Does genre matter as much as it used to?  What if your idea seems to fit every genre? Or none of them? Will it really benefit you to choose your genre before you start writing? Why not just write what you what to write and decide on a genre when you’re done? In the not very distant past, genre was vitally important: not only did it dictate where in the bookstore your book would be shelved, it was also often a factor in whether your submission was read by an agent in the first place. Sending an epic fantasy to an agency that only handled mysteries and thrillers was nothing but a waste of paper. You had to nail your genre (out of only a handful of choices), ensure your story slotted perfectly into that genre, and then select the right representative for it.  With indie publishing? That narrow stricture has, somewhat, fallen away. You’re free to test a variety of different genres and subgenres (and there is now a huge list to choose from) and let your sales figures and reviews ...