: If one's first book is one genre, will publishers be less likely to accept books of a different genre by the same author? I currently have two books, both roughly the same length and at the

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Writers have faced this issue before. For example, I am a fan of the late Iain Banks. Some of his books are attributed to Iain M. Banks and some only to Iain Banks. As a fan, I know that when I see the middle initial I am more than likely going to read sci-fi set in the Culture.

Banks' first published book was about a serial killer and his second book was science fiction. So all, advice to the contrary, it can be done.

Others, especially prolific writers, will use a pen name. Stephen King does something similar. King has also released books under the name Richard Bachman.

The advice in some of these other answers that an author's name is their brand is not entirely wrong. It is, in fact, fairly accurate. However, this is a marketing issue, not a convincing the editors (or agents issue).

You will most likely want to pick one book, polish it to as close to perfection as you can get it and work on getting it published. Maybe it will be picked up, maybe it will not. If it does, and it does well, you will have an easier time convincing a publisher or agent that you have the chops to break a new market.

If the first book does not get traction with agents and publishers - well, you still have a second book to try with.

The chances are that once you have one book out, it is much easier to sell a second to about as many people (plus a few more) if it is similar. This is why Stephen King sells a lot of books - while he rarely writes sequels people know exactly what they are getting from him.

Sequels sell. That is just a fact. Thus it may be that whichever book you can get a contract for may tie you into writing a few more like it before you have the weight to push for the other.

Or maybe you really are very good at selling the first book and can be "discovered" with not one but two debut novels. That is effectively what you are looking at. Starting from scratch, twice. It can be done but it may be somewhere between a little more and exactly twice as much work. There is no reason not to try. It worked for Banks. Why not you?

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Rethink your question by putting yourself in the shoes of the publisher. How are you creating value for the publisher? To answer that, you'll need to put yourself in the shoes of the customer. Why should they buy your book? If you want agents, publishers, and customers, YOU MUST ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOUR PEN INKS YOUR FIRST PAGE.

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This is why you get an agent; she knows lots of publishers and knows how to pitch different genres to the same publisher.

If she represented you for your first book and sold it, then she will almost certainly read your next book (and give you an honest assessment), and if it is good leave it to her to deal with the publisher(s), and which editors to contact within the publisher, and she will leverage your existing relationship with them as much as possible.

You can also publish under a pseudonym for the different genre; most agents and publishers want your name to become a brand within a genre, but if you can write two books a year in different genres they may be willing to publish them both under different names. (They will know your real name, though.)

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It's very hard to get any book published. But it's much easier for an published author with a successful book in the same genre, because (1) there's hard evidence that this author can be successful with that kind of book and (2) fans of the first book will be hoping for more of the same. For the same reason, the publisher will try hard to get the author to stick to one genre, rather than hopping genres.

However, that same author can be published again in a different genre, if the new book is good enough. They just lose a lot (but not all) of the "published" bonus. It's almost, but not quite like starting all over as an unknown quantity. You're also running the real risk of angering existing fans. So you're best off picking a particular genre and sticking too it. But you're at least a little better off with the second book with a successful book under your belt, even in a different genre, than without it.

The plain truth is that most authors excel at one genre over another. But some authors are successful in multiple genres. Isaac Asimov, for instance, had a primary career as a SF great, and a secondary career as the author of multiple nonfiction bestsellers. It does also help if the genres are related --science fact and science fiction, for instance, or picture books and middle grade novels. That's not the case for you. But you do have one advantage as an unknown in non-overlapping genres --you can shop both books at the same time to different targets, and see which one hits.

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Simple answer : Probably not.

The only real complication with writing in a different genre would be the fan-base confusion. Take George RR Martin for example, he has written books in fantasy, horror, science fiction etc... Publishers would see his name on these books, and be more likely to publish them, because hey, its GRRM here, take the easy sell. I understand that his name carries some weight, but the same principle would apply to smaller writers because writing is a different game than say music. If Taylor Swift came out and tried to do trap music, everyone would assume its awful, but writing is different, you're not limited to anything. However, if you write in fantasy for like 7 years, and do relatively well, everyone will assume you will always write in that genre, so to avoid confusion some writers use different pen names when they write different genres.

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