1. J.T. Woody

    J.T. Woody Book Witch Contributor

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    How do you know what genre your story is in?

    Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by J.T. Woody, Mar 25, 2018.

    Sounds like a no-brainer... BUT when I write short stories, I don't have a genre in mind. I just write. Most of my short stories and flash fiction are just dreams or day dreams I've had.
    I want to submit them, but I don't know what to market them as. I think thats part of the reason I hit that slump of rejection after rejection. I keep trying to submit one story to a "science fiction/dystopian future" venue, but its really "____" with small elements of Sci Fi..... or I'm trying to submit to a horror mag when, yes, there are some creepy elements, but is it really "horror"? Is it "Romance" or just has romantic elements?
    Would it just be called "general fiction"?
     
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  2. deadrats

    deadrats Contributor Contributor

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    Reading publications is the best if not only way to know if your work fits with what they look for. And it's not too hard to figure these kinds of things out. If you read the places you want to publish your work, you'll know if you've got something suited or you're way off base. It's fine to just write, but if you want to sell your short stories, you really need to have an idea of what's out there in contemporary short fiction. It would seem that may be more of an issue than not feeling like you know your genre. And, perhaps, the two are connected. It's very common for even great writers to get hundreds of rejections. This game is probably harder than you think.
     
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  3. DeeDee

    DeeDee Contributor Contributor

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    It doesn't matter what it's called. A magazine will have a certain fanbase and the stuff they publish will cater for that fanbase. All you need to know is what sort of stories that specific magazine publishes. Are they stories with lots of science in them? Or are they stories with lots of relationsips? Do the relationships have happy endings? Are the stories full of deep thought or just humorous entertainment? Is there lots of gore? You just need to get a feel of what that particular market publishes and see if your story fits there. There are not many omnivores out there, the markets are quite specific and you'll have to be sure your story fits in.
     
  4. KevinMcCormack

    KevinMcCormack Senior Member

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    Another issue is the balance between writing what you want even if it doesn't fit any particular genre versus writing something for a genre publication.

    Writing is rewriting, and I am happy to do another version of a piece that just doesn't work for publishers IF the piece's purpose is to get published.

    Depending on how serious you are, paying a literary editor to review it might give you enough feedback to guide it to a more publishable condition.
     
    J.T. Woody and Shenanigator like this.
  5. Lawless

    Lawless Active Member

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    IMHO, when you are trying to submit your story to a horror mag, you mustn't tell them "well, I'm not quite sure if it's really horror". Your job is to tell them it is horror. Their job is to notice when it isn't.
     

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