Children’s book genres: Mixing genres

Some subgenres are so ubiquitous they’re like genres in their own right. Romantic comedy, dystopian sci-fi, urban fantasy. But what if you feel your manuscript contains elements from more than one genre that don’t usually go together? Apocalyptic adventure. Cli-fi romance. Steampunk mystery.

No problem. You can mix them together into a subgenre that suits your book in order to give potential readers a more accurate picture of what they’re getting. But it’s always best to choose one overriding category as your main genre so readers instantly understand the type of book this is.

If you were going to shelve your book at a library or bookshop, which shelf would it sit on? Most bookshops won’t have a ‘romantic fantasy’ or ‘literary horror’ section so whoever’s shelving it has to make a call: what sort of book is this really? Would it appeal more to fans of literary fiction or horror fiction? Which genre’s conventions does the book most closely align with?

When we talk about subgenres like dystopian science fiction, we’re telling readers the overriding genre – science fiction – and then describing what type of science fiction we’ve written. In this case, dystopian. That second term (science fiction) usually comes last because it tells readers our ‘main’ genre and it’s being modified by the term in front of it.

Usually, a romantic fantasy is a fantasy book that features romantic elements so readers will expect it to meet fantasy conventions first and foremost (rich worldbuilding, magical elements, etc.) while a fantasy romance is a romance novel that features fantastical elements so readers will expect romance conventions to be met (like happily ever after).

The same goes for less well-worn subgenres. If you’ve written a romance story set on Mars, you might choose to call it sci-fi romance or romantic science fiction. Which genre is the real focus of your novel? Will it appeal most to romance readers or sci-fi fans? If you had to choose a shelf at the bookshop, which would you pick?

Remember you don’t have to throw every element of your story into your genre description. Just because you feature a romance subplot doesn’t mean you need to call your book a romance (the majority of YA novels feature some sort of romance subplot but that doesn’t define their genre).

Conversely, don’t bury the lede and hide your genre: if your book is set in a magical world where characters have powers and animals fly, it’s important that readers know this is a fantasy upfront.

Some people will actively avoid fantasy novels (as is their right!) so if you pitched this as a screwball comedy or western adventure and they picked it up, chances are they’d put it down again once they read the back cover or got a few pages in. It’s not your job to encourage readers who don’t enjoy your genre to give it a go by pretending it’s something else.

I read a Twitter thread recently about a guy on a dating app who lied about his age, changing it from 52 to 48 so that he’d appear in women’s algorithms even if they’d specifically said that didn’t want to meet men in that age category. He’d ‘fess up once they got matched. ‘But I’m a young 52!’ he said when they complained. ‘It’s important for women to give older guys a chance and they’ll change their minds when they meet me.’

But that’s not his decision! Women have been given the choice to select who they’d like to meet and the men on the app need to respect that. Cheating the algorithm and lying to women about their age won’t impress them, it will annoy them! The same goes for misleading readers about the sort of book you’ve written.

If there are several genres and subgenres calling out to you when you think about your manuscript, write them all down and try to pick the one that really captures your story the best. Which genre’s conventions does your novel really align with? Which genre’s fans will go wild for your blurb? Genre labels are there to help readers pick books they love so you don’t need to be too clever here – just be honest and accurate about the sort of story you’ve written.