Let's play!

Oooh, finally a genre for moi.

It's nice to know I"m not the only one that writes in this genre. Thanks Jenna!

You know... I think I've skipped over this, not really seeing it for a day or two. Most of my stuff falls into this category, so this is a good thing. (Though not in a Martha Stewart kind of way. )

Thank God! I thought maybe I had overlooked this section before.

Renee said:

Thank God! I thought maybe I had overlooked this section before.

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I think they just like playing with our minds.

Was it there? Was it not? Where is it now??

um

What exactly is mainstream these days? . . . .

Cate, I too was wondering that. What may be mainstream for you may not be my mainstream. I have seen that when I have looked at agents and what they want. Thanks ahead of time for any input you all may give.

Let's talk about mainstream/contemporary. What the heck is that? Unlike other genres (romance, horror, etc.) it's really hard to define what mainstream/contemporary is. Sometimes it feels like a catch-all category, like "well, it's not horror or romance or mystery or sci-fi or whatever. It's not literary enough to be Literary..." And how is mainstream different from popular?

Taken from a literary agency's website:

Commercial/Mainstream:

Commercial novels are works expected to sell well and be highly marketable. Generally speaking, they tend to be more plot-driven than literary works. Other traits of commercial (or, in alternative parlance, mainstream) novels are difficult to pin down, and may depend upon trends in public interest. Simply put, commercial works are predicted to attract a large and diverse audience. They are seen as highly marketable books with great potential to gather cross-over readers.


Anyone have any examples of a Mainstream novel?

Nicholas Sparks' novels would be considered mainstream, with a romance/love story tilt.

Mitchel Albom's books as well.

Amy Tan's novels are all mainstream, I think.

Looks like I'll be spending some time here, as well! Excellent forum!

katiemac said:

Oh Jen, now you've gone and gotten me all confused!

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Ooops. So I guess now I have to figure out how to get you un-confused? Can I do that if I don't know how to unconfuse myself?