Should I be marketing this as "historical fiction?" If not, what?

Hello HF folks! As most of you have probably picked up by now (or can guess based on my name and avatar), my novel is set in the 1920s. I've been meticulous, and perhaps slightly compulsive, in my research of all the details of what my characters' daily lives would have been like, not only as people living in the 1920s, but specifically as upper-middle class college students at the University of Toronto in Feb-April 1927. I have also put a lot of thought into the wider socio-cultural considerations of the time, and how my characters both fit and subvert different aspects of them, blah blah blah (I am actually an academic in history in my regular life, probably no surprise).

So, what's the issue, right? Maybe there isn't one and I'm overthinking, but I'm a bit worried about the fact that my historical setting is expressed in such everyday and subtle ways. I feel like "historical fiction set in the 1920s" evokes certain things--famous cultural figures (who seem to be the MCs of most recent 1920s-set fictions), Prohibition (speakeasies, gangsters), Gatsby-esque high society, jazz. Mine doesn't have any of these things, except a bit of jazz on the radio and one sneaky flask (Ontario did have Prohibition, until the month after the novel ends). It's a very character-driven novel about relationships and stuff, lots of nuances of character and psychology. In the big picture sense, it doesn't really matter that it's set in the 1920s as opposed to, say the 1950s (it definitely matters that it's not set now, though). The period setting isn't just window dressing, but it's not as vital to the story as it is in most historical fiction. I could easily write a query or short synopsis that expresses the story without even mentioning the decade it's set. It's not a "novel of the 1920s"; it's a novel about some people that happen to live in the 1920s.

Essentially I'm worried about genre expectations. I think this book might disappoint people who read historical fiction because of the setting. A lot of Historical Fiction seems to be pretty high-concept--this is super character-driven. I'd consider the story itself sort of literary fiction, except "literary fiction" seems also to imply a high amount of sophistication in narrative style and/or prose, which I don't think I have, or will ever.

Honestly I'd like to just call it a "novel" and let people in the business work it out, but of course that's problematic. First of all, there's the query-- if I'm calling it historical fiction, the historical setting should play a clear role in the query, so it doesn't look like window dressing, right? So far, though, I can't seem to do this while staying true to the main story, and 250 words isn't enough to express the nuances I've spent all this time thinking about. But if I don't call it historical fiction, won't the agent be like, "um, this is set in the 20s--why didn't you call it historical fiction? Know your genre!"

I apologize if I'm rambling (this is looking long!). Do you folks have any thoughts? Or perhaps books that are similar in having period settings that are more than window dressing but not super central to the plot? (whatever time period) The end of working on this thing is in sight so I want to start getting ideas of how to approach the next steps as soon as I can.

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much for the feedback! I appreciate getting the different opinions.

Evangeline said:

I'll tell you straight out that this sort of vague, esoteric view of one's MS is what gets automatic rejections from agents. You need to know how to sell your novel no matter if you think it's unlike what's on the market or what you think readers expect.

If you can't find a hook--even something as basic as X meets Y--you need to go back to the drawing board. Or ask for feedback on your back cover copy/pitch/logline.

What and who on earth is the book about and why should I crave what happens next?

Sure, agents (and editors) want scintillating prose, gripping characters, etc, but they also want to see that you know why your book deserves to be picked up out of all the other MSS that cross their desks on a daily basis. This is why the ability to craft a hella good pitch separates the professionals from the dreamers.

You can sell on vague proposals after you've established a track record. Until then, you're a sales(wo)man.

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Oh absolutely!!! This isn't at all how I'd describe it to an agent or reader. The academic view of it is really almost tongue-in-cheek--it's very, very much about the story, not some academic exercise in examining the period through fiction or something. I'm super acquainted with queries and have already spent ten million hours working on the one for this fellow, which I'll probably put in QLH at some point soonish. I was simply trying to talk about my approach generally, rather than making things more complicated by bringing up the story. But thanks for your concern!

snafu1056 said:

Just have Sigmund Freud show up in a scene and everything will be ok. Historical fiction readers immediately relax when Sigmund Freud shows up.

Maybe you should sell it as a mix of genres. If you feel the history part is too weak to qualify it as full-on historical fiction, call it "A coming-of-age story set in 1920's Toronto" or "A spaghetti Western set in 1880's Manitoba", that kind of thing. Fill the hole with something else.

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Haha, well, my MC does have pretty serious psychological and psychiatric issues (I don't mean that in a flip way--it's a core part of the story), though I think Freud might make it worse.

That's kind of what I want to do, it just seems agents want you to have an easily categorizable genre. I mean, I'm sure it depends on the agent--Janet Reid, for instance, isn't uptight about the genres authors pick, or, within limits, the ones she'll read queries for, but I've seen some other agents get grouchy if a query calls a novel "a coming of age story" rather than giving it a more definite genre. I'm sure, though, it's probably less of a big deal if they like the rest of the query. Hmmm.

Flicka said:

I don't know that much about your story, but maybe the historical part needs to take a backseat to the rest of the book in how you present it? Maybe it has a historical setting but the story is essentially a coming-of-age/love story/whatever and should primarily be presented as such, rather than focusing on the historical aspects?

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This is exactly what I want to do-- do you think that makes sense? I'm thinking I'd start by querying agents who rep both historical fiction and mainstream/literary, to minimize the chance of them automatically thinking "not my kind of story" (you know, for genre reasons anyway--there's tons of other reasons it might not be).

Flicka said:

ETA: I think what you mean is that "historical fiction" is essentially a novel about history, whereas yours is about something else but takes place in the past? I'm not sure is that distinction is necessarily true, but either way, I think you should figure out what your novel is really about and sell it on that, with "set in the 1920s" as an aside, if that fits better, and not worry about the genre. Just find you Unique Selling Point.

For some reason the first example that pops up in my brain is Ian McEwan's Atonement, which, while clearly being a novel with a historical setting, is rarely described as "historical fiction", and not, generally, marketed as such. I'm sure there are plenty more examples but my brain isn't working properly yet as I haven't had my coffee. But if you actively look for some, maybe that could help you?

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I myself don't feel "historical fiction" needs to be "about history" per se, but it seems to sometimes be an opinion, either directly stated or implied. I'd definitely call Atonement historical fiction, or Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin (which I guess is multi-period, but the core of the story is in 1930s Toronto), or The English Patient, but it's exactly that, that they're rarely directly called "historical fiction." I'm not sure how much of that is the literary/genre divide and how much is the use of the historical setting, which would be helpful.

I thought of one example I read fairly recently that's more "set in the past" than "high-concept historical fiction" (sorry, I don't like putting it that way, just I can't think of anything better right now--just currently having my coffee!). It's called The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, also set in the 1920s actually, in rural Wales. I don't know what the author pitched it as, but it seems not really to be classified as "historical fiction"--on the site of the agency selling its foreign rights, it's just under "fiction" (and "historical" IS a category). On Goodreads, 35 people have it shelved under "fiction" and only 4 have it under "historical." So that's interesting. Too bad "fiction" isn't actually a category you can query!!

Anyway, thanks again, and sorry if I'm rambling. I'm sort of thinking out loud and bouncing ideas. I hope I haven't given the wrong impression--I don't think my approach is oh so special, it just isn't such a nice, clear fit into the genre as most historical fiction (which I love in general, of course!). Thanks for the various foods for thought... I shall let you know how it all turns out, someday!

angeliz2k said:

I'm afraid I'm not really seeing the issue here (she says sheepishly)! If your novel's set in the '20s, Flapper, then it's historical. It may not hit all the points that readers may expect of a '20s novel (different issue, really), but it is historical. If you're going to query it, then you can't really query it any other way... It's not contemporary, and it's not literary (rarely, a historical novel written in high literary style is marketed as "literary").

In any case, the important part is always the story, not the period or the research.

As for not hitting the "greatest hits of the '20s" points, well, if it's a good story, it doesn't matter.

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Thank you! Really I agree with every part of this. I definitely tend to overthink (shocker, I know).

And I definitely, definitely agree with the bolded. I've probably put everyone off reading it now by talking about it in a researcher's tone, haha. By far the most important thing to me is the characters and their story. It wasn't even set in the 20s at first, and the first few drafts were super lame research-wise. I almost wish I'd set it sometime else, so people who know me and know I like the time period won't think I wrote it because of liking the time period. Oh well.

Kallithrix said:

If you're thinking of querying this in the UK, then I'm afraid to say... you're probably right to be worried. I had exactly the same problem with my novel - character driven, small domestic story set in ancient Egypt. Although the historical setting wasn't front and centre, it wasn't just pretty backdrop either, but actually drove the conflict of the story, which wouldn't have been the same in any other setting. But... the first UK agent who read the full said that although she enjoyed the story, she wouldn't know how to market it in the UK because it wasn't high concept enough. There were no famous names or events to attract readers to it, no catchy one line hook to reel them in. She said the UK HF market is very high concept and so anything she might pitch needs to stand out.

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Ahh, see, this is exactly what I'm worried about! I am planning to target North American agents first, since I live in Canada. We shall see if it's any different!

Kallithrix said:

This might be the best way to present it in a query. Really sell the story on the basis of the character driven romance/coming of age/slice of life or whatever, and then mention the setting as an additional point. Because it really seems like the historical setting is not where your marketing hook is.

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This seems to be the consensus, which is pretty well what I was thinking, though I'll have to think some more on the best way to carry it out.

Thank you for your comments!!

Evangeline said:

I'm still a little befuddled!

Unless your real concern is being trapped--for lack of a better word--by the label "Historical Fiction Author" when the genre isn't your real passion?

If that's the case, then you should call yourself a lit fic writer (but then you'll have to pull out prestigious MFAs, writing prizes, etc in order to sell yourself instead of the book).

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Oh goodness no. I'd be very proud to be a "Historical Fiction Author!" Someday I might dabble in more contemporary stuff but I think my heart will always be in HF. And though I like plenty of lit fic, I don't write like that and don't want to. I just feel I might approach my own HF in a way that complicates things for myself.

Evangeline said:

And as for worrying about others thinking your book is set in the 1920s because you like the time period...don't all HF writers do that? I have no interest in Tudor England or Renaissance Italy, so I don't write books set in those eras. Whereas I love the early 20th century and do write books in this era.

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Yeah, that was a pretty silly thing to say out of context, and the context is my personal life, so disregard! Of course we pick time periods based on our own affinities, and of course that's swell!!

Evangeline said:

You're over thinking inconsequential things; the only thing you can control is writing a book and sending your query letters. Genre labels, reader expectations, and so on are outside of your control--and how do you know everyone expects flappers, booze, and gangsters in 1920s set HF? Anyone who turns away because your book doesn't fit their conception of the 1920s is not your target audience.

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Agreed, especially to the bold!

Evangeline said:

ETA: maybe I'm coming across kind of harshly, but I have firsthand experience with stirring myself into a frenzy over this very thing. I expended more energy on worrying, comparing myself to others, feeling that I didn't fit in, trying to figure out ways to minimize rejection, and building up what ifs than doing the work of getting an agent and getting published.

Maybe your fears will come true. Maybe your writing will get rejected by 20 agents because it doesn't appear to fit anywhere. Maybe maybe maybe...

I learned the long and hard way that there is no way--no magic formula--to minimize risk and pain. You have to choose to press in and press forward, no matter what it looks like on the ground. If that isn't a choice you're able to make right now, then don't submit your work until you can. No one is here to laugh at or judge you.

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I definitely understand what you're saying--thank you! I certainly can tie myself up in knots without any good reason, and sometimes I think I really just need others to tell me I am. I really appreciate that you've taken the time to say so, and in such an elegant way.

So.... I suppose our conclusions for this thread are a) Flapperphilosopher overthinks things, and b) Possibly an issue, possibly not, certainly out of my control, so bi) Focus on marketing the story and its strengths and see how that goes.

I can live with that. Thanks all!!