Hi

An agent told me that women's fiction is, by its very nature, psychological fiction, after I described my work as a psychological novel aimed at the women's market.

Thrillers can be described as psychological, as can crime, etc.

I can appreciate that women's fiction follows an emotional arc, so there is an emphasis placed on internal characterisation, etc. However, I was thinking of the psychological aspect where all is not what it seems in terms of character motives/actions surrounding the MC. So the MC is confused/misinterpreting the situation and the reader is not always aware of what is happening.

Is this defined as something else in women's fiction?

Thank you.

Oh, these baggy industry terms!

No definitive answer, but I think it's a back-formation, if you like. Crime and thriller don't - or didn't - naturally involve events springing from complex psychology. It was enough to know that the murderer needs his aunt's money to save his business, it's enough to know that Blofeld wants to destroy the world because he's evil. (The writer may toss in a deprived childhood or jealousy of a favoured sibling, but that's so often a bit of a sop.)

So when both crime and solution come from the business of human psychology - the non-physical terrorising of a wif, a psychopath whose motives aren't material or obvious - they have to be tagged as psychological crime/thriller, as opposed to the ordinary kind.

Whereas womens fic stories, as this agent has said, have always come very largely from the business of human psychology, so "psychological" is, in a sense, redundant.

What you call it instead, if anything, to convey what your novel's up to, I'm not sure.

So when both crime and solution come from the business of human psychology - the non-physical terrorising of a wif, a psychopath whose motives aren't material or obvious - they have to be tagged as psychological crime/thriller, as opposed to the ordinary kind.

Which is the category your novel falls into, isn't it (woman terrorised by her partner). Maybe you'd be better calling it a psychological thriller, rather than a psychological novel?

<Added>

The first para was meant to be in quotes, obviously - I was quoting Emma.

Thanks Emma and Saturday.

Maybe you'd be better calling it a psychological thriller, rather than a psychological novel?

I was wondering about this.

I wanted it to be women's fiction, as I wanted the emotional aspect to be key. Whether I've succeeded is another matter, but that's why I didn't make it more of a thriller, although it has many relevant 'thriller' qualities.

Can you have a psychological thriller aimed at the women's market - as the novel is very oriented towards women/the 'woman in jeopardy' type genre?

Can you have a psychological thriller aimed at the women's market

I would say Rosamond Whatsit's books ('Sister' & 'Afterwards' are massively aimed at the women's fiction market.

Ooh, that's such a good question - mine has a similar theme (though with weird eighty-year old family mystery thrown into the mix) and I've always struggled with the correct description.

Current wording on the synopsis is 'psychological mystery, aimed at the quality women's fiction market'. did the agent actually suggest what you should use as an alternative? Surely the psychological bit is important, to distinguish it from a sort of family saga?

Good point about Sister and Afterwards. I wonder what genre they're called? How can we find out? Yours would probably be the same.

The genre thing does seem complicated. One agent (at Winchester) told me I should call mine fantasy, but I thought he was wrong and meant speculative fiction. Then I pitched it as a sci fi thriller to a commissioning agent at Verulam and she said I should play down the sci fi aspect because it could put off the mainstream. Mine has been compared to the Time Traveller's Wife, but although that has a sci fi aspect, like mine, and it's important, it's not really a sci fi novel. Which is the same as mine. I wonder what genre TTW is classed as?

I wish agents etc didn't expect us to know. I wish we could just pitch the story and let them decide the genre.

Back to your question, Sharley: I think psychological thriller is quite a well understood term, and I hadn't till recently heard of psychological fiction, which I think is a bit woolly for the reasons others have said, but I wonder if, when people say "psychological women's fiction" they mean women's fiction with a psych thriller type uncertainty? Which is what yours is.

All very confusing.

Deb

Can you have a psychological thriller aimed at the women's market - as the novel is very oriented towards women/the 'woman in jeopardy' type genre?

I've been banging on about this elsewhere lately but I can't stress enough how hot this is at the moment. I read mss for a foreign rights scout and publishers are snapping books up (even when, frankly, they shouldn't.)

Sharley, feel free to wwmail me about this if tou want to talk about it further. It really is a red hot trend at the moment.

it's tricky, isn't it? I deliberately didn't say 'thriller' because that feels a bit too Dan Brown to me. Caroline, which genre would you think what Sharley and I have written fits best?

I can't really say, I'm afraid, as I don;t know enough about the books. Could look at a synopsis if it helps?

Genre is difficult, especially when women's fiction can be so many things and the definition of a thriller is, apparently, becoming more 'woolly'.

I've never thought of Sister or Afterwards as thrillers, but I appreciate that genres can be fluid in areas (and quite specific in others).

Caroline, thank you. I'll WW mail you tomorrow when I can think (long day). I saw on BF on Facebook that you mentioned the surge in interest for psychological thrillers, which is why I was so keen to keep the 'psychological' but I'd appreciate advice on the way around it.

No problem, am happy to look.

Those Rosmund Lupton books defo come into that category.

I was telling someone my plot yesterday and she said it sounded like a psychological thriller at the start. Yes, it does, and then the reader will catch onto what's happening and then it's just a thriller with a sci fi bit.

Caroline, I don't want to take advantage, but if you were willing to look at my synopsis just to say what genre you think I should call it I'd be really grateful. Don't want you to feel inundated, though, so no problem if you'd rather not.

Deb

Deb it's fine, really! Have massively busy few days if you can cope with non immediate response? WWmail me and I'll pass on my email address.

Overall though, I think the point to take home is, if you can call it psychological fiction DO!!!! Even if it's a squeeze!

Ah, thank you so much. And great advice to call it psych if we can!

I will WW you, and delay is no problem at all.

Deb