In the movie (made from a memoir) Postcards from the edge, the main character says what has become one of my all time favorite lines “I am NOT a box, I don’t have sides!” I love that quote.
For those of us who don’t write genre fiction, we flounder in a sea alone… it seems… trying to put labels and affix sticky tape on our writing to make it fit into a tidy box so we can sell it. I find this alarming and unproductive. Don’t get me wrong, I get the idea. I know that it is sometimes our job, as writers (especially those of us at the “hunting for agent representation stage”) to make our books an easier sell. To perfect that “elevator pitch.” And it is true that if you can’t sum up your work in a few sentences, you probably don’t have a good handle on your creation or narrative. But genre? Puhlease.
If I had to put a genre on my novel it would be:
adult/upmarket/ literary/Gothic/women’s/historical/family saga/fiction. That list, in a query, would get me deleted immediately. But it is true. My book spans genre. As do many other novels.
One agent (who has my full manuscript right now) wrote on her blog about the YA audience and how old the protag needed to be in order to fulfill the genre criteria. I posted a comment asking “What happens if your protag grows up?” She commented back, “It is best to keep your character one age.”
Hmmmmm. What does this do to literature? What happened to coming of age stories? Jane Eyre goes from child to adult, Heathcliff and Catherine, Dickens characters, etcetera. And then there are wonderful novels like “The Notebook” that weave character’s ages in and out (Ahem, can we say BACKSTORY that worked?) and lest we not forget Stephen King and Peter Straub in their epic work The Talisman. In that book the protag is thirteen. YA? Adult? Horror? Fantasy? Epic fantasy?
I suppose we could all write our first novels in formulaic genre code and sell them. But I don’t know how I feel about that. Are we supposed to write for the market and the agents, or for ourselves and the readers that may be cross genre as well? What do you think?
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8 Comments so far
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I think of genre only as a means to an end. It’s a way to package your book for sale to a book seller, who needs to know where to place the book on the bookshelves.
As to the YA issue, I agree with the agent that to keep in the YA genre, the book should be immediate about a teen protag. But Women’s Fic/Literary etc can definitely span time. And if the book has YA appeal, they’ll find it in the fiction section.
I guess what I’m saying is that while your book can be 900 genres, you need to pick one for selling it. And using your example: Stephen King. His books are many things, but they are sold as Horror. And no matter what they really could be defined as, when you want a King novel, you trot over to the Horror section of the bookstore.
[Reply]
By HWPetty on 06.18.09 9:30 am | Permalink
I never write with a genre in mind. I simply write the story and figure out what genre it fits into best when I’m done. I don’t want to limit myself by a genre either.
[Reply]
By Sarah on 06.18.09 12:01 pm | Permalink
I think that having a genre helps a lot BUT I also think that sometimes you need to go with your gut. It can be a matter of vision and finding the right person to share your vision. I hope your work finds a home that both you and your publisher/agent/editor can feel at peace with.
[Reply]
By L.T. Elliot on 06.18.09 5:39 pm | Permalink
I do tend to have a genre in mind when I start, just as far as the age of characters and basic content.
But once I get going, all different ideas and such end up creating the story. It usually ends up being nothing like what I’d originally imagined.
As far as marketing, I believe an author has to choose one genre so that the agent can sell it easier, but that doesn’t mean people who read other genres won’t pick it up or hear about it….
I’m just writing and not worrying about it until/unless I have to. Hope it works!!
[Reply]
By Eden on 06.18.09 7:29 pm | Permalink
This is a great debate!
HW: Thanks for the comment. You are right.
Interesting note: go to your local Barnes and noble and look for the horror section. It doesn’t exist anymore. There are many articles on the web about the horror fiction issue, how it spans genre and how it is sucked into literature as well as sci fi and fantasy… I can email you the articles. They are on agent query as well as horror sites. But you are indeed correct, Stephen king is a Horror novelist, even though Jack is only 13 in the talisman. I suppose I am too(a horror novelist)… and perhaps it is a dying genre and my work will wither…. ah me
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By Suzanne on 06.19.09 7:47 am | Permalink
This is great! Now I want to see your ways for us readers to become more involved! Expect an email later today.
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By wow gold on 07.04.09 1:38 am | Permalink
Good post,This was exactly what I needed to read today! I am sure this has relevance to many of us out there.
[Reply]
By wow gold on 07.08.09 2:52 am | Permalink
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