The Confines of Women's Fiction

What is women’s fiction? And why is it even a genre, when men’s fiction doesn’t exist? Is women’s fiction meant to be written and read only by female writers, while fiction written by men is deemed literary or upmarket and is read by men and women alike? My recent experiences in the query trenches remind me of the movie, “American Fiction,” which pokes fun at the publishing industry for trying to pigeonhole work by Black authors as “African American fiction,” regardless of plot, rather than categorizing them as upmarket or literary.

The Women’s Fiction Writers’ Association (WFWA) refers to women’s fiction as a (woman’s) emotional journey, typically with a hopeful ending. Lithub defines it as “protagonists who struggle with specifically feminine flaws.” And according to wikipedia, it’s “an umbrella term for women-centered books that focus on women's life experiences that are marketed to female readers.” Presumably this means motherhood, marriage and romantic relationships, sister relationships, daughter relationships, female friendships, and other non-career, traditionally female roles.

In May 2021, I finished the first draft of a novel (my third) centered around a tech startup. It does NOT meet the definition of women’s fiction for a number of reasons. First, it alternates among four characters: two women and two men. Second, a tech startup? Definitely not a typical women’s setting, since the tech industry is dominated by men. Third, while three of the main characters have positive, hopeful arcs; the fourth, a woman, does not. For the past three years, I’ve edited, revised, and polished this novel by receiving and incorporating feedback from critique partners and two rounds of beta readers, including paid professionals. I also hired two sensitivity readers and enlisted an editor to review and critique my query package. But for the last six months of querying the manuscript, two out of the three requests for fulls that I’ve received have been from agents to whom I’ve pitched (and paid to pitch) in person, at writing conferences. No agent whom I’ve queried online has requested even partial pages. To their credit, the three agents who requested my full manuscript read it quickly and responded within one to four weeks. After receiving countless form rejections from agents who haven’t read any pages of my manuscript, I’ve made a couple of observations/conclusions, that may be totally off.

1) If you’re a woman who is not writing genre fiction (e.g. historical, romance, fantasy, suspense, thriller, mystery, sci-fi, speculative), agents expect you to write women's fiction. Not pure upmarket or literary. The published female authors of pure upmarket and literary fiction are few and far between: Barbara Kingsolver, Jennifer Haigh, Ann Patchett, Marilynne Robinson, Joyce Carol Oates, and others.

2) Despite the fact that my third novel deals with complex themes (e.g. the illusion of meritocracy) and revolves around topical issues (startups and the tech industry), realistic workplace novels apparently don’t sell. Sci-fi workplace novels and/or speculative workplace novels might have a better shot, but realistic multi-character workplace novels, even suspenseful ones that alternate between personal and work lives, aren’t deemed publishable or commercially viable.

I can name a handful of successful workplace novels, but most of them have a speculative, sci-fi, or thriller element: WHISPER NETWORK by Chandler Baker (which qualifies as a women’s fiction novel because of its positive, female-centric themes of female friendship and empowerment but contains a thriller element); THE CIRCLE by Dave Eggers (definitely more sci-fi than realistic); RIPE by Sarah Rose Etter (slim plot with a speculative element that manifests as a black hole hovering above the protagonist when she’s depressed); THE BOYS’ CLUB by Erica Katz and THE PARTNER TRACK by Helen Wan — both about female lawyers who navigate their misogynistic law firms and ultimately have hopeful endings.

I love my third novel and do intend to publish it at some point — possibly with a small press like Black Rose Writing. But first I intend to edit and polish my fourth manuscript (of which I just completed the first draft), which qualifies more as women’s fiction and may have a better chance at finding an agent and being published by a bigger press.

Navigating the competitive and confusing publishing industry can be discouraging; but luckily, the part of the process that I enjoy the most is writing and editing. It’s what has always inspired and motivated me. And by having a plan for next steps, I can mitigate the downside of not finding the audience I hoped to reach.

Writers' Tips: Read Like Crazy!

Like most writers, I enjoy reading books in my favorite genres: contemporary, literary, historical, mystery/suspense, memoir/biography. In fact, one of the ways I distract myself during the publication process (see my previous blog post) is by reading.

It may seem obvious, but reading—a lot—will allow you to grow as a writer. In addition to occupying your time with an enjoyable hobby, you can pick up great tips about what works in a book and what doesn’t and apply it to your own writing. Here are a few things to watch for (and take notes on) while you read:

• Word Choice and Description - Some writers use beautiful metaphors and similes that express emotions, feelings, and descriptions in new and exciting ways. Take note of these when you read!

• Plot Pacing - Does the plot move forward at a fast clip, so that you stay up late to read another chapter? Or does it drag so much that you put it aside for days, weeks, or forever? Consider which plot elements cause you to lose interest or keep reading. Does the action contain conflict and stakes, enough to make you interested in what will happen next? Does each scene propel the plot forward? Does the inciting incident/catalyst occur early enough in the story to pique your interest?

• Character Development - Do you sympathize with the protagonist and supporting characters? Are their wishes and desires easily attainable, or do sufficiently high barriers stand in their way? How do they treat other characters? Are they standoffish, kind, or somewhere in between? Are their actions and behavior believable or wildly inconsistent for no apparent reason? Do they undergo a credible change (arc) by the end of the story?

• Dialogue - Is the dialogue interesting and believable? Or is it so jarring and stilted that you stop reading altogether?

• Voice - Is the voice (Point of View) consistent throughout the novel? Is it accessible/relatable?

These are just a few areas to notice while you read. Bottom line: if you get into the habit of reading critically and assessing what works well and what doesn’t each time you pick up a book, your own writing will benefit tremendously from the experience.

The Waiting Game of the Publication Process

As much as I love writing full time (which has been my dream for many years), there’s one aspect of it that I positively hate: waiting. Writing gives me the power to control my characters’ worlds, emotions, conflicts, and arcs. In short, I pull the strings. Conversely, during the publication journey, I’m forced to put the ball in someone else’s court and wait for him or her to deliver feedback, a cover design, a response to a query, a decision on a contest, a review, the final PDF of my book.

Usually I can distract myself with another project—revising another manuscript or beginning the first draft of a brand new novel. At the moment (or rather, for the past week), I have not done either. Last Thursday, I submitted final line edits to my publisher for The View from Half Dome, and in the meantime, I’m waiting for tomorrow’s meeting with my critique partners to hear their feedback on the ending of my contemporary novel-in-process, A Nebulous Startup. I have ideas for a fourth novel and have even begun some research and a word file, but I’m not ready to begin a first draft. First I want to finish editing A Nebulous Startup and send it to beta readers + at least one South Asian sensitivity reader early next year.

Another great way to occupy time while waiting is to listen to writing podcasts and recorded webinars. (I highly recommend Donald Maas’ recorded writing webinars and The Shit No One Tells You about Writing podcasts). And of course, reading great novels is a favorite!

How do you distract yourself while waiting?

Changing A Novel's Title

A week ago, I read an excellent blog post by the NC Piedmont Laureate, Heather Bell Adams. Heather explains the importance of choosing a great title and provides tips to use in title selection.

Her post prompted me to seriously reconsider the title I had chosen for my second historical novel. The original title was the name of the fantasy world that my main character and her sister had created to ward off their loneliness and sadness during the months following their father’s death. The name also symbolized the magical “bubble” of Yosemite and its residents.

However, the name of that imaginary land evokes action-adventure, fantasy, and even sci-fi genres, not historical fiction. Belatedly, I realized that many readers who dislike those genres might be turned off immediately and not give the book a second thought. What’s more, the title seemingly has nothing to do with a young woman’s journey (both internal and external), or with Yosemite, the place where she discovers herself.

As a result, I revisited old titles I had previously considered for the novel, along with new ones. I wanted something simple yet meaningful that would convey hope and promise, along with inspiration of a beautiful place: Yosemite. Ultimately, I chose The View from Half Dome, since Half Dome is the name of the mountain at Yosemite that Isabel, the protagonist, climbs with her mentor, Enid Michael, Yosemite’s first female ranger-naturalist. On the summit of that mountain, Isabel finally realizes what she must do. The clarity she gains, along with the reminder that she is part of something larger and longer lasting, gives her courage to make a difficult decision and take her next steps.

I am lucky that my publisher, Black Rose Writing, allowed me to make the title change to The View from Half Dome. The next step will be to collaborate on the cover design, which I hope to share in the next two months. Special thanks to Heather for her inspiring post!