Support Your Genre

Or Subgenre.  Or multi-genres.  Whatever.
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If you're an aspiring author, you really ought to do all you can to help out.  Especially during this economy. 
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First of all, the selfish reason. 
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*You Need to Learn.*  Babies aren't born knowing how to walk and authors aren't born knowing how to write their stories in a way other human beings can understand and enjoy.  Writers whine, "I can't write a query."  Maybe not, but *YOU CAN LEARN.*  It's work, it's hard, but it's necessary if you ever want your stories to see the inside of Barnes and Noble.  So, just do it.  Read books in your genre like crazy.  Scour the websites of the authors.  Most of them have a special page with resources and advice for aspiring authors.  Devour that.

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Since you need to read so much, you might as well start a book review blog.  You'll help out the authors, plus you'll receive most of the books as FREE Advanced Review Copies.

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Now, the selfless one, but it's not really selfless in the long run.  Authors have to handle almost all publicity for their books these days and a lot of it costs money.  If they don't sell, they don't get future books published and they have to take up chicken farming or something instead.  Help get out the word and they sell more books.  Yippee! 
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This isn't entirely selfless of you though, because it's helping your genre keep on selling so there's more call for your kind of stories.  So, when your query lands on an agent's desk, she can go, "Hot dang, I needed more like this!  They're selling like hotcakes!"

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Another reason why this selflessness is actually selfish in a round about way is the authors of these books may have precious advice for you they might otherwise be too busy to give.
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You all probably know about my book review blog, Enduring Romance. 

http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/

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Last winter, I started up Young Adult Science Fiction, because that is what most of my stories are, in one way or another.  Don't bother Googling it.  Publishers think teens think that label is uncool and you won't find much.  You kinda just have to dig for it and figure out which blogs will point you to where it is.  Google Scott Westerfield and you'll have better luck.  I realized I didn't have time to maintain it when I had my new baby this summer, so now I review a YA once a month at Enduring Romance and link it.  YASF is now just a showcase blog.

http://youngadultsciencefiction.blogspot.com/  The thing is, supporting your genre is important, but actually having time to write your own story is more important.  Budget your time.

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These are tough economic times for the publishing industry, plus books are going digital and change is hard.  This means there's less time and money for smaller subgenres, like Science Fiction Romance.  Although my stories are for the younger set, they're also Romance and I've learned much and enjoy SFR a lot.  And so I've created a new blog, The Very Best Science Fiction Romance I Ever Read.
http://bestofsciencefictionromance.blogspot.com/

I don't have time for daily blogging, but I do have time to jot down here and there and link my reviews to it.  This way, all my SFR related blogging can be found in one place.  I just started this blog and it's *still under construction.*

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Hopefully, I'll have The Very Best Science Fiction Romance blog looking pretty and ready for guests by December 6th, because that's when Heather over at the Galaxy Express

http://www.thegalaxyexpress.net/

is kicking off a SFR blogging blitz with book giveaways and such.  I'll be participating and I'm still waiting to see if I get Jacqueline Lichtenberg

http://www.jacquelinelichtenberg.com/
for the event.
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And now I must get back to work on CRUSHED, formerly titled SWEET, a near-future Young Adult Science Fiction Romance novel.  Whew!  But, I ain't gonna call it that in the query!  'Young Adult' will suffice.