If you’re writing literary or mainstream fiction (also called general fiction), the word-count requirements and style guidelines are often not as strict as they are for genre novels. In a previous Newsflash, we offered an article to help you determine if your genre fiction novel meets editors and literary agents’ guidelines for publication. Now, we’re tackling nongenre books. How do you know if your novel is literary or mainstream? Let’s start by looking at the difference between mainstream and literary fiction genres.
What is Literary Fiction? How Do You Know If Your Book Qualifies As Literary?
Literary fiction is fiction of ideas. While the story must be good, emphasis on action is not often as important as emphasis on the ideas, themes, and concerns of the book. Literary fiction tackles “big” issues that are often controversial, difficult, and complex.
Aside from subject matter, literary fiction tends to be written with emphasis on prose style. While genre fiction is “transparent” (readers can see through the text to escape into the story itself), literary writers want the reader to notice how beautiful the writing is. Sometimes the writing prevents the reader from escaping into the story, but that’s not a bad thing in this genre.
Many writers wrongly assume that if their book is not genre fiction (like mystery, romance, or thriller), then it must be literary. But that’s not the case. Literary fiction is very specialized and difficult to do well. Literary readers (especially readers of experimental and “high literary” forms) are very demanding and are sometimes regarded as a niche market.
What is General Fiction? How Do You Know If Your Book Qualifies as Mainstream?
Mainstream fiction, which goes by many other names (like general fiction and literary light), is driven by a mix of genre fiction and literary fiction techniques. In mainstream fiction, the writer must have a strong “hook” or premise. The story must be readable (it must have a traditional plot arc and be relatively plot- and character-driven). Controversy is welcome, but it is not presented in as nuanced a way as in literary fiction. Insight and emotionality are important, but they are often of equal importance as the story.
Mainstream fiction tends to blend transparent language with occasional bouts of prose that feel more literary in tone. Writers of general fiction can have a variety of voices and write in a variety of styles, but all are accessible and not too difficult to read. Insight and perspective are important but should not overshadow story.
Determining How To Market Your Book (Whether To Market As Mainstream Or Literary)
Most novels that don’t fall into the literary category or the genre fiction category are mainstream fiction. If you do not know if your book is literary or mainstream fiction, it is probably mainstream (given that literary fiction is so specialized). Trained literary writers know literary fiction when they see it (and some tend to look at mainstream fiction as one of the commercial genres, as opposed to art). So if you’re not sure that your book is literary, you may want to err on the side of caution by calling your book “mainstream.”
If you are writing literary fiction, it will likely help your cause to have been formally educated or very widely read in modern literary fiction. Having a degree or lots of publication credits in literary journals and magazines goes a long way when an editor is deciding whether to market you as mainstream or literary. For more information on why having a strong bio matters, read Building Publication Credits. Writer's Relief has been helping writers build up their bios by preparing professional submissions since 1994. We can help you build your writing credentials.
If you don’t have a strong background, you may want to position yourself as a writer of accessible, mainstream fiction (and if you’re trying to produce a best seller, that’s a great place to be).
How Long Is A Literary Novel? How Long Is A Mainstream Novel?
A literary novel can be between 40,000 and 120,000 words long. If you’re a new writer, literary agents and editors will likely want to see a novel between 70,000 and 100,000 words from you. A mainstream novel is usually best-suited when it hits the 70K-100K mark as well.
If you’ve written a literary or a mainstream novel and would like help submitting your work to literary agents, please check out our various packages. Writer’s Relief takes the headache out of the submission process and increases your odds of acceptance. Our clients are multipublished and award winners. For questions, e-mail info@wrelief.com.
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