How are you contributing to your genre?

As an aspiring writer your goal should never be just to get your work out there, but how to get interesting media coverage, stand out in a bookstore, turn heads and have ears perk up. Each genre has tropes that are expected, but to break into mainstream publishing you also need to have your own spin.

Zone One‘s Colson Whitehead said: “If you’re writing a detective novel or horror or sci-fi, you want to expand or reinvigorate the genre in your own little way.” And I think this rings true for all genres. What are you trying to do that’s different? How are you contributing to your genre? How are you helping to move your genre in a new direction?

Great examples of this are Zone One, The Tipping Point, The Sisters Brothers, Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, Wolf Hall, The Prague Cemetery, and The Stepford Wives.

Why Fight Genre Labels? It’s a didactic framework that helps your work find readers

No one likes labels, and genre is the all-encompassing manifestation of them. Not only querying writers, but established writers fight against labelling their work in certain genres. Well, in publishing we need them.

Genres can range from something as broad as commercial fiction to as specific as magical realism. They aren’t trying to pigeon-hole you, especially if you don’t let them. Genre is a didactic framework that helps your work find readers. Genre helps you:

• Find an agent that reps your type of writing.
• Do research for competing titles and what’s selling in your market.
• Write metadata that will improve book discovery.
• Get your work published with an editor and imprint that sees your vision.
• Create an author brand within a strong and specific market.
• Reach your readers when they are looking for books on store shelves or online.

Literary or commercial fiction is a genre in itself, but using the framework of genre to your advantage by being specific (and accurate to your querying material) will help, not hinder your writing. Getting to know your genre and what works is part of having a market awareness as a writer.

Top 10 Themes, Characters and Genres I’m Looking For In Submissions Right Now

1. The Book Club Book – The Help, Time Travelers Wife, etc. Accessible and well written fiction
2. Pop Science – Time Magazine-esque non fiction (psychology, health, technology etc.)
3. Upmarket Non Fiction – women’s, memoir
4. Women’s Fiction – Elin Hilderbrand, Cathleen Schine, Jodi Picoult
5. Adult Fiction – characters over 30 years of age