Great (Genre) Expectations ...

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 www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

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

You can also find me on:
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Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! (Part 2)

(Image courtesy of smarnad
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

It’s almost two months since I wrote my first post on the, ahem, touchy subject of sex in Christian novels. If you haven’t read it or would like to refresh your memory, you can find it here. Thank you to everyone who commented on my question: When is realistic too much? Your thoughts were both insightful and intriguing.

Every fortnight, a group of us from a local church get together at Zarraffas (a Queensland coffee chain). These ‘Ladies of Reedy Creek’, as I’ve dubbed them, range in age from 30 to 70+, and are very accommodating when I ask them questions concerning writing. All I have to do is bring out my pen and little black notebook and they’re like meerkats on alert.

This week, I asked them what they thought about sex issues being addressed in Christian novels. (Picture a group of extremely alert meerkats). Not only were their responses unanimous (except for one who left to attend a doctor’s appointment – or so she said) but they were strongly felt.

 Here’s a summary of what they said:

There is a definite demand for stories which are G-rated, however, they would like to see Christian books which address the more gritty issues too. For example:
 • Characters with a past which is described realistically, just not graphically.
 • The struggle men (and not just teenage ones) have in their thought life
 • The pressure to remain pure without making purity an idol
 • Guilt issues surrounding premarital sex
 • They would prefer sex to stop at the bedroom door but agree there is a need for stories which address intimacy problems, particularly for those who
 o are entering marriage for the second time
 o have blended families
 o have suffered sexual, physical, or emotional abuse

(Image courtesy of markuso
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Talking of bedroom doors, as I mentioned in the previous post, Francine Rivers left the door wide open in her latest novel, Bridge to Haven. Personally, I thought the wedding night was written very tastefully. It wasn’t graphic and didn’t include body parts, although the word ‘naked’ was used. There was the usual nervousness, but also fear because of what had gone before in the life of the main character, Abra. I thought the scene necessary in order to show the redemptive healing process. Nevertheless, Francine copped a lot of criticism along with the five-star reviews.

As we all know, everyone has a differing opinion of what’s okay and what isn’t, so how do we write about these sexual issues in our novels?

Diana Gabaldon, best-selling author of the Outlander series, says this: ‘Sex scenes are not about sex. A good sex scene is about the exchange of emotions.’

Now, before you shut down your computer in horror, I’m not suggesting we should write sex scenes! (Goodness, I find kissing scenes difficult to write, let alone anything more, lol). But maybe, just maybe, there’s a clue to our dilemma in that quote.

Exchange of emotions …

Rather than write a graphic scene – be it rape, abuse, intimacy issues or even healthy sex – perhaps we could focus on the visceral and emotional responses of our characters. Could this be a way of showing the effects of these experiences without offending? Is this the answer for displaying the realism we seek?

Here’s a quote from one of the Ladies of Reedy Creek (who also happens to be a pastor’s wife). NB: we were discussing the realism issues when she said this:

‘We’re bombarded by (sexual) explicitness and negativity in the general market. What are we offering in return?’

Good question, isn’t it?

There’s been a lot of talk about including realism in our stories, but where do the more gritty and confronting aspects of life fit?  I’m a romance writer, and while I like to write as realistically as I can, I’m not convinced that explicit content belongs in my genre … at least, not in real time. 

I believe that in a romance novel, these darker themes belong in backstory. Readers of romance expect to be taken on a journey which explores the beauty and wonder of falling in love. That’s not to say our characters don’t go through hardships and trials – of course they do or else there’s no conflict and without conflict you don’t have a story. (Note: if there isn’t a happy ending in the book you’re reading, then it’s a love story, not a romance.)

Bridge to Haven is women's fiction. Jo Wanmer’s Though the Bud Be Bruised falls into the fiction category. Paula Vince’s Picking Up the Pieces is YA fiction. They all deal courageously with the unpleasant and harsh realities of life, but while they may include elements of romance, they are not romance novels.

 It seems to me that getting the genre right and having an understanding of what is expected within each one is extremely important when tackling these concepts.

Think of the Christian books you've read which have been out of the box as far as realism goes. In which genre have they appeared?

As always, I look forward to reading your comments.

Andrea writes contemporary romance. Her first book A Simple Mistake was a finalist in the CALEB Awards 2012. Her second novel Too Pretty was released in 2014 by Rhiza Press. 

Andrea would love to hear from you via her website or Facebook page:
http://www.andreagrigg.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg

Character, Character, Character!

Heard of the movie? I’d read a couple of reviews, watched the trailer, and knew it was sad. So, armed with tissues, five of us toddled off to the local cinema.

Everything seemed normal at first. There were the usual sounds of lolly bags being wrestled open, frozen Cokes hurtling up straws, low-key chatter during the ads and previews. And then, the instant the movie began, a collective ‘Awwwwwww?’ erupted from all around us. Loud, shrill, and very, very female.

I looked at my bestie. She looked at me. I caught my daughter’s eye and then that of her friend. They both raised eyebrows and shrugged, as did my sister-in-law next to me. What was going on?

Teenage girls, that’s what.

The ‘awwww’s just kept on coming – every time Augustus spoke. Every time he smiled. Every time he so much as raised an eyebrow.

And then came the tears. Except they weren’t just tears. They were sobs. Violent ones. So loud in some parts we couldn’t actually hear the movie. The girl in front of me rocked as she cried into a jumper shoved against her mouth. And I kid you not, the girl behind me was curled in a foetal position. And then, when I looked around, I saw there were literally hundreds of them doing it. Yeah, I was a little freaked.

Once the movie ended (and it was a beautiful story), us twenty-, forty- and fifty-somethings stayed glued in our seats, watching the aftermath with a kind of macabre fascination. Girls sat huddled on the stairs, arms around each other. Group selfies were taken, even videos. After fifteen gobsmacked minutes, we left them to it.

So why did this happen? Why did this movie have such an effect on these girls?

I asked one of them (several had recognised me from their primary school days where I’d been a teacher) and she was more than willing to explain. Between sobs, that is. Yep, she was still crying and shaking twenty minutes after the credits had finished.

She had read the book, she said, over and over. As had all her friends. She was going home to read the book again if she could. She mightn’t because she’d probably get even more upset. She just LOVED the characters. They meant so much to her.

Talk about a smack between the eyes. (Me, I mean, not my young friend J)

These girls would have had the same reaction if Hazel and Augustus had been Medieval peasants rather than contemporary Americans. Why? Because John Green, the author of 'The Fault in Our Stars', had made them so real and engaging, they had leapt off the page and into their hearts.

So, I’m throwing it out there by saying this:

If my characters don’t connect with my readers, I’m wasting my time.

I could have the most beautiful and eloquently described setting; a clever and intriguing plot; godly themes. But if I have wooden rather than resonating characters, my story will be weak and illicit only a small amount of empathy. And that’s the last thing I want.

I’m a visual learner. Therefore, my movie experience was a brilliant, God-given eye-opener. Because I saw the impact on several hundred lives made by excellently crafted characters. And as a writer (and a Christian), I have the potential to do that. It may take a lot of practice, but I’m determined to get there. Anyone want to join me?

About Andrea Grigg

Andrea writes contemporary romance. Her second novel Too Pretty will be released on August 1 by Rhiza Press. Her first novel A Simple Mistake was a finalist in the CALEB Awards 2012

Andrea would love to hear from you via her website or Facebook page:
http://www.andreagrigg.com/
https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg

What Makes a Good Book Review?

By Iola Goulton

Reviews are for readers.

The objective of a review is to help a potential reader decide whether or not they will like a particular book. Should they spend their hard-earned money buying this book? Is it worth their time to read? My time is valuable. I don’t want to waste hours reading a bad book, even a free book, when I could have been doing something more enjoyable (like scrubbing the toilet, or better still, reading a good book).

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that there are five main aspects that contribute to my enjoyment of a book, and these are the questions I try to address when I write a review:

• Plot: Does the plot make sense? Do the sub-plots add to the overall story? Is it believable? Is it original, or do I feel I’ve read it before?
• Characters: Do I like the characters? Are they people I’d want to know and spend time with in real life? Or are they too-stupid-to-live clichés?
• Genre: Does the book conform to the expectations of the genre? If it’s Christian fiction, does the protagonist show clear progression in their Christian walk? If it’s romance, is there an emotionally satisfying ending? If it’s fantasy or science fiction, has the author succeeded in convincing me the world they have created is real?
• Writing and editing: With many books, especially those from small publishers or self-published authors problems with the writing or editing take me out of the story (like a heroin wearing a high-wasted dress). Bad writing or insufficient editing makes a book memorable for all the wrong reasons.
• The Wow! Factor: Some books, very few, have that extra something that makes them memorable for the right reasons. The Wow! factor is usually a combination of a unique plot and setting, likeable and intelligent characters (I loathe stupid characters), and a distinct and readable writing style, or ‘voice’. This is highly subjective and other readers might not agree with my taste. And that’s okay.

Some reviewers, especially Christian reviewers, are of the view that “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, or that a positive review is building up God’s Kingdom.

I disagree.

I don’t believe God’s Kingdom is built on second-rate work. Praising books with basic writing faults encourages mediocrity, and we should be aiming to give God our best. This takes a combination of (God-given) talent and (our) hard work.

Readers deserve to know whether a book is worth their time and money. Even a free book takes several hours to read, hours the reader can never get back, so the book needs to be good enough to justify that time. I try not to be a basher, but I believe I have a responsibility to be truthful, and sometimes that means being critical. If I really don’t like a book, I need to say so (although I fully understand why authors can’t always take this approach, as Narelle Atkins discussed last week).

It's hard to write a less-than-glowing review. Really hard. Even harder if I'm the first reviewer who didn't love the book (or, worse, the first person to review the book).

It’s much easier to write a four-star ‘I liked it’ review (and even easier to write a five-star ‘I loved it’ rave). I wish I could write more five-star raves, but a lot of books are missing that Wow! factor, that originality that takes them from a four-star like to a five-star rave.

Critical reviews are especially hard to write if the book is from a lesser-known author with fewer reviews. I don’t enjoy writing a review saying a book was full of cliché characters, a predictable plot and editing errors. It’s not my fault I'm the first person to notice a book refers to Barnaby's Star when it's actually Barnard's Star. (That's a true story, and one that shows my inner geek. The author said even his NASA beta-reader didn’t pick that up. But he has now had the book completely re-edited and it will soon be relaunched. He’s even asked me to review it again.)  

That’s a nice story, but the purpose of reviews isn’t for authors to get free feedback on their writing. If you are an author and want feedback on your writing, ask a beta reader, find a critique partner, get a free critique through a writing organisation, or get a paid critique from an editor who specialises in your genre. Just please don't expect constructive feedback from reviewers. 

Because reviews are for readers.

By Iola Goulton. I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction, and you can find out more about my services at my website (www.christianediting.co.nz), or follow me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christianediting), Twitter (@IolaGoulton) or Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/iolasreads).

I love reading, and read and review around 150 Christian books each year on my blog (www.christianreads.blogspot.com). I'm a Top 25 Reviewer at Christian Book, in the Top 1% of reviewers at Goodreads, and have an Amazon Reviewer Rank that floats around 2600.

Why are genres determined by reader expectations?

by Narelle Atkins

I write in the contemporary inspirational (Christian) romance genre but I love reading books in other genres. A genre can be defined as a category of literature. Fiction genres include Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Historical, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Horror and Young Adult. Each fiction genre may contain multiple sub-genres and also cross over between genres. Historical Romance has many sub-genres defined by the time period and/or setting. For example, a regency romance is usually set in England, 1811-1820. 

Why is genre important? If you’re writing for your own pleasure, then genre really doesn’t matter. But if you’re writing to publish, you need to find a market for your books. Your market consists of readers and genre definitions are a marketing tool that helps readers choose between different types of books.

For example, in a romance novel the story will focus on the developing romantic relationship between the hero and heroine. Romance readers expect the story to have a happily-ever-after ending for the hero and heroine. They read romance to journey with the characters as they struggle to overcome obstacles in the story to achieve their happy ending. If a book is marketed as a romance but the hero and heroine don’t meet until three chapters before the end, or the hero and heroine go their separate ways at the end of the book, the reader will be disappointed because the book does not meet their expectations of a romance book.

The book market works on the principle of supply and demand. Publishers and authors supply books to meet the demand of readers. Publishers will go bankrupt if they don’t supply books that readers want to buy. They pay attention to the consumer behaviour of readers and strive to supply books that meet the different expectations and personal tastes of readers.

Books are not a ‘one size fits all’ generic product and I’m going to use the analogy of McDonalds burgers to explain my point.

McDonalds offer a wide range of burgers. A customer who orders a beef burger but is given a chicken burger is not going to be happy. They will be disappointed, possibly angry and most likely wanting to exchange the chicken burger for the beef burger that will meet their expectations. The chicken burger may taste great, but they will be thinking about how they really wanted a beef burger and are less likely to enjoy eating the chicken burger.

A customer who orders a Big Mac is not likely to be happy if the burger contains beetroot. Even if they like beetroot on their burgers, they didn’t request it on their Big Mac and it won’t meet their expectations.

Under the Australian Consumer Credit Code, the customer is entitled to ask for an exchange or refund in these situations because the product does not meet the advertised specifications.

In the same way fast food outlets want to provide burgers that meet their customer’s expectations, publishers and authors want to provide books that meet reader expectations. I’ve asked Jenny Blake, a reader friend who contributes to our blog, a few questions to see how this works in real life.

Narelle: Jenny, thanks for joining us today. I know you are a fan of the Love Inspired and Heartsong Presents range of inspirational romance books from my publisher, Harlequin. What are your reader expectations of these books?

Jenny: A clean, light read with an inspirational content. I love that I know I can read these books and know there will be no bad language or sexual content in them. The books are easy to read but still have a message. The books have grown over the years to have stronger storylines and do deal with real issues. Having the three lines for Love Inspired (Historical, Contemporary and Suspense) gives a good range of books to choose from.

Narelle: I’ve included the link to the Love Inspired and Heartsong Presents Writing Guidelines so you can see if Jenny’s reader expectations in any way reflect the writing guidelines for these books. 
http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0 

My next question: What is your favourite genre? Has the style or content of books in this genre changed over time?

Jenny: My favourite is historical but not all historical. I am not a regency fan but love how there is a range of historical eras. Yes I can see the books have evolved over time. The books now are more realistic and often much better researched. I have noticed it more so in the Heartsong Presents range as these are the ones I started reading first. The style has change and it’s hard to say how but the stories are stronger and the characters are not as perfect and unrealistic as before. Also before Historical was mainly American Prairie stories now there is so much more variety.

Narelle: Thinking of the books you read in your favourite genre, can you think of anything that would deter you from buying a book in this genre and could possibly be compared to my analogy of adding beetroot to a Big Mac? Would these story elements turn you off buying future books from that particular author or publisher?

Jenny: Yes one of my favourite Historical times is the Civil War. Last year I was so excited to get a book set in the era but when I started the book the language was so bad. They used one word to excess and I had to stop reading because of this. It was so disappointing and I would never buy another book by the author and I would wonder at the publisher also. I also enjoy inspirational romance but have been frustrated when I have bought the book marketed as this only to find it’s got a high amount of suspense in it. I do not read heavy suspense books and this is a big turn of and yes it will make me wary of the author or publisher.

Narelle: Have you come across any books that don’t seem to fit into a genre category? For example, the marketing or back cover information might be vague in regards to signaling the type of story. In your opinion, is this a positive or negative factor in determining whether or not you will buy the book?

Jenny: Yes, it doesn’t happen a lot but when it does it can be frustrating. When I am looking for a book I normally look at the genre and read the blurb. There have been a few from reading the back I thought it was a romance only to find it was chick lit or women’s fiction which I do not really like or have found the story to be totally different from what the blurb indicated. For example I thought it would be an inspirational romance only to find it deals with the heroines demon’s and there is very little romance in the book.

Narelle: You’ve read Jenny’s responses, the opinions of one reader. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of the questions I posed to Jenny. Please be respectful in your comments and acknowledge that Jenny was brave to sit in my ‘hot seat’. Any inappropriate comments will be deleted. 

NARELLE ATKINS writes contemporary inspirational romance and lives in Canberra, Australia. She sold her debut novel, set in Australia, to Harlequin's Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line in a 6-book contract. Her first book, Falling for the Farmer, will be a February 2014 release.

Narelle is a co-founder with Jenny Blake of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA). http://acrba.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com
Blog: http://narelleatkins.wordpress.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarelleAtkinsAuthor
Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins