《Write Better: Tips and tricks》Genre vs Category

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Before we get into the meaty part, I wanted to take a chapter to discuss the difference between genre and category. Many people fully don't understand the difference as it is known in the publishing industry (Wattpad can be misleading because it tells you to choose a category and then lists a majority of genres).

Day to day, you can survive switching them around since they're essentially synonyms, but if you want to spare yourself correction from picky people (or you want to understand why an agent doesn't just want to see "young adult" in the spot for genre), here's a quick reference.

A is a category of literary composition. They tend to be broad in nature and can be distinguished from one another through examination of content, tone, technique, and occasionally length. They group books with these similar elements and often have subgenres (Romance —> historical, contemporary).

format (graphic novel)

age (young adult, new adult)

*usually* length (short story)

A doesn't tell you much about what a book is about, but more that it contains one element or structure (such as graphics, teenagers, or a small number of words).

Here's an more visual example if you're still confused or want a way to explain this to someone who doesn't necessarily care about it as much as you.

A literary genre is Dalmatian. A literary category is Dog.

Let's try again: A literary category is Dog. A literary genre is Poodle. A subgenre is Toy Poodle (still a poodle, but it's a Toy type, vs a Miniature, Standard, or Tea Cup).

Like I said before, they're kinda the same thing: barking, pooping, hungry, lovable tubes with legs. In most circles you can use them interchangeably. The difference is that a dog helps to tell you that the animal is not a fish or a cat, and Dalmatian tells you more what the dog is about (spotted, this tall, weighs this, tends to look really good next to fire engines).

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