Literary Fiction???

Stu Ayris · Nov 8, 2011

I have written a novel and have really struggled to clarify into which genre it fits. Citing the genre of your work seems to be necessary for most publishers and so I feel my chances of getting my novel accepted are somewhat hindered by me not knowing the genre! So I was just wondering whether the genre of 'literary fiction' is used for those novels that don't fit neatly into any other genre. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Cheers!

lbender · Nov 8, 2011

No - that would be General Fiction.

lbender · Nov 8, 2011

I'm not going to comment on the definition of literary fiction. There are loads of threads on that one and I'm not in the mood to ignite another firestorm.

Stu Ayris · Nov 8, 2011

Thank you for your reply - I agree that a certain frame of mind is required to initiate a firestorm. Out of interest, do you think you could point me in the direction of one or two discussions on the definition of literary fiction? It's just that I'm new here and still finding my way around!

Cheers!!

quicklime · Nov 8, 2011

Stu Ayris said:
Thank you for your reply - I agree that a certain frame of mind is required to initiate a firestorm. Out of interest, do you think you could point me in the direction of one or two discussions on the definition of literary fiction? It's just that I'm new here and still finding my way around!

Cheers!!

in basic and novels, a quick scan of the first 3 pages should net you a half-dozen. the shortest anwer seems to be that if it is clearly more about language than story, it is literary fiction....that's what I've gotten from the threads. ymmv

Stu Ayris · Nov 8, 2011

Thank you Quicklime - will get to scanning immediately!

I can't believe how helpful people are in this site! It certainly is very encouraging!

Cheers!

quicklime · Nov 8, 2011

this place gets a lot of traffic, and a lot of repeat questions. learn how to use the search button effectively, and you can pull almost anything you need, in a half-dozen different threads.

that's not me going board-nazi and saying "use the fucking search, moron", that is me personally liking as many inputs as possible, and often you can find a number of the same or similar threads, increasing both the number of responses you can read, and also the number of ways the responses are given. search a bit, and do some mucking around, and this place is full of info.

Welcome to AW, stu

Stu Ayris · Nov 8, 2011

Cheers quicklime - will do. Cheers for making me smile with your comments!!!

lbender · Nov 8, 2011

One other quick note - there's also a Mainstream/Contemporary/Literary section all to itself under the Writing Genre heading.

George · Nov 9, 2011

quicklime said:
this place gets a lot of traffic, and a lot of repeat questions. learn how to use the search button effectively, and you can pull almost anything you need, in a half-dozen different threads.

that's not me going board-nazi and saying "use the fucking search, moron", that is me personally liking as many inputs as possible, and often you can find a number of the same or similar threads, increasing both the number of responses you can read, and also the number of ways the responses are given. search a bit, and do some mucking around, and this place is full of info.

Welcome to AW, stu

Yes, follow this Stu, and you'll be welcomed to the wonderful world of commercial fiction/literary fiction wars, where commercial fiction writers have a difficult time analyzing subtext, labeling non-linear books as "pretentious", whilst the literary fiction writers drown in superfluous purple prose about suicide and love, and claim never to watch television.

Stu Ayris · Nov 10, 2011

Ah, George, every war needs its peacemakers - I wonder how long before this particular one gets shot by both sides???

Graz · Nov 13, 2011

Literary fiction is less plot and more character development.

KellyAssauer · Nov 13, 2011

After five years here, I believe I can comment on this with some authority: There is no clear-cut definition for 'literary' fiction. The one thing I will say is: that as a perspective writer looking to get a first novel published... in may be in your best interest to lean more toward referring to your work as 'contemporary' since the so-called 'literary' is rumored to be far more difficult to pitch. So, I might not have answered your one question, but perhaps you have some direction.

Good Luck.

-Kells-

I forgot to mention! For anyone interested... the Literary and Misfit writers group on AW can be found here:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/group.php?groupid=55

and the Share Your Work Critique section for Literary fiction can be found here: (password 'vista')

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=74

Sheila Muirenn · Jan 11, 2012

And I like this definiton/article on the difference by agent Nathan Bransford.

His short answer, which I find reasonable, is that in literary fic, the plot takes place below the surface, and in comercial fic, the plot takes place above the surface.

In any case, there should be a good, strong plot in lit fic. I say: Perhaps you can get away with no plot in Experimental fiction, but even there, it behooves to tell a story the reader can follow.

Stu Ayris · Jan 11, 2012

Thank you Sheila! I published my novel a week ago today and it has been hovering in and around the top 100 UK Amazon Literary Fiction Rankings so I guess maybe I chose the right genre after all. It's had three great reviews which ironically more or less state what you have said regarding plot, character etc!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006TJDJKE/?tag=absowrit-21

Stu

blacbird · Jan 11, 2012

Graz said:
Literary fiction is less plot and more character development.

And lacks dragons and elves and faster-than-light travel.

caw

kuwisdelu · Jan 11, 2012

blacbird said:
And lacks dragons and elves and faster-than-light travel.

caw

Challenge accepted!

KellyAssauer · Jan 12, 2012

blacbird said:
And lacks dragons and elves and faster-than-light travel.

-Unless- there's a murder mystery to solve with seriously hot erotic love scenes...

song_of_calliope · Jan 14, 2012

I love reading literary fiction but I'm sure I couldn't write it, let alone pitch it. Since it tends to be more about language and characterization than plot, I can't imagine how a query letter for it would work. A lot of it doesn't really have the kind of "hook" that queries seem to require.

I just finished reading "Notes from an Exhibition" by Patrick Gale, and the story meanders slowly and only really unfolds towards the end. That's not a criticism, it's a beautifully-written book, but if I tried to write a query for it based on plot it would come out sounding like a completely different novel from what it was.

Inkstrokes · Jan 17, 2012

I had a hard time both classifying my novel and pitching it. I eventually discovered, thanks to an editor at Penguin, that my novel is Literary Horror.

Based on the definitions I've read, that seems about right. It is heavily character driven with a sub-surface plot that strings everything together.

No purple prose, no dragons or elves. A vampire and a ghost and a fair sprinkling of time overlapping with the events of the past being played out in the furture.

Plus it doesn't help that the events stem from the 1800's.

Is it hard to sell? I dunno. It's definitely hard to pitch and that will make it hard to sell, but I think the genre is still viable if the story and voice are strong.

Good luck Stu!

Song, remember, nothing is impossible for a writer. Just do the proper stretching before attempting a new genre. Trust me, I speak from experience. My first attempt was painful. The bruises on my ego are just starting to heal.

Literary Fiction???

Stu Ayris

lbender

lbender

Stu Ayris

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

Stu Ayris

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

Stu Ayris

lbender

George

Stu Ayris

Graz

KellyAssauer

The Anti-Magdalene

Sheila Muirenn

Rebuilding My Brain

Stu Ayris

blacbird

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

KellyAssauer

The Anti-Magdalene

song_of_calliope

Inkstrokes

figuring it all out