Changing Genres In a Series

JustJas · Jan 25, 2012

I've just finished a suspense novella which I planned as part of a trilogy....Atlhough it has romantic elements the mc's don't really get together until right at the end (and this is only hinted at). I still want to continue exploring the relationship between these two characters in the next book as well as another couple (the mc's best friend), but I don't want the next novella to be a suspense..There will be a little suspense in it but not nearly as much as the first book...The focus will be more on romance.

Is it possible in a series to begin with a suspense and then change genres in the next book?

readitnweep · Jan 25, 2012

Honestly, I have a hard time seeing that selling, if publishing is your goal, since marketing and even placement in a bookshop display, is based on genre.

You can have romance in a suspense story and there are some romance lines with suspense elements, but I can't see how you could sell the idea of changing genres in mid-series, no.

Vemy Paw · Jan 25, 2012

My only comment is that your readers might not like it.

slicing_angel2003 · Jan 25, 2012

I saw this done once with a paranormal series. The books started out with a line or two of romance but for the most part they were detective stories. Then around the fourth book it started to really become romance. Later on in the series it was less romance, no detective, and complete erotica. I really hated seeing the dramatic change as a reader, and as a writer I wanted to find out why the author strayed from the original genre.

elindsen · Jan 25, 2012

I would say for the rest of the series to add some suspense. Sure, you can up the romance and make it rom/sus but to go more with pure romance, yeah I agree that your readers may be turned off

poeticjustice_2001 · Jan 25, 2012

Many readers will have a problem with it

JR Ward did that in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series.. changed the genre from paranormal romance to urban fantasy around book 5/6 and she caught a lot of flack (and outright hosility) from readers. Many of her fans felt betrayed, as if she was pulling a bait and switch after they'd invested alot of time and money into the series. And paranormal romance and urban fantasy aren't even that different- they're basically sister genres. Now a leap from pure suspense to romance, I can imagine that might cause an even big uproar among readers. But if there are already elements of romance in your suspense and it's done gradually, then it might work.
My advise is to do it carefully and with finesse.
Good luck!

Becky Black · Jan 26, 2012

I was put off the Dexter books by the sudden appearence of supernatural elements in Book 3 which had never existed in the series before. It definitely felt like a bait and switch and I stopped trusting the writer.

Not that I want books to be predictable, but if I wanted to read something with paranormal elements then I'd pick up a book that had them.

It might be something that's a particular issue with Romance readers, since the genre is so divided into different sub-genres, so readers know what they are getting.

Calle Jay · Jan 26, 2012

Can you beef up the romance in the early part of the first book so that it is a bit more prominent? You may be able to bill it as a romance then, and keep the trilogy in the same genre, even if the other books aren't as 'suspenseful'.

Just to prevent readers from getting angry. I know I don't read very much straight contemporary romance, but will pick up romantic suspense and paranormal romance immediately. If I bought a suspense and then the next in the trilogy was just contemporary, I would not buy the third in the trilogy.

job · Jan 26, 2012

Your agent or editor will have the best handle on this. My not-too-useful thought on this is -- go with Suspense genre. Suspense will absorb almost any amount of Romance plot, and most plot lines can be ramped up to hold a good bit of suspense.

ladyleeona · Jan 26, 2012

poeticjustice_2001 said:
JR Ward did that in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series.. changed the genre from paranormal romance to urban fantasy around book 5/6 and she caught a lot of flack (and outright hosility) from readers. Many of her fans felt betrayed, as if she was pulling a bait and switch after they'd invested alot of time and money into the series. And paranormal romance and urban fantasy aren't even that different- they're basically sister genres. Now a leap from pure suspense to romance, I can imagine that might cause an even big uproar among readers. But if there are already elements of romance in your suspense and it's done gradually, then it might work.
My advise is to do it carefully and with finesse.
Good luck!

Maybe it's been a while, but I don't remember much change between the books. They've always read like gritty paranormal romance to me, because regardless of the external events, the main arc of each book is the romance. *shrugs*

OP: I really don't think it's a good idea to call it a series if the genre evolves, but that may be just me. I'd write them as stand-alones--there's more wiggle room there, and you can still have recurring characters. Karen Marie Moning shared characters (although admittedly through relatively minor roles) between her Fever Series (UF) and her Highlander series (ParaNorm Rom) and it worked. It was a treat for the readers who loved both series to find crossover characters.

JustJas · Jan 26, 2012

Thanks for the advice everyone...I agree it would probably annoy readers to change genre completely in a series so I will probably either stick with suspense but just tone it down a little in later books, or maybe write them as stand-alones as suggested.

Changing Genres In a Series

JustJas

readitnweep

Vemy Paw

slicing_angel2003

elindsen

Zombie lovin'

poeticjustice_2001

Becky Black

Writing my way off the B Ark

Calle Jay

Romance Novelist & Freelance Editor

job

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript

ladyleeona

fluently sarcastic grandma offender

JustJas