How to “Write to Genre” and Gain Readers in 2026 by Savannah Cordova
Today we welcome back Savannah Cordova to Writer’s Fun Zone. She is stopping by to chat with us about “How to “Write to Genre” and Gain Readers in 2026.” Enjoy!
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Writing to genre is, essentially, the art of crafting your story to meet the expectations of a specific genre reader.
In this article, we’ll explore the importance of conforming to a genre’s core promise and discuss how to master its common conventions.
We’ll finish by offering a few practical pieces of advice on how to gain genre readers in 2026.
Let’s go!
1. Understand the Core Promise of Your Genre
Have you ever felt “in the mood” for a certain genre?
Perhaps you’ve had the urge to curl up with a cozy fantasy after a long day, or maybe the crisp chill of October calls for a spine-tingling horror story.
But have you ever stopped to consider why?
The answer lies in what’s known as the “genre promise” — a kind of unspoken contract between author and reader about the emotional experience a book will deliver.
Here are a few examples from popular genres to demonstrate:
- ❣️ Romance: A love story with an emotionally satisfying, optimistic ending (the quintessential “happily ever after”).
- 🕵️ Mystery: A crime or puzzle that the reader can feasibly solve through logical deduction.
- 👻 Horror: A confrontation with fear that evokes dread, whether supernatural, psychological, or even physical.
- 📚 Literary Fiction: Deep character exploration with an emphasis on ornate prose.
- 🏛️ Historical Fiction: An immersive trip back in time that blends education with emotional storytelling.
If you’re struggling to identify the core promise of your genre, spend some time reading and researching before you write.
Brush up on the classics and a few contemporary hits, and ask long-time readers what draws them to these books.
Before long, you should have a solid understanding of what makes any given genre great.
And of course, if you really want to “write to genre”, you must resist the siren song of significant subversion.
If you end your romance with a happily-never-after, readers won’t applaud your masterful defiance of tropes.
Instead, they’ll just feel frustrated; when a book is marketed as a romance, that brings the implicit expectation that your leads will end the story as sweethearts, not sourhearts.
Of course, if you’d like to tell a tale of heartbreak and woe, you’re free to do so — just don’t call it a romance, lest your review page look as bleak as your protagonists’ failed relationship! (On a topical note, think about a story like Wuthering Heights; a tragic tale of revenge that’s been marketed as a romance has led to a lot of confused readers, at least in my circles).
2. Master Your Genre’s Typical Tropes
As I touched on above regarding the HEA in romance, a crucial part of “writing to genre” is understanding the tropes.
This is arguably most important with romance — think of all its iconic tropes like enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, “there was only one bed”, etc. — but it comes into play with every major genre in literature.
Let’s consider mystery as another example.
Above all else, a mystery novel must play fair with the reader.
Each clue should be available for them to solve the crime alongside the detective.
Therefore, for a story to qualify as a mystery, the only essential elements are:
- A crime or puzzle to solve.
- Fair clues presented to the reader.
- A logical solution.
Beyond that, everything else is up to you.
Think about tropes like: incompetent police officers hindering our genius detective, a “closed circle” with a limited number of suspects, or even a dramatic twist ending.
A great mystery can include all of these tropes, some of them, or even a few elements borrowed from similar genres like thriller and horror.
Mix and match as you see fit!
Also, take this with a grain of salt… but adding a small twist to a genre convention can be great for marketing purposes.
For instance, most mysteries traditionally feature a lone (but brilliant) detective solving the case.
So if your mystery features two rival detectives trying to solve the same murder — with conflicting theories — your story will have a distinct draw that seasoned mystery readers won’t be able to resist.
Speaking of marketing…
3. Connect with Genre Readers Online
Now that we’ve covered writing to genre, let’s discuss how to market your genre fiction effectively — because truthfully, finding and attracting those readers is half the battle.
First, think carefully about how to strike the right marketing balance.
You want genre readers to know this book is “for them” — with all the delicious tropes and familiar stylistic flourishes they love — but at the same time, you want it to stand out from the pack.
So despite what I’ve said about mostly sticking to genre conventions, this is where you should also think about what makes your book unique.
Perhaps you’ve written a cozy romantasy with an unorthodox setting, or maybe you’ve crafted a psychological thriller in which the detective and killer are estranged siblings.
Once you’ve thought about how to present both your classic genre tropes and your more unusual story elements, you can start seeking out an audience.
Of course, in 2026, there’s no better place to find readers than social media (TikTok and Instagram, especially).
But instead of chasing well-known creators with massive followings, focus on smaller influencers who specialize in your subgenre.
A creator with a small but devoted romantasy following will drive more sales than a bigger name with a more general fanbase.
Plus, these content creators receive fewer partnership requests, making them far more open to featuring books from debut or indie authors.
Online ads (specifically on platforms like Amazon) are another key avenue for reader discovery.
That path to success is strikingly similar to the creator-collaboration strategy we just discussed; instead of targeting major search terms, look for smaller, much more “niche” keywords.
Rather than remaining buried on page 47 of the “Horror” tag, your book will see more success if you rank No.1 for “Gothic Horror with Female Protagonists”.
At first, writing to genre may feel a bit creatively stifling.
But adhering to certain conventions doesn’t have to cost you your originality — and indeed, your own singular take on the genre will arguably stand out more when readers have quite cut-and-dried expectations.
Once you know what makes your book unique, you can use that hook to get your story in front of an audience that will love it.
Good luck!
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About The Author
Savannah Cordova is a writer with Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors with resources and professionals to help them publish a book.
In her spare time, Savannah enjoys reading contemporary fiction, writing short stories, and analyzing literature into the ground.
