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This is a guest post from Kim Wright, author of Love in Mid Air. Personally, my own writing life really took off once I realized I could write genre fiction and gave up on writing the prize-winning novel!
Why are they being forced to? Or…
Why won’t their agents and editors let them?
The contradictions may spring from confusion about what genre is. Heaven knows, the word is bandied about a lot, but it means different things to different people and furthermore, like everything in publishing, the definition in flux. Some people point out that all writing, including the most literate of literature, falls into some sort of genre while others sneer that genre is more often just a code word for what used to be called pulp fiction – hastily written and formulaic stories which are forgotten the second the book is closed. Or, increasingly likely, the moment the e-reader is switched off.
For purposes of this discussion, let’s say that “literary” fiction is those thematically-serious, language-driven books, which are often experimental in form. “Genre” is any category of fiction with agreed-upon rules and goals – mystery, romance, thrillers, horror, historical, and so forth. (Whether or not chick lit qualifies as a genre or indeed exists at all is such a complex, hot-button topic it’s best saved for another column.)
But here’s the most important point: Genre is more commercial than literary. It generally sells better.
So whether people are being pushed to switch genres or being discouraged from doing so totally depends on which category they’re starting from.
To wit: I’m presently researching a nonfiction book on publishing, so I’ve been talking to a lot of writers. Within the last month two established novelists told me stories which, on the surface at least, sound utterly contradictory.
One of them started out as stratospherically literary; her first two books were introspective, well-reviewed, and rarely-purchased. By the time the third came out, she was under pressure from her publisher to switch to something that was more commercial – to the degree they summoned her to New York and sat down at a table to “help” her hammer out the plot. The resultant novel, not surprisingly, crashed and burned.
The other started out writing a very generic kind of “average woman finds herself in trouble” book, a style she describes as “Jodi Picoult lite.” When she decided to go a little deeper in book four and have the character in a trouble of her own making, her publisher balked. “They explained to me how much effort they’d gone to establishing me as a brand,” she said. “And said my readers would feel I had abandoned them.” Her publishers uses the word “brand” much like it was used to identify cattle in the Old West; i.e., once you’re branded, it’s clear who owns you and in which pasture you belong.
It’s not news that the market is troubled and that literary, always a tough sell, has become even tougher. Genre/commercial is where the limited action is. No one knows if the pendulum will eventually swing back, and obviously some literary books do sell, but the overall trend is pretty clear. At least for now, no one is looking for a quiet, little, experimentally-structured closely-observed literary novel.
So when a literary writer decides to go genre, her business partners cheer. When a genre writer expresses the desire to go literary….not so much.
For precisely these reasons, some writers fear that genre can become a career cul-de-sac. Or, worse, a bear trap – easy to get into, hard to get out of. But, speaking as someone who switched from a literary debut to a mystery followup, I think there are strong arguments to be made for trying something more commercial.
Switching genres can work well if these four sentences are true.
- The switch was your idea or, if it originated someone else, you quickly saw the merit of the suggestion. Nothing works if you feel that it was rammed down your throat.
- You like the book you’re writing. I love mysteries and have read a bundle of them, so when I got the idea for a mystery based around Jack the Ripper, I couldn’t wait to begin. But it’s a big mistake to try and write something you wouldn’t read, because if you have contempt for the genre or the book….believe me, it will show. You may as well stamp the words “I’ve sold out” on the cover.
- You see the decision as both/and not either/or. In the Darwinesque world of contemporary publishing, only the most adaptable will survive and I predict you’ll see more and more cross-genre writing – and more writers moving successfully between literary and commercial projects.
- You’re learning something. In my case, I’m learning how to plot. We literary writers can babble all we want about our process being organic, but in many cases our anti-plot bias springs from the fact we don’t know how to do it. Switching genres can make you a more balanced writer, the way an off-season sport can help an athlete develop different muscles and skill sets.
Most of us didn’t go into this line of work seeking security or because we’re the kind of people who like doing the same thing over and over again. If these four factors are in play, switching genres can pump a whole new type of enthusiasm into your career. And – here’s the real surprise – it can be tremendous fun.
Image: Flickr CC Martin Cathrae
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1 2 Next »Many interesting minefields tiptoed through here, Kim, and as a writer who does both genre fiction (as a ghostwriter) and more literary work on my own, I feel I'm in both camps! Certainly genre is easier to sell.
But for all those of you who are thinking literary means plotless, structureless and hard work to read, I feel I have to wave the flag and say it's not.
Of course we all have our own definitions, and you set yours out at the start, and defining literary is not the point of this article... but not all literary novels are 'quiet, little, experimentally-structured closely-observed...' The way I define literary is that the book is far more about the internal journey than the external events. Sure, some literary authors seem offended by the very idea of plot, and I find that intensely annoying. But other authors write thumping yarns that are also monumental internal journeys in precisely controlled language that are far more than the external events. That's literary too.
But great points about writing what you enjoy, and flexing your writerly muscles in different ways.
I belong to a writers’ group on Facebook – I’ve only recently joined in fact – and they just put up a list of people who were willing to do reviews and what their preferences were – YA, horror, romance, sci-fi, etc, etc – and it was quite a long list but I noticed something: no fiction, not simply no literary fiction but no general fiction either. I posed the question and once nice lady said she would pretty much read anything but I started to wonder: who is out there writing plain ol’ fiction? I’m not talking about those who are out there to stretch language to breaking point. I’m just wondering who wants to tell a nice straightforward story like Steinbeck’s The Pearl or Of Mice and Men? The book I’m reading just now is about a billiards player in a small town in Italy told in a straightforward style that owes something to Hemingway or Faulkner; it’s not literary unless ‘literary’ has been redefined to mean ‘well written’.
Didn't mean to imply that all literary writing is quiet, plotless, or closely observed...although I did once eavesdrop in horror at a writing conference where an earnest writer described her WIP in almost exactly those terms to an agent. Just saying a lot of writers are still working on those kinds of books and may not be aware of how strongly the market has shifted away from them. Literary writing with a good muscular story will always find a way to succeed.
You raise some good points, Kim.
My first book evolved from a conspiracy thriller to a historical fiction/thriller in the writing process. The local book chain has shelved it in their 'historical crime' section, though their are two major story-lines set 500 years apart (I guess it was a tough call).
I am starting on my second novel and decided not to write a sequel with the same characters, but rather to write a completely different novel. It is still a thriller but with no historical aspect and much deeper drama and characterisation. I have been talking (online) with me readers about this move and they seem to be OK with it. Though, I have had to promise to return with their new friends from my first book in book three.
Like you, I think we should be able to be diverse as authors. We are in good company. Many a very successful author before us (King etc) have published in widely varying genres.
As a side note, you say "Literary writing with a good muscular story will always find a way to succeed."
My thought is that a good muscular story, any story really, has a plot. Character moves from position A to B, from idea/value A to B. Although possibly very subtle, wouldn't this be considered a plot?
My favorite line from this article is "You may as well stamp the words 'I've sold out' on the cover." I've actually had that thought about some books/authors before!
Loved your thoughts here. It's a tough market no matter what you do. I've decided to write the stories that won't leave me alone-- and write them as well as I can. Hopefully that means there will be literary elements included-- sentences a reader wants to go back and read again, eloquent word choice, and that elusive perfect metaphor. But in the end, the main thing I want to do is keep the reader turning pages.
Thanks, Greg and Marybeth. Greg, I'm impressed your local bookstore even has a historical crime section. That's pretty specific! One of the things that prompted me to write this post was the idea that writers are getting stuck in one type of writing - i.e., if you start writing a certain genre your publisher and public won't let you leave it. For creative people, this seems like a kind of death. Happy to hear that most writers don't feel shackled in this way and feel free to move back and forth between categories.
What an embarrassing typo in my earlier comment (their = there).
Even more impressive than them having a historical crime section, is that we are talking about an English bookshop in Zürich, Switzerland. Their entire basement (lower ground) floor is dedicated to crime and sci-fi, with the historical crime section taking up a good chunk of that. The shop really does blow me away and so I am proud to have my book there.
Oh, you are there too, Kim. I think we share shelf-space.
http://www.books.ch/detail/ISBN-9780446540438/Wright-Kim/Love-in-Mid-Air
How cool! Thanks for letting me know!
Great guest, Joanna and a wonderful post, Kim. I'm always gratified when authors agree that we are all playing in the same pool, so to speak. Though I love a few literary writers, I grew up and in many ways was sheltered by genre writers.