By BookBaby author Andre Calilhanna

A book’s genre tells you something about the story within, and picking the right book genre and subgenre will help you get discovered by the right readers.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Whether you’re a reader, a writer, or both, you already know there are different literary styles out there. That’s why retailers and book buyers find it helpful to have titles organized into book Genres.

If we didn’t have genres — and subgenres — to classify books, how would we know if To Serve Man was a memoir, a YA fiction novel, or a cookbook?

Fiction vs. nonfiction

When considering Book Genres, one of the first questions to address is whether a title qualifies as fiction or nonfiction.

Fiction is a story that is made up. This means that the story is not real and the author has taken creative license in developing the tale. There are dozens of book genres and styles under the “fiction” heading, so this is a very broad classification.

The other obvious option at the highest level of book genres is nonfiction. This means the story in the book is real, though the perspective from which the event is told may be personal, objective, or some mix of both.

Types of fiction genres

There is an ever-growing list of fiction genres you can explore — far too many to cover in this post. That said, some of the more popular genres of fiction include:

Fantasy

Fantasy is one of the most popular types of fiction. Fantasy can involve mystical powers, magic, other worlds, gods and superheroes, and any number of fantastic elements.

There are hundreds of popular examples of fantasy books, including Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials, and the Harry Potter series.

Science fiction

Science fiction often refers to stories set in the future or on other worlds. This genre typically involves a lot of futuristic technology we do not possess, space travel, and/or time travel.

Some of the most popular examples of sci-fi include Dune and The Hunger Games.

Mystery

Mystery novels are designed to keep you guessing. Often, the formula involves a heinous crime that takes place at the beginning of the story. Then, the protagonist is responsible for solving the mystery and bringing the criminal(s) to justice.

Some of the most popular examples of mystery are Sherlock Holmes and works by Agatha Christie.

Thriller

A thriller is a book designed to keep your heart racing. Thrillers include lots of suspense and offer plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

If you’ve read any of Robert Ludlam’s Jason Bourne novels or anything from the Jack Reacher series, you know about the thriller genre.

Romance

Romance books focus on love and romantic relationships and include an optimistic conclusion. As with all of the genres listed so far, there are a host of subgenres that fall under the umbrella of “romance.”

Romance novelists span a wide gamut, from Jane Austen to Danielle Steel.

New adult

The new adult genre is a genre that is written for readers between the ages of 18-25, generally. These books typically focus on younger protagonists — around the same age as the reader — who are trying to navigate a troubling time in their life or a thrilling adventure.

Popular examples include The Magicians by Lev Grossman and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.

Types of nonfiction genres

Nonfiction books also fit into a plethora of genres and subgenres. Popular varieties include:

Memoir

A memoir is a book by the subject of the story — or transcribed by an author who works with the subject — to detail a period of the writer’s life, often to deliver a life lesson or focus on a particular experience. The Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant is an enduring popular example.

Biography

A biography is a book written about someone’s life by someone other than the subject. Biographies have been written about thousands of famous people, from Steve Jobs to Alexander Hamilton, Betty White to the Dalai Lama.

Self-help

Self-help books generally focus on helping the reader improve a specific area of his life. From better health to becoming a better leader, counseling to finances, a wide range of titles fit under the self-help moniker.

Popular self-help books include How To Win Friends and Influence People and 10,000 Hours: You Become What You Practice.

True crime

True crime titles provide details and perspective on crimes that actually happened. Two popular titles from the genre are among the first: Helter Skelter and Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

Religion and spirituality

Nonfiction books can also focus on religion and spirituality, from a historic, social, or personal perspective. For example, books in this genre might trace the growth of Christianity or Islam, or they might focus on helping you live a religious life.

Examples include The Purpose Driven Life and Introduction to World Religions.

Travel

Among other things, travel books can focus on someone taking a road trip or inform you about what it is like to visit a foreign country. These books might offer advice on the best food to eat, how to navigate a city, and teach you about the local culture.

Of course, this is just a brief overview of the various genres that books are categorized into, and as an author, finding the right genre and using the best keywords will not only help explain your content, it can aid in the discovery of your title when readers do an online search.

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This BookBaby blog article Book Genres Every Writer Should Know appeared first on and was stolen from BookBaby Blog .