Where to find your book market
In today’s post, we’re going to focus on the two major categories of fiction: literary fiction and commercial fiction. Understanding how these two categories function distinctly and which category your writing falls into can guide your process of writing, marketing or pitching to agents and editors.
Although we’ll attempt to break down the differences between literary fiction and commercial fiction in this post, keep in mind that the lines between the two can and often do blur. Because of this, we’ll have a bonus discussion on the evermore popular category of upmarket fiction before we wrap up our discussion.
*Note: This is a three-part post, so be sure to follow for parts two and three to follow in the next two weeks.
What is Literary Fiction?
Many “true writers” like to fancy themselves authors of literary fiction, but true literary fiction comes along rarely in the modern age. And yet, it’s something that even authors of very commercial fiction strive to emulate—and it’s probably because they first fall in love with story and writing through the consumption of the classics, most of which are very literary in structure and writing style.
Books that fall into the literary fiction category are destined to become classics due to their enduring nature. At the core of their appeal is the presence of universal themes, or as my high school English teacher referred to them, universal truths. These universal experiences are tied closely to the theory of collective consciousness and they connect to readers on the deepest level because of their ability to resonate with nearly anyone and their ability to spark inspiration and contemplation.
Literary fiction is always a study of the human condition, and it’s not afraid to address difficult or controversial sociopolitical issues. It focuses on style, theme and character over plot, in contrast to genre fiction which has very defined story structure for each genre. While you may hear (mostly from amateur writers or unknowing readers) that literary fiction has no plot, this is absolutely untrue. The plot of literary fiction may be somewhat obscured, but it does play out beneath the surface. Plot points may be more subtle, and they can be difficult to sum up in a single sentence, requiring the reader to infer the plot, rather than sitting back and watching it play out on the page. This is why literary fiction tends to be heady, and more difficult to read than genre fiction.
The premise of literary fiction is more often summed up with a question that focuses on experience and the human condition rather than events, such as How does one change when the life they yearn for suddenly becomes available to them by way of a mysterious benefactor? (Great Expectations), or What will follow after a social rebellion for power that has the good of the people at its core? Ultimately, the people will be betrayed by their own rebellion (Animal Farm).
What happens in the story world of literary fiction novels isn’t nearly as important as what happens in the minds of the characters. With no defined story structure, your character could literally learn the same lesson in one million different ways, and the authors of these stories are free to push the boundaries of what’s accepted or expected, leading to extraordinary results.
In an interesting contradiction, much of what we now consider classic literature would have been considered genre fiction at the time of its release. Take George Orwell’s 1984 for example; this is pretty clearly a science fiction novel with its dystopian bent, but it has become an enduring classic. Many of these literary classics follow the parameters of genre fiction, just as 1984 does, but because they’re so masterfully written and distinct, their enduring nature ultimately lands them in the literary fiction category. Like the saying goes…you can’t see the forest through the trees…sometimes the original audience of these stories is too close to the story to recognize its impact, but later generations do recognize it.
Again, this is because of its ability to connect with readers on the deepest of levels, but it also must be considered that literary fiction is of the highest writing quality. The writing style and voice of these authors demonstrates a mastery of language. It’s not bumbling or pretentious; it isn’t extravagant simply for the sake of being extravagant as purple prose is; it is simply excellent writing. However the prose and writing style of literary fiction is unique—in some cases, it borders on poetry and emphasizes artistic elements over straightforward and clear sentence structure. There is so much subtext and hidden meaning buried between the lines of literary fiction, and this is what makes it capable of being the subject of in-depth study.
Although I maintain that most novels marketed as literary fiction today are in fact, upmarket fiction, here are a few modern examples that do likely fall into the category of literary fiction, although only time will reveal their ability to endure.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
In Part Two, we’ll discuss commercial fiction. And if you’re a writer of commercial fiction looking for an editor, be sure to visit the SERVICES page to learn more about how we can help you with your work-in-progress.