by Ellen Buikema

Readers have expectations and want the writer to fulfill those expectations. The story’s content and ending need to follow the genre’s rules. Some stories must have a happy ending.

When novels are labeled with the wrong genre category, readers feel misled and may decide to take a pass on reading future novels by a particular writer due to their disappointment. An emotional contract has been broken—trust tossed out the window.

“Readers pick up a romance because they want emotional satisfaction. They want to believe that love wins. If the story doesn't deliver that payoff, it risks feeling like a broken promise regardless of how beautifully written it may be.” Jenn Windrow

Inaccurate Genre Labels Impact

When a book is misclassified, it probably won’t reach its intended audience, meaning fewer sales and reviews.

Many readers, especially those who enjoy horror, mystery, and romance, have specific literary taste and know their preferred sub-genres well. When your novel isn’t in the right category, not only are you missing your target readers, you are also increasing the probability that a group of readers will find your book, buy it, and not enjoy it.

Consequences of Misclassification

• Readers may miss out on an enjoyable read.
• Books that don’t follow genre conventions struggle to be discovered.
• Writers face difficulties in promoting their work if it isn’t categorized correctly to connect with the right audience. A huge marketing issue.

Possible Reasons for Inaccurate Genre Labels

• Using marketing trends instead of the books real content. A book may be labeled to fit market trends rather than its real content.
• Misunderstanding thegenre conventions, leading to the wrong classifications.
• Having multiple genres blended in one novel, leading to complications for traditional labeling.

Many books use multiple genres. To determine what genre or genres to use in this case, decide your core theme.

What is driving the plot? If the main goal is solving a crime, consider classifying it as a mystery first, even if takes place in an other-worldly environment.

How does the story end? If the main conflict is a relationship and ends in “they live happily ever after,” the classification would be considered romance.

Understanding genre classifications is critical for maximum reader discovery.

Read your chosen genre extensively to have a good feel for its expectations. Ask for feedback from beta readers to help identify the best fitting genre based on their views of the book's content.

Genre Conventions—The Rules …

Genre conventions are agreed upon rules, traits, themes, and elements generally associated and accepted within a particular genre of all artforms: fine art, film, literature, music, dance, or other media.

6 Examples of Literary Genre Conventions

Mystery

Mystery genre characteristics include a crime or puzzle that needs to be solved, an investigator as a main character, and clues along with distractions from the real issues to interest the reader. The story builds suspense and reveals “who done it” at the story’s climax.

Comedy

Comedy in literature typically focuses on everyday situations, adding elements of exaggeration, irony, and slapstick humor, to showcase the wackiness of human existence. It provokes laughter and also occasionally simultaneously pokes fun at cultural and political issues.

Romance

The romance genre is characterized by a main love story with relatable characters, navigating their relationships, personal/societal issues, and an emotionally satisfying ending. It often includes various subgenres, such as contemporary, historical, YA romance, erotic and paranormal romance.

Horror

Horror stories often feature a protagonist facing a powerful, sometimes supernatural being that doesn’t see reason, set in isolated locations to create tension. This genre explores themes of fear, courage, and the struggle between life and something worse than death.

The atmosphere in a horror story is like an ominous character in its own right. Creaking woodwork, flickering lights, bumps in the night, all add to the story’s tension.

Sci-Fi

Sci-Fi speculates on things that aren’t—yet. “It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible.” -Ray Bradbury

Science fiction stories include scientific as well as technological concepts. It also warns about consequences, but not in a “preachy” way. “Every science fiction movie I have ever seen, any one that’s worth its weight in celluloid, warns us about things that ultimately come true.” -Steven Spielberg

Historical Fiction

Features of historical fiction include a specific setting—generally at least 50 years in the past—a blend of true historical events with fictional characters and plots, as well as a focus on historical accuracy regarding society and culture.

Historical fiction often explores themes such as identity, love, and loss, providing an immersive experience for readers without “showing your research.” Too much historical fact will pull your reader right out of the story.

Final Thoughts

It’s beneficial to conduct research for any story, but is of particular importance for science fiction, same for historical fiction.

For a comprehensive list of sub-genres look here.

Using accurate genre labels will help send the readers who love your genre to your books, making everyone happy.

Do you find it difficult to classify your story in one particular genre? What do you do when you are unsure of the best genre label for your work? Have you run across books that have been mislabeled?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written Parenting ... A Work in Progress, non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Lubos Houska from Pixabay