--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Honestly, when you start talking about…" description: "\"Honestly, when you start talking about genres, you're talking as much about the business side of writing as anything else. Certainly there are elements..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fc/kristin-hannah-1106_audience_honestly-when-you-start-talking-about-ge_2745840.png" --- # Honestly, when you start talking about genres, you're… ![“Honestly, when you start talking about genres, you're talking as much about the business side of writing as anything else. Certainly there are elements of reader expectation that play into various genres, and those are important, but it also becomes about packaging, placement, audience…In the end…” quote by Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fc/kristin-hannah-1106_audience_honestly-when-you-start-talking-about-ge_2745840.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fc/kristin-hannah-1106_audience_honestly-when-you-start-talking-about-ge_2745840.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fc/kristin-hannah-1106_audience_honestly-when-you-start-talking-about-ge_2745840.png) > “Honestly, when you start talking about genres, you're talking as much about the business side of writing as anything else. Certainly there are elements of reader expectation that play into various genres, and those are important, but it also becomes about packaging, placement, audience…In the end, I'm not a fan of labels. I think the best fiction blurs the boundaries between genres, stretches and breaks them.” [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages writers to transcend genre constraints, focusing on storytelling over labels. **In simple terms:** Write beyond genre limits. Key Takeaway Focus on story, not labels. Themes writing creativity genre Mood reflective inspired Type literary creative When to use this quote - author workshops - publishing meetings - reader discussions Key Concepts literary theory market dynamics artistic freedom Questions to Reflect On - How does genre affect reader expectations? - Can blending genres enhance narrative depth? A Different Perspective Genre labels can aid marketing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I've spent my whole literary career blurring boundaries between genres and categories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/i-ve-spent-my-whole-literary-career-blurring-boundaries-between/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [I love her (Lucifer), with all my heart. She said that she would give me greatness, status, placement above the others. A match made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/i-love-her-lucifer-with-all-my-heart-she-said-that-she-would-give-me/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“importance of paying attention to location when considering identity claims. Placement determines the psychological function that the clue serves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gosling/importance-of-paying-attention-to-location-when-considering-identity/) [Sam Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gosling/) > [Don't settle in the land of barely enough. That is where you are, it is not who you are. That's your location, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/don-t-settle-in-the-land-of-barely-enough-that-is-where-you-are-it-is/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Now, product placement, whichever way you look at it, whether you like it or you think it's disgusting, or whatever, it's what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-craig/now-product-placement-whichever-way-you-look-at-it-whether-you-like/) [Daniel Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-craig/) > [Then get busy and find out how to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/then-get-busy-and-find-out-how-to-do-it/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [In a bygone era, penalty-takers would put their laces through the ball and threaten to put a permanent bulge in the netting. For reasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-gill/in-a-bygone-era-penalty-takers-would-put-their-laces-through-the-ball/) [Pete Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-gill/) > [Licensing is how indie rock people make a living these days, so whatever about that. But I want good films and good placement for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-vernon/licensing-is-how-indie-rock-people-make-a-living-these-days-so/) [Justin Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-vernon/) > [So that individuation may be compared to a pyramid in that it is only achieved by the placement of the top stone… The Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-that-individuation-may-be-compared-to-a-pyramid-in-that-it-is-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It doesn't matter where it is in the world or who I'm making the movie with; that's the closest thing that I've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anya-taylor-joy/it-doesn-t-matter-where-it-is-in-the-world-or-who-i-m-making-the/) [Anya Taylor-Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anya-taylor-joy/) > [I was associated with the Artist Placement Group in the early 1970s and David Hall, the video artist, was an Artist Placement Group artist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-toop/i-was-associated-with-the-artist-placement-group-in-the-early-1970s/) [David Toop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-toop/) > [I just started writing and writing for people. And then, like I guess after (a) year of getting some placements, I kinda got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/i-just-started-writing-and-writing-for-people-and-then-like-i-guess/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [I never really wanted to be an artist. I just really wanted to write songs. But, of course, I can't get placement unless I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryson-tiller/i-never-really-wanted-to-be-an-artist-i-just-really-wanted-to-write/) [Bryson Tiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryson-tiller/) > [My favorite song I ever wrote is 'Yeah 3x' because it was my first placement. It was with a great artist, Chris Brown, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sevyn-streeter/my-favorite-song-i-ever-wrote-is-yeah-3x-because-it-was-my-first/) [Sevyn Streeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sevyn-streeter/) > [The print is devised so that I can cut the dresses on the bias, so they work around the body. It's not like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galliano/the-print-is-devised-so-that-i-can-cut-the-dresses-on-the-bias-so/) [John Galliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galliano/) ## More by Kristin Hannah > [She still felt shell-shocked by all of it, numb. Beneath the numbness, though, was a raw and terrible anger that was unlike anything she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-still-felt-shell-shocked-by-all-of-it-numb-beneath-the-numbness/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Terrible beautiful combination of happiness and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/terrible-beautiful-combination-of-happiness-and-pain/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She waited for you in a thousand different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-waited-for-you-in-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Antoine took her in his arms. The scent of jasmine was intoxicating, and she knew suddenly, certainly, that from now on, whenever she smelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/antoine-took-her-in-his-arms-the-scent-of-jasmine-was-intoxicating/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [what shall we drink to?" "How about family?" Stacy said, showing up just in time to pour a fourth shot. "To those who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-shall-we-drink-to-how-about-family-stacy-said-showing-up-just-in/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [He is a man, and he is afraid. This is not a good combination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/he-is-a-man-and-he-is-afraid-this-is-not-a-good-combination/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [Goddamn, sometimes it hurt to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/goddamn-sometimes-it-hurt-to-be-free/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“I was not good at the whole making-death-a-positive-transition thing. How could I? I wanted her to fight to the last breath. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/i-was-not-good-at-the-whole-making-death-a-positive-transition-thing/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Kate heard the bravado in her friend’s voice and saw it in her eyes. “I prayed for you.” “You did?” Tully asked. “Wow. Thanks.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/kate-heard-the-bravado-in-her-friend-s-voice-and-saw-it-in-her-eyes-i/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“The trip from Portland to New York City was like climbing Mount Everest without oxygen. It went on and on, and by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/the-trip-from-portland-to-new-york-city-was-like-climbing-mount/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“So now books were her only friends. She'd read Lord of the Rings so often she could recite whole scenes by memory. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/so-now-books-were-her-only-friends-she-d-read-lord-of-the-rings-so/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [She used to tell me that she couldn't feel the sunlight anymore, not even when she was standing in it, not even when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-used-to-tell-me-that-she-couldn-t-feel-the-sunlight-anymore-not/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Tragedy was like that, a razor that sliced through time, severing the now from the before, incising the what-might-have-been from reality as cleanly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/tragedy-was-like-that-a-razor-that-sliced-through-time-severing-the/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“I want to imagine there will be peace when I am gone, that I will see all of the people I have loved and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/i-want-to-imagine-there-will-be-peace-when-i-am-gone-that-i-will-see/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [What good did it do to light the world on fire if she had to watch the glow alone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/what-good-did-it-do-to-light-the-world-on-fire-if-she-had-to-watch/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) [Explore all 282 Kristin Hannah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Honestly, when you start talking about genres, you're talking as much about the business side of writing as anything else. Certainly there are elements of reader expectation that play into various genres, and those are important, but it also becomes about packaging, placement, audience…In the end, I'm not a fan of labels. 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