Writing "Rules" for Paranormals 2

Back to "Rules." These are, of course, not as much Rules as sensible advice to get YOU ahead in your writing career.

The Basic Rule of the Genre:
Know what you're writing. Is your book truly a paranormal? Or is it a mystery, suspense, romance, romantic suspense with paranormal elements? The simplest way to understand this is: Can you take away the paranormal element and will the story still work? Imagine one of Christine Feehan's Carpathians as a normal man. No story. In Nora Robert's "Three Sisters Island" trilogy, their magical natures define the characters. Elizabeth Lowell's Running Scared has paranormal elements, but these elements could be excised (or logic/reason could be substituted instead of "odd feelings") and the story would remain the same.

The reason this is important is so you can figure out what editors and agents prefer what kind of book and pitch it to the right person.

May all your paranormal bits come together today.
Robin