Is My Book a Romance?
by Selene Grace Silver
Several times in the past year, I’ve heard indie-published authors describing their published romances in a way that clearly defines them as another genre. I also coordinate a romance book contest in which at least one entry every year is not a romance, but something else.
Why does it matter what genre an author chooses for marketing or promoting their books?
The answer is: READERS!
Categorizing one’s books is an unspoken contract with potential readers. If an author or publisher advertises a book as a specific genre—any genre—to readers, those readers will have specific expectations about the story they buy to read.
Basic Overview on Fiction Genres
Avid readers are well aware of the genre conventions that accompany their favorite types of books and they will judge a book’s merits on those conventions.
Horror readers expect to feel thrills and chills. Mystery readers expect to see a crime or enigma solved. Fantasy readers expect to escape on an adventure in a world completely different from their own. Science Fiction readers expect a story driven by the positive and negative aspects of technology. Even literary fiction readers have expectations: usually an elegantly written story exploring the human condition.
Every genre, at least in broad terms, promises to deliver a specific kind of story to readers, including romance, which is definitely more than a love story.
Romance readers expect to see the progression of a courtship between lead characters concluding in a happy-ever-after (HEA).
Why It’s Important to Assign the Right Genre
If an author or publisher mis-categorizes their books as romance, they risk upsetting or angering readers and tanking that book’s potential popularity.
Why do authors mis-categorize their books as romance?
One problematic motivation might be to sell more books. Romance is the largest fiction market, so authors and publishers might label a story as a romance to attract romance readers, even when the story doesn’t meet the expected conventions for a romance.
Another reason might be honest confusion. Genre definitions can be complicated, especially in popular genre fiction, and the definitions can change when large book retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble reclassify books. Book marketing has come a long way since the Greeks divided narratives into comedies and tragedies. Today, there are a 100+ genres and subgenres in literature.
A third reason might be that the author or publisher lacks experience. Books don’t always fit neatly into one genre or another, many straddling two or more possible categories. Is a book a romantic thriller or romantic suspense? Could it be both? Is a mystery simply a thriller, or is it a psychological thriller? Is a novel historical fiction or historical romance?
How to Check If Your Story is a Romance
To avoid disappointing romance readers, though, it’s important to honor romance genre conventions if you’re going to list your book as one. Here is a short questionnaire to determine whether your story is, in fact, a romance.
(Answers should be yes.)
- Do your lead characters get a committed happy-for-now or a happy-ever-after relationship in the final scene?
- Is the primary plot a courtship between your lead characters?
- Does your story have a meet-cute, or a significant, memorable moment when your protagonists first meet (or meet again) in the timeline of your story?
- Do all or most of your scenes focus on the courtship between your lead characters?
- Do your lead characters spend most of the book in each other’s company?
- Do readers increasingly root for the lead characters to fall in love and be together?
- Is an antagonist trying to prevent the relationship between the lead characters?
- Does your story include a declaration scene near the midpoint in which one lead character confesses their love for the other lead character(s)?
- Is there a time near the end of the story in which readers fear the relationship will not last?
- Are the lead characters’ personal arcs tied to overcoming their personal resistance to the relationship?
- Do the lead characters’ stakes tie directly to the relationship working or failing?
- Is the most vulnerable lead character—usually the female lead—the one who gets to choose the outcome in the end?
The Romance Genre vs. Associated Genres
What about other genres with romance subplots? Here’s a brief comparison of definitions of similar genres.
Contemporary Romance vs. Women’s Fiction
Contemporary Romance foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters falling in love and making a commitment to each other in a contemporary setting. Women’s Fiction focuses on a female protagonist exploring a personal journey towards self-knowledge, self-confidence, and even self-actualization, which may include multiple facets of her family, work, friendship, community, marriage and love life. In Women’s Fiction, a romantic relationship is simply one of several subplots.
Historical Romance vs. Historical Fiction
Historical Romance foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters living in a historical setting. Historical Fiction uses a historical setting and its people as characters in a story, and may include subplots like mystery, romance, political intrigue, and adventure.
Paranormal Romance vs. Urban Fantasy
Paranormal Romance foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters—at least one who is a creature from mythology. Urban Fantasy uses mythological settings and creatures to tell a story, usually a mystery or an action-adventure, and may include subplots like romance and intrigue.
Science Fiction Romance vs. Science Fiction Fantasy and Steampunk
SFR foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters in an alternate world and/or outer space. Science Fiction Fantasy and Steampunk tell stories, usually mystery or action-adventure, set in speculative worlds filled with science and technology, and may include subplots like romance and political intrigue.
Romantasy vs. Fantasy
Romantasy foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between a strong female protagonist and a supporting love interest on a quest of trials or challenges, set in a magical world. Fantasy focuses on one or more protagonists with a large cast of supporting and opposing characters, on a quest, usually against evil, set in a magical world, and may include sublots like romance and political intrigue.
Romantic Suspense vs. Thrillers and Mysteries
Romantic Suspense foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters who are attempting to survive a dangerous, life-threatening situation or solve a crime. Thrillers and mysteries focus on solving cases of murder and other crimes and may include subplots like romance and adventure.
Romance vs. Erotica
Romance foregrounds the developing courtship and HEA between characters falling in love and making a commitment to each other. Romance may or may not include intimate scenes between the lead characters as part of that developing courtship. Erotica explores human intimacy, fantasy, and taboos associated with sex, and may include a subplot of romance in settings that are historical, paranormal, speculative, or contemporary.
Romance vs. Literary and General Fiction
Romance foregrounds the developing courtship between characters falling in love and making a commitment to each other, ending in an HEA. Literary and General Fiction explore the complications of human relationships in all its manifestations, including family, friendship, community, marriage, love and work, though they may use a mystery, crime, or adventure plot to explore any number of themes related to the human condition.
In Conclusion
The best way to avoid mis-categorizing your stories is to internalize and recognize the differences between genres by reading deeply and broadly. Read a thriller, a crime mystery, a cozy mystery, and a romantic suspense to see how they differ. Read a historical fiction novel and a historical romance. Read a hard science fiction novel, a space opera, and a science fiction romance. Read a steampunk novel, an urban fantasy novel, a Gothic horror, a Gothic Romance, and a paranormal romance. Read erotica and romance. Learn to recognize the subtle but important differences.
Occasionally, you may encounter books that seem to effectively straddle two genres. If you carefully analyze the GMCs (Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts) in each scene, you should be able to determine which genre primarily drives the story forward, and where, when, and how the final scene must take place for complete reader satisfaction.
Do you struggle to define your book's genre? Do you tend to "straddle" more than one genre? Has that hindered your sales trajectory? Please share your experience with us down in the comments!
* * * * * *
About Selene
Selene Grace Silver resides near the beach in Southern California with her romantic Scottish husband. Trained to read and write literary fiction, she never quite abandoned her early love of the romance genre.
After 20 + years teaching English, writing, and literature at the high school and college levels, she’s retired to write fiction full-time. She’s had to adjust her writing style and craft to suit genre fiction, which includes learning to plot and write complex characters. For Selene, an INFJ, writing is a journey of constant self-improvement. She occasionally teaches online, including the upcoming Orange County Romance Writers’ class Build a Romance Blueprint in Four Weeks.
To read a short prequel to the small-town beach romance series she’s developing, sign up for her newsletter. She’s also on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Top photo purchased from Depositphotos.
Previous post from Selene: Deepen Your Character Development Using Personality Theory
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Romantasy vs Fantasy Romance. I'd love your thoughts!
They are similar, and before the rise of the word romantasy, we would have called them all fantasy romance. Romantasy though focuses on the female protagonist and her journey. That is the primary plot. In fantasy romance, you can have equal focus on the two main protagonists, often male and female, with alternating dual point of view. Romantasy boldly leans into feminism. It's a story of female empowerment with the reward of love vs. a romance set in a fantastical world.
Thank you for this insightful post. It aptly defines the romance genre, and I would love to see the same set of questions for other genres as well.
I would too! My knowledge is mostly about the romance genre. Site managers?
I’ve written the basic story of what I would call Romantic Suspense by your definitions.
If Audrey survives long enough, her great grandfather challenges her to determine if a WWII pheromone project is still alive and if so, to see to its destruction or all Israel will die.
Audrey and Joel don’t marry until the second book of the series.
Do you suppose I can “legally” promote this as romance even though its time frame is a few short years away yet (end times prophetic occurrences)?
Without the focus on the courtship and a commitment at the end of a book, the first book doesn't sound like romantic suspense by today's market expectations. Check your story against the 12 questions in the article. Your description suggests Audrey is focused on finding and destroying the project, with Joel appearing as a secondary character that she starts a relationship with along the way. The simple fact that they do not end up together in the final scene (or do they?) seems to indicate the story is not a romance, but a suspense novel with a slow burn romance subplot. Early romantic suspense novels like Mary Stewart's, which had less courtship in them compared to today, still concluded with the couple together. Even the characters getting married in the second book may not make your story romantic suspense because the romance is still not the primary plot. I recommend your book description includes mention of the romance subplot, even if the novel's category is suspense. Those readers crossover quite a bit.
Thank you, Ms Selene.
Joel and Audrey do stand together at the end of the book as she survives and they both know there's more to do. Book two has the wedding fairly near the start.
I've been encouraged to call it a romance of some sort by folks in the industry, but I've assumed it only to be part of the story and not a great threat to the romance industry.
Cheers
waj
Ideally, in romance, the solving of the external plot conflict is tied very tightly to the solving of the internal relationship conflicts. Is the main internal conflict "can I love/trust/accept this other person in my life" or "am I smart/strong enough to stop the project"? The relationship has to be in jeopardy from start until the happy-ever-after to be a romance. Meaning, if Joel is Audrey's partner/helper and their relationship develops without its own conflicts and challenges--and we never worry that they won't end up together--the romance is a subplot. Hope that helps.
Thanks again. Guess we’ll
See if I can pull
The three books together enough to get in print.
Waj
Good luck! If you wrote them, you can manage the rest.
Struggling with a genre. I think it is fantasy with romantic elements. Someone said "speculative fantasy". It is set in a future California, sans any operable technology. There are three generations of human hybrids with varying degrees of a genetic change (via a scientific experiment gone wrong before a metamorphosis). Each generation has a romantic couple, but the through line is adventure--finding other survivors, salvageable resources, and ways to thrive in a changed environment.
So it's fantasy, because--some hybrid humans with skills--but set in a familiar landscape. Each generation eventually gets their HEA, but It's probably only 50% of the story, the rest action, fulfilling prophesy, saving what is salvageable of humanity.It spends the first 25% of the book in the present, then the change, then the rest in the new familiar but changed world. There are no vamps, faeries, wolves, but there are human hybrids with DNA of the Monarch Butterfly that give them special sight, perception, fascinating physicality that in some cases allow them to fly. Key to the ones with the full DNA set is the driving urge to migrate, which is the focus of the first generation in the the book.
From your description, speculative fantasy sounds spot-on. The speculative tag signals that this isn't old world Lord of the Rings fantasy, but something more scientific. But because the science is not hard science, it's not exactly science fiction either. If romantic relationships happen along the way but are not driving the plot forward, then they are, indeed, subplots.
What I find inquiring with query tracker is agents have a list of genres that they will only accept so I suppose I would choose fantasy because that’s the agent group I would be targeting but then in my descriptions, I would say it was speculative. Does that make sense?
I first started seeing the word speculative applied to literary fiction that had a science fiction type of plot. For example, I read that Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) calls her novels speculative fiction. More recently though, I've seen it expand to being used in conjunction with fantasy. Your description makes me think of superhero comics (Spiderman and The Hulk, for example) and some sources say that superhero comics are actually a subgenre of science fiction. If your world is mostly a dystopia based on our failed modern world, with a limited number of people affected by the mutation, that would fall on the science fiction side of the line. If the world your characters live in is distinctly different from our world, not just a dystopian future world, then you may be sliding into the fantasy realm.
Thanks for a very informative article. I would like your thoughts on how this applies to stories where both characters are men and how to determine if such a work is M/M rom or a M/M love story or if it can be both. Also whether to warn potential readers if there are scenes involving sex.
Thanks,
Brad
The beginning of the romance genre arose during a time in history in which women often did not get to choose who they married, and when they married, they became their husband's legal property, therefore, at its core, romance focuses on the person with less power having a choice in who they marry. That was the female. Today, that risk is somewhat mitigated, but women continue to be more vulnerable physically and financially, even with all the changes to society.
In gay romance, it's different because both characters begin with and maintain their autonomy and power as men and they (probably) both face the same social stigma if they choose to be with each other. Authors of M/M (and to a degree F/F) romances have to figure out which character is the most vulnerable and has the most at risk if they choose the relationship. One character might be secure in his sexuality and have a loving and supportive family, while the second character might be less comfortable with his sexuality, and face rejection from family and friends if he starts a relationship with the first character. In that case, the second character is essentially the more vulnerable character, and likely the main protagonist because he will have to risk the most for love--even how he views himself.
All romances are love stories, but not all love stories are romances. For example, if the love story doesn't end happy-ever-after, it's not romance. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. Gone with the Wind is general fiction. If the main plot is the courtship but ends with the couple breaking up and/or dying, then it'll likely be either general or literary fiction.
The most common way to warn readers about the inclusion of scenes involving sex is through the cover (less true these days in romance) and in the book description. Writers often add a note to the book description saying that the work is intended for readers over the age of 18. They might add a subtitle with the word sexy or sensual. Generally, you don't have to explicitly say there are vanilla sex scenes, but you might want to add an additional warning if the sex is kinky, and/or there is cheating. Most romance readers hate stories with cheating.
Excellent article, Selene. Trying to decide on my categories before I published made me realize my character-driven novel straddled more than one genre. I decided to categorize it only as historical romance since it has an HEA ending. But advice at the time said that selecting additional unrelated categories was a rookie mistake, so I avoided adding women's fiction and literary fiction even though my writing is descriptive narrative style focusing on the protagonist's emotional journey. Algorithms have since changed adding these extra genres, but I'm not sure if that helps with reader discovery or just creates more reader confusion. Thanks for your insights.
If you are finding readers and getting a positive response, you're probably in the right category. Recently, I read Kennedy Ryan's book This Could Be Us, published by Forever, because it topped a lot of reader lists for their favorite romance of 2024. I can see why it topped the lists because it's a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it...but not as a romance. It includes a slow burn romance as part of the plot, but it focuses more closely on the female protagonist's overall journey than the courtship. Topics like divorce. Betrayal. Being a parent. Finding one's way after loss. Being self-reliant. The power of female friendships. We spend a lot of time reading about other aspects of the protagonist's personal growth. Since much of the praise in reviews mention the book being life-affirming and about finding happiness in general, rather than calling it swoon-worthy and deeply romantic, I think other people might agree with me. Still, plenty of readers voted for it as their favorite romance...and in the end, it's the readers that matter.
Romance reader and writer. I know my genre.
Agree. Reading the genre is critical. I am astounded sometimes when I'm chatting with someone who tells me they are writing a romance, but they don't read romance. How can you know the elements of a genre without reading it?
This is a terrific article with a helpful decision tree! I am struggling with which genre I’m writing in. My previous manuscripts have been historical or contemporary romance. I’m writing a time travel adventure romance with paranormal/ fantasy elements. Lead male but also a female who has POV and her own arch and goals and growth and together they fight a very bad guy and have a HEA, but the adventure plot moves the story. Help! I need to understand where it fits before I do much more writing and plotting. I want to solicit agents with the complete and polished manuscript.
Your questions helped me confirm that, yes, it is a romance. It is also a time travel. It is an adventure because there is a strong adventure plot. And also there is a tad bit of shape shifting and animals with magical powers. Not a lot, but some. What next steps should I take to define the story? If I need to cut out the shape shifting and magical animals I can. Or if I need to limit it more, I can do that. I'm thinking there are market issues here that I don't know, but there are stories out there with multiple elements like this. I don't want to write more until I feel more certain about the genre. Any resources or next step suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Again.
You should write the story you want to tell. From what you've written here, your story makes me think of 'My Lady Jane' by Hand, Ashton, and Meadows. It's a YA Fantasy, and popular enough to be turned into a Prime Streaming show. (I loved it, but sadly, Amazon cancelled it after the first season). It has retold history, fantasy, shifters, and adventure. Your story can have anything in it, as long as it fits into the world you create. If you are specifically writing to market, so want your book to attract a specific reader, definitely do some research on the top titles in a genre and read a few of them to see what elements they include/exclude.
Thank you, Selene. This helps me focus my approach. It seems like cross-genre stories are okay to write if they hit the goals of the genres they claim to be. I hadn't been thinking enough about this and your article did the trick!
"cross-genre stories are okay to write if they hit the goals of the genres they claim to be"
Exactly! Romance in particular has many subgenres. One of the things I've done in the past in Plottr is to line up two genre templates to see if my plot is hitting the expected beats (scenes) for each, and to brainstorm ways to mesh them into one storyline.
Your article here was interesting and concise. I often wonder what keywords to use for the purpose of sales. For instance, one of my series is a romantic western adventure. What do you think?
Resources like K-lytics, KDSpy and Publisher Rocket are the best tools to help authors/publishers identify keywords for marketing. You can use their data to find similar books/authors, see their sales, and discover potential keywords and/or categories that might work for your own stories.
Thanks for this article! I’ve been struggling with this for a while and am getting ready to release my third book in a series I have been calling romantic mystery, not knowing if that is even a recognized genre or sub genre. The protagonist is a rookie female private investigator in 1955 Philadelphia who is attracted against her will to a handsome, experienced male competitor. They end up teaming up in each book during an arching slow burn romance that is complicated because he has a reputation as a womanizer that he claims is exaggerated and she is terrified of getting hurt and jeopardizing her career. They get closer in each book and at the end of book three, about to be released, they are together in a happy for now, which means that particular book could be classified as a romantic suspense. I am planning book four now of the planned seven book series. And I want to get the categories right for Amazon etc. Romantic mystery? Romantic thriller? Any advice will be appreciated! They will definitely have a HEA by book seven.
Keep in mind that a romance starts with a meetcute, focuses primarily on the courtship, and ends in HEA/HFN in one book. Romantic Suspense and Romantic Thrillers are more often about the hero and/or heroine protecting the other. Bodyguard + rich/famous person. Detective + stalker/mafia victim. Military/FBI hero + political kidnap victim. The mystery is simply the device used to force the protagonists into each other’s company. One protagonist might be solving a mystery, but it’s to save and protect the more vulnerable protagonist.
Lots of mystery series have slow burn romance subplots over the course of the series. Those books are still primarily mysteries. If you can turn the romance into a platonic friendship and the mystery remains essentially the same, then it’s a mystery.
From your description, it sounds like you are writing a mystery with a romantic subplot. If you look at similar mysteries with romantic subplots, like Deanna Raybourn or Anna Lee Huber’s books you’ll find them ranked on their Amazon pages as Historical Mystery and Historical Thriller. Mystery Romance appears under a couple of their titles, but not as the primary genre. Clearly they are being marketed as mysteries, not romances.
Does each of your books have a different mystery to solve? If yes, then I’d say the main category is mystery (or historical mystery, or paranormal mystery, or detective, or whatever mystery subgenre best fits your stories). If the single mystery and the single romance carry over the full series, then the story might be straddling the two genres equally. Then, it’s one single story, carried over several books due to length, not a change in plot.
The fact that the slow burn romance between the same two characters is carried over several books but the mysteries are not actually reinforces the romance as a subplot—meaning the final scene in every book isn’t the HEA/HFN. You are unlikely to have a meetcute, declaration of feelings, breakup, and reconciliation in every book in the series, happening between the same two characters.
Hope that helps.