Once and for all...

I haven't read any of those books, but looking at the list of authors I'd say you're reading mainstream literary.

It's really up to an agent/publisher to figure that out, isn't it?

Your job is to write the book.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

Maxinquaye said:

It's really up to an agent/publisher to figure that out, isn't it?

Your job is to write the book.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

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I think she's worried about sending romance to a sci-fi agent/publisher.

But you are right, just write the book and figure out where it belongs later.

There are two genres of prose literature: Fiction and Non-fiction. The subdivisions are just added for marketting purposes.

Sevvy said:

I think she's worried about sending romance to a sci-fi agent/publisher.

But you are right, just write the book and figure out where it belongs later.

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Ah, well, i read it as if she was worried about the difference between chick lit (i hate that genre name, yeuch), womans fiction, and so on.

Romance, the main focus is the relationship (and they usually want a happy ending).
Women's fiction, marketed toward a female audience. Not heavy on action, but concerns "issues". (what used to be called Chick-lit, most are now calling women's fiction because chick-lit is supposed to be"over")

And, I've never read your list, but Jodi picult writes women's fiction. Time Traveler was mainstream.

If you're not sure about your MS, and you know it's adult fiction, just call it contemporary fiction or fiction. The agent won't smack you.

I think you REALLY need to know the genre you're writing before you actually write page one. Odds are, if your book doesn't fit where YOU expect it to fit, it won't fit anywhere, and many a good novel goes unpublished because it doesn't fit. Just writing a story without knowing where it will fit usually means the book will be a mish-mash of tropes and types.

I don't know how it's possible to write a publishablable book without first knowing which genre you're writing in.

I've read only one of those novels, but the best way to learn what genre a book is, if it isn't easily identfiable, or isn't on the book cover somewhere, is to go check out the publishers website and see which line of books it came through.

Jamesaritchie said:

I think you REALLY need to know the genre you're writing before you actually write page one.

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*puts my fingers in my ears*

If that's so, then both my WIPs are duds.

Council brats, is it YA, contemporary fiction, thriller or literary docudrama?
WIP2, is it YA, crime fiction, satire, or literary masturbation?

It remains to be seen whether my book is publishable, but it won me an agent. I didn't know what genre it was when I wrote it. Still didn't know when I queried it. I just called it a novel.

My agent made the genre decision, based on where she thought it would fit in best.

My other novels, though, I've always known the genre. But if you have a story idea, just write the story and make it the best you can. Then try to figure out the genre. If you still don't know, send it out there anyway. A great story is a great story. If it looks like there's a market for it, an agent will snatch it up.

Jamesaritchie said:

I don't know how it's possible to write a publishablable book without first knowing which genre you're writing in.

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*raises hand*

I'm pretty sure BIW was "publishablable", though I had NO idea what genre it might fit into, if any. Still don't, for that matter.

'Genre' is primarily shorthand so folks can talk about which publisher is likely to buy, how the book will be marketed, and where it will be sold in bookstores.

Genre is only a marketing designation.

In a very real sense, if bookstores put a book in with the mysteries, that's what defines it as genre mystery. If they put it in literary fiction, that's what it is.

A book about gay elves who hunt a zombie murderer through an Urban Fantasy landscape might end up in Romance, S.F., Horror, Erotica, Gay Lit, Literary Parody, or Mystery.
The publisher or the marketing manager at B&N decide where to put the book. And that becomes its genre.

jamesaritchie makes the most excellent point that books -- especially an author's early books -- are more easily salable if they fit within genre expectations.

Going outside the genre borders may leave a book with no easy market. A depressing tale of sexual obsession that leaves everybody dead on page 423 may have 'Literary genre' buyers. An upbeat love story with a happy ending may sell as a 'Romance'. An upbeat love story that leaves everybody bleeding to death on the last page doesn't have a clear genre and therefore may not sell to anyone.

One way to find out what 'genre' you're writing is to find similar books in a bookstore and notice where they are shelved.

job said:

Genre is only a marketing designation.

In a very real sense, if bookstores put a book in with the mysteries, that's what defines it as genre mystery. If they put it in literary fiction, that's what it is.

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And what shelf they put it on depends on what bisac category and subcategory the publisher gives it*. This can be still up in the air after it has been not only written but agented, sold to a publisher and edited.

*unless the bookstore worker thinks they know better and shelves it somewhere else based on the title and jacket image

sadiemay said:

I need to get genre cleared up in my head. I've read all the sites you all recommend and still I find I am confounded by genre. How do you tell the difference between romance, chick lit, womens fiction, etc. And if you label your manuscript wrong, you look unprepared, unprofessional, or lazy. So help me out. Give me some points of reference. Here's the last 10 books I read. What genre would you assign to each?

Keeping Faith- Jodi Picoult
Mercury in Retrograde - Paula Froelich
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
Miss Understanding- Stephanie Lessing
Handle with Care- Jodi Picoult
Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella
Best Friends Forever- Jennifer Weiner
The Pretend Wife- Bridget Asher
The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
Fragile Eternity- Melissa Marr

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Sophie Kinsella is Chick-Lit. Chick-Lit is funny but insubstantial fiction about women and of no real interest to men. Jodi Picoult comes under a genre which varies in names- some call it 'True Life', some call it 'Abuse' fiction. The genre's mainly based on real events and the stories centre around abuse, normally of children.

You don't have to know what genre your book is when you start- it could go in any direction- but when you re-read it, you'll find out its genre and you can hone it.

You can tell a romance because a central element, usually the most important, is the romantic relationship itself between the two protagonists (or sometimes, the protagonist and the antagonist.) Romances almost invariably have a "happily ever after" or "happy for now" ending.

Chick-lit is often described as being voice-driven, and narrative voice plays a big part in the overall tone of the novel. It's usually funny and a bit fluffy in theme. It's "light reading."

Romance and chick-lit can both fall under the label of "women's fiction." Many other genres can be labeled as "women's fiction" for marketing purposes, as well. Women's fiction is fiction that is written primarily with a female audience in mind. However, it doesn't necessarily have the requisite happy ending of romance or the particular voice of chick-lit.

I wrote a historical novel that, when it gets published, will almost certainly be promoted as women's fiction. It doesn't have a happy ending (for most of the characters, including the main/POV female character) and it doesn't have a fluffy, modern voice, but it is a story that will be likely to appeal to female readers much more strongly than to male readers.

When I queried it, I just called it a historical novel.

It's perfectly okay to be a little vague with your genre distinction in your query letter. You might call it a "contemporary novel," or simply a "novel," and allow the agent or editor to worry about how to label it when it comes time to sell it.

Jamesaritchie said:

many a good novel goes unpublished because it doesn't fit.

I don't know how it's possible to write a publishable book without first knowing which genre you're writing in.

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Define "good" in the absence of "publishable".

caw

Libbie's response is spot on! Many genre distinctions that get tossed around freely are really marketing jargon. I think you need to have a general idea of what you're trying to accomplish, but there's no reason for writers to ghettoize themselves if they would prefer to cross genres.

My answers:

sadiemay said:

Keeping Faith- Jodi Picoult -- Women's Fiction
Mercury in Retrograde - Paula Froelich -- Women's Fiction
The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks -- Women's Fiction
Miss Understanding- Stephanie Lessing -- Light/Contemporary Women's Fiction (No one uses Chick-lit anymore)
Handle with Care- Jodi Picoult -- Women's Fiction
Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella -- Light/Contemporary Women's Fiction (No one uses Chick-lit anymore)
Best Friends Forever- Jennifer Weiner -- Women's Fiction
The Pretend Wife- Bridget Asher -- Light Women's Fiction
The Time Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger -- Literary Fiction
Fragile Eternity- Melissa Marr -- Young Adult

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I read somewhere that while chick lit is funny and still primarily about the search for love, it is almost always ALSO about the search for success - career or family. I also read that in chick lit it's more common to have a "Mr Right For Now" instead of a "Mr Right" such as you would find more often in traditional romances.

Chick lit, whether you like the title or not, isn't dead, in my opinion. It will survive as long as career pressures survive, and as long as we have humour. However I do feel it is more a movies thing than a book thing, in the end. That's not to say there won't be more chick lit books, it's just to say that the movies will be more popular, and appeal to a wider audience.

I mean, I'm a guy and I don't mind sitting through a 2 hour chick movie if there's comedy, because you can place yourself anywhere in the scenes - you don't have to be in the FMC's head all the time, which is a turn off for a lot of guys when it comes to reading chick lit.

If I were ever to write a romance-y novel, I'd probably try for chick lit. 0.02c