Is story excellence something you "know when you see it"—or can it actually be measured? Is excellence defined by hitting bestseller lists? Filling seats at every book tour stop? Being selected for “Best Books of 2025” lists? Is excellence defined by getting gatekeeper approval? Getting agent representation? Landing a book deal? Winning awards? Is excellence defined by earning money? Getting a big advance? Earning out the advance and bringing in royalties? Or is it something else? How can we ...
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Is story excellence something you "know when you see it"—or can it actually be measured? Is excellence defined by hitting bestseller lists? Filling seats at every book tour stop? Being selected for “Best Books of 2025” lists? Is excellence defined by getting gatekeeper approval? Getting agent representation? Landing a book deal? Winning awards? Is excellence defined by earning money? Getting a big advance? Earning out the advance and bringing in royalties? Or is it something else? How can we ...
What Genre REALLY Measures (And Why Every Genre You Try Feels Wrong)
Your Next Draft
21 minutes
2 months ago
What Genre REALLY Measures (And Why Every Genre You Try Feels Wrong)
What do you do when your genre just refuses to work? When you’ve tried every content genre you know—Action, Crime, Horror, Thriller, Performance, Love, Society, and more—and every single one just does not fit your story? Sure, some parts of several of those genres fit your story. Those parts even seem essential. Some parts feel like a stretch, but you can make them work if you squint. And some parts don’t fit at all. If you’re honest, it’s like your story is secretly three genres in a trenchc...
Your Next Draft
Is story excellence something you "know when you see it"—or can it actually be measured? Is excellence defined by hitting bestseller lists? Filling seats at every book tour stop? Being selected for “Best Books of 2025” lists? Is excellence defined by getting gatekeeper approval? Getting agent representation? Landing a book deal? Winning awards? Is excellence defined by earning money? Getting a big advance? Earning out the advance and bringing in royalties? Or is it something else? How can we ...
