Genre

[alg]

Genre as a marketing category!
Publishers and editors do not think about genre the same way authors do. Here's an explanation.



... Now I write an ode to spinach:

spinach,
you
are green
and
i wish i had more
of you than
what I ate
(yum yum yum)
at five in the morning,
dawn
creeping
up
you are
(my sunshine and)
the perfect delivery method
for salt and
garlic.

Comments

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

Like many others, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to write such an informative post. I'm still trying to figure out how to classify my own book; it's fantasy with a strong M/M romantic element, but the protagonist's internal/psychological struggles almost overshadow the romance. But I'm very much looking forward to your words of wisdom on the LBGTQ genre, since I'm looking for somewhere to market this.

[kaigou.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you & I are writing for the same audience and/or on the same wavelength: I've been writing thriller-fantasies, set in the city, with a gay protagonist. I'm told the 'ghey card' (as it's been monikered by friends after one particularly obtuse critique) is not as much of an issue in fantasy, but it's still a question of how to market it, what agents to query, etc. I agree it'd be awesome to have more insight into the industry's take on LBGTQ genre/crossgenre--especially when it's not strictly fantasy (predominantly action) but has a strong dose of literary (where character development is the crux of the story).