GENRE
It’s a scary word for some people.
I’ve met people who will argue genre until they are blue in the face. I have met people who think genre is a form of gate-keeping. I have met people who think genre is a waste of time.
I have never met someone who hated the word Genre whose books sold well.
Keep in mind, this is a publishing post, not a writercraft post, for a reason. Genre influences writing to a degree. You need to know your genre and genre conventions before you can play with them. But genre is – and always has been – primarily a marketing tool.
Genre is an essential part of publishing successfully.
So what is genre?
gen·re
/ˈZHänrə/
noun
a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
A category defined by similarities in form, style, and subject matter. Pretty simple, right?
Humans love grouping things. It’s why we put hamburgers and peanut butter-and-jelly in the same group as Sandwiches but debate whether hotdogs and layer cakes belong too.
Hotdogs might get a pass, but is layer cake a sandwich?
It has two pieces of bread with something smashed between, right? So the form is sandwichesque. But the style? That’s trickier. And the subject… ah, there was have a problem. Sandwiches are Savory, layer cakes are Sweet.
The subject doesn’t match so we move the layer cake to the dessert table.
If it helps you define the genre of your book think of the genres as a giant potluck. You want to put your book on the right table so the readers who want what you wrote can find it.
Genres As Types Of Food
Picture Books – Toddler Food – easily digestible, small, and seemingly bland to adult palates the books for small humans get their own table.
Early Readers/Middle Grade – Food In Fun Shapes – All the same foods as adults enjoy, but trimmed down to appeal to younger readers. Cheese shaped like stars, sandwiches cut like dinosaurs, sparkling apple juice in small cups… everything is fair game. Write it all but keep in mind your reader is 8 and only remembers about four years of their life at this point. Keep it simple.
YA – Like a healthy donut this table does not exist. YA is not its own genre, it’s an age category that allows booksellers to easily find books about teens for anyone who wants to read about teens. Any genre of fiction can be adapted to being a YA story or an adult story depending on whether the author focuses on internal conflict and growth or on external stakes with personal growth as part of the subplot.
Honestly, there’s probably a seven hour debate and several doctoral theses lurking in this topic so let’s move on…
Horror – The Weird Foods – The green jello casserole with hot dogs in it, the cookies made from cockroaches, the very questionable “stu” with unidentified piece of food in it. Horror makes you feel weird. It makes you question reality. It makes you uncomfortable, scared, and shivery. Some people like living dangerously.
Literary – The Undressed Vegetables – Plain, simple, straightforward with a huge ethical debate about locally and seasonably sourced. You know it’s good for you but sometimes it isn’t fun to eat. You might love your veggies raw, but you might prefer your moral conundrums baked into a delicious political fantasy.
Fantasy – The Savory Baked Goods – Hearty fare compiled of pieces of all the other genres this genre can change from Norse folklore to Chinese all by switching the spices. People come to fantasy not just to escape, but to escape while learning something about themselves and the world around them.
Science Fiction – Futuristic and Fusion Food – While Fantasy takes pieces of other genres to create something distinct Sci-Fi likes to present these disparate ideas besides each other like the very best fusion cuisine. Sometimes it’s like getting french fries with your spicy tuna roll, sometimes it’s like discovering French bistro cooking with a hint of lemon grass and lime. It’s sublime, new, and always an adventure.
Thriller – The Meats and Beans Food – These are your heavy proteins. Good alone, and a solid choice for part of your meal, but the chase scenes and intrigue usually get blended into something new.
Western – Regional Food – It isn’t quite fusion or fantasy, but a culturally distinct food that everyone instantly recognizes as being from That Place. Westerns rift a lot off fantasy and romance by creating an imaginary history. It’s Tolkien minus the pointy ears, and you either love it or hate it.
Mystery/Crime – The Casseroles – This genre includes all the whodunits, the police procedurals, the cookie cozies with the crime-fighting bakers, and everything else. This genre is a beloved casserole. Is it a dessert casserole? A sweet, cozy mystery in a small town? Is it a seafood casserole with unnamed bits and spies? You don’t know until you bite in because this is where everything gets mashed together. Eat up and enjoy!
Speculative Fiction – The Lollipop With The Question Mark – Specific is the home of everything that doesn’t quite belong anywhere else but also doesn’t belong to Literary. It’s the mystery meat and the grab bag of snacks. Sometimes it’s delicious and just what you wanted and sometimes you wander away wondering what you just put in your mouth. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Magical Realism – Unicorn Frappes and Foam – This is the magical table of food done with glitter. There will be foam! There will be smoke in a seashell next to your pasta. There will be a soundtrack. You will either love this completely or you will hate it intensely.
Romance – Dessert! – You want it sweet? Spicy? Chilled? Flaming hot? Romance has it all in exactly the flavor you were looking for. With a guaranteed sweet ending – a Happily Ever After or Happy For Now ending is a genre requirement – you know you can settle down with a tasty romance any time you need a treat.