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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45029
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45029
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

What did you think the term was supposed to mean when you first came across it?

You only found the term "[e]arlier this year" and you are writing a story in that genre. You are far more knowledgeable about the details of genres close to your story than the average Joe that is supposed to read this. I am a fantasy reader and have read a lot about some [obscure genres](https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/33065/23159) outside of my usual reading habits, but I have never heard the term you used.

What I first thought when reading the question was that you were making up a new sub-genre. Never heard of planetary-romance being a thing.

And after that I had some very _weird_ thoughts about who the [love interests of a planetary-romance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogo) might be...

Sure, there may very well be quite a few people out there who know about the genre. And if you find the internet forums these people frequent they will be extremely glad that someone made the effort to understand their genre and further enrich it. They will love you for giving it a precise genre description and you will have quite a few plus points before they even start reading your story.

But I'd bet that those people are not the majority of people.

For everyone else you need to find some genre description that they have heard about and that allows them to understand the very rough things your story will be about. For the average Joe I'd still say that's "Science Fiction". Labelling it "Sci-Fi" will give you access to a whole lot of more readers. And then you will probably have a short blurb or teaser that allows them to judge whether the specifics are what they want to read. Just make sure to hint at some of the most glaring difference between "cookie-cutter sci-fi" and your story.

**Different groups have different expectations for genre labels. Use the most generic one for general marketing, the more specific one in forums where people know about it and if someone asks about differences just tell them what you wrote in this question.**

For the average population "Sci-Fi" is enough and will give you a wider audience that stumbles across your work. It's easy to market something as "Sci-Fi" because everyone knows something about it. Some more specialised groups, like WorldBuilding.SE, need something a little more specific, like "Space Opera". And then some might love "Planetary Romance". Adapt the specifics to your audience and if someone asks you in an interview why there are so many differences between "Sci-Fi" and your story just tell them all the things you mentioned in your question. It's an interesting discussion, but that is only something people very interested in your story or the sub-genre want to know. For most people the generic label plus a short description of the content is more than enough to judge whether they want to read something or not.

Original score: 6