Which genre does my book fall into?

SaifTheWriter · Jul 8, 2018

Hi

So i've been kinda troubled by this question. I'm searching for an Agent but my book doesn't strictly fall into one genre.

It is set in the year 2110. In a crumbling society of London where the Internet has crashed and electricity has been depleted heavily. Social divisions have created divides in the community, a fascist party reigns superior over every other culture and race.

After finding a mutilated corpse of a woman in Whitechapel, Arthur (a 21 year old pacifistic street cleaner) teams up with Tina, a 19 year old female assassin to bring this new copycat Jack the ripper to justice...or maybe to kill him.

Along the way Arthur learns about some form of evolution that humans have undergone with all the exposure during the 21st century to things like WiFi and other radiation: allowing some of them to use their senses better (Hearing better, seeing better, moving faster etc)

So is this Crime? Mystery? Sci fi? Urban fantasy? Dystopia?

It is 77000 words long.

Thanks In advance!

Harlequin · Jul 8, 2018

Speculative fiction or simply fantasy rather than urban fantasy. It seems not hugely magical though. The crime element will show in your query letter. If in doubt, spec fic works well enough.

Lots of books have elements--not the same as a genre crossover. Speculative fiction is about setting; your setting is futuristic and fantastical even if the plot is crime. Otherwise, every book with a smidgen of romance would be a romance crossover (for example.)

Keep it basic, don't give agents an excuse to reject you. On that note, your wordcount is low for an adult spec fic novel. Have you run it through betas yet?

Sage · Jul 8, 2018

It seems sci-fi to me. Set in the future & the enhanced abilities have a scientific explanation.

PhoenixFlower · Jul 8, 2018

To me, a lot would depend on certain elements of your book which I would need to know more of.

Along the way Arthur learns about some form of evolution that humans have undergone with all the exposure during the 21st century to things like WiFi and other radiation: allowing some of them to use their senses better (Hearing better, seeing better, moving faster etc)

This speaks to me of Sci-FI, however...

In a crumbling society of London where the Internet has crashed and electricity has been depleted heavily. Social divisions have created divides in the community, a fascist party reigns superior over every other culture and race.

This tells me it is a Dystopia.

So from this, I would say your novel is a Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel. Something like Divergent or The Hunger Games.

indianroads · Jul 8, 2018

I'm currently reading 'Opportunity' that's part of the 'Two Democracies' series by Alasdair Shaw. It's a detective story set on a space station.

On Amazon it's listed in two categories:
Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction
Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense > Mystery

I'm unsure if that's any help.

BethS · Jul 8, 2018

Call it sf or dystopian sf. It may be a mystery in terms of plot, but its setting is sf. The agents you approach need be ones who handle sf.

NoirSuede · Jul 8, 2018

SaifTheWriter said:
Hi

So i've been kinda troubled by this question. I'm searching for an Agent but my book doesn't strictly fall into one genre.

It is set in the year 2110. In a crumbling society of London where the Internet has crashed and electricity has been depleted heavily. Social divisions have created divides in the community, a fascist party reigns superior over every other culture and race.

After finding a mutilated corpse of a woman in Whitechapel, Arthur (a 21 year old pacifistic street cleaner) teams up with Tina, a 19 year old female assassin to bring this new copycat Jack the ripper to justice...or maybe to kill him.

Along the way Arthur learns about some form of evolution that humans have undergone with all the exposure during the 21st century to things like WiFi and other radiation: allowing some of them to use their senses better (Hearing better, seeing better, moving faster etc)

So is this Crime? Mystery? Sci fi? Urban fantasy? Dystopia?

It is 77000 words long.

Thanks In advance!

While I'm in the belief that you shouldn't worry about genres at all because it's all too easy to write in such a way that elements of multiple different genres show up ib your work, that novel is clearly a Sci-Fi Murder Mystery that turns into a superhero flick.

now figure out what my novel's genre, it's set in prehistoric times about an antisocial blob who's head caught on fire after a close encounter with a savanna fire, whom then has to learn to deal with the attention it attracts from other blobs

SaifTheWriter · Jul 10, 2018

Harlequin said:
Speculative fiction or simply fantasy rather than urban fantasy. It seems not hugely magical though. The crime element will show in your query letter. If in doubt, spec fic works well enough.

Lots of books have elements--not the same as a genre crossover. Speculative fiction is about setting; your setting is futuristic and fantastical even if the plot is crime. Otherwise, every book with a smidgen of romance would be a romance crossover (for example.)

Keep it basic, don't give agents an excuse to reject you. On that note, your wordcount is low for an adult spec fic novel. Have you run it through betas yet?

Thanks for that! That was some unique piece of advice!

I'm in Beta Reading process at the moment

SaifTheWriter · Jul 10, 2018

PhoenixFlower said:
To me, a lot would depend on certain elements of your book which I would need to know more of.

This speaks to me of Sci-FI, however...

This tells me it is a Dystopia.

So from this, I would say your novel is a Dystopian Sci-Fi Novel. Something like Divergent or The Hunger Games.

This makes sense! Thank you, it could be a British version of one of those Dystopian novels!

SaifTheWriter · Jul 10, 2018

indianroads said:
I'm currently reading 'Opportunity' that's part of the 'Two Democracies' series by Alasdair Shaw. It's a detective story set on a space station.

On Amazon it's listed in two categories:
Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction
Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense > Mystery

I'm unsure if that's any help.

Great!

I think I should take a look on Amazon too..

SaifTheWriter · Jul 10, 2018

BethS said:
Call it sf or dystopian sf. It may be a mystery in terms of plot, but its setting is sf. The agents you approach need be ones who handle sf.

Great, thank you!

SaifTheWriter · Jul 10, 2018

NoirSuede said:
While I'm in the belief that you shouldn't worry about genres at all because it's all too easy to write in such a way that elements of multiple different genres show up ib your work, that novel is clearly a Sci-Fi Murder Mystery that turns into a superhero flick.

now figure out what my novel's genre, it's set in prehistoric times about an antisocial blob who's head caught on fire after a close encounter with a savanna fire, whom then has to learn to deal with the attention it attracts from other blobs

Uhm...

Historical fiction?

NoirSuede · Jul 10, 2018

SaifTheWriter said:
Uhm...

Historical fiction?

Ah, but blobs aren't real creatures so technically it's a fantasy, but it can't be just fantasy since there's no magic in it, but then "historical fantasy fiction" is an oxymoron....

See what I mean?

BethS · Jul 10, 2018

NoirSuede said:
Ah, but blobs aren't real creatures so technically it's a fantasy, but it can't be just fantasy since there's no magic in it, but then "historical fantasy fiction" is an oxymoron....

See what I mean?

SF deals with all kinds of things that aren't real--aliens, faster-than-light travel, technologies far beyond our capabilities. That doesn't make it fantasy.

Harlequin · Jul 11, 2018

Yes, agreed on both accounts. SF is full of made up stuff.

Also, fantasy doesn't need magic. My favorite published novel is a fantasy with zilch magic. Just an alternate world and people doing their thing. Low or no magic fantasy is an awesome subgenres.

CathleenT · Jul 11, 2018

Uh, sorry to be a dissenting voice here, but I'd call it apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic spec fic. Some folks on AW are dismissive of wikipedia links, but nonetheless, I have one for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction.

A dystopia has a rather specific requirement. It must portray a society that presents itself as a utopia, but which is inherently self-destructive. 1984 and Hunger Games would be prime examples, as would Divergent.

It's a somewhat esoteric point--my first sale was to an anthology that presented itself as dystopian when most of the stories were post-apocalyptic.

But if you're going to query this, since agents are more educated about genre and sub-genre than the average reader, I'd be careful not to call something a dystopia when it isn't. You never know--it might be one of their pet peeves.

indianroads · Jul 11, 2018

SaifTheWriter said:
Great!

I think I should take a look on Amazon too..

I should point out that category (on Amazon or elsewhere) does NOT necessarily equal genre. The differences between the two continues to escape me (for what it's worth I wander through life in a confused mental fog) - I would love it if someone would explain it to me... using short simple words if possible.

Harlequin · Jul 11, 2018

People put things into sales categories where they think it will find readers on Amazon. Even if it doesn't always fit quite right.

indianroads · Jul 11, 2018

Harlequin said:
People put things into sales categories where they think it will find readers on Amazon. Even if it doesn't always fit quite right.

Very true... but what is the relationship between genre and category - if there is one?

Harlequin · Jul 11, 2018

Well theoretically they are the same or similar.

But for example... A friend of mine self pubs post apoc romance. Her genre technically is post apoc, as a result. But you get more sales from listing in romance as t has more romance tropes. And post apoc readers usually want something grittier.

BethS · Jul 11, 2018

CathleenT said:
Uh, sorry to be a dissenting voice here, but I'd call it apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic spec fic. Some folks on AW are dismissive of wikipedia links, but nonetheless, I have one for you: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction.

A dystopia has a rather specific requirement. It must portray a society that presents itself as a utopia, but which is inherently self-destructive. 1984 and Hunger Games would be prime examples, as would Divergent.

Thanks for clarifying that!

CathleenT · Jul 11, 2018

indianroads, when it comes to Amazon categories, the relationship to genre is tricky. It depends on what you choose, how far you "drill down."

An unwise choice would be to simply choose fiction. That's because if you choose, say, SF instead, since it's a fiction genre, fiction is automatically chosen as well.

So there's a real incentive to go as deep as you can into subgenres, so as to get as many categories as possible, because they kind of nest, like one of those Russian matryoshka dolls.

For example, one of the categories for one of my books goes: Kindle ebooks>Science Fiction & Fantasy>Fantasy>Fairy Tales. Fairy Tales are a sub-genre.

Another advantage to doing it this way is that sub-genres are a lot easier to break into the top 100, compared to straight genre choices like fantasy or SF.

I hope that makes sense.

owlion · Jul 12, 2018

Personally, I'd just put it down as scifi, then make the plot clear in the query letter so agents can decide then if it's for them or not. Maybe add in some comparative titles to show what it's similar to as well.

Which genre does my book fall into?

SaifTheWriter

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

PhoenixFlower

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

BethS

NoirSuede

Running gags aren't for me

SaifTheWriter

SaifTheWriter

SaifTheWriter

SaifTheWriter

SaifTheWriter

NoirSuede

Running gags aren't for me

BethS

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

CathleenT

I write

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

BethS

CathleenT

I write

owlion

Absorbing inspiration from the moon