Commercial?

I often equate 'commercial' with 'mainstream'.

Wayne K said:

Agent sent me an R today, and said, "It sounds quite commercial, but commercial isn't my thing"

Ay the risk of sounding like a moron, what does that mean?

Its a memoir if that means anything.

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At the risk of guessing...this sounds like an agent who usually reps more literary, saying it's not literary enough.

But honestly, I'd call it a form rejection and move on.

~suki

That's just weird. That's like saying, "I don't handle anything that sells. Thank you very much."

I feel like it's a manager wanting to represent arcade fire instead of the backstreet boys.

Loved the last two replies.

Basically, he thinks it's too commercial and not as literary? What is your genre?

I'm so confused!

Wayne K said:

I really want to write back and ask what she means. She only saw the query letter.

I've read that there a lot of debate about what makes literary and commercial, and to tell ya the truth, I don't understand it. This is one of those subjects that I never really understood

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Generally, literary fiction focuses on the writing (the poetry of it, the imagery, a deep theme/allegory/deeper meaning, etc.) whereas commercial fiction is more plot driven and meant to be read for pleasure, with more tension/suspense/humor etc. Jhumpa Lahiri and Jonathan Safran Foer are good examples of literary (Lahiri focuses on the Indian-American experience, and always has deep meanings; Foer uses images, experimental writing etc.). Both have found great commercial success, but their books are literary.

Not sure about the query, but as far as commercial getting more attention, not always. It seems like there is a pretty even distribution of agents who prefer either, and most agents who don't specify will take both. Perhaps that agent specialized in highly literary work. I wouldn't worry too much about the distinction--if an agent likes it, they won't pass because the distinction is off.