What Makes a Book a Romance?

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Renee J

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I know romance novels focus on the love story and end with a HEA or HFN. However, do they have to be a fantasy the readers wish they could live through? The book I'm writing revolves around a woman who's husband is killed at the beginning of the book. She spends most of the book in mourning, and then feeling guiltly because she falls for another man. The book ends with her deciding to be with this man even though some might think she moved on too fast. Also, the man has a form of dwarfism which some readers may not find attractive.
 

Hopefully WLCT

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My WIP is a typical boy meets girl,but..he is extremely reluctant to the point of wanting nothing to do with her but his heart wont let him forget her. But she has a past that she feels that no one would understand. But I think the romance is, what happens to their hearts thru the process. Sometimes love happens whether you want it to or not.
 

Marian Perera

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The book I'm writing revolves around a woman who's husband is killed at the beginning of the book. She spends most of the book in mourning, and then feeling guiltly because she falls for another man.

This sounds more like women's fiction to me than romance. IMO, a romance would have the heroine meeting the hero close to the start of the book, even if they don't actually fall for each other because she's grieving for her husband. Then the focus would be on their developing relationship as well as her feelings for her husband.

The book ends with her deciding to be with this man even though some might think she moved on too fast. Also, the man has a form of dwarfism which some readers may not find attractive.

Neither of those would bother me depending on how they were handled.
 

Renee J

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They meet early in the book. He offers to do her taxes because he feels terrible about the accident. They become friends, then fall in love.
 

Marian Perera

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They meet early in the book. He offers to do her taxes because he feels terrible about the accident. They become friends, then fall in love.

That sounds quite different from the heroine spending most of the book grieving for her dead husband. :) She should certainly mourn if she loved him, but if this is a romance, I'd hope she spent most of the book also building up her relationship with the hero.
 

Renee J

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She's grieving at the same time. It lessens the closer she gets to him. But, at the same time, causes her to feel guilty.
 

chompers

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Which is the main journey for the woman? If it's the grieving process, I'd say it's another genre. If it's her falling in love,, I'd say romance.
 

Becky Black

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Of course it doesn't have to be a fantasy of the "shop girl swept off her feet by a Greek tycoon" type. Romance covers a huge range from fantasy wish-fulfilment stories to much more realistic ones, that could be called "women's fiction" as well as romance. Take a look at the romance shelves in the store and online and look at the range of stories.
 

Chris P

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Write the book now, worry about what genre to call it later. Genre is a tool to guide readers to books they might enjoy. Whether the publisher wants to market it as romance, women's fic, or contemporary doesn't change the story inside.

It sounds like you have a good solid story there, and something I would read, no matter what you call it. I like flawed protagonists who face their obstacles with heart and have real-world struggles with doing do.
 

gingerwoman

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My opinion- What makes a book a romance is a fully fleshed out romance story arc as the prominent story line.

Your story really does sound more like women's fiction to me, because a lot of the story is surely going to focus on her personal journey in getting over her husband's death not just the relationship with the man. You can however say that the story has "romantic elements". :)

There are plenty of agents and editors looking for women's fiction, especially if it has depth and complexity that might make it a good book club read.

So don't worry that there won't be a market if you don't shove it into the romance category. I've seen plenty of agents and editors looking for women's fiction recently.
 
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Katallina

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For me the key defining thing that makes something a romance, outside of the whole HEA / HFN ending, is this:

Can the book survive without the romance in it? If so, it's not a romance. A romance novel, regardless of its subgenre, must have the romance beating at its heart. It must be the center, the core, the soul of the story. That doesn't mean that two people must sit on a couch staring starry eyed at each other. But it does mean that the romance must be important in such a way that if you took the romance out, the book would not function.

Think of it like this: what do you want your reader to be thinking when they pick up your book? Ex. "Gee, I'd really like to read something where...?" and think about what your book does. What are you trying to give / promise the reader?

From the way you have described your book *here*, the draw for *me* would be wanting to read about someone picking up the pieces after the loss of a loved one. The romance with a new man would be something I would view as hopeful, a symbolism of growth, the continuation of life, and forgiveness. But it wouldn't, as described, be the reason I would buy your book. Which means I wouldn't be buying it for romance (as described to us here).

I hope that makes some semblance of sense. :)
 

Renee J

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I'm almost done with the first draft, so I'll examine it then. Right now, I think the romance is important in the Hero's POV. From the Heroine's POV, the book goes from a women's fiction to a romance. The love story becomes the focus about halfway through the book.
 

Candy

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I agreed with Katallina's point. If the story stands without the romance, it's not a romance.

I also believe there has to be conflict between the heroine and the hero. Substancal conflict, not something that could be resolved by a conversation. The heroine or hero (or both) must have something at risk. One (or both) must grow or change over the course of the story in order to be with the other.

Your story could go either way, just depends on how you want to write it. The heroine's guilt could be a conflict. The hero's drawfism could be a conflict. Or you could have mulitple conflicts.

It's all up to you....
 

VoireyLinger

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I'm almost done with the first draft, so I'll examine it then. Right now, I think the romance is important in the Hero's POV. From the Heroine's POV, the book goes from a women's fiction to a romance. The love story becomes the focus about halfway through the book.

Another vote for Women's Fiction with romantic elements. Your focus through the book is her recovering from the loss of her husband. The romance is part of her recovery. If it were a romance, that would go the other way--the focus would be them falling in love and her mourning/guilt would be conflict. At the heart of it, your story is about her, not them.
 

Renee J

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Can Women's fiction have a male POV? I'm alternating POVs between him and her.
 
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