I know that here on WriteWords, I could WW mail many of its members and ask what the genre of my novel is.

However, not everyone has that option.

Is there a way of working out which genre a novel fall into? A checklist of sorts?

Mine is for women, it has a timeline with the voice of a teenager, a timeline with the voice of her adult self looking back and, more importantly, dealing with the issues that have arisen. It has action, jeopardy and deals with issues.

As I said, I have options: I can and will write a synopsis and I can ask people, and it is likely I will get a report and find out the genre that way but - if people can't do the report/ask friendly published authors - is there another way to find out?

I read loads of books - women in jeopardy, psychological thriller writers that I've been told about, gothic thrillers I enjoy, but my MS doesn't seem to fit. So reading isn't always the answer, as you don't know what to read.

It's probably a stupid question, but is there anything else that I - and possibly other WWers do - to work out our genre ready for submissions? Are there specifics that ensure a book fits a genre?



Edited by Sharley at 19:59:00 on 19 July 2013

No wise words, but you know I struggled with what genre mine is. In fact, I probably sent it too far down the WF route, which is why I'm having to fix things now.

Maybe it's something to do with what is at the crux of a novel - if you had to pick one aspect that encapsulates it for you, what would it be?

Maybe it's something to do with what is at the crux of a novel - if you had to pick one aspect that encapsulates it for you, what would it be?

I was given similar advice after the first draft of my wip was reviewed. The reviewer said if it was paranormal, then the paranormal should infuse every chapter. But she was coming from the traditional viewpoint where genre is crucial if you want representation.
I subsequently made lots of changes, and believe I have a paranormal novel, but can't be certain others will agree.

I take the view that good writing is more important. If 'good writing' was a genre, I would never read anything else.

Women's fiction as a genre is such a broad ship. As long as the MC is female, anything goes, doesn't it?

Okay, tell me I know nothing about WF.

I take the view that good writing is more important. If 'good writing' was a genre, I would never read anything else.

I've nothing to argue about this. I can concentrate on the writing and have undertaken an excellent writing course which has changed the way I wrote this novel.

Well done on taking the paranormal comment on board and amending your novel as a consequence.

However, my concern is this:

In fact, I probably sent it too far down the WF route, which is why I'm having to fix things now.

I wanted my previous novel to be WF and, although there are a multitude of reasons why it didn't work, I don't want my current novel to be sitting in one genre with its style of writing/theme and in another genre with its content IYSWIM.

The agent who wrote and said my previous novel was well-written and a difficult 'no' said her decision was down to the content. So, I want to read books in the genre in which this book would fit and make sure that I siting it firmly within the genre.

Maybe it's something to do with what is at the crux of a novel - if you had to pick one aspect that encapsulates it for you, what would it be?

I guess you mean like 'paranormal' for Alan, but while I know the theme of the book (confronting her tormentors to escape the past), I'm not how the crux of the novel would determine the genre.


Edited by Sharley at 09:34:00 on 20 July 2013

I must admit that it sounds like "women's fiction" to me, but I also find genre quite confusing. My novel has been called (by me and others' suggestions) sci fi, cross genre sci fi and thriller, thriller with a sci fi twist, fantasy (not by me cos I think it's not), speculative fiction, and loads of other stuff.

The most helpful thing was at Verulam, in a 5 min pitch, when I called it "thriller with a sci fi twist" to a commissioning editor, and she said it was good to "place" it with such a phrase, but I might want to play down the sci fi bit because it could put off mainstream publishers and make them think it's too niche.

I've been told it's like Time Traveller's Wife, but I have no idea what genre that is! Anyone know?

I'd love to be a book group type of book, but don't think I am.

It's all very confusing. Maybe, Sharley, when you have a one to one in future, when it's more nearly finished, you can ask about its genre and gain some industry opinions about that?

I have at least 3 ideas for follow-up books and they are basically thrillers, but one has a science element (not sci-fi). However, I like to write strong female characters, and I want to reuse some of the characters in the subsequent books, so maybe I should call them "thrillers with strong female protagonists"?

Deb

Edited by debac at 09:34:00 on 20 July 2013

It's all very confusing. Maybe, Sharley, when you have a one to one in future, when it's more nearly finished, you can ask about its genre and gain some industry opinions about that?

Deb, I will definitely get feedback on the novel before submitting.

I guess what I'm trying to do is pinpoint the genre before I'm too far into the book (although I am mid-way through). However, this may not be possible as I think I've planted it on the WF / thriller fence.

I have a question, and I'm not being facetious.

If I wrote a novel with a strong female lead, and other interesting female characters, with only ho-hum male characters, and I couldn't place it in an established genre, could I then call it Women's Fiction?
Or would I have to be female?

I don't think you have to be female, Alan (probably not worth a sex change op in order to get published ) but they may think it wise to use a female or androgenous pen name?

The agent who wrote and said my previous novel was well-written and a difficult 'no' said her decision was down to the content.

Wow! You never told me that! That's fantastic!!! And I am not at all surprised she was so positive, having read it cover to cover.

That's kind of what I thought too - that it was really well written but I was concerned the concept wasn't "hit me between the eyes enough" to be easily marketable. The concept was great for a good read, but the agents and publishers do seem to be looking for things which are easy to sell!

Tell me more about that sometime (who etc, and anything else she said).

Deb X

Edited by debac at 11:46:00 on 20 July 2013

probably not worth a sex change op in order to get published

It's an option for the really desperate, isn't it?

Just change your initials to JK, Alan, it'll work wonders

I think - but I could be proved wrong - that summing up this thread so far, there is no easy way to define a genre and a name change is much easier than a sex change.

I think the advice I read (which may be in Mr Bingham's book) is definitely to home in on one genre. So, if you had a detective story that you set on another planet, it would depend which plot-line featured more strongly - was the focus on whodunnit, or the fact they did it off-world, if you see what I mean.

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking yours does sound like WF - which as Alan says, is a very broad church indeed. But the drive of your story - if I've got it right - is a woman coming to terms with her past, and how it's affected her, so I'd go with WF as a pretty good fit.

So, if you had a detective story that you set on another planet

I wonder if Asimov had this type of dilemma in the 1940s when he wrote his Robot stories. They were some of my earliest reads, and I still remember the vivid blend of sci-fi and whodunnit.

Would genre have mattered so much back then?

a name change is much easier than a sex change.

I don't know about the UK, but here, and in the US, meat and poultry - probably farmed fish too, is routinely injected with oestregen to promote fast growth.
Some believe it is affecting the sexuality of boys.
Perhaps in decades to come, we'll all be writing Women's Fiction without the need for a scalpel.

But the drive of your story - if I've got it right - is a woman coming to terms with her past, and how it's affected her, so I'd go with WF as a pretty good fit.

Given that my advice (from an excellent source, too) that your chosen genre must infuse every chapter, then if Sharley decides on WF, the justification is straightforward: Do women's issues infuse every chapter?

I did a google on JK, and almost every entry was about our novelist - she has literally taked ownership of those two initials. When I was in China, I found that almost every student had heard of Harry Potter, and most could say who the writer was.
It is a tremendous achievement.



<Added>

I mean tooked

Thanks Alan and Astrea

Yes, the driver is there in every chapter and it is a woman in jeopardy story in the WF genre.

I was probably worrying too much, as the broadening of psychological thrillers to encompass WF books in that vein came in after I'd written my last book as a very WF book IYSWIM.

I'll continue embedding this into the WF genre.