Genre and Form

Genre is the first thing you must think about when you set out to write a book. The genre kind of answers the question as to what purpose this book is going to serve (entertain – educate – both).  Throughout the writing process, a writer must be well aware of the book’s genre. If you are preparing to write a book for the first time, this article may help you decide your genre. The form is also something you need to decide early on but it is not the same as genre.

Kinds of forms include: Novels – Poetry – Short stories – Drama – manuals/guidebooks – essays – articles (essays for a newspaper) ... etc

What is a genre and why is it so important?  

Think of bookstore-shelf signs. A genre is an artistic category and a characteristic style. Genre is NOT:

    1- Form

    2- an age range (children's picture book – middle grade – Teen/YA – New adult – Adult).

    3- Theme (the book’s main subject).

    4- Emotions (that a piece of writing might convey to the reader).

    5- Atmosphere.  

The two most important purposes of genres are first of all, finding the right reader for your book (or making your book discoverable to readers searching for a specific category), and second, knowing what your book is or is not elements a lot of ideas you may be tempted to include in your book, which consequently makes your job as a writer much easier.  

How to decide on your genre?  

Do your research: know the exact characteristics/ elements of each genre (like word count and expected themes) and find examples of book titles for the genre you choose. The internet can be a mess when it comes to genre, so your research might take some time. Give yourself time to study your genre. Think of all the stories you read and guess their genre as an exercise to see if you have correctly learned the genres you’re interested in. Nailing your genre will be crucial during the marketing of your book.

  Don’t choose based on marketability: some writers might be tempted to pick a genre for their book based on a side character or a subplot and miss-categories the book because during their research they found out that some genres have a bigger reader base and make more sales than others. I would advise against that as a marketing strategy because you risk ending with unsatisfied readers and bad reviews, and also you would miss your target readers who might genuinely enjoy your book.  

Some types of genres and sub-genres.

Fiction :

•  Comedy

(Sub-genres include: Farce – situational comedy – satire – dark comedy – comedy of failure)

• Tragedy

(Heroic – revenge – Greek tragedy – domestic tragedy)

• Thriller

(Action – murder mystery/ detective – psychological)

• Fantasy  

(Epic – urbane – portal – fairy-tale retelling – dark – horror – coming of age)

• Science fiction

(Steampunk – space opera – dystopia – cyberpunk – time travel)

• Romance

(Romcoms –  contemporary – historical – forbidden love)

• Historical

(Romance –  family sage – epic)

Non-Fiction :

• Religion and spirituality

• Self-help

• Educational

• Biographies

• Memoirs/Autobiographies

• How to & Crafts

• Travel literature

• Critiquing