Knowing your book’s genre is an essential step to appealing to readers and getting published. Whether you are planning to self-publish or go a more traditional route, you need to pick the right genre. Why? Because properly categorising your book will not only help agents and publishers know how to market and sell it, but it will get your work in the hands of the right readers, too.
But picking the right genre isn’t alway straightforward. Do you need to know your genre before you start writing? What happens when your work doesn’t easily fit into a particular genre? And why is defining your book so important? Let’s dive in and find out!
What’s a genre and why is it important?
Walk into any bookstore and you’ll probably see books categorised by popular genres such as romance, sci-fi, or horror. As such, even before someone can judge your book by its cover, they are already making assumptions about it based on the genre under which it has been categorised. The genre makes certain promises to the reader about the type of thing they can expect to read when they pick your book up.
Thus, picking the right genre for your book is derived from asking yourself: What type of book am I writing?
Understanding your genre will make it easier to know how to plot and pace your book, tropes to consider avoiding (or including), and what readers or agents expect within that particular genre. Until you know where your book fits in the market, you won’t be able to publish or pitch to agents, and not all agents represent all genres. Knowing who your book will appeal to the most is a big part of querying success, so you need to pick the right genre first.
Whether you pick a genre before you start or once you’ve finished, it’s up to you. However, at some point, you will need to address the issue of properly categorising your book.
Tips for picking the right genre
What genre do you want to be known for?
It might feel weird (or a bit presumptuous) to picture your author brand 10 years from now. But it’s never too early to consider what type of author you want to be and what type of books you want to write.
Having a genre that defines you is a big part of marketing yourself as an author. Publishers generally don’t want to take huge risks—even with authors who may be semi well-known. These days, books are often sold on the basis of author recognition and expectations for that author’s work. For example, when most people see the name J.K. Rowling on a book, they automatically associate it with the Harry Potter brand. Hence, when Rowling set out to write crime fiction, she did so under the pseudonym Robert Gilbraith.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you are only allowed to write in one genre. (Or that if you write in another genre, you have to use a pen name.) Stephen King may be considered the master of horror, but he’s also dabbled in other genres under his same name. King has written a supernatural crime drama (The Green Mile), fantasy (The Dark Tower series), and thrillers (Billy Summers). Even so, he’s primarily known as a horror writer and that makes up a huge part of his overall brand.
Each genre also has its own elements and aspects that make it unique. Each features different expectations for tropes, worldbuilding, and plot. Just think about how your expectations change when you pick up a romance novel vs a sci-fi. This applies to your readers when they pick up books, as well!
What’s your primary genre?
Some books are easier to categorise than others. Does your story feature futuristic technology and alien planets? It’s probably a sci-fi. If the story centres around two people falling in love, it’s a romance. What about a detective solving a case? Most likely it’s a crime and/or mystery.
But it’s not always that easy to pick the right genre. It’s possible you may be using various genre elements in your story. Hence, you’re not sure the right genre to pick as the one that truly identifies your overall work. Let’s say you’ve written a dystopian thriller with a key romance story. What’s your main genre? Dystopian? Sci-fi? Thriller? Romance?
Pick your main genre
Look at the main aspect that drives your story forward. If the setting is the most important part of the story (i.e. a different setting would completely change the thriller or romance elements) then the main genre you pick should probably be dystopian. Figure out which genre-defining tropes are featured most heavily in your story and go from there. Is your aim to focus on the scientific aspects of surviving on another planet, but with a heavy sprinkling of comedy (The Martian)? Your main genre is sci-fi while comedy would be your sub-genre (or secondary genre).
If you’re still not sure, try to look at it from the point of view of your future readers. Most readers who love dystopian will generally enjoy having elements from other genres incorporated into the setting. After all, in a dystopian society, people can still fall in love. On the other hand, it might throw a lot of romance readers off if they go in expecting a steamy liaison and instead find themselves immersed in a dystopian world trying to solve a murder. They probably won’t appreciate it if the romance is only a minor part of the overarching story.
Let’s take a look at The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The core of this novel revolves around a father’s relationship with his young son (drama or literary fiction). However, The Road falls under post-apocalyptic or dystopian fiction. Why? Because the father-son relationship is purely driven by the bleak dystopia they face. Without the setting, their specific dynamic would not exist. Categorising the main genre as post-apocalyptic instead of literary fiction helps readers to better understand what to expect when they pick it up.
Can I only pick one genre?
The good news is, you don’t need to pick just one genre. Subgenres exist for this very reason! You do, however, need to settle on a primary/main genre.
Some of the most popular main genres are:
- Fantasy
- Sci-Fi
- Romance
- Crime
- Horror
- Literary
- Dystopian
Before deciding which is your main genre, make a list of all the genres your book could reasonably be categorised under. Then, think about the stereotypes associated with each of these genres; the common tropes that appear with each one; what readers will expect from each one. Which one does your book mostly match up against? Or which genre best associates with the critical theme of your book?
Not every book has a subgenre or even needs one, but it’s worth considering if one stands out more than any other. For example, if your book is centred around a romance but with comedic dialogue and (probably) a happy ending, you’ve written a romantic comedy. These are some examples of popular subgenres:
- Crime subgenres:
- Psychological thriller (Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris)
- Cosy mystery (The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman)
- Hard-boiled mystery (The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler)
- Romance subgenres:
- Romantic comedy (Beach Read by Emily Henry)
- Romantic suspense (Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard)
- Historical romance (The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn)
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But don’t wait to write your book!
While knowing your genre beforehand can be helpful, you don’t need to pick the right genre before you start writing your book. In fact, some writers don’t know what genre they’re writing until they’ve outlined their book, are partway through their first draft, or even until after they’ve finished. If this sounds like you, that’s fine! Don’t let defining your genre stifle your creativity!
On the other hand, if you avoid genres completely, you may end up writing something unique but it could also be harder to market or pitch to agents. It’s a sad fact of the modern writer and book marketing that authors need to think about how they can fit their books into preexisting genres at some point if they want to reach a large number of readers.
A good approach is simply to start writing the story you need to write and occasionally circle back to the question of genre as you go. Periodically ask yourself:
- What type of book am I writing?
- What tropes are emerging in my story?
- What’s defining my story the most?
However, try not to worry too much about categorising your story. Once you reach the self-editing stage, you can always go back and make changes that align more with whichever genre you pick. And hiring a professional editor at some stage can be immensely helpful too. A knowledgeable editor can help you decide your genre and bring out the elements, tropes, and aspects of the story that serve that goal.
Still not sure which book genre works for you?
Despite what popular writing myths may have you believe, writing shouldn’t be a solitary endeavour. Having an industry professional to help you pick the right genre that works for your book (or mould your book to better fit your genre) is invaluable. Our amazing author coaches can seriously boost your writing game and help you to feel more confident in the process—whether you’re brainstorming a new idea, preparing to query, or trying to pick a genre for your book. They’re the perfect guide through the tricky and tenuous world of writing and publishing!
