Wayne Franklin's Blog - Posts Tagged "christian"

There are certain questions in life that simply must be answered. "What motivates you?" "What do you believe is the purpose of your life?" "Who ya for?" (That one is particular to the state of Alabama and can only correctly be answered with either "War Eagle" or "Roll Tide.") And for authors, it's "What's your category?"

In a recent review, a reader suggested Midlife Mouse was miscategorized and should be consider YA (young adult). For those unfamiliar with the vagaries of publishing categories, young adult is defined as

... fiction written, published, or marketed to adolescents and young adults. The vast majority of YA stories portray an adolescent, rather than an adult or child, as the protagonist. Themes in YA stories often focus on the challenges of youth, sometimes referred to as problem novels or coming-of-age novels.

Admittedly, I wrote Midlife Mouse with the hope that it would be something families could read together. To that end, I tried to keep the language a "soft PG" and, on the advice of some of my Beta readers, made the verbiage a bit more accessible. Those qualities alone might make it read like a YA novel. So, the point is legitimate in that regard.

However, I don't believe it is YA. Call me crazy, but I don't think the average 13-year-old will identify with the struggles of a 39-year-old man going through a premature midlife crisis after failing at his business. Then again, kids do grow up fast these days...

That begs the question: if not a YA novel, what type of novel is it? This is the million-dollar question for every author. (Warning: we're shifting gears from art to commerce here.) Books, like any other products are most effectively sold when they can be marketed to the specific tastes of customers. If your goal is to go a traditional route by getting an agent and a publishing deal, this is doubly important. In fact, the process of finding an agent and/or publisher begins with finding those who best match the category of your book(s). If you want your book to sell, you should write to a specific category.

I didn't. I probably never will. I'm stubborn that way.

When I think of Midlife Mouse, I consider it first and foremost a satire. Fortunately, Amazon has a category for satirical fiction, and that's where the book has performed best. Most stores and book-related sites (like Goodreads) do not. For some reason, humor is a legitimate non-fiction genre, but not so in fiction.

One of my Beta readers pointed out to me early on that he felt the book was primarily a fantasy. There are no dragons, wizards, elves or orcs. So the classic definition of fantasy is out. There are, however, prophecies, spirits and other elements of magical realism that would seem to place the book in the contemporary fantasy category. But it's not a perfect fit.

One aspect of the book that doesn't sit well with certain readers is its sympathetic portrayal of protagonist Bill Durmer's Christian faith. Other readers, who happen to be adherents of Christianity, have reacted favorably to this same aspect.

Does the non-mocking portrayal of Christian characters make it a "Christian book," then? I am not really a fan of that particular label, but marketers are. Just as an experiment, I have changed my secondary category on the Kindle store to "Christian fiction." However, just as many non-Christians have enjoyed the book as Christians, and I don't want to limit its audience.

Since I wrote it with the intention of making it a family novel, perhaps that's a fitting category. That is, it would be, but the category doesn't exist. Like humor, it exists only in nonfiction. Once again, I've managed to write a book ideally suited to a nonexistent category.

If you look at the Amazon recommendations associated with Midlife Mouse, you will see that most of the people who have purchased the book have also purchased books about Disney history. There is a heaping dose of real Disney company history mixed into the book's story, but it's not a history book. It's not a Disney vacation planning guide or a behind-the-scenes look at "the Magic," either. There is not even a non-fiction category for Disney-related books, much less fiction. but there probably should be. It's a big market. (That makes three non-existent categories, for those keeping score at home.)

Then there is the Southern angle. The story is set entirely in the Southeast, with half of it taking place in the fictional Alabama town of Decent Chance. More than just the settings, the book has a decidedly Southern feel. As a native Alabamian writing Southern characters in their Southern towns, it should. As a newbie author, I was surprised to find that there is no category for Southern fiction. To me, it's as distinct a genre as horror or mystery. (Four.)

Where does that leave me? It leaves me wishing for a category for satirical, semi-Christian, family friendly, light contemporary fantastical, Disney-fied Southern fiction. I'm fairly sure if that category existed, I would totally dominate it.