Genre question

[Joycia]

I’ve researched and frankly, am a little confused. Posting to garner opinions since "automatic" category of "fantasy" has me hesitating. (still so much to learn).

If a story is about adventure and discovery (internal and external), several layered themes, set in the future where the lifestyle resembles our past (ie, no “grid” as we know it now) here in the continental USA, all characters are humans, touch of magic in the way our current-day doctors might be considered “magic users” and absolutely no "mystical" items of "power" used... What genre would this be?

Thanks! :)

[Sharon Mock]

Probably science fiction. Maybe fantasy. Maybe mainstream, depending on what the story is and how it's told -- books with SF themes do end up on mainstream lists (The Handmaid's Tale, The Time-Traveler's Wife).

If you submit it to savvy genre agents, you can probably just call it speculative fiction and let the agent figure out how best to position it.

[Cathy C]

Probably what you've got here is "alternate reality". This is a subgenre of contemporary, but is usually housed in the SF/Fantasy section of the bookstore. So, unless there are other, stronger underlying issues, such as romance as a main theme, or the bad guys win in the end (horror), then I'd try to sell this as alternate reality.


Good luck!

[Joycia]

Thanks Sharon and Cathy. I'm not sure how to market this book. "Alternative reality" is definitly a category I had not considered.

I suppose "commercial fiction" would work for the query letter. Maybe I'll even throw caution to the wind and refer to it as "literary fiction".
:ROFL:

[Garpy]

I would try to avoid any kind of sciFi labelling of the book, as that will definately mean it'll get shoved in the SciFi/Fantasy shelves in any bookshop, and thus be exposed only to genre-readers.

Cloud Atlas, Specimen Days are two books recently released that feature post-apocalyptic futures in their tales. They have both been treated as mainstream, marketted as such, and people who NEVER touch scifi/fantasy have picked those books up and read them.

Scifi/fantasy is beginning to climb out of its ghetto and become acceptable to the unwashed masses....however, those readers are still frightened away by the SciFi label...and so it has to be spoon-fed to them as 'speculative fiction' or 'alternative fiction'. Hopefully though, soon.....they'll realise theyv'e been reading and enjoying science fiction and we can dispense with the silly, misleading labels (spec fiction/alt fiction)

[Joycia]

Thanks Garpy!!

[Mike Coombes]

Forget the genre - just write.

You won't have much say anyway - your agent and publisher will decide how best to market it.

[Joycia]

Forget the genre - just write.

You won't have much say anyway - your agent and publisher will decide how best to market it.
Mike, I'm writing book four, which doesn't mean a darn thing until I can sell book one. When book four is done, I'll start on book five.

That said, I agree. Once in their hands, no, I probably won't have much say.
If I had an agent, you're correct - I'd stick to writing. However, I need to identify the genre so I can identify and solicit an appropriate agent so they and the publisher "can decide how best to market it". Heck, I can't even enter a contest with it if I can't identify the genre "correctly".

If there's another way, please advise. I'm all ears. Unless, have I missed the obvious possibility? That success can be found by a query letter stating "unidentified genre novel titled BLAH BLAH...." works?

[LightShadow]

I was confused about my genre, and my agent helped me square it away. if you have a good agent, they will answer the tough questions.

[maestrowork]

Tough... mainstream/contemporary usually only applies to "real life" books, unless it sells well enough to cross over (e.g. Time Traveler's Wife). The fact that it's set in the future with a lifestyle of the past sounds to be sci-fi. "Coming-of-age" doesn't necessarily make it mainstream.

[Joycia]

Hmm, thanks maestrowork, at least there's comfort in knowing I've a reason to be tangled somewhat.
I'm not sure what "coming-of-age" means. I've seen it once before on a website that an agent does not want, and now your reference.

Does it mean character age, internal discovery regardless of age, time setting, what?

[veinglory]

Scif fi or fantasy depending on how they explain their abilities. Many sf/f books have deeper themes, in the case of sci fi I think it is very common.