Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Genre Definitions from Editor of Novel and Short Story Writer's Market

So what kind of novel are you writing? A paranormal with romantic elements? A steampunk? A suspenseful murder mystery? Women's fiction? What defines any of these?

With so many genres combining elements, it's getting a little crazy out there folks. Trying to identify your book in a cover letter is like Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded. Most agents say we always get it wrong anyway.

So here are some definitions I've found in various locations. Opinions vary, but hopefully these can give you a general idea.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tricia, I can't believe there's a week left before I have to start writing that novel! I don't even know what I want to write, but I'm going to do it anyway.

zeldadg said...

Embrace the freedom to write a shitty first draft! I'm glad you're still doing it. I'm wavering. I just got a huge new freelance project that's due in three weeks, so I'm going to lose serious time to it. Not to mention teaching my classes.

I plan to give it a try, but I don't know if I'll get to 50,000 words. But hey, anything is better than nothing, right?