Marketing and Genre
Asked by Hadassah Waugh on August 3, 2020
Hi, Mr. Jenkins. Before I ask my official question, I wanted to ask if there’s any way for me to ask more than one question a week? I’m a young author, and I have so many questions that I’d love to hear your answers on🙂
Here’s two of them, for now:
-How do I market my book if it’s too long and involved for children, but doesn’t have the adult content or swearing or violence to make it a teen or adult book? I was thinking as a family book, but I’d appreciate your thoughts, too, as it’s a little tricky.
-My book is set in a fantasy world, but there are no monsters, and no magic, and not even any mythical creatures or anything other than a dragon mentioned in a lay. How do I explain that to publishers? What’s the right term for its genre?
I’m eager to learn, and I have a huge list of other questions to do with my story personally. Is there any way to discuss those with you, other than this? Some of my questions don’t fit so well into 1000 words…
Thanks for reading and replying🙂
Jerry's Answer
I have around 2,000 online students, Hadassah, many of whom are beginners. But ask away, and if I can get to your questions, I will.
Hmm, too long for children but without adult content? You should know your intended audience before you start writing. You certainly don't need swearing or violence to target a certain age, but your story must have compelling elements for your intended readership. If you have to apologize for or explain your manuscript, that's going to make it a very hard sell.
What is your fantasy world populated with, if not the creatures you mentioned? Again, you shouldn't have to explain anything to a publisher. Tell them what the story is and they will see (if they're intrigued) what's there or not when they read it.