Writers and publishers must give their books genre labels so booksellers know where to place them. But genre is getting harder and harder to define. I know a writer working on a romance that has a murder mystery at its center, and so many young adult books are read by adults that the publishing industry has tried labels such as “new adult.”
At this point, asking a writer “Where does your book belong on the bookstore shelf?” will lead them to give you multiple answers. An agent or a publisher might be distraught, but, honestly, genres are mingling. Lots of books are labradoodles, plus, the author might hate being forced into a lousy label.
Women’s fiction is a lousy label and a great number of books by women are forced into it. I previously wrote an article for this column about how I hate that label for novels with female protagonists. When men write novels with male characters, what do we call them? Fiction. I’m querying my current novel as book club/upmarket fiction because that’s not so gendered, and it removes the expectation of a romantic subplot.
It’s unlikely that book publishers will take advice from lowly writers such as myself, but if they are open to suggestions, here’s mine: think like librarians.
As a reader, a librarian, and a writer, I am always asking: What’s missing from the collection? The reader in me asks for recommendations for new books and stories that deserve attention. The librarian in me purchases materials that round out the collection, making sure to include the needs of the quirky, offbeat reader. The writer in me does as Toni Morrison directed: “If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”
I’ve come to understand that when we work to fill those quirky, offbeat areas, we sometimes inhabit a “prickly” space. It’s a bit uncomfortable. I particularly found this to be true as I queried agents for my upcoming YA novel about a girl seeking to escape a polygamist cult. They enjoyed the writing. But was it too adult? Very tough things happen to young people in this cult. Why don’t I give the protagonist a boyfriend to interest the teen girl readers?
Guess what? Terrible things do happen to teens and seeing how a character in a novel works through those things might help real adolescents in their own lives. I also object to the idea that every book a woman writes has to have a romantic subplot. The protagonist of my YA novel lives in a cult where teen girls are forced to marry older men. They aren’t allowed to have boyfriends — and they’re highly controlled, so sneaking around is nearly impossible. If they did and were caught, they’d be immediately married to some old goat as what amounts to a concubine. Yes, my protagonist has a crush on a guy, but he’s been tossed out of the cult as a Lost Boy, because this is not a book about romance. The queer characters are hiding like it’s 1692. It is a novel about patriarchy and religion gone feral.
That might be the very book that is needed to round out someone’s collection.
Formerly a teacher librarian, Victoria Waddle is the author of “Acts of Contrition” (Los Nietos Press) and “The Mortality of Dogs and Humans” (Bamboo Dart Press). Her upcoming YA novel is scheduled for publication by Inlandia in 2025. Join her on Substack at “Be a Cactus” for conversation about libraries, book bans, and the craft of writing.
