Writing Across Genres
Bestselling author Mary Roach walks us through the intricacies of writing across multiple genres and age groups.
Hey There, Listeners
Writing Across Genres
Fact Check & Updates
1. Hey There, Listeners 🌸
Hey there, Delilah listeners, what’s it like in New York City? We’re a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty, YES YOU DO.
We’re actually not a thousand miles away bc Lyssa is in NY, basking in the glory that is the Knicks winning the NBA Championship for the first time in over half a century. But are we a sports podcast? Only if riding on Edward’s back through the forest is a sport.
We have a special guest today, who is not Edward, but still very exciting: Mary Roach! She’s the USA Today Bestselling Author of Bromantasy, which you may have heard us gushing about for the past 1.5 years. I mean, LOOK AT THIS BOOK!
In the past two years, Mary has published four other novels. She writes adult contemporary romances, YA thrillers, and even has a witchy middle grade Little Women reimagining that releases this summer.
This week, we picked her brain to learn all about her process. How does she balance writing in multiple age groups and spaces? How does she find the time? What are the pros/cons of doing so? Let’s dive in!
2. Writing Across Genres
Mary gives a ton of stellar advice, including:
Approaching genre as a curious outsider without being firmly committed to one.
Examining trends in various genres without writing to them.
Discussing various projects/genres with agents up front.
Having multiple contracts, which provides a steadier income stream, but the headache of overlapping deadlines.
The leverage that multiple genres (and contracts) gives you with your publisher.
The discipline of daily writing—but not on the weekends.
The importance of a “f*cking around sprint” in order to shift gears and get the ball rolling each morning.
This is a more conversational episode than usual, so we highly recommend you listen.
3. Fact Check & Updates
This is the cover of Mary’s MG Fantasy reimagining that had our jaws dropping:
As usual, if you’d like to hear from us more, be sure to check us out on Instagram:
Also, you can follow Mary’s incredible journey on Instagram, too.
Lastly, Anna’s book, All We Hunger For, releases IN TWO WEEKS! If you pick it up before the release date, email proof of purchase to (TurningToStory [at] gmail [dot] com), and we’ll email you Anna’s master spreadsheet. That means you’ll see the exact outline: each subplot, chapter, character arc, romantic arc, villain arc, everything. (It’s full of spoilers, so save it until after you read the book).