Women's Fiction - Question From a Writer

In light of the conversation this week on romance and women's fiction, I had an author recently submit these questions to me. I figured this would be a great time to answer the questions. 

1.       What is the preferred word count for women’s fiction? I’m assuming this will be in the 100K+ range.

2.       I want to include some scenes where characters discuss well known novels like Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter; and Jane Austen & Mary Stewart. Can the titles/authors be used – or how would this be best handled?

3.    Is a light, adventurous, touch common in Women's Fiction, even when dealing with challenging topics like grief and fear?

These are great questions, so let me take the time to address each of these individually. I do want to remind you that, like everything in publishing, there are not necessarily fixed rules. The story will always dictate the approach an author takes. I would also add that even if the story is well written, there are no guarantees it will be published. It has to be right for the market, right for the editor and right for the publisher.

As far as the word count goes, generally publishers are looking at anything from 75K to 110K. Can you push that limit on the upper end? Maybe???? You have to remember that the larger the book, the better the book needs to be. You are looking at costs dealing with things such as formatting. You also have to understand that publishers know how much someone is willing to pay for a book. Get over that range and they are not likely to buy your book. For first time authors, I would still stick to no more than 100K.

Can you include scenes when your characters are reading famous books? Sure. Mentioning more modern books will tend to date the book and really stick it in a time period. The older classics are not a problem. If it is, a publisher might ask you to change it, but I would doubt it.

I am going to take a stab at this third question. I think I know what you are asking but I am not sure. You are wondering if you can take a lighter tone with difficult topics? For this, I would again refer to the comment I made earlier. The book will dictate the approach you take. If the characters are having a tough time dealing with the issues you bring up in the book, having a lighter approach is simply not going to work. We write stories and put elements into the story when the story needs it. I brought this up yesterday when talking about the sensuality levels in romance novels. You would only add the sex scenes in the story IF the story needed it. If not, you leave it out.

I would also add here that the tone you take in your book depends on the natural voice of the author. If you are someone who writes best with a lighter tone, then it would be best to avoid the darker and more emotional topics. The same would be true if you write in a more serious tone. Writing Rom-Con is probably not the best approach you need to take.

Finally, remember that there are not specific styles to genres. For example, New Adult or YA does not have to be written in first person. New Adult writing does not have to be just about 20-year old's having sex and talking about alcohol. Women's fiction does not just have to be about depressing topics. 

I hope these answered your questions!