It's great to have Tabitha Barret here today discussing the dilemma of categorizing books so readers can easily discover them. Always a hard thing! Be sure to check out her new release, The Third Throne: Angel of Death.
Finding the Right Genre for Your Book
by Tabitha Barret
First of all, thank you Marsha for asking me to write a
guest blog for your site! I love sharing
my experiences so that I can help future authors avoid some of the mistakes I
have made along the way. I wanted to
talk about book genres and explain the importance of finding the right genre
for their books when they are ready to market, advertise, and sell them.
When authors create their works, they aren’t necessarily
thinking about how they will be categorized in the marketplace. They write what they know and love, but may
not try to identify it as a specific genre.
It’s wonderful when authors break the rules and create cross-genre or
unique stories that can’t quite be classified as one specific category, but it
can be dangerous when they are ready to market their book. Every site that reviews, lists, or sells
books will ask the simple question of,“What is your genre?” The problem arises when the author has to
choose from a specific list of narrow categories. Their book may not fit into one of the check
boxes and are forced into the General Literature category, or worse, a genre
that doesn’t really fit their book. It
can mean poor sales and damaging reviews.
If a book site is truly devoted to selling books, they will
allow for additional keywords so that authors can describe their book in more
detail. Labeling the book properly is
vital to finding the right readers. They
must think about their book as whole and come up with overall themes. They can use the keyword searches to their
advantage and drill down into their story to find the best words that describe their
book.
Personally, I write a series called,“The Third Throne,”
which is about Lucifer, Hell, and Fallen Angels. The series itself will have various creatures
such as werewolves, vampires, and creatures that I have created myself. My first book, “The Third Throne: Angel of
Darkness”, falls into Paranormal Romance, but also Urban Fantasy. Not all sites have either category, so I have
to put it into Romance. This genre is a
broad category and my book would most likely be overlooked by someone looking
for Regency or Contemporary Romance, so I’m already at a disadvantage. Hopefully, using keywords like Fallen Angels,
Hell, and Apocalypse will help me find my readers.
The second part of the problem comes when readers find a
book and decide that the chosen genre doesn’t meet their expectations. They will suggest their own genres and
sometimes criticize the book because it doesn’t match their preconceived
characteristics of the genre. This
happened a lot with my first book. The
cover of the book shows a young woman creating a violent storm. For some reason, people immediately thought
it was a Young Adult novel. My book
contains sexual situations and is intended for Mature Audiences over the age of
18.The genre of Paranormal Romance, which is supposed to imply sexual
relationships, didn’t deter readers from thinking it was Young Adult. A number of reviews said that it was a YA
book, while others said it was New Adult.
Honestly, those two genres are on the exact opposite of the spectrum, so
it confused me to no end. I learned that
I had to advertise the book in such a way that would show readers that my book
didn’t fade to black during the intimate moments and that it did contain adult
situations. The genre of Paranormal
Romance didn’t protect me enough, so I had to clearly state that this is Adult
Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy and that it was “steamy.” I even had to add a content warning to
Goodreads that the book is intended for Mature Readers. Since safeguarding my descriptions, I’ve had
less confusion. So far my second book, “The
Third Throne: Angel of Death”, has avoided these pitfalls with my detailed
descriptions.
In short, know how to describe your book in an honest way
and do what you can to list it properly on book sites to gain the readers who
will enjoy your books. The wrong genre
listing can mean disaster for your book sales.
The
Third Throne:
Angel
of Death
The
Third Throne Series
Book
Two
Tabitha
Barret
Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban
Fantasy
Publisher: Heather Baker
Date of Publication: 7/31/2015
ISBN: 1514847507
ASIN: B00XOJ09Z0
Number of pages: 530
Word Count: 223,833
Cover Artist: Heather Baker
Book Description:
Anjali has embraced her destiny
to end the world, but now she must find her ten Harbingers, known as the
Predznak. She is determined to find Alazar, the Angel of Death, the former
leader of the Predznak, before the other angels. She fears that he has lost
hope and is close to becoming a Rogue Angel.
Alazar has spent too many
centuries waiting for his Master Anjali to come and claim him. Deception and
lies have kept them apart, but now it’s too late. He has vowed to the other
Predznak that he will kill their Master so that they can be free.
During her search for Alazar,
Anjali meets the Spirit Experts, paranormal investigators who are on a
collision course with the Angel of Death. Anjali finds herself strangely
attracted to one of the Spirit Experts and decides to become a part of their
group in an effort to keep them safe from her dangerous angel.
Can Anjali stop Alazar from
killing the Spirit Experts and destroying the surrounding town? Can she keep
Lucifer in the dark about her affections for the mortal man? Will unseen
enemies destroy all that Anjali holds dear?
The
Third Throne: Angel of Death is the second book in the steamy Adult Urban
Fantasy and Paranormal Romance series.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/lmijIjDuvZk
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
Anjali felt the
temperature of the room drop until ice particles formed from her breath. The
world around her fell away and went silent. The only sound she could hear was
her heartbeat. At first, it was strong and steady, but the tempo slowly changed
until it sounded like waves crashing on a beach. A brilliant blue filled her
vision and she saw the ocean waves rippling and dancing in front of her. She
could practically feel the sand between her toes. It was a peaceful sight. All
of her worries were gone and she breathed a sigh of relief. She no longer had
to worry about destroying the world and killing everyone. Staying here in this
serene place would be wonderful. There would no longer be blood on her hands
and the fate of the world would be someone else’s problem. She could just drift
away with the tide and be free.
She knew this
feeling. It was simple and easy to understand. If you let go of your worries,
you will find happiness. She sighed, wanting to be happy.
Happy? The
thought floated to the surface of her bewildered mind. There was no such thing
in her life. She was a servant of Lucifer, of Hell. Angels were meant to bow to
her command and do the will of God through her. Something was wrong. She wasn’t
destined to be happy, nor was she at the beach. She was in a cold, dark place
without oceans and sand. Romania. She was in Romania with Alazar, her Angel of
Death, and he was tempting her with his power.
The storm that
dwelled inside of her, just below the surface, welled up as it recognized the
feeling of death. It yearned to reach out and touch Alazar’s power. It felt
familiar, but not because she had experienced death before. It was familiar
because it was a part of her, a missing piece. Her power reared up and clawed
at her insides. It fought to reach Death and welcome him home. The only thing
holding it back was her ring. She used her thumb and carefully wiggled the ring
off her finger until she heard the small sound of metal hitting stone. Plink.
“Enough!” she
screamed, letting her power rush to the surface.
Alazar was
perplexed by her scream. He thought he was winning. She had seen the ocean and
had become complacent in her thoughts. What was happening? No one ever broke
free of his control, unless they resisted the temptation, which was rare. He
never let them escape. He never backed down from his temptation of a person,
until they were dead. Something felt dishonest about that as he watched Anjali
break free of the vision.
It’s wrong to
push people beyond their breaking point, he thought, just before he felt the
air stir.
He tried to
release her face, but couldn’t move. He knew he was in trouble when her blue
eyes turned black and glowed with power.
About
the Author:
Tabitha Barret graduated from
Rutgers University with a BA in English. She married the guy from her Creative
Writing class and together had two amazing children. They live in a quiet town
in New Jersey with their three rambunctious dogs. She is currently working on
her series, The Third Throne.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TabithaBarret
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TabithBarret
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/thethirdthrone
Website: http://www.thethirdthrone.com
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