Professor BeejB.J. Keeton – Science Fiction/Fantasy AuthorSearchMain menuSkip to primary contentSkip to secondary contentHomeAbout B.J.Free Stories“The Grinder”“At the Puffing Grampus”“Verdigris”“Cat’s Eye”“A Bum’s Tale”ReadingWritingGamingMy NovelsContactPost navigation← Older postsDangers of Cross-Genre Indie Books: Returns and One-Star ReviewsPosted on May 14, 2013  by  B.J. KeetonWhen I set out on the Kickstarter project for Birthright last year, I had a major task ahead of me: I had to define what made my book any different or any more suited for crowdfunding than anyone else’s.I mean, I was a new author with no discernable fanbase, writing science fiction about a kid who finds a magic sword. How the hell was I going to market that?And then it hit me. I was writing science fiction about a kid who finds a magic sword. Scifi. Not fantasy. On top of the MMO-themed technology (Instancing) in my book that I thought was a selling point, I could tout Birthright as being cross-genre.Which I did. And the Kickstarter was a rousing success–155% of my initial $2,000 goal!And now, a year later, the book is selling pretty well. It’s listed in two very distinct categories on Amazon (Epic Fantasy and Space Opera), but I can’t help but wonder if going the cross-genre route was a good idea.Traditional No-NoFrom all the research I’ve done, books need to fit in a single, well-defined category. It can be pretty much anything the book’s about, but it needs to be singular. Crossing genres and saying you have a erotic dystopian zombie memoir is a recipe for disaster.Because while you’re going to appeal to those true-life, post-apocalyptic, zombie-sex lovers out there (you know who you are), anyone who likes just one of the constituent genres is going to be left out.So unless your book can fit snugly in a marketable category, traditional publishing is probably going to pass. Which is understandable because you’re at risk of not earning out.Enter The Indie AuthorBut as indie authors, we have the power to cross-pollenate. We can list our books in Epic Fantasy and Space Opera at the same time. We can tell a swords-and-sorcery story while hopping dimensions and creating pocket universes.And people who like that sort of thing will absolutely rave about it. Your day will be made. So will your week, your month, and your year. You’ll be ecstatic, and you’ll scream “This is why I’m an indie!” from your roof until your neighbors tell you to shut the hell up.And then it will all come crashing down.Because you didn’t account for two simple things in your ecstasy: ebook returns and one-star reviews.One-Stars HurtTo be fair, I’ve only been given a single one-star review, and it wasn’t on Birthright. (I know that one’s coming, too, but it just hasn’t yet. I’m steeling myself for it, thou