Commercial, Literary, Genres and the Difference
Asked by Darolyn Wall on March 12, 2020
I asked a similar question online session, but we ran out of time.
Would you please explain the difference between literary, commercial, and women's fiction? I understand genres, (romance is written where the romance is the central theme), but to me, Nicholas Sparks books are Romance too.
At a recent writer's conference, an instructor referred to Nicholas Sparks books as epic love stories and commercial fiction, (not romance genre). The books of his that I have read were written in the third person whereas Romance books are written in the first person. His do not include sex, whereas the romance genre may or may not.
The instructor had also said that a romance genre book is found in another section of the bookstore than a Nicholas Sparks book. So, what is the difference? Please help me understand this a bit better.
Thank you in advance for your time.
Jerry's Answer
Darolyn, Sparks's books are what we refer to as breakout titles. They transcend genre. Just like J.K. Rowling essentially writes Young Adult books, they sell so universally that they're read by virtually everyone. Like you, I believe Sparks's books are romances, but they reach much further than that.
Literary titles emphasize the writing as much as the story.
Commercial means just what it implies. It reaches the wides demographic market possible (Sparks and Rowing, for instance).
Women's fiction is largely written by women for women, but it too can be commercial--and should be.
I've never heard that Romance is limited to first person.