One of the first posts I did when I started my website was on book genres, but back then I thought they were as simple as a section in a bookstore or library. I have since learned they are more complex than that. The next few weeks I want to dive into genres. While understanding the market research I did for my first genre post is beneficial to writers, I feel a more complete knowledge of genres will help authors write and market their books better.
Consumer Genres
The genres listed by bookstores and libraries are better known as Consumer Genres. They are categories used to sell products more easily to people looking for specific story types. Think of them as signs in a department store: Men’s, Women’s, Children’s, Home Goods, etc. It just makes shopping easier. But even within those sections, you have differences: shoes, shirts, dresses, ties, etc. In department stores, they group these articles together for you, but not in bookstores. So, Consumer Genres are the only genre type useful to readers, but there are other genre types that help authors. We will get more into those the next couple of weeks.
Today, I want to go through some Consumer Genres and discuss what draws readers to each category. There are two primary draws to reading: intellectual and emotional. Every person has a scholarly reason to read a book, though most won’t know or admit it. Similarly, there are basic desires we seek to fill through reading. Each genre represents a different intellectual and emotional need that readers want filled.
The information listed is based on my own research and opinions, and I hope it helps you look at genres in a new way.
1. Literary Fiction
When readers pick up literary fiction, philosophy is their intellectual draw. This genre wins so many awards because it always holds deeper meaning, usually social commentary. People who read these books want to have their minds stretched and their values challenged. They are looking for meaning.
The emotional draw to literary fiction is feeling enlightened or wise. They either walk away from the book with confirmation their beliefs were right, or they leave with a new way to look at things. They feel enlightened, raising their intellectual status and shaping them into hopefully better people.
2. Romance
Romance books’ intellectual draw is a sense of human connection. It isn’t really about the romantic relationship, but about a deep connection to other people, whether it’s the best friend or the romantic interest. In real life, people often disappoint and cannot be 100% knowable. In a book, the reader can get inside someone’s head and really understand them. Then, in a romance, the protagonists find someone who loves and supports them, making the reader in turn feel that too.
It’s no surprise that romance readers want to feel loved, but what does that actually mean? I think it’s different for each gender. In my humble opinion, women want to feel adored and loved for who they are, and men want to be admired and loved for what they do. I’m not saying that women don’t want to be admired and men adored, but the primary draws seem to fall the other way. There is a reason that women tend to soften men (just by who they are) and men tend to protect women (proving their love by what they do). You may disagree, but just remember the main emotional pull of this genre is to feel loved, whatever that looks like to your readers.
3. Fantasy
There are many subgenres to Fantasy so I’m going to focus on epic fantasy as it seems to be the purest form of the genre (Others tend toward thriller, mystery, or romance and will be a mixture of the two genres). Fantasy readers often feel the intellectual draw of wanting what they do matter. Epic fantasies are all about one’s destiny or choices affecting the survival of the entire world. Fantasy readers what to make a difference. They want to create change.
The primary emotional draw to any fantasy is the sense of wonder. The readers want to see things happen that could never occur in reality. They want to feel a sense of limitlessness when they open a book (though there should be set rules to how the fictional world works within the story itself). Most often, these readers are young at heart, holding on to the wonder of childhood throughout their life. They want to be awed and inspired.
4. Science Fiction
In science fiction books, the readers often seek the intellectual draw of ambition. They want to see the might of humanity and how far we can go. Often these accomplishments are paired with human faults and some higher power (usually a more intelligent alien race), but the humans always find a way in the end to win.
Science fiction’s emotional draw is wonder. Similar to fantasy, but their readers don’t want limitlessness. They want to overcome limits. They want to look at an impossibility in our world and see a possible way to accomplish it. Humans can’t fly, but we can build things that can fly us beyond our world—even to another galaxy. It’s a realistic sense of wonder built off of ambition.
5. Horror
Horror books have the intellectual draw of Good vs. Evil. The books are about these two powers and overcoming evil. How depraved can a human become? When does a person’s just reasons no longer hold up for doing something horrible? What happens when someone is confronted with evil? Horror protagonists deal with all these questions and more, spurring moral dilemmas in their readers.
Most people would say horror books’ primary emotional draw is fear or disgust, but I’d argue the opposite. Horror readers are looking to feel brave. They want to approach fear and walk away, overcoming its dark tendrils. Reading horror is a safe way to unnerve yourself and get the high of not letting that fear stop you. It’s a huge confidence boost.
6. Thriller
Thrillers fill the intellectual prey-and-predator mindset in all of us. I heard someone once refer to thrillers as the adult version of the child’s game Tag. A child starts out as prey running from who’s “it” and then, once tagged, the child becomes “it” and turns predator. The same is true of thrillers. The protagonist starts off running as prey, but by the end he has turned predator, seeking to ensnare the one who has been chasing him the entire book. The game of cat and mouse, hunter and hunted, has always been a part of humanity.
Thriller readers emotionally seek the adrenaline rush followed by the stress relief of these fast-paced plots. They want to feel the high of a stressful situation, but, more importantly, they want to feel the catharsis afterward. Thriller readers get their stress level ratcheted up as one thing after another is thrown at the protagonist, and when the character wins in the end, a sense of relief also washes over the reader. I wrote a post about how catharsis purges readers of their real-world stress by following the protagonist doing the same. With the ever-increasing stress level of people today, it’s no wonder that thrillers are one of the top selling genres.
7. Mystery
Mystery books fulfill the intellectual need for order. These books are all about setting up a curious plot and then following it through until everything makes sense. People crave order. They want things to make sense. While that usually doesn’t happen in reality, mystery books always tie things up in a neat little bow that give the readers a sense of harmony.
Mystery readers often like to feel pride. They are puzzle-solvers. They want to be given all the pieces and see if they can put it together. These readers often look for meaning in everything and want it all to be connected somehow. Mysteries give them the chance to feel like the world can make sense if they are smart enough to see it. If they guess the ending before its reveal, they feel proud of themselves.
8. Western
Westerns fulfill the intellectual need for inner strength. These books encourage self-reliance. In a rough terrain, the protagonists need to care for themselves and be independent thinkers, finding solutions to their own problems. They value individuality. Readers often want to have the self-acceptance and inner confidence these protagonists either exhibit or develop in the story.
The emotional draw to westerns is morality. These protagonists have a great level of respect, integrity, and humility. They’re honorable. They may be self-reliant, but they aren’t afraid to ask for help, making the community strong and fiercely loyal to one another. It’s this simple goodness that readers crave—a world filled with good people where finding a bad person is the exception, not the rule.
Final Thoughts
Consumer Genres are mostly for retailers and customers during the selling and buying process, but they can shed some light on how readers are drawn to stories. While this list is not all-inclusive, I tried to hit the high points. If your genre is not listed above, take some time to think about why you read or write the genre. Maybe ask some others what they think. Use the intellectual and emotional draws of your genre to plan your story and draw in your readers. If you know what subconsciously pulls them to a book, you can write your book blurb better to attract buyers. While it’s important to write a great story, half the fight is finding the right people who would like to read it. Hopefully, this insight to genres will help you achieve that goal.
Thanks for reading!
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