What genre?

[goatpiper]

What can you do when you feel that your novel sits between genres? What if you feel that your novel isn't adequately described by a major genre? When you're trying to interest an agent and/or publisher, what's the best strategy?

Given that question, what would you consider 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold to be? My first instinct would be literary, but it does have the fantastic element of the main character looking down from her own personal heaven.

Thanks ahead of time.

[Use Her Name]

I am a new wanna be novelist. I have a novel that sits between 3 genres. As a business decision, I realized that I should write in the genre that will get me published the fastest, so that I can get my career rolling along. I need to strengthen that plot thread, not necessarily detracting from the others.

[loquax]

Any agent or publisher will be able to tell for themselves from the synopsis and the excerpt.

[Kitty Pryde]

As far as marketing goes, certain genres 'outweigh' others. The Lovely Bones, to take your example, is TECHNICALLY a fantasy novel. But since it goes to the literature section, it is in the literary genre. Another example is Kurt Vonnegut. Almost all his books are 100 % science fiction, yet you will never find them in the SF/F section. They are always shelved as 'literary.' Likewise, the 'horror' designation will outweigh the 'fantasy' designation--many horror novels are fantasies as well--horror also outweighs literary, science fiction, and sometimes mystery. Sci fi or fantasy usually outweighs mystery. On the other hand, lots of pop literary bestsellers incorporate many science fiction elements.
To take another example, Haruki Murakami always appears in the lit section, but his stories are MUCH more fantastic than most fantasy I have read.
It all has to do with what the publishers think shoppers in the different sections will be willing to buy. It will be tough to sell a book with a dragon on the cover in the lit section OR the mystery section. But in the sf/f section, the book with a dragon on the cover is purchased happily.
I'm not trying to put down any genres at all. My favorite genre is sci-fi, and there is a lot of back-and-forth in the sci-fi community about whether SF is a "ghetto" that books get placed in if they don't merit the designation of literary. I'm not trying to comment on that issue here. I think a given book has to be compared to others in its various genres to see where it fits the best. Diane Gabaldon writes books that are both fantasy and romance, but they end up in the romance section usually.

What genre do your books fall into? Maybe we can brainstorm some others in a similar cross-genre situation to help you sort out which is the main genre!

[windyrdg]

The best approach might be to present it as "Commercial Fiction or Mainstream Fiction." If the protagonist is a strong woman, you can call it "Women's Fiction."

You'll need to call it something when you query agents, after that they'll take the lead.

[veinglory]

Every book is unique, although some more than others. Genre is a strategic decision. Thing to consider is what maximises you chance of getting an agent or publisher, what maximises you readership, and what do you aspire to or want to avoid?

[Chasing the Horizon]

When I queried a cross-genre novel, it was 'fantasy' to the fantasy agents and 'romance' to the romance agents. I figured if an agent or publisher took on the book, they would make a final decision as to which genre was more appropriate. For me, I just called it whichever the agent in question seemed more likely to represent.

The next book I'll be querying is another cross-genre with elements of horror, romance, and fantasy, but I consider it to be 'contemporary fiction'. A lot of it has to do with the tone of the book. Genre novels tend to have a different tone than contemporary fiction.

[Zoombie]

Oh, my genera is easy: YA Sci-fi Romance Adventure Comedy.

I don't know why there are so few books written in it, though.

[slcboston]

Oh, my genera is easy: YA Sci-fi Romance Adventure Comedy.

I don't know why there are so few books written in it, though.

What, no clowns? :D

[Zoombie]

There are no clowns in my novel. No angry ones either. My avatar is purely a warning. A warning about angry clowns.

[stace001]

When I queried a cross-genre novel, it was 'fantasy' to the fantasy agents and 'romance' to the romance agents. I figured if an agent or publisher took on the book, they would make a final decision as to which genre was more appropriate. For me, I just called it whichever the agent in question seemed more likely to represent.



This exactly how I sub to agents also. One of my novels is, in my opinion, a cross-genre novel, so I just adjust my cover letter accordingly.

[Round John Virgin]

I think there's a danger in telling an agent it's cross-genre. You might get by with it if the rest of the query is compelling. But many of them, in their blogs and interviews, sound pretty--well, Snarky, for want of a better term--when the topic comes up. Some have been reported to blow gin and tonic out through their noses.

[WannabeWriter]

I think the goal should be to have one genre that is the main genre. The other genres can be there, but may be in a secondary way.

[IceCreamEmpress]

Given that question, what would you consider 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold to be? My first instinct would be literary, but it does have the fantastic element of the main character looking down from her own personal heaven.

It's literary fiction. Of course, Alice Sebold was already represented by Henry Dunow when she wrote it, but if she had been looking for representation, she would almost certainly have queried the folks who rep literary, not the folks who rep paranormal/fantasy.

[HConn]

You don't want to list more than two genres when you query, and don't sweat it too much. Pick the two that seem most prominent in your story and run with those.

[Feathers]

I would think "The Lovely Bones" would be literary, fantasy, or woman's...

I'f you novel is riding the lines I would try to think of your target audience. Who would read your book? Women? Men? Kids? Then try to find something generic in that...adventure/action, woman's fiction, commercial fiction...

-Feathers

[CDarklock]

Maybe this is just me, but isn't "what genre" a marketing decision? Let the marketing department handle it. They're the experts.

[Southern_girl29]

Maybe this is just me, but isn't "what genre" a marketing decision? Let the marketing department handle it. They're the experts.

You have to know what genre it is when you query agents or publishers. Most agents and publishers only take certain genres, so you have to pick accordingly.