Does Literary Fiction have a bad rep?

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Helix

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I love Thea Astley's tropical Queensland novels -- Drylands, Multiple Effects of Rainshadow, It's Raining in Mango and An Item from the Late News -- and her collection of short stories, Hunting the Wild Pineapple.
 

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I love Thea Astley's tropical Queensland novels -- Drylands, Multiple Effects of Rainshadow, It's Raining in Mango and An Item from the Late News -- and her collection of short stories, Hunting the Wild Pineapple.

Now she's a new author to me; I'll have to see what I can find of hers. I miss easy access to a university library; that's how I read Foal's Bread, which can be difficult to locate in the U.S.
 

Maggie Brooke

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OP, I struggle with the question of whether to label my WIP literary fiction as well. It's a love story but also partially a coming-of-age story. Actually I use the term Bildungsroman to describe, which, come to think of it, should clue me in to the fact that it probably straddles literary fiction. ;)

I didn't know what it was really while I was writing it, but the responses I've gotten from readers have clued me in to the fact that it is not a straight romance. I've gotten lots of the dreaded navel-gazing/exposition/too much internal dialogue complaints. I also have this one chapter in which the MC and some friends sit around in the park and discuss a Dostoyevsky short story. It's supposed to point to larger coming-of-age themes, and clearly I need to work on making that more explicit, but there are a lot of echoes from literature. In fact, all told, I would say there are at least 20 literary/artistic references in the novel.

This is likely going to make it hard to market, but honestly I wrote a love story that resonated with me and one that I personally would want to read. If it gets labeled a literary romance? Eh. I'll take it.

Funny enough, I did an Amazon search for "literary fiction" subcategory "romance" and mostly came up with chiseled abs and alpha male/billionaire romances.
 

DeannaR

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Maggie,
I agree with your sentiments. I wrote the piece without thought to what genre it would fit into, instead I just wrote it how it needed to be and how I enjoyed writing it. It was afterwards labelled as Literary fiction by an outside source (whom I trust). I think I have created an uphill battle for myself but that only means the prize will be that much sweeter. I want to write what I want to write and if it doesn't jive with others at least I will be happy within myself for the work I created.
 

Maggie Brooke

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Maggie,
I agree with your sentiments. I wrote the piece without thought to what genre it would fit into, instead I just wrote it how it needed to be and how I enjoyed writing it. It was afterwards labelled as Literary fiction by an outside source (whom I trust). I think I have created an uphill battle for myself but that only means the prize will be that much sweeter. I want to write what I want to write and if it doesn't jive with others at least I will be happy within myself for the work I created.

You've got the right attitude. And like many have said on here, there is a distinct market for literary fiction. It's only an epithet in certain circles, and that's largely a reactionary position based on the snobbery of a limited subset of people. I pretty much seek out books that are either hybrid genre/literary fiction or just straight literary fiction.

So, if anyone tries to take out those parts of your work that scream literary fiction, just shrug your shoulders and keep it. That's my position and I'm sticking to it :)
 

mccardey

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So, if anyone tries to take out those parts of your work that scream literary fiction, just shrug your shoulders and keep it. That's my position and I'm sticking to it :)
Sort of, but not entirely - you have to consider who is doing the suggesting. My last book was a literary thriller, but there were patches that I considered quite lovely that the publisher and editor thought were repetitive and could be cut.

That book was much better for another couple of sets of eyes, and some judicious cutting. Shrugging my shoulders and keeping my words would have been a mistake at that stage.

Different responses for different stages, I think.

ETA: And I suspect you're using hyperbole here, but obviously anything that screams literary fiction is something that could be reconsidered... ;)
 
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Maggie Brooke

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Sort of, but not entirely - you have to consider who is doing the suggesting. My last book was a literary thriller, but there were patches that I considered quite lovely that the publisher and editor thought were repetitive and could be cut.

That book was much better for another couple of sets of eyes, and some judicious cutting. Shrugging my shoulders and keeping my words would have been a mistake at that stage.

Different responses for different stages, I think.

ETA: And I suspect you're using hyperbole here, but obviously anything that screams literary fiction is something that could be reconsidered... ;)

Oh, absolutely. If a trained editor or publisher told me to axe something, I likely would. But I find sometimes with beta readers or fellow critters, the recommendation can be disregarded or at least weighed against my own long term intentions for the book. Plus I am seeking to retain that illusive thing called my voice, especially in these early stages.
 

mccardey

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Oh, absolutely. If a trained editor or publisher told me to axe something, I likely would. But I find sometimes with beta readers or fellow critters, the recommendation can be disregarded or at least weighed against my own long term intentions for the book. Plus I am seeking to retain that illusive thing called my voice, especially in these early stages.
Agree entirely. A beta reader is a marvellous thing, and should be listened to, thanked and fed chocolate (go away, James*.) if you've chosen your beta well, it'll be because you know their input is going to be well worth considering. But the book remains your responsibility. You have to own it.
 
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Lillith1991

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Make something cool. Have fun doing it. Worry what it is afterwards.

I hate to take issue with the above. But maybe we shouldn't be telling people to not worry about where their particular book falls until it is done in such unequivocal terms? People work differently and some are perfectly capable of knowing the genre/style they're writing beforehand, while not being hindered by that at all. They say they want a Gothic novel set in a secondary world and they write it, with full knowledge that Dark Fantasy would be the closest match for their WIP if and when they get to the query stage. Others write a novel that posits a character similar in training to Eowyn from LoTR stays behind, and it happens to end up being Literary Fantasy without their prior knowledge that it would fit into Lit Fic.

Both are perfectly fine approaches to working, and neither diminishes the fun that people who work using those methods feel when it comes to their own work. If it is, then they obviously aren't working in the way that, for lack of a better way to say this, works for them. And if that's the case, they should probably change their method in order to reflect the way they work best. After all, you don't fix something that isn't broken and neither should you ignore something that is.
 

Lillith1991

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Agree entirely. A beta reader is a marvellous thing, and should be listened to, thanked and fed chocolate (go away, James*.) if you've chosen your beta well, it'll be because you know their input is going to be well worth considering. But the book remains your responsibility. You have to own it.

And this is why I love you, mccardey! We often say the bolded in much more circular terms, but there's something to be said for just plain saying it. By owning our work in more than just the literal sense a writer can, provided they're truly comfortable with owning their work no matter what, better decide whose and what advice to take.
 
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DeannaR

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For myself it is great advice. If I box myself in too much I find I try and push my work a certain way rather than letting it "take its course" so to speak. Though for others I can see this would be an issue. Everyone works differently. I think this is especially true for creatives. Some outline, some don't. Some know their genre before they start, some find it along the way. It is a beautiful thing, really, to see how differently everyone works and in the end regardless can come out with a beautiful piece of work.

As for editing I agree on both stances. If it is someone I trust then I will consider their advice, consider where it is coming from, how far into the work they are, and why it isnt working, if their suggestion will work overall or if I need to tweak it a bit. If it is someone I don't trust, well I suppose I better reconsider why I let them read it in the first place ;).
 

Lillith1991

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For myself it is great advice. If I box myself in too much I find I try and push my work a certain way rather than letting it "take its course" so to speak. Though for others I can see this would be an issue. Everyone works differently. I think this is especially true for creatives. Some outline, some don't. Some know their genre before they start, some find it along the way. It is a beautiful thing, really, to see how differently everyone works and in the end regardless can come out with a beautiful piece of work.

I don't think knowing the genre your story falls into requires pushing of any sort. At least, when I write a story, even one that mixes "traditional" genres with Lit Fic, I'm just writing the story. It's the idea itself that determines whether the story is a Lit SF story or a Historical story or whatever, and I just follow that to what feels like its natural conclusion. There's a certain amount of freedom in knowing what you're shooting for, the ability to add uncommon things, use common tropes and themes in new ways, and doing things like taking a basic story type and transferring it to a new and interesting setting. It puts the power of inclusion of, well, anything really, solely in the hands of the writer and not in the hands of what a lot of people like to treat as the mystical ethos of inspiration.
 

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Lillith,

And that is my point exactly. For some it works well and for others it doesn't. It's the beauty of creativity.
 

Gonzo Jack

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This post has timeless, good advice. As I sit here nursing my first baby, I realise many will call it ugly, some will glance and leave, and a rare few will see the beauty that I, as parent, know that lies within. I and my baby, also lit fic, may not be in vogue right now but it's never been about vogue, or rep. I never knew who the father was, I never knew what I'd get. I'm just damned pleased to be a parent, have done the best I can, have lowered my alcohol intake while pregnant, have eaten healthy advice, and have given birth to the only manuscript I'm capable of. This post has pretty much confirmed that most parents are good parents, and while I still have much to learn about parenting, it's great to have support. Thank you.
 
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