Friday, April 22, 2011

To Market, to market

We've all heard the words "write for yourself, not for market." Of course we all want to be read, to sell, so we run to where the "money" is.

I thought I'd learned my lesson when I tried so hard to write straight romance and mystery with no paranormal elements, since that was selling. Guess what, it didn't work for me. The minute I let the paranormal elements creep in, I had way more fun writing and it must have come through because I began to sell.

But I got tempted again. A call for Medical Romances went out for Harlequin. I couldn't resist. I've been a nurse since before most people I know were born. I know medicine, I'm a good writer, I could do this. So I did. One chapter went out and got a request for more. 60pages later I sent off a three chapter proposal with a synopsis.

I was rejected. They really liked my writing and my strong heroine. However, my hero just wasn't the Alpha-McDreamy they had in mind for the medical romance line and they suggested I submit again, with a new idea and new characters. As rejections go, this was an extremely flattering one.

Guess what I learned. I write strong, kick-ass heroines. I like having the unexpected magic happen. The romance is secondary to the mystery/adventure, even though the romance is there. I'm going back to what I love because I had to make myself write the romance. I was already thinking of ways to add murder and mayhem into the mix. I may write a paranoramal that involves a medical background and mystery some day, but straight romance, probably not.

What genre switches have you tried and what did you learn? Comment about it to win an electronic copy of one of the Tali Cates mysteries.