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Stereotyping Characters:Beginners in particular might lean on stereotypes, especially when crafting gay characters or relationships, missing the opportunity to create nuanced, multi-dimensional characters who reflect the diversity and complexity of real life.

Neglecting the Cozy Element:If you’re new to the subgenre, there’s a good chance you might focus too much on the mystery or the romance aspect and not enough on creating a warm, inviting setting that’s integral to the cozy genre.

Underdeveloped Relationships:The heart of any story, especially in gay cozy mysteries, lies in the relationships—romantic, platonic, familial, or community. You never want to rush these relationships—remember, you’re writing a series—or leave them underexplored, not giving the characters’ connections enough depth or growth over time.

Balancing Romance and Mystery:Finding the right balance between developing a compelling mystery and exploring the romantic elements can be challenging. It’s not always easy to integrate these aspects seamlessly, either overshadowing the mystery with the romance or vice versa.

Handling Conflict and Tension:It can be challenging to create legitimate reasons for conflict that are, at the same time, not so serious as to be beyond repair. Aim to create meaningful conflict and tension within these constraints. You don’t want the story to feel too gentle or lacking in stakes.

Overcomplicating the Plot:With the excitement of weaving together mystery and romance, there’s a temptation to overcomplicate the plot. You don’t need a big, complicated plot. In fact, this can overwhelm readers and detract from the character-driven storytelling at the heart of cozy mysteries.

Inconsistent Tone:You’re always trying for that sweet spot of balancing comedy, romance, and true mystery, without losing the cozy feel.

Overlooking Community Dynamics:Your little cozy community’s reaction to and integration of LGBTQ+ relationships can add a rich layer to the narrative. Don’t be afraid to fully leverage this and make the most of opportunities for conflict, support, and character development. At the same time, don’t create a hostile and unwelcoming environment that is going to depress your readers.

Failing to Research:Authenticity is key, not just in representing LGBTQ+ relationships and experiences. If you’ve set your series in New England, read up on New England! If you’ve set your series on a dude ranch, you need to learn about how dude ranches operate. Lack of research can lead to inaccuracies or misrepresentations that make readers roll their eyes—or worse, offend and alienate.

Not Embracing Diversity:The LGBTQ+ community is incredibly diverse. One size does not fit all. And remember, your cozy mystery community must show diversity in other ways as well.

It bears repeating: No one is forcing you to write a gay cozy mystery.

In this brave new publishing world, you can writeanythingyour heart desires. But if you’ve chosen, for whatever reasons, to write a gay cozy mystery, then, yes, you are constrained by the requirements of the genre.

I’m not sure why so many authors struggle with this. But there does seem to be a kind of Catch-22 for authors who resent the idea that they must follow certain commercial genre conventions yet set their sights on a particular commercial genre readership.

It’s a complex issue and it touches on the delicate balance between creative integrity and commercial success. If you don’t personally enjoy the conventions of the cozy mystery subgenre, then having to conform to those genre conventions is going to be onerous. But the reality is, you can’t force readers to read what they don’t want to read.

Do you want someone to forceyouto read what you don’t like?

Inevitably, readers come to specific genres with clear expectations. For instance, the M/M romance genre typically promises stories that focus on romantic relationships between men, often with happy or hopeful endings. These conventions are not arbitrary but have evolved from reader preferences and market demand. When readers pick up a book in this genre, they’re often looking for specific emotional experiences and themes.

Authors face a perennial dilemma: write what you love or write what sells.

Ideally, authors can do both, but it’s not always straightforward, especially in niche or genre-specific markets like cozy mysteries.

We need to write stories that are authentic to our vision and interests. This authenticity resonates with readers and is often what makes a story stand out. However, if an author’s interests significantly diverge from their target genre’s conventions, it’s going to be difficult. It really does help if you are honest with yourself about why you’re writing.

There is no wrong reason to write. If you’re just in it for the money, okay. If you’re in it because you have a message you feel is important to share with the world, okay. If you’re writing for both of those reasons, okay, but you’re probably going to have to make some compromises along the way.

It will help a lot if you understand your audience and their expectations.

This doesn’t mean you must sacrifice your unique voice or interests, but you’re going to have to find a way to incorporate that personal touch within the framework that readers expect.

OR you’re going to have to write something else.

And is that really so bad?

There’s room for innovation within genre conventions. Authors can explore new themes, character dynamics, or plot structures while still delivering the key elements that define the genre. This approach allows for creative expression and can even expand the genre’s boundaries.

But if your author interests don’t align with the mainstream expectations of your targeted genre, it may be worth exploring (or creating) a niche that does align with your creative vision. While the audience might be smaller, it could also be more dedicated.

If commercial success in a specific genre is your aim, understanding and meeting reader expectations to some extent is necessary.

If creative expression without compromise is your priority, you may need to accept that your work might not reach as broad an audience.

It’s unrealistic to expect readers to change their preferences to match an author’s creative output, especially in genre fiction, where conventions and expectations are well-established.

You have to decide what’s more important to you: commercial success or creative freedom. Many find a middle ground, infusing genre conventions with their unique voice and perspective, thus broadening their appeal without compromising their creativity.