How to Write Across Genres and Stay Winning
How to finish a book-length project (quickly), why we should focus more on craft than career and how to gauge and assert our value in the market
For a working writer, staying in one’s lane might mean pumping out 30 legal thrillers or 100 cowboy novels—if you find your niche, that’s awesome! But for multi-genre writer, speaker, and educator Lilliam Rivera, a “lane” might mean something else. With a career spanning YA Contemporary, graphic novel, Middle Grade Mystery, mythic retelling, and more, the only lane that’s mattered is staying true to curiosity and passions.
And what’s wrong with trying different things? Don’t you ever get bored?
With Hollywood knocking on her door and a new novel of literary horror, Tiny Threads, out September 24, Lilliam is a model for how a career spent writing across genres could be worth exploring.
In August, we hopped on a video chat to discuss the new book, her path to success, and the horrors of our world.
Today we’ll cover:
How to finish a book-length project (quickly)
Why we should be saying “Who cares?” and “Might as well” more often
How to gauge and assert our value in the market
Why we should focus more on craft than career
Why horror has always been “literary”
Introducing your guide, Lilliam. Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell fellow and an award-winning author of nine works of fiction: a forthcoming horror book, four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré Honor, been featured on NPR, New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, and multiple “best of” lists. Tiny Threads, by Del Rey Books and slated for September 24, 2024, marks her adult debut. A Bronx, New York native, Lilliam currently lives in Los Angeles.
Be Brave and Try: Why Not?
Considering how widely Lilliam Rivera has written and how prolific she’s been—nine books published, multiple genres, within the last six years—would it be safe to say that she has always been bold when it comes to writing?
“I'm originally from the Bronx so I grew up in the projects and I think writing for me was my way of coping. I would have journals and notebooks and notepads and stuff like that. I was extremely shy and extremely quiet. So writing was my easiest way of communicating or dealing with stuff.
I started writing at a young age but I didn't share any of it until high school, when my English teacher forced me to do journalism. The school newspaper. He thought that would help me get out of my shyness, which it really did because it just forced me to talk to people and not really deal with my low self-esteem. So journalism was really the beginning of my writing journey. I was a journalist for many years before I started writing books.”
And exploring beyond her comfort zone has been a hallmark of her career ever since.
“One of the magazines I was working for folded. And I decided—I was unemployed—I might as well try to write a book. It must’ve been like 2012. I started taking classes at UCLA Extension. I was here in LA and just started trying, you know, seeing if I can. It was like Fiction 101.”
That humility and “might as well” attitude soon brought her success in short fiction with a 2016 Pushcart Prize for a story in Bellevue Literary Review, “Death Defiant Bomba or What to Wear When Your Boo Gets Cancer.” Was her mind now set on building a careerist CV?
“I wasn't thinking of career. I was definitely just like, ‘I don't know what I'm doing.’ So I'm just going to throw it out there. ‘Oh, there's a contest. Okay.’ And it's Bellevue Literary Review about hospitals and stuff. Sure. I could write a short story about that. I was just thinking what I could apply to, what kind of grant I could get. In those beginning stages, everything was a writing prompt for me. I didn't know the hierarchy of literary journals. To me, it didn't matter. It was exciting in that sense because I had nothing to lose. I really was green, so it was fun. Cause I didn't think twice about it, to be honest. It really was just trying to figure out stories and working on my craft as much as possible.”
Develop a Process, a Method
By focusing on craft and feeling out the paths available, Lilliam got serious about longer projects and discovered an affinity for the minds and voices of teenage characters.
“I knew I could capture that voice and maybe write young adult books. And so that was the goal at first.
I started taking classes with this local author Alan Watt, and he did this book called The 90-Day Novel. That was his thing. I took multiple classes and I loved working with him because I liked the way he thought: the story is within you. No one knows what your story is except you. People could give you suggestions but they really don't know. I kind of love that. And also it forced me to just sit down and write every day. It was very, very disciplined.”
Though we might have the drive and heart to start a book-length project, finishing one is another story. The material can grow unruly. We might hit a wall. Our interest can flag.
“The big fear is the novel, like it's insurmountable, it's so big. And I felt like [Alan] really cut it down into something that's like, ‘Oh, I could do this if I only dedicate a couple of hours a day.’ Or a couple hundreds of words or whatever until I had a draft, you know? And it really did help me. I was able to produce three books with his method.
I mean, they weren't good! But they were just—like, I was just throwing it out there. I felt like if I could type to the end, then I was able to do it.”
Find Your People
And one of those books found a path to publication as Lilliam’s YA debut, The Education of Margot Sanchez—sold by Eddie Schneider at JABberwocky, an agency that specializes in fantasy and sci-fi. How did they get connected? And is it strange to bring an agent some work of a type that isn’t on their wishlist?
“I did it the old fashioned way. I noticed that he was representing speculative authors, even though I was querying for my contemporary book, Margot Sanchez. And I knew I would write different things, so I wanted to look for an agent who would be okay with me writing different things: literary, not literary, adults, young adults. All types of genres. And I had seen that he was looking for more people of color representations. And we've been working together since then and he's great. I'm always like, ‘I'm gonna do THIS.’ And he's always game for whatever. And he also reads my stuff and gives me great notes. So I appreciate that too.”
Know Your Value
When we find an agent who’s on board with our tastes, needs, and ambitions, our query had better stand out. How did Lilliam accomplish that?
“When I queried him, I felt that the Latinx or Latine authors in YA were very limited to like two or three people, and so I knew that my voice was needed, that there was a niche in there. So I was like, ‘Here are the two big-time YA authors who are a big deal. And I know I could fit in that conversation.’ My book will be in conversation with those authors and their books. And I was trying to capture a specific Bronx, Puerto Rican voice.”
She knew who she was, what she was bringing to the table, and how she fit into the greater conversation. In other words, she knew where she was needed and how to present herself as a solution not a supplicant.
“If anything, I'm always the type of person that's like, ‘They don't have my stories, they need to publish me.’ I mean, maybe that's a really ego-driven thing, but I don't care. There aren't that many Puerto Ricans who lived in the projects who are writing these stories. There's maybe only like—not even a handful. Who are published. Multiple times. I always come from the mindset of there aren't enough of my stories being published anyway, so rejections are just like—they don't know what they're doing.
If you read my books, you already know the fingerprint of my writing in them. I think for any author it’s super important to understand how you differentiate yourself from a group. There are so many query letters, so many people trying to get that book out there. What is it that you're bringing in that's different? Cause there's no original stories. We're all just remixing all of them.”
And Find Your Hooks
This can be a tough pill to swallow. While we might feel that our stories are all unique and amazing, any gatekeeper who’s processed thousands of queries and samples and whatnot would likely disagree. So instead of highlighting the supposed originality of our material, should we highlight our angle on it, our take?
“That's what's gonna make you stand out, I think, really being attuned to what that is. I hate to be like marketing, but—’Oh, I have this great book. It’s a contemporary romance novel. Young adult.’ Like…what? That doesn't tell me anything. What's the hook?
And I hate doing this because you want to be a literary artist. But when it comes to the market, the career side, you also have to be really business savvy about it…you have to know right away because now everyone's attention span is so limited.”
In other words, the reason our work might be rejected or a project might not get greenlit isn’t an issue of quality. For gatekeepers who have an eye on the market, these projects often just fail the test of “So what?”—a question that should be addressed in any sort of pitch. (I know. So annoying, right?)
Fortunately, Lilliam has cleared that hurdle with her latest novel, Tiny Threads, literary horror set in the world of fashion, out Sept. 24. So why fashion? Why L.A.? Is there something grotesque or haunting or monstrous about both?
“The book is very specifically tied to Vernon, California. And Vernon, California is historically known for its violent history. It's a strange city. It only has 200 people. But that wasn’t the case back in the day. It used to be an idyllic place that people wanted to live in. Now it's all full of factories and most of those factories have been accused of poisoning neighborhoods. Poisoning Maywood, East LA, the surrounding areas. So if there's any haunting happening, it's in that land.
And it's very much tied to fashion because there's a lot of factories there. There's a GUESS factory, BCBG factory, all these other places of fashion. LA fashion. It's all connected there. I used to work there for a fashion designer, so I have history of my own. Even before I was published or anything, I knew I was gonna write a story about that place.”
When it comes to ghosts, or the paranormal and supernatural, what’s haunted might be in the land, its history. There’s atrocity all around us.
“I feel a lot of my writing is tied to that. It's tied to buildings and the history of construction and the fingers that are used to create things, you know, and who creates them and who owns them. And I think those are themes that are recurring in all my work.”
Build Upon Tradition
Of course genre distinctions are a little arbitrary by nature, or retroactively applied, but labels like literary horror, social horror, elevated horror have become more common recently, allowing an audience to feel that horror is sophisticated or socially relevant. But hasn’t it always been both?
“These kinds of categories—to me, it's all marketing. So if you want my book to be fashion horror, you want it to be literary horror, I don't care. If it sells a book, I'm happy. But that genre—if you look at Beloved by Toni Morrison, I mean, that's a ghost story. That's a horror book, you know, and that's as literary as literary. You look at Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. These women who have been writing horror, horrific things, have been doing it forever. And I'm really excited about the women who are writing horror right now.
I love Fernanda Melchor for Hurricane Season. I mean, that book is so thin and so dense. It's like a combination of horror and fairy tale and youth culture and everything combined. And I've read that book so many times. I'm just in awe of how she did it.
And I love Cynthia Pelayo, a Chicago author, Puerto Rican, who's coming out with books too. And Tananarive Due, who used to be my mentor. She's won all the awards lately for her book, The Reformatory. You know, she's been doing this work for a long time. And I'm so excited that she's finally getting the accolades that she deserves. So those are a couple of people who I feel are really pushing that genre.”
Chase Your Passions and Curiosity, Not the Bag
When history is so horrific, so unbelievable, leaning into genre can be a way to better address it. Doing so opens up possibilities in terms of craft and material. But what about in terms of career? Does genre open more doors?
“I'm not the best person to talk about career stuff because I really write what I want to write. When you're writing a novel, you're going to be in there for a few, at least three years, probably more. Right? And if I'm investing those years I have to really be into what I want to do.
If I were smart, I would stick to one thing. I would stick to contemporary YA and just keep doing it. But instead, I'm always doing something else. Dystopian, horror, retelling, middle grade, YA. I'm really interested in what I can do. I get bored easily. So how I push myself when it comes to craft is I want to learn something new. It's like a challenge. “Can I do it?” Can I write a middle grade mystery? I don't know. Okay, maybe. I'll try. Can I write a comic book? Okay, I'll try. And it's a way for me to push myself, to challenge myself creatively.
I'm happy that horror is doing well because I have a book coming out. But I didn't think about the market when I was writing it. I started thinking of that book, obviously, a long time ago, but when I started writing, it was during the pandemic and we were living in horrific times. And still living in horrific times! So what I can do to write through that is just write a horror book. Because then I can control the horror within my own pages, you know? And that’s also why I read horror books because I can control the horror through closing the book. And then, “Okay.” I'll read the next chapter.
It's my way of coping, I think. It's what I've always been doing. It's either I use humor or I use horrible things. (laughs) Dark things.”
But she’s such a sunny person!
“I have a 19-year-old and she read a copy of Tiny Threads. She reads all my books. And then she was just like, “WHY?” She texts me because she was in college. She's like, ‘Why are you writing these dark things, mom? Why? Can't there be a romance somewhere?’
I’m like, ‘NO.’”
…And See How Far They Take You
Lilliam’s career is a great example of “write what you want.” Follow your passion, follow your craft, don’t chase the market. It’s worked out. And now her magical realist YA retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice Never Look Back is set for a film adaptation through 3Pas and Amazon Studios. Will she be writing, consulting, producing or…?
“Consulting, but it's the first [Hollywood] thing that I've ever done, so it's been interesting to even see what that looks like. I heard pitches from screenwriters, I've spoken to the director, you know, all that. The packaging and how that comes about has been really interesting. And I'm glad I was able to do it. I'm wondering what my next option would look like and how different that would be. Like, would I even write it? I would probably try to write it now that I have way more knowledge of how things go in Hollywood…everything's so slow.
It's a lot of free labor and it's so different. So I find the creative side of it really interesting because it's very different. Even writing screenplays is so different. I think I’m getting better, but it's still super challenging. I also feel like it's all just an episode from a TV show. You're in a room with producers and they're acting like producers. It's just a fantasy.*”
*Note: Lillliam did not pull up with sunglasses indoors.
“I'm just drinking my tea or coffee or whatever. You know, this is all fantasy stuff. You're just like, ‘This is how Hollywood is!’”
And as Always: Apply, Apply
Now that her writing has taken her through the gates, what are some other resources or submission opportunities for those on a similar path?
“It all depends on what kind of genre you're working on. If you’re doing Young Adult stuff, children's stuff, there's low-res MFA programs like Hamline. And We Need Diverse Books offers contests for new debuts. It's always just good to throw yourself out there.
I did the Elizabeth George Foundation Grant. And that's a lot of money for someone who wasn't published. But for the most part a lot of people count themselves out and don't apply or they find the application process too demanding. And it is! The Elizabeth George was…involving. It took multiple levels of interviews.”
It’s like five (5!) letters of rec!
“Who wants to do that, right?! But look, I got some money to sustain me for a little bit, you know? Like that managed to keep me afloat for a year, I think. But it's hard. I'll still apply to grants, the big ones—I forgot what they are. But you do it and then you get rejected and I'm like, ‘Damn it!’ But you just keep trying. Who cares?
After a while you have a portfolio of what you're going to say anyway. You know? There's money to be had. And you might as well just throw your hat in there and apply to whatever. Residencies, grants, and stuff. You just never know where it'll come from. Or what it will lead to.”
Seek Out Mentors, Build Community
Apparently, the twin mantras of “Who cares” and “Might as well,” when correctly applied, can take us pretty far with writing. And asking questions can help.
“I also feel this was a big deal for me: back in the day I was hosting a community-run radio show. It was on a radio station in East LA, and I was just interviewing authors. This was before I had any book deal and it was my way of connecting with authors and asking them questions. A lot of authors wanna talk. They don't get many marketing opportunities. I would ask Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, poets—and everyone for the most part said yes.”
It’s not necessary to feel our way around in the dark when we can pick the brains of people who’ve been through it, doing their thing. (Kind of like this interview series perhaps…? 👀 )
“You have to be supportive of the art you want. And so going to readings, going to events, you know, talking to [people], buying their books, like all of that stuff matters. I still do that. I really do support the art I wanna see.”
Speaking of community, what’s her relationship with lit mags like now?
“The only time I submit to a lit mag is if someone asks me to do it. The last time I wrote something was for Aster(ix) Journal, which is a really cool, amazing journal. They asked me to do it and I was like, ‘Sure.’ There was like an artist, and we had to pick one of the art pieces and write a story on that. And that was great. I love that kind of stuff.”
Asterix is great. A ton of terrific writers like Victoria Chang were also part of that issue.
“Honestly, I wish I would do it more but only when I'm asked to do it. Or if I'm asked to be part of anthologies, which is more what I've been doing. That feels more like a writing prompt. ‘Oh we're doing a horror anthology, can you come up with a story?’ And I usually don't have any stories in my bank, so I have to come up with something new. And I like that. I love short stories. I find them really challenging. So I appreciate when anybody asks me to do anything.”
So Lilliam’s at the point in her career where THEY come to HER now!
(laughs) “I still gotta pitch. For example, I have a book that comes out and then I have to come up with essay ideas for magazines.”
For publicity.
“And so then I have to pitch ideas and then I have to write them. I hate pitching. My life was always about pitching because I was a journalist. But yeah, I still got to do that and you get rejections. (laughs) I get rejected all the time! It's very sad.”
Think Long-Term
Any other advice to offer? Any regrets or dangers to watch out for?
“I'll say this: I saw someone post about this on Twitter the other day. Cause I still lurk around there. Someone was talking about IP projects. They're like, ‘Oh, what's your ideal IP project?’
I've done IP projects and, sometimes, you think that's going to help you and it doesn't because it's a lot more work and not enough pay. It's not your voice. They're looking for you to adapt your writing skill to their property. And I feel that they use a lot of young debut writers to write this stuff because they're not gonna pay them that much. Unless you're a big deal and then, “Oh, I'm gonna do a Spider-Man.” So I guess for IP—maybe sometimes that's not the way to go. Sometimes it feels like you're selling your soul for little pay…DC Comics, Marvel, all these big names. Authors who are now redoing their worlds and expanding their worlds. You know, these are great opportunities. I'm not going to lie. I've done them. But I just feel like sometimes the work involved is not—you really have to think about that. Like maybe just invest in yourself and try to get your books published.
Like I wrote a middle grade book and it's based off of comic books and that was fun. I loved writing it. It was a challenge and it was great. I'm just saying I would rethink it if someone asked me to do it. Rethink my time.”
This might be a tactful way of saying: beware of exploitation. Value yourself and your time. Instead of chasing what LOOKS like easy money, chase your passion and craft and curiosity.
“Sometimes, that money is not gonna be too much. It comes with too much of a burden, you know? And I feel like you have to think about your passion. Your craft, your creativeness is what should be leading. I'm being obnoxious because obviously I have publishing deals and all that stuff. And maybe I could easily say that, but I know from experience that these kinds of projects are not—they're kind of soul-crushing sometimes, when you're working with a big conglomerate.”
The money is how you live but the passion is the why. That’s what keeps you going.
“I'll work part-time in an office just to focus on my writing, you know? Like whatever I need to do to get paid, I'll figure out a way.”
Do whatever it takes and try many paths. Always hustle, always grind.
“Hustle always. It's true. I always have it in the back of my mind: ‘Look, I know how to type.’ So I could always work in some office as an assistant. I've done it before. And so it's okay, you know. I've done many, many jobs while I was trying to get that book deal. All kinds of writing jobs. And so I know I have that to fall back on if this doesn't work out.”
Don’t be too desperate. Keep your integrity.
“I'm just saying! Don't fall for the gold.”
Keep up with Lilliam on her website or Instagram and Twitter. No newsletter from her unfortunately.
“People tell me I should start one. That seems like a lot of work.”
And for free?!
(laughs) “Exactly!”
Next Steps & Networking:
Ever thought about branching out into mystery or romantasy? Are you good with teen voices? A sci-fi nerd at heart?
If you have genre work in the drawer (or in your head), now might be the time to dust it off and share it. As Lilliam might say, “Might as well.”
Why not?
As always, the comments section could be where you find some friends. And other answers. Share your thoughts, ask questions, and find your people. Or just muse or lurk or vent. Whatever you do, be supportive and kind and generous and let us know what else you want to know.
On Wednesday September 18 we’ll be discussing how to freelance book reviews (and why you should) - Why negative reviews and soft coverage are both valid, what a pitch can do beyond securing us work and why a little "randomness" in a review can be healthy. If you want in all you gotta do is
Excellent. Will read a few times. Thank you.
Note: "The Elizabeth George Foundation is transitioning in 2025 to a charitable trust with a new focus. It will be administered by Wells Fargo Advisors." Uh-oh.