Is Your Novel Romance or Women’s Fiction
It seems simple, doesn’t it? If your story features a romantic plot line then it must be categorized under romance, right?
Wrong.
I was just as shocked as you when I learned this a few years ago. However, not every story that features a romantic story arc automatically falls under romance.
In fact, there are actually strict rules about what should be labeled romance, and if you mistakenly advertise your story as romance, then your book could end up chastised for it.
But first, let’s get into what constitutes a romance story vs what constitutes women’s fiction and the not-often-talked-about “love story.”
What is a romance story?
In romance, the central conflict of the story focuses completely on the growth of the romantic relationship between the two MCs. Love overcoming all obstacles is the theme that runs from the beginning to the end of the narrative. The main objective of a romance story is to get the MCs to become romantically involved.
Romance novels must always, always, always — and I cannot stress this enough — always have a happy ending or a “happy for now” ending. If your story ends with the MCs broken up, or even amicably parting ways and just not together and in love in any way or form, then *it is not a romance.*
These two requisites are non-negotiable. It doesn’t matter how well-written your manuscript is. Or now intense or riveting the romance is between the MCs. Though there can be other criteria that your agent or publisher may ask you to meet before they can accept your story, if you’re calling your story a romance and it doesn’t meet either or both of these two, then it may be time to reassess.
Some popular examples of romance novels:
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
- The Bridgertons Series by Julian Quinn
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
That having been said, let’s talk about women’s fiction.
What is Women’s Fiction?
If your story features a romance but the central conflict or theme doesn’t revolve around the MCs getting together, then it could fall under Women’s Fiction.
Women’s fiction is issue-driven. If your story follows an FMC and it depicts her dealing with women’s issues such as death, divorce, childlessness, etc. and it focuses on what she learns about herself as a result of dealing with these issues, then it could be comfortably categorized under women’s fiction.
Yes, even if the story has a romantic subplot. Yes, even if she ends up in a happy relationship at the end. Still women’s fiction.
Some popular examples of women’s fiction:
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
“But then what is my story if it does focus on the two MCs coming together romantically but they don’t end up together in the end? Look at Nicholas Sparks; he writes romance!”
No, he doesn’t, and this is a huge misconception. Yes, Nicholas Spark’s stories such as A Walk to Remember and The Notebook center around the FMC and the MMC coming together romantically. But in these two examples, the MCs are separated towards the end, be it by death or some other circumstance. Therefore, it cannot be categorized as romance, though some will insist that it should be, and though you’re likely to find a “romance” tag under it when you look it up in Amazon.
What Nicholas Sparks usually writes, when his stories have a sad ending, is referred to as a “love story.”
Titanic was a love story. Romeo and Juliet was also a love story (arguably, but I digress). But they were not “romance” by genre qualifications.
The importance of knowing where your story fits comes down to marketing and reader expectations, especially when it comes to the “romance” genre. Readers of romance have ride-or-die expectations of their preferred genre. They seek romance for the predictability of it. Because romance offers a safe space where they know that no matter what happens from beginning to end in that book, the MCs will end up together once they’ve turned the last page.
If you’re even more confused now than ever before, never fear! Editors are trained to be able to depict where your story fits best! It’s part of their job to tell you where your story fits genre-wise and to help guide you if you’re not quite fitting into the genre that you’d like to fit into. We’re like the fairy godparents of publishing. We’re here to get you the carriage, the dress, and even the shoes to make sure you can have fun at the ball!
Be sure to reach out if you’re interested in editing services! If you think you might be confused about your story’s genre, this is something we can discuss! Let’s see how I can help you out!