What Genre is My Book?

While major genres like mystery, romance, and sci-fi are a start, most successful books occupy a specific niche within them. All the parts that make up your story— like plot, characters, setting, tone, theme, and pacing—classify it into a subgenre.

For example, a fantasy novel might be high fantasy, urban fantasy, or grimdark fantasy.

And if your story is targeting a certain age range, such as middle grade or young adult, you’ll want to specify that as well. Understanding your niche for your intended genre will help you attract the right readers.

Once you’ve defined your ideal genre and subgenre, take time to evaluate if your story truly aligns with what readers will expect. Depending on your genre, you might ask yourself questions like:

Each genre has typical conventions and tropes that fans expect to see. By analyzing your story against the norms of your genre, you can refine your manuscript to deliver exactly what readers are looking for.

It will also help you write a tight, compelling synopsis. Focus on highlighting the plot points and devices readers want to hear about.

When querying agents, you will be asked to compare your manuscript to successful books in the same genre. This helps the agent quickly grasp your style, story, and target audience.

But they can also help you make sure you’re querying agents and publishers who are looking for manuscripts like yours. Look for agents who have successfully sold or represented books similar to yours in the past few years.

For example, if an agent landed a major deal for a bestselling historical romance novel, they may be interested in representing your historical romance, too.

Similarly, research publishers who already have successful books from your genre and comp titles in their catalog. If a publisher has printed multiple psychological thrillers that are comparable to your manuscript, that’s a strong indicator they are a good fit for your book as well.

Strategically weaving your comp titles into your query letter hook is a powerful way to instantly convey your genre, subgenre, tone and style.

For a romance query, you could say:

"Perfect for fans of 'The Hating Game' and 'The Kiss Quotient,' this diverse workplace romcom brings all the laugh-out-loud banter, simmering tension, and steamy moments readers crave."

Using your comps as bookends in your hook establishes expectations upfront. Agents can instantly visualize your story and appreciate its potential by comparing it to successful titles. Weaving in carefully chosen comp titles grabs attention fast.