Types of Novels

There is a bewildering number of types of novels, and it is important that you know from the outset what category of fiction your own masterpiece will slot into.

It is a risky strategy to write a novel without having a clear idea of the position the novel will occupy in the literary marketplace...

• You can get away with it if your novel just happens to slot neatly into a category, more by luck than judgement.

• But if it slips between the gaps then publishers will be far less inclined to accept it - no matter how good the writing.

Publishing is a business, not a charity for creative types. True, it is a more far-sighted business than film production, for example. If you are a screenwriter and your screenplay shows promise but nevertheless "isn't quite there," production companies won't touch it.

Book publishers are more likely to say, "Well, this guy isn't going to make any money with his first book, but his writing shows enough promise to do well with his second or third novel." But, still, publishing isn't a charity.

If your books won't make money for the publishers - if not straight away then at least two or three years down the line - then they won't want to know you.

In other words, it is not enough for your novels to merely be good, they also need to be commercial - and one way that you can help to ensure that they are commercial is to make them fit into a specific category of fiction, one with a ready-made audience who regularly purchase the types of novels within that category.

Think of novels like products in a supermarket...

• Each aisle is devoted to a particular type of product: meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables, breakfast cereals, and so on.

• Now suppose you invent a new product that is so unique it doesn't fit into any of the aisles. No matter how good the product might be, if the supermarket can't find a place for it on their shelves - or if they can't "position" it in the market - they simply won't stock the product.

This is precisely what you must avoid when you write your novel, and it is what this guide to the types of novels is all about.

The Three Main Types of Novels

Broadly speaking, fiction can be divided into three varieties: literary and genre and mainstream. The first thing you need to do when deciding what type of novel you want to write is to come down in one camp or the other...

• Genre Fiction is the most popular variety of fiction. It can be further divided into categories such as mysteries, thrillers, romances, and so on.

• Literary Fiction is generally far less commercial - but only generally. If your literary novel happens to win a major prize or receive some positive word-of-mouth buzz, it could still make you rich.

• Mainstream Fiction, as you might have guessed, sits more or less halfway between the other two. If you have no strong calling to write a genre or literary novel, it could well be the type of fiction for you.

And finally, for an article on what the three main types of novels (genre, literary and mainstream) have in common - indeed, must have in common - read What Is a Novel's Purpose?

The Next Step

If, after reading all the information above, you have decided to write literary or mainstream fiction, you can get on with the business of finding an idea. These two types of novels, as the articles have pointed out, are pretty much "rule free", meaning you are free to proceed in your own way.

Genre fiction, on the other hand, is governed by rules. You still have work to do, in other words, and you will find all the help you need in the section looking at the Fiction Genres in more depth.