Today I’m welcoming fellow Wisconsin writer Brenda Felber to my blog. She shares some interesting insights on writing different genres for different age groups. Even though this is a something I too choose to do, I learned a ton of new things from Brenda’s post. If you’ve been considering switching up your writing gears, thought about a pen name or are looking for some book marketing tips, grab your note taking supplies and settle in for a great post.

A Bit of Backstory

My focus on writing began in 2011 when I started keeping my first writing journal. I built a website, jumped on social media, studied the craft of writing, and researched the publishing process.

In 2015 I published the first Pameroy Mystery for middle-grade readers. My vision of taking young readers to every state in America meant I’d better get moving. This self-publishing thing was intriguing…so I did it!

Fast forward to 2020. COVID curtailed my plans of research travel to Baton Rouge and Maine and it caused the cancelation of planned school visits. I was left with time on my hands. My focus shifted to an idea that had been on my mind…writing for adults. Even as the 10th book in the Pameroy Mystery Series was being published, I’d began working on books for an adult audience.

Same Genre…Different Audience

Yes, I’m still writing mystery! The decision to write a cozy mystery was easy for me. I enjoy the puzzle pieces coming together, both as a reader and a writer. I want to entertain readers, give them an escape, and introduce characters that live in a story world they will want to return to again and again.

Enter Suzanne Bolden, author of the Parker Photography Cozy Mystery Series! The decision to use a pen name was done after researching pros and cons. Since cozies are written without graphic violence, sex, or profanities, I wasn’t worried if my young readers stumbled across one of my cozies. Plus I wasn’t going into hiding and writing erotica or choosing a controversial subject. So why write under a pen name? Here’s why…writing for a different audience but under the same author name confuses algorithms. That mysteriously wonderful way websites link books with readers.

Decision made and name chosen, I quickly bought a domain name to park on my website, began Pinterest boards, and setup a Suzanne Bolden Facebook page.

The Writing Differences

Writing the Pameroy Mystery Series involves traveling. I’m good with that! But also, a great deal of historical research. You should see the stacks of books I’ve acquired in writing the series so far. I’ve learned to back away from the rabbit hole of research or I’d never get the next book out. Building a new setting, creating new characters, except for Lillia and her great-aunt Nora Pameroy, and weaving in local history, is important to these books being read as standalones.

Now I needed to analyze the process of writing for a new audience. Cozy mysteries have tropes, storytelling devices that readers look for and come to expect. Readers will recognize the use of a smart, intuitive female crime-solver to solve a murder in a small community. The covers and titles point to it being a cozy and that my main character is a photographer. More tropes to make readers comfortable checking out my books.

Suzanne Bolden books will be written to be read in order. Research will still be there, but on a much different scale. For instance, I have a friend who’s a detective and thus far has been patiently offering me guidance on crime, laws, and protocol. Much of my research can be done on the internet. Things like the ingredients required to mix up a John Collins cocktail…different than his more famous brother Tom!

Captured on Camera, the first in series, involved a great deal of decision-making regarding the setting and characters. I’m excited about creating story and series arcs from this base. As I write the next books, I can easily step back into the Village of Harmony and know which street the supper club is on and who runs the newspaper. Keeping track of characters quirks, hair colors, and relationships in Harmony is more complex. I hope readers will want to visit this world again and again, much like in the 80s where we turned on the television each week to find out what was going on with Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove, Maine on Murder She Wrote.

Marketing and Promoting to New Readers

My current website is where readers will also find Suzanne’s book. When search engines and readers click the link for Suzanne Bolden, they will be directed to a page on my current website. I’m excited to develop this page as the series grows.

With an adult audience I will be able to use social media in more effective ways. I have business accounts set up on several platforms already. I direct my current Facebook ads to teachers, parents, and grandparents, but with this new adult series I will be able to shift to reaching readers directly, without going through gatekeepers and purse string holders.

I use Amazon Ads in the US market and abroad. My process for finding keywords will be similar to what I do now. If you use Amazon to purchase anything, you will be familiar with the words Customers who bought this item also bought. These also boughts will be different for my pen name...this is where using a pen name is important. Additionally, my Author Central page has a section titled Customers also bought books by… and it is stacked with other middle-grade authors links.. But Suzanne Bolden’s Author Central page will show other cozy mystery authors. Get the idea? Those algorithms at work!

Newsletters play a big role in the cozy world. The primary purpose for my Pameroy newsletter is to let parents know when a new book is coming out. I didn’t feel it was important to try to engage beyond that. However, I’m excited to build a following via a Suzanne Bolden newsletter. I receive newsletters from other cozy authors and will work to discover parts that I feel will work for me. You can find the link at my home page.

So, I’m off and running! My first cozy mystery, Captured on Camera, published on September 15th, National Cozy Mystery Day!

I’m so grateful that Amanda invited me to do this guest blog post, and suggested it be about writing for different age audiences. Amanda is an accomplished author not only in different age groups, but different genres as well!

Thanks for reading today’s post! If you’d like to play this week’s WIN IT WEDNESDAY, and the chance to win your very own autographed copies of Captured on Camera and a book of your choice of a book from Amanda’s publication list, head over to Amanda’s author Facebook page and comment on the Win it Wednesday post. The secret code word is… PEN NAME.

Today’s post post was made beautiful by CANVA. You can check out my blog archive collection here.

Brenda Felber is author of the Pameroy Mystery Series for middle-grade readers. She loves a good road trip and will take readers along with imagineer Lillia Pameroy to all fifty states by the end of the series! In each story Brenda takes threads of local history and twists of paranormal to weave a mystery that encourages curiosity in young readers. The next book, #11, is set in Boulder City, Nevada, just outside Hoover Dam and will be published late 2020.

Brenda also writes the Parker Photography Cozy Mystery Series under the pen name Suzanne Bolden. First in series will be published on September 15th, National Cozy Mystery Day.

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