The romance is a very integral part of the story, yes (and it's a very innocent and not steamy romance at that). And it is a coming of age, yes. But when you go to put down the genre on the title page of your manuscript writing "Coming of age with romantic elements" would look pretty strange to me, and probably to an agent as well. Wouldn't it be better to display it as genre: Coming of age/romance? Not sure. I want them to know it has a "love" (or romantic) element in it, but it is by no means a romance novel. That is something TOTALLY different! I think of bare chested tan guys with hot babes lying next to them when I think Romance novel ha ha ha
Querying Agents and Agent Requests
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As Riv pointed out, you did. When people say, "I'm writing a historical romance", they mean they are writing a romance novel that is set at some point in the relatively distant past. Likewise, when they say, "I'm writing a YA romance", they mean they are writing a romance novel where the main characters are teenagers.
So if you don't feel you have written a romance novel, it's best not to call the story a romance.
There is a "love" element in it. But no it is NOT a romance novel. BUT it does have a "love" element within. It's a coming of age element predominantly, which as many coming of age novels do have. But not a romance novel.
I've never put the genre on the title page of a manuscript, but maybe you have other guidelines.
[Genre] with romantic elements may look strange to you, but would be perfectly understood by agents. It's common usage and an expected way to express exactly what you are saying you want to express.
Then you really don't have a clue what a romance novel is.
All the best,
Riv
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That's not really a genre. Think of sections in a bookstore - you'll see Romance and YA (or Teen), but you won't see Coming of Age/Romance.
Ths is what you use the query for. If you've got romantic elements in the story, make it clear in the query. Every single genre out there has stories that include romance.
This seems to indicate you haven't done much research on genre. It's also disrespectful of a genre that's consistently popular and wildly successful.
If you have to claim you were joking, you probably said something offensive rather than witty.
FWIW, adding "ha ha ha" after something offensive doesn't make the offensive thing any less offensive.
Thanks so much, Patty. Good information. Especially the "crossover appeal". I've been putting genre on my title pages for as long as I remember and it seems to be accepted. Wondering if you do too. Looked up a youtube video on proper format and sure enough it's there. Guess some rules are flexible. My query makes a "love" element evident from the very beginning hook. So no problem there. Let me know if you would like to PM. Would love to hear more input! Take care!
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Apology accepted.
My second cousin wrote for Silhouette in the 70s and 80s. Her work was translated into 54 languages. The prevalence of jokes disparaging the genre are way out of proportion with both the popularity and the financial success romance enjoys, and everyone knows why. Which is just one reason such jokes aren't funny.
I understand. Didn't mean any offense. I'm sure it's well respected. Each genre has its audience.
Jokes are generally intended to be amusing. This wasn't. Two things for you to bear in mind:
We're serious about respecting our fellow writers; you might want to re-read The Newbie Guide to Absolute Write.
Romance sales and romance readers carry publishing on their backs. Romance sells more, by far, and romance readers buy more books, than other readers.
Firstly, yeah, all romance authors are dumb bimbos. I know I'm pretty stupid. If you're incapable of saying the word "romance" without making a joke about it, you shouldn't be writing it.
Secondly, no. “Romantic Elements” is an actual genre classification. The romance genre has very specific rules, and your story doesn’t fit into it.
I am a romance author, and yet I pitched a new book to my publisher the other week and I called it Romantic Elements because it would have broken all genre promises to call it a romance.
“Romantic Elements” is totally, completely a thing. If you’re unfamiliar with romance genre regulations it’s hugely disingenuous to say you’ve written in that field when you haven’t.
(I'm probably being a bit overly sensitive, but I spent this weekend caught up in Big Family Drama because of certain misogynists in our midst...)
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