A Definitive Guide to Book Genres - From a Publishing Perspective

[Tito]

Joshua wrote: "Hey,

I realized that a lot of people, a lot of aspiring writers, do not know how to properly describe their books, and this often comes with them getting their genre wrong. This explains why aspir..."

That is really helpful, Joshua!

An excellent summary, and even where I might move your emphasis slightly it is still very much from the baseline you set.

One point that is sometimes raised is the fine difference between 'science fiction' and 'speculative fiction'. Margaret Atwood is insistent that 'Handmaid's Tale' is NOT science-fiction, even though set in the near future, but speculative fiction. Your criteria would support her argument, based on the absence of science.

Science fiction is not always about science. Sometimes there is only idiot-science involved, providing an excuse for what is essentially magic dressed up as 'advanced technology'. Star Trek is an example of this. It might be better to describe sci-fi as divided between 'hard' sci-fi (which remains within reaching distance of the laws of physics) and 'space opera' (which is futuristic action-thriller).

Some sci-fi is actually what your criteria would recognise as 'literary fiction' or even (if I may invent another genre) 'philosophy fiction', but based in an advanced technology. Chiang's 'Story of your Life' is a good example of this, and much of Stapledon if anyone still reads him.

I suppose these counter-examples I list might be considered 'Upmarket fiction' in your classification, and rightly so.

I'm interested in this because I am currently in the process of publishing a novel about a Pope in the near future who takes the Catholic Church in a radically different direction. I don't know how to typify it, except by comparing it to 'Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris West. I think 'literary fiction' is probably the closest.

I'm also working on a 'hard' sci-fi epic, in which the science and technology are no more than the background. The plot itself is essentially a social examination of four different matriarchal societies and the development of an ethical paradigm arising from the history of these societies. Hence my term 'philosophy fiction'.

Needless to say, these tend not to fit into any of the boxes Literary Agents like to tick!

Thank you for starting this conversation!

[Tito]

Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Hey,

I realized that a lot of people, a lot of aspiring writers, do not know how to properly describe their books, and this often comes with them getting their genre wr..."

Thanks for the offer, Joshua.

Pope Barnabas is now fully-edited and cover art is being prepared. Too late now for changing the text!

Also, I've seen your posts about your novel set in Arabia. I don't know enough of the context (and also not that interested in what I expect to be a romance) to be of any use to you.

But if you are familiar with modern Islam as currently practised around the Middle East, I would appreciate your comments on another book I'm working on. It's called 'Bones', and the plot centres on the responses of various religious and political figures to a startling archaeological discovery. 95k words.

My private email is bspringett@iprimus.com.au

[Tito]

Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Hey,

I realized that a lot of people, a lot of aspiring writers, do not know how to properly describe their books, and this often comes with..."

Hi Joshua,

I post my synopsis below. Some spoiler content.

Genre Mystery; Political/Religious Drama
Target Audience Thoughtful Adults
Word Count 94,000
Author Bob Springett
Contact bspringett@iprimus.com.au

SYNOPSIS

A document is discovered in an archaeological dig in Galilee. This Aramaic document from the mid-first century appears to be a forerunner of the widely-suspected 'Q' document that is thought to have served as a source for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Some parts of this are ambiguous and religious arguments arise. One archaeologist, working on a hunch, conducts more digs and finds a skeleton which is apparently the earliest recorded Christian burial. The discovery of a second skeleton raises the possibility that this is Jesus, but while the data is vague the arguments are fiery.

Meanwhile the religious arguments have become excuses for geo-political moves, in particular the still-festering Palestinian Question. President Morse of America is facing re-election, and wants to be the President who brought Peace. Taking advantage of conservative Christian reactions to this 'blasphemy of desecration', he presents Israel and the Palestinians with an ultimatum. Israel attempts to divert the rage, but fails. Morse acts upon his ultimatum, enforcing the establishment of a de-militarised Palestinian State and mutual recognition.

But that still leaves the underlying questions. Is this document a fraud, planted by one party or another to precipitate a situation to its own advantage? If so, was the discovery of the skeletons co-incidental or planned? And who was behind it anyway? Or is everything exactly what the evidence hints it to be? No definite answer is provided even at the end. The Reader may make of it as he or she will. The point of the book isn’t about the evidence, which is ambiguous anyway, but how everyone reads into that evidence whatever they want to be there. Hence the Dedication of the book

To all who have the courage to follow the totality of the evidence, even into uncertainty, rather than cherry-picking only those crumbs that support their existing convictions.

Although not a ‘feminist’ book, the two main protagonists are intelligent and competent women in their late forties.

Some understanding of Archaeology and Biblical Textual Criticism would enrich the reader’s understanding, but is not essential. The technical detail is only there for context, the plot is about what non-experts do with the data.

[Tito]

Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Tito wrote: "Joshua wrote: "Hey,

I realized that a lot of people, a lot of aspiring writers, do not know how to properly describe their book..."

Hi Joshua,

I've read through it maybe 29 times over the last two years, the last half-dozen times rather finely. No doubt there are still some flaws, but I would consider it agent-ready to be handed to the publisher's staff, in a technical sense. My uncertainty is in the portrayal of the portrayal of the Muslims in the plot, and how they might be made as realistic as possible.

I use a version of Word that came out about three years ago. I'm not savvy enough to know how to find out precisely which model it is.

I think I might also need to dispel a possible mis-understanding. I have already said that I would not be much use in reading your book. That's my polite way of saying that I don't see any point in me beta-reading your novel. I don't have the necessary background knowledge and I don't read romances. If that means that you won't go over mine, that's fine and I apologise for not making that clearer.

All the best,

Bob

[J.R.]

Tito wrote: "Thrillers are basically like ACTION MOVIES in Hollywood in that your plot must be fast-paced from chapter one, and must be PLOT-DRIVEN versus CHARACTER-DRIVEN. Nobody cares about your characters in a thriller novel, similar to an action movie."

I disagree. If I was writing thrillers, I would focus on creating a memorable and interesting character my audience will want to follow along with for an entire series of books, along the lines of what Tom Clancy did with Jack Ryan. An outstanding recent example is the character of Sydney Rose Parnell that Barbara Nickless created. (And her books definitely have some introspection.)

[J.R.]

No. I am disagreeing with your statement:

"Nobody cares about your characters in a thriller novel, similar to an action movie. Nobody cares about your introspection either."

This statement makes it sound like if you're writing thrillers, you can skimp on character creation because your book will succeed regardless of how thin and interchangeable your characters are, so long as you include enough car chases and shoot outs. I read thrillers regularly. The best thrillers I have read are fast-paced, action-based stories where I had to keep turning the pages because I was invested in the story. Why was I invested? It wasn't because I couldn't wait to read another car chase or shoot out. (They do get old after awhile, especially in print.) It was because I cared about what happened to the characters. The events in a thriller take on meaning and become exciting because of the characters.

Introspective scenes / backstory can also often make a thriller much, much more thrilling, and can aid in the story's pacing. Barbara Nickless does this masterfully in her series by using Sydney's PTSD and background as a veteran to build suspense and tension throughout her stories, but for a more popular example of using a character's backstory, consider the snake scene in Indiana Jones: It's far more exciting once you know that snakes are Indy's kryptonite.

[Nat]

J.R. wrote: "Tito wrote: "Thrillers are basically like ACTION MOVIES in Hollywood in that your plot must be fast-paced from chapter one, and must be PLOT-DRIVEN versus CHARACTER-DRIVEN. Nobody cares about your ..."

I think one of the plot/character issues is: in a plot driven book, the character doesn't really have an arc. We can care about him and like him and want him to win, but he doesn't necessarily change or grow. Like Jack Reacher. Or even the Martian... that character didn't have an arc, but the book was awesome.

But I find most genre's are turning to 'character-driven' where you have to have a character arc in there too.

imho

[J.R.]

Oh, I agree. You don't necessarily *have* to have a character arc in the more plot-driven genres. But having interesting characters who the reader cares about still absolutely matters.

(And in thrillers, it's sometimes the villains who are the standout characters.)

And I agree with you that the current trend seems to be turning toward books becoming more "character-driven." There is so much competition out there for authors seeking agents that you really need to "have it all" if you want to have any hope of getting traditionally published.

[J.M.]

I appreciated this.. I personally struggle with where to place my books because they don't fit into any of these categories and medical fiction isn't one...

Joshua wrote: "Hey,

I realized that a lot of people, a lot of aspiring writers, do not know how to properly describe their books, and this often comes with them getting their genre wrong. This explains why aspir..."

[J.R.]

JM wrote: "I appreciated this.. I personally struggle with where to place my books because they don't fit into any of these categories and medical fiction isn't one...

It's hard to make a complete list of genres because there are so many. For example, women's fiction, YA, westerns, and crime/detective are a few of the bigger genres not listed here. And then, of course, within the genres, there are sub-genres. For example, there is "general" YA (think John Green) and there are sub-genres like YA fantasy.

Medical fiction can be considered a genre onto itself, but medical fiction also can be found as a sub-genre of the bigger genres (medical thrillers or medical romances) or a book about doctors/nurses/patients/set in a hospital might be considered simply part of another genre altogether (e.g., I'd say Cutting for Stone is literary fiction, while My Sister's Keeper is probably women's fiction).