I really enjoyed this one. Normal for a fellow writer who's often flabbergasted by the arcane categories, the mincemeating of every piece of published or hoping-to-be-published writing. Some people take the concept of niche marketing way too far. Your blog reminded of something I read recently, I can't recall where. The writer said that "everything is crime fiction." Meaning, for something to be a story, there needed to be a "crime". Crime being defined broadly: a lie, a betrayal, an action causing pain, all these qualify. That puts a different light on "literary", doesn't it? Jane Eyre (abuse, sequestration), A Tale of Two Cities (identity theft, execution), Les Miserables (convict, theft, vengeful cop), every fairy tale, the complete works of Shakespeare... funny thought, no? Try to find a book that doesn't have some kind of crime...
I think my biggest sticking point is that YA, New Adult etc. aren't genres. They are marketing demographics. And yet they are treated as genres in their own right. Anyway, as one genre hopper to another - great post.
Another good post. I compare this phenomenon in fiction to the same one in music. I've read many interviews with musicians I admire lamenting that 'music is music' and they like a wide variety of styles, instruments, influences. They're always appreciative of other artists' producing all sorts of fine work and love to incorporate new elements into their own. But the marketing pattern of pushing an artist into a "genre" to capture a niche audience is a self-fulfilling/limiting strategy. In fiction (as in music), it limits both the writer and the reader (or listener).
I really enjoyed this one. Normal for a fellow writer who's often flabbergasted by the arcane categories, the mincemeating of every piece of published or hoping-to-be-published writing. Some people take the concept of niche marketing way too far. Your blog reminded of something I read recently, I can't recall where. The writer said that "everything is crime fiction." Meaning, for something to be a story, there needed to be a "crime". Crime being defined broadly: a lie, a betrayal, an action causing pain, all these qualify. That puts a different light on "literary", doesn't it? Jane Eyre (abuse, sequestration), A Tale of Two Cities (identity theft, execution), Les Miserables (convict, theft, vengeful cop), every fairy tale, the complete works of Shakespeare... funny thought, no? Try to find a book that doesn't have some kind of crime...
I think my biggest sticking point is that YA, New Adult etc. aren't genres. They are marketing demographics. And yet they are treated as genres in their own right. Anyway, as one genre hopper to another - great post.
Another good post. I compare this phenomenon in fiction to the same one in music. I've read many interviews with musicians I admire lamenting that 'music is music' and they like a wide variety of styles, instruments, influences. They're always appreciative of other artists' producing all sorts of fine work and love to incorporate new elements into their own. But the marketing pattern of pushing an artist into a "genre" to capture a niche audience is a self-fulfilling/limiting strategy. In fiction (as in music), it limits both the writer and the reader (or listener).