Writing Fiction - Getting started

Dear potential author,

Getting started is either going to be challenging or it is going to be a blast. There are a couple of things you need to consider before putting pen to paper or fingers on keyboard.

Who are you writing for?

Knowing your target market will make the writing process easier. Listed are your target group to take into account.

• Children
• Teens
• Young Adults
• Women
• Men

Book formats

In today’s competitive market, eBooks are slowly becoming the readers preferred choice when choosing books. Print on demand has opened the market for self-published author, like me. J

• EBook – Fairly cheaper to produce. Instant publishing option.
• Hardcover – More expensive to produce. Print on demand available.
• Paperback – Expensive to produce. Print on demand available.

Fictions are classified into:

• Story length
• Gender

Story length

Books or works of fiction are divided into:

1. Short story - 1 500 - 30 000 words

2. Novella - 30 000 - 55 000 words

3. Novel - 55 000 - 300 000 words

Fiction gender

Fiction is a complex division and subdivisions of genders, even crossing over. Knowing your market will give you the advantage over someone who is just writing without direction. I should know, I was one of them and it took me almost 7 years to publish my first novel.

Main genders

The list below is my version of the main genders in fiction. Please note that readers are not stupid, they will know if you are not familiar with a specific gender. When choosing a gender make sure that, you are well read. Read all the books you can in the gender of your choice. You must be your genders biggest fan!

• Comedy
• Christian
• Drama
• Erotica
• Fantasy
• Mystery
• Romance - most popular gender
• Satire
• Science Fiction
• Thriller
• Tragedy

Sub genders

Within the main genders you get sub genders. Below is a list of sub genders you might not have known existed. When I am reading I always look for well rounded books. A well rounded book will include some of the sub genders listed.

• Action
• Adventure
• Detective
• Historical
• Horror
• Paranormal
• Mythology
• Western
• Urban

Now that you know a little more about the writing process, I am confident that you are starting out with an advantage. Keep reading my blog and you too will soon be on the road to getting your book published.

Until we meet again,

Just Write