Most authors are readers, or should be.
So if you're here and you're one or both of the above, will you please answer this question? I'm very curious about the response.
Does an author you like turn you off when they switch/try out a new genre?
For instance, when Nora Roberts tried out the J.D. Robb thing, did you follow because she's NORA or did you try out J.D. having never read Nora (WHAT!) and now you do?
Is changing subgenres within a genre a no-no?
The thing I couldn't understand about the Nora Roberts thing - as an aside - was, the whole reason to bring on a pseudonym is branding, right? Okay, so you see these new mystery books and at the top it says Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb. So, um. hello? Pretty much moving the brand over, right? And I get it now because I've been in this game a little while now and I'm starting to understand the indiosyncrasies, but do you think it's necessary to change your name everytime you try something new out?
If you read Judith McNaught (love!) and find out she tried a new genre in horror, would you attempt it or be like, "no thank you, I don't read horror." ? What if she turned her horror into a one of her amazing romances? Her themes and pieces remained consistent, she just altered the story placement and characters?
I'm curious about this because so many people are saying that traditional pubbing is wrong about blah blah blah (this is an open-ended debate that I'm not interested in), so I'm wondering if this is something else they are supposedly wrong about.
And if they aren't wrong, what the heck is J.K. Rowling doing coming out with an adult novel? Unless of course Voldemort is back and Harry's a lot older...
Just sayin'. I'm curious. Do you worry about the genre or do you follow the author to the ends of creativity and back?
The genre doesn't matter overly much to me because I am very flexible that way. What matters most is talented writing. If the story is good, I'll read it. Therefore, I would (and have) followed authors across genre jumps and have been pleasantly surprized by the new depth and detail that come out as a result. Sometimes I do avoid new genres for authors I love simply because that kind of story is not my thing, but most the time I am a die-hard fan. Example: I LOVE the Twilight series, but avoided The Host because the premise just didn't grab me.
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