What Genre is Your Book?

Hey, everybody! How you categorize and promote your book is crucial to making it successful, so today we’re going to talk about selecting that all-important genre for your book! Let’s jump right in!

Look At Similar Titles 

What are some titles with a similar story/feel to your book? While I’m sure your story is fantastic and unique, finding books with similar plots, themes, etc. can help you choose the genre for your book.

Next, figure out what genres those books have been placed under. For example, if your book has a similar plot/feel to Lord of the Rings, and Lord of the Rings is a fantasy book, your book is likely fantasy, too!

Themes & Topics

Your themes and topics are an important factor to help narrow down what genre your book falls under. Certain themes and topics are prominent in certain genres.

For example, if your book Fighty, Stabby has a ton of war, death, oppression, etc. in the main plot, you know it’s likely not going to be a romance or a comedy.

Another example: Outliers is set in the future, and features special abilities, government conspiracy, and a -known-to-be desolate Earth. So, I categorized it as sci-fi/dystopian, because those are the genres that include those topics most often.

 

Ending & Intensity

The mood of your book matters. A LOT.

The last thing you want is somebody looking for an adventure novel, and grabbing your book that ends in defeat and death. That will not be the fun book they are looking for, and they will not be happy.

Consider how your book ends. Does it end with a happy ending, the couple gets married? Maybe it’s a romance or contemporary. Does it end with a shocking reveal and maybe includes some murder? You might be looking at a mystery. Think about your ending, and compare it to other books and their genres. People get very upset if the ending is not what they signed up for.

You should also take intensity into account. While an adventure or contemporary novel may include a bit of violence, if Fighty, Stabby is really gritty and graphic, it won’t be what those readers are looking for, and will probably upset them. A lot of people don’t like super-intense books, or are emotionally triggered by certain graphic scenes/themes so the genre is important to help them pick a book they feel good reading.  Just like readers looking for something more intense won’t be happy to read your light and fluffy book Forehead Kisses and Happy Things if you market it as a tragedy.

Betas

Beta readers are crucial for your book. They can tell you how to improve it and what they liked/disliked. You can also ask them what your book is similar to in terms of books/movies/shows/genres/etc. and take that into account when deciding on your genre. I asked my Betas when I was figuring out my genre, and they said Outliers was like “the Gifted meets the 100.”

In short, there’s a lot to consider when choosing the genre of your book, but it’s well worth the time!

What genre is your favourite to read? Your favourite to write? 

Thanks for reading! I post new content on Saturdays, so be sure to follow and stay up-to-date! 🙂 Please let me know what you think in the comments, and let me know what you want me to blog about next!

Sorry for being absent the past two weeks–tendinitis in the wrists isn’t great for writing! I hope to be blogging every week again now that I’ve had a little break!

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With all of this in mind, go out and write your masterpiece!