My biggest gripe with the publishing industry, at the moment, has to do with how publishers pigeonhole writers. If they publish your romance novel, they want your next book to be a romance. They don't care if you've written a really compelling paranormal book or a good issue-y (yes, that's a genre) young adult novel. Once they know they can sell you in one genre, that's all they want you to write.
How frustrating is that? Extremely!
It would seem to me that a good book is a good book. Who cares what the genre is? If it's written well and it keeps the reader's attention, why wouldn't you want to print and sell it?
If readers liked your first book, they're probably going to like your next book, even if it's in a different genre, as long as you're not jumping from a chaste Christian romance (I hear Amish romances are HOT right now) to elaborate science fiction. I'm talking about going from a contemporary romance or chick lit to what would probably be classified as women's fiction. Not a big leap.
I should worry about finding an agent and then a publisher for my first book before I worry about what they'll let me write for my second book. But if I want a novel-writing career with longevity, it seems like I should think about these things sooner rather than later. Or maybe I should just pick a genre and stick with it. Ugh. Boo on that!
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