jumped out of planes, and bicycled solo around the world, he is awed by what's
possible. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.
9 comments:
WOW Matt - what a journey. I say keep forging ahead. You are doing something right. You amaze me. I can't wait to see what you do in the next eight years. :-)
I think you are right, Matt - breaking the box while having fun and continuing to learn craft are key. Plus writing fat!Congratulations on the new techno-thriller series!
Loved, your post! For me, the biggest takeaway is encouragement to keep growing and write with joy. I am trying that with my own writing, and I hope I'll be as happy eight years from now.
I have a mentor who often says: "If you're not having fun, the readers can tell." Not saying it won't be challenging, hard, nerve wracking... But you've GOT to be having fun with the characters and story or it shows. And breaking the box? It's something I've always striven to do and I'm shooting to do more of it every day.
Here I go...WHEE!
I love your writing story because it validates my thinking, LOL. I'm in awe of your achievements, all those different genres with their individual reader expectations - my mind is boggled.
I've written and published in three sub-genres of romance (historical, contemporary, romantic suspense) and I revel in the freedom to explore new worlds and new tropes. I've also written paranormal romance that I plan to publish next year. AND I'm developing a cosy mystery series. There are too many stories rattling around in my head to pigeonhole myself or my writing.
I totally agree that if I'm not having fun with my story, my characters it will show. I admire folks who write in various genres or sub-genres. I see myself as writing in Contemporary times but as the years pass and I'm still in the 2004 - 2005 time period (started in 2002), I may become a historical romance author.
Judith! That's a totally new way to become a historical author. I totally have to tell a couple of my long-term career friends that one.
Luanna, how I wish I could write historical. It seems I just have a "modern" voice. I've really tried...and had major historical editors say, "Perhaps you should stick with contemporary." LOL!
Matt, thanks for sharing your journey. I knew you had written in many genres but didn't realize quite how many. I actually remember reading three chapters of that historical romance way back when we were both in a novel workshop together. :) What I remember most about it was your deft hand with setting--something I'm sure you've brought forward in your other novels.
I also love the advice of write all over the place int he beginning until you find something you truly love because when it takes off you'll be stuck there. I've certainly been doing the first part. Though a couple of my series have gained an audience (the contemporary romance and the fantasy), I wouldn't describe either one of them as "taking off."
I began publishing fiction novels about the same time you did and went through a similar process. I was bound and determined that I was an SF writer. Full stop. Then a mentor, whom you know, advised me to write romance because that was the biggest and fastest selling market. I never saw myself as a romance writer--but that's because the only romances I had ever read were my mother's Harlequin sweet romances. My stories were bigger. But I delved in anyway writing what I wanted and it worked--there were people who wanted those bigger, more complex romances too. :)
I'm so glad he pointed me in that direction because I also learned something about myself. In my SF, I wrote character-driven stories and wanted to include a romantic relationship but always stopped myself from doing that because I was "brainwashed" early in my short story career that only hard SF--the kind scientists (primarily men) wanted to read was acceptable (were talking 70's and 80's here).
Your advice and experience writing what you love and having fun is so true. I'm now combining my "hard" SF with my love of relationships and having the most fun I've had in a very long time. Will this be the one that breaks out? I don't know. But I'll keep writing in it for at least six books and see what happens.
Yes, romance readers are voracious, which is always a good market to feed. The Catch-22 is that romance writers are both prolific and numerous.
I think a move out to those edges (provided it hits your personal voice and fun factors) is now a good choice in the changing, evolving world we call publishing. Hard SF is my first love, and I'll get back to it as more than a short story...soon. Honest!
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