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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45606
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45606
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You almost have to assign your book a genre in order to describe it to an agent or publisher; the publisher will likely make the final determination of what genre they assign internally, and this can differ from publisher to publisher.

As said before, genre is a marketing tool, it helps agents know which publishers to approach, and publishers know how to market a book. Neither of them will blindly accept what you tell them; they will read your book and make their own judgment.

Because genre is a marketing tool, it has to be very general. It is talking about a _kind_ of story, not your specific story, so it is describing story elements that many **readers** love to read about. Magic in a Fantasy World, or Magic in the modern world, or various kinds of space-based adventures, etc.

Due to pinpoint marketing (by Facebook, Google, Amazon and others) genres are getting more specific as new target groups are found. Don't expect to be an expert in this. Stick to genre descriptions you can find online, and leave the marketing to people that spend all day, every day, figuring out how to sell books.

Agents/Publishers are likely to cut you a _little slack_ on what you choose as genre; they don't expect you to be a book marketing expert. That's their job. They only expect you to be an expert storyteller and writer.

That said, you should still try to get close, because the genre you claim in your query may be used as grounds for summary rejection. If you claim "X" the agent, knowing the market, may think _"X" is a hard sell in this market, I'll pass._

If you claim "Y" the agent may think _"Y", excellent, let's see the sample -- Wait, this isn't "Y", this girl doesn't know what she's doing. I'll pass."_

I don't think you need to read a bunch of books and say your book is like A, D, and G. At least I don't have time to read dozens of books looking for one like mine.

I think you should be careful and read the genre's _themselves_, what story elements each genre includes, and pick the one that is closest to your story. That way, the expectations of the agent/publisher won't be far off from the reality of your story, and any refinement they make will actually be **just** a refinement, not a wholesale reassignment.

Find the elements of genre on the Internet. Agents (for example on [Manuscript Wish List](http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/find-agentseditors/search/) (aka MSWL) or [Wikipedia's List of Writing Genres](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_writing_genres)). You can also find on MSWL agents interested in your particular genre; and by reading their profiles, you might find even more specifics about what they are looking for.

It's work. A day or two, if your genre is not obvious to you. But don't stray too far into the specifics of story details. Just because your story contains a romance doesn't make it a Romance. Just because it contains an explicit sex scene doesn't make it Erotica. Just because it has a homosexual character doesn't make it LGBTQ+ fiction. You might want an agent that doesn't mind representing erotica or LGBTQ+, but don't claim it as your genre if being homosexual is not central to the story.

Some things listed as genres actually are not completely about story elements; "Children's", "Young Adult" and "New Adult" are more about age groups and content. They need to be supplemented with a genre mostly concerned with story elements. So "New Adult Urban Fantasy" tells you the story appeals to 18-30 year olds, likely contains language and scenes not appropriate for minors (or the topics explored are not relatable or appealing to minors), and is magic in a modern city.

Good enough! You aren't trying to pinpoint your story by listing a bunch of genre labels. That is counter-productive, the more you list the more confusing the sales picture gets. Pick a lane and drive in it, give the experts a good general idea of how it would be sold and let **_the experts_** deal with the pinpoint definition of the audience after they decide your story is compelling and can be sold.

Also, a query letter is a very tight box within which to describe your story. The less space you take up trying to pinpoint your exact genre, the more space you will have to sell the story setup (first Act) itself. Even a few more words can be crucial. So give it your best shot within about half a line of text.

Original score: 1