This may seem an irrelevant topic to talk about, surely every writer knows instinctively the genre they will write in, their creative mind goes to work, it flows and it’s easy to know where you fit.

This is not true in all cases.

Writers usually like to read in a variety of genres – which one would they actually be successful in?
They have ideas for books that span various genres, which one should they choose?
Their book could actually be categorised into one or two genres, then what?
Then there is the decision of which genre to align your book with, what if you place if in the wrong one? The story will not resonate with the readers from that genre.

Cliff Daigle makes three recommendations when choosing a genre to write in:

Make a pros and cons list
Go with your gut
Pick the most marketable genre

Importantly, he also mentions:

“Pay attention to the ones that attract you but scare you at the same time… Often what you fear to do is what you need to grow most as an artist.”

Facing up to your fears always leads to personal growth.
I love that sliver of excitement when I think about pushing myself out of my comfort zone and doing something scary, something I know I should do, to achieve my goals.
That usually last around five minutes, till the deep seated fear sets in… but when I have faced that fear, I find a sense of freedom, empowerment and achievement.

I am on the final stages of my first book and I am wondering where exactly my book will fit?
Which genre will it belong to?

Some of the major genres include: Tragedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery, Science fiction, Drama, Romance and Horror.

Looking at this list, my book mostly resonates with the romance genre and that is a great genre to be in if I look back at Cliff Daigle recommendations:

“The romance industry is worth $1.08 billion dollars per year… about the size of the mystery novel genre and science fiction/fantasy genre markets combined”

Statics from the Romance Writers of America.

Imagine even a small fraction of that money coming your way
(well, you do need to recoup your costs)

But what exactly defines a book as being of the romance genre?

Valerie Peterson’s article: What you need to know about romance fiction genre, very helpfully does just this.
Peterson states that there are two criteria that will place your book in the romance genre:

A love story is central to the plot
The ending is emotionally satisfying and optimistic

However, not every love story has a satisfying end, some of my absolute favourite books and movies of all time don’t, but love is definitely the central theme: Wuthering Heights, West Side Story, Baz Luhrmann’s adaption of Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge.

Is there a romantic tragedy genre? Shouldn’t love, be the genre?

My book definitely has a love story, it is the essence of the book but an ending that is emotionally satisfying and optimistic, that is certainly missing in this first book
.
I decided to see how my absolute favourite authors in the romance genre, describe their writing style within the context of that genre:

Addison Moore – contemporary and paranormal romance
Jay McLean – New Adult and Young Adult romance
Jessica Sorensen – bestselling author – New Adult, Young Adult

All completely different definitions.

I am confused. All I know is that I like to write about love, but is love and romance even the same thing?

I decided to look it up online and found an article that examines the Difference Between Love and Romance. It states that:

“Romance is referred to as the actions or gestures in the context of a relationship” and “Love is usually explained as a powerful attraction and personal commitment and sacrifice” therefore “Romance is somewhat exclusive to romantic love, one of the types of love.”

How can romance just be one facet of love but still have its own genre, when love doesn’t even have one and is so much more?

Love in all its incarnations is what we live and die for – right?

Perhaps I just don’t like the word romance… I think the connotations it implies are outdated.

Love is so much more than just a romantic gesture, dressed up in sexual attraction and admiration. “Love is a many splendid thing, all you need is love” – you don’t hear people saying all you need is romance, romance is just an experience on the way to a deeper and more precious love.
Romance doesn’t even fit with all the types of love there is.

Within my first book, there is a physical attraction that slowly builds to soul shattering love but is there any romance?
Do either of my main characters do anything remotely romantic for each other?
Not particularly, I can think of only one instance.
They needed a hundred other things from each other, but romance isn’t one of them.
They needed to be loved for who they really were, to be understood, to have someone stand by their side, believe in them and never give up on them; romance was never a part of it.

How can a genre be called romance when the love stories it contains are far more than that?

Anyway, that is the genre I will be grouped in, just don’t hold it against me.

Now I need to tackle the genre subcategories: YA, NA and adult… hmmm where do I fit…