What Non-Fiction Authors Can Learn from Fiction Writers: Key Learnings from GenreCon 2025

What Non-Fiction Authors Can Learn from Writers of Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Crime and Science Fiction: Key Takeaways from GenreCon 2025

As a non-fiction specialist my regular inhalation of memoir, how-to’s and business books was recently interrupted by a world of shape shifters, gas lamp fantasy, ‘why-choose’ romance, alternate histories, dragons of all persuasions, sci-fi fanfic, and ‘grumpy sunshine’.

‘Alchemy: turning your art into business’ was the theme of this year’s Queensland Writers Centre annual writing conference, GenreCon. It was a cracker!

Held across multiple venues at the State Library of Queensland (just before everything shut down for Cyclone Alfred), the program was packed with presentations, workshops and generous panels; each aimed at helping authors get their books into readers’ hands and wrangle the business and mental side of being a writer.

I loved being amongst these hundreds of creative, crafty, swoony, highly skilled, dreamy, driven, imaginative, innovative, professional, passionate, talented, entrepreneurial writers. Some of the attendees have scores of books already on shelves, others are ready to debut, while others are still in the percolation stage with words and worlds dreamt, but yet to be drafted.

What can non-fiction writers take from this creative coven? What insights do these non-draft-dodging dramaturgs have for memoirists, how-to authors and business book builders?

Here are some of the key takeaways for non-fiction writers regarding craft, voice and book marketing:

“Are you doing the lambada on the wrong dance floor?”

Author Laurie Steed put it brilliantly when he asked: “Are you doing the lambada on the wrong dance floor?” In other words, are you fantastic at your subject but trying to write or market books in spaces that don’t align with your strengths or target audience? The takeaway: be aware of where your ideal readers are and play to your strengths. Find your most natural format, whether it’s long-form essays, engaging videos, short catchy sentences, imagery or in-person communication, and choose the platform where you can be authentic and consistent. As Laurie said, “Getting visibility for authors is hard period. But you choose your hard.”

“A unicorn author is someone who’s doing their own thing in the face of what is popular.”

I often see non-fiction manuscripts that could have been written by anyone, but readers crave originality, which is why your topic and your voice matter so much. Talking about books that breakthrough and become huge hits, author (love her!), Tansy Rayner Roberts summed it up beautifully when she said, “A unicorn author is someone who’s doing their own thing in the face of what is popular.”

So, you may be writing in a tiny non-fiction niche, but how do you really own that niche?

Author Trent Jamieson mused, “Breakout books require a combination of elements: the right time, zeitgeist, talkability. Trying not to be a unicorn is the safest way to be a unicorn… unicorn books are eccentric.”

And that brings us to all the lessons we can learn from the talented…

Steff Green (writing as Steffanie Homes)

Steff was the standout author star of GenreCon. I interviewed her a few years ago for The Alliance of Independent Authors SelfPubCon and was so impressed with her approach then, and she’s just gone from strength to strength.

Steff’s a New Zealander, legally blind, and a heavy-metal and cat-loving writer of ‘spooky, kooky romance’ novels. She’s also very funny, very kind and very curious. She pours into her books her background in archaeology, her love of the unusual and heavy metal, her knowledge of literary characters and her unique take on the world.

Steff’s purpose, content, writing style, fan communication, merchandise and fabulous self combine seamlessly and powerfully. Why? Because…

Authenticity, combined with creativity and quirk, cuts through.

That’s right non-fiction authors, you don’t need to put on a slick professional persona, or try to pull off a ‘tortured, serious writer’ vibe. Just get comfy in who you really are and what you’re really curious (or obsessed or mad!) about and share that with the world.

Book marketing is both art and science

Steff’s approach to book marketing also offers valuable lessons for non-fiction writers, from really understanding your audience, to leveraging multiple formats, crowdfunding to experimenting and more. As a non-fiction writer you can A/B test your book blurbs, or as Steff does, try speaking about things in different ways to your audience to determine what really resonates and then optimise your messaging accordingly. In Steff’s case, she learned her audience weren’t as interested in the crime-solving themes in one of her books as they were in the use of famous literary characters as love interests. She listened to them, changed things up and the results spoke for themselves.

Stop following trends, instead, follow your heart

Steff was in the middle of writing some very dark romance, when she realised her heart wasn’t in it, even if it was selling. She retraced her steps, back to the favourite series she’d stopped writing and the one most readers commented on. That was where her heart and humour lay and she hasn’t looked back. As she so aptly put it…

“There are much easier ways to earn money than being an author. Find the intersection between what readers love and what you love to write.”

That’s where the magic happens. As a non-fiction writer, are you writing what you love, or are you writing a cheap copy of someone else’s’ book?

‘Don’t quit before the miracle’

According to Steff, if you love what you do and you’ve worked hard at your craft, keep going, even if it means you need to change direction at times. Your breakthrough moment might be just around the corner. Steff’s had lots of mini breakthroughs leading to BIGGER ones.

It’s okay to weigh your options as an author and try out different paths

Steff has self-published 45+ books, developing a loyal readership who snap up her books and support her Kickstarter campaigns. She’s developed such a base of global fans, a traditional publisher came knock, knock, knocking (fyi: this is happening more and more for indie authors). She recently signed a 3-book deal with Atria, a Simon & Schuster imprint. She didn’t actually need the deal, because she’s already easily keeping her cats in ‘the manner to which they’re accustomed’. But the deal will give her books even wider exposure through bookstore visibility. Steff has gone from being an indie author, to what’s known as a ’hybrid’ author, an authorpreneur in a position to choose which rights to keep and which to maximise with other parties.

Avoid burnout and protect your creative energy

Amy Andrews, a prolific author with over 90 books to her name, shared her experiences with writer burnout. She described how she went from being a 5,000-words-a-day writer to struggling to put down even a single sentence. The pandemic, personal losses, and industry upheavals led to a level of exhaustion she had never encountered before. What pulled her through? Recognising burnout and making deliberate changes, including asking for extensions, taking breaks, setting better boundaries, and realising she didn’t want to be anything other than a writer…even if it often feels like ‘work’, it’s the kind of work she’s up for.

For non-fiction authors, this is a critical reminder: your writing output is only sustainable if your well-being is. Amy suggested we conduct an energy audit—identify what (and who) fuels you and alternatively, drains you. That might lead to you reducing social media consumption, taking breaks, and implementing daily rituals that replenish your creativity. As Andrews pointed out, “The #1 treatment for burnout is rest.”

That’s one reason I’m running a non-fiction writers retreat with Emma Lovell from Rest and Receive Retreats.

If you’d like 3 full days in a relaxing setting to move your non-fiction book project forward, fully supported, join me at the beautiful Lorn Rose Farm in the Hunter region of NSW April 2-5, 2025 for a very special Non-Fiction Authors Retreat.

There’ll be workshops, dedicated time to write, and you’ll have me on tap to answer all your writing and publishing questions. You’ll also build meaningful connections with like-minded authors. You won’t regret investing this time to accelerate and improve your book, opportunities and writing community connections.

Calendar of Australian writers festivals, conventions and reader events

Attending events with other creatives is uplifting, and though you might have missed GenreCon this year there’s still plenty of time this year to fill your creative cup and find your community by attending events, writers festivals, author talks and book launches. Here’s a comprehensive list of Australian writers festivals and reader events by state so you can start planning!

Final Genrecon takeways

What am I still thinking about (besides all the above!) a week post-GenreCon? That I’m glad I made the effort to go! I also can’t get out of my head:

• The opening night launch at Cloudland where we heard emerging writer Josephine Renee read her remarkable piece ‘The Black Diamond’.
• ‘The Chatterbox’ genre catch up sessions at the end of Day One. What a great way to meet fellow writers! I chose the fantasy catch up hosted by Nike Sulway and the chats I had with other authors left me feeling carried on the wings of dragons.
• Kate Cuthbert’s brilliant editorial insights during The Shreader event. Five brave, anonymous authors had the first pages of their manuscripts appraised in real time. It was like the slush pile meets Shark Tank!
• James Maxwell’s approach to his writing practice: “Not meeting a wordcount can make me feel bad if I don’t meet it for whatever reason. So instead of a word count, I write to a time.”
• Author Stacey McEwan’s and HM Hodgson’s adventures and misadventures attending book fairs in the US.
• And Steff Green’s comment:

“You can’t build a backlist out of books you haven’t published…Writers need to be okay with quality at 97% as it takes just as long to go from 97%-100%. Most readers don’t care about the 3%.”

And in that spirit…this blog post might not be perfect – but it’s done! Hope you got something from it!

Happy writing and publishing, Anna

P.S. if you need help with your book and direction, you can borrow a copy of Look-It’s Your Book! from your library, get a copy direct, or book me in for a 1:1 session. I love helping authors take that next step.