Different Year, Same Old Dilema

I’m getting really excited to be taking my first vacation after what seems like an eternity after all the health issues this year. This year I’m very excited to be heading back to the “homeland” – New Jersey – where I’ll be picking up shipping containers full of Criterion Salt Water Taffy in Eatontown, cartons of Wise Cheese Waffies from Stop and Shop, and visiting where it all started for the Cuhaj’s - Ellis Island. But more on the vacation in another post.

It’s a quiet time with my writing right now. When I get back from vacation, I have several projects – again – that need to be worked on like the edits for the new book, Hidden History of Mobile, research on Hiking Waterfalls Alabama, as well as several short stories heading to publishers, and a new outdoor-centric podcast coming soon.

In the meantime, and before the vacation, I’m really looking forward to hearing author Carolyn Haines speak at the Mobile Writer’s Guild meeting Thursday. I was introduced to Carolyn’s writing with her Sarah Booth Mysteries, but Carolyn’s writing goes far beyond a single genre and that’s what she will be talking about at the meeting – multi-genre writing, which, if you haven’t noticed, is me.

There are many authors and publishers that think writing in multi-genres is blasphemy. You should pick a genre and stick with it. It makes it difficult to have a work published when you say, “I have a mystery I want to submit” then your resume of published books says, “hiking guides.”

And that’s unfortunate because there are plenty of authors who are just as comfortable writing a travel guide one minute, then a mystery novel, then an historical non-fiction. To me, it only makes a person a better writer.

That’s my problem - getting over the marketing hurdle. It’s difficult promoting my outdoor recreation guides, short stories, novels, and historical pieces without it becoming muddled and giving readers (and publishers) more of a reason to say, “Stick with the hiking guides”.

It’s going to be a great session and if you can identify with what I’m saying, then you need to join the conversation with Carolyn Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Mobile Western Regional Library on Grelot Road.