by Mary Brotherton

Created on: August 16, 2009

Those who sell the books and those who publish the books have created categories for those who write the books and ultimately, the readers who want a specific type of book to read. These categories often overlap and there are crossovers, because not every book can fit neatly into a definite style. Novels, in particular, often crossover and appeal to a wide audience of readers with various tastes.

Mainstream fiction refers to most writing that does not fit into a defined category or genre such as mystery, political drama, romance or Sci-Fi; often, horror and fantasy are marketed as science fiction, but their fans seldom have difficulty finding the books they want. The genres usually have unique sections dedicated to their styles in bookstores and on line. Generally, if it doesn't fit into one of the prescribed categories, it's considered mainstream. Fiction written more than 30 years ago is accepted as classic literature and often has its own department, regardless of the storyline.

Most mainstream fiction provides escape for its readers; it is entertainment. Clearly defined good and evil, protagonist and antagonist themes are in many mainstream books, but the best writers know how to blur the lines and provide their readers with an unexpected twist often revealing good and evil role reversals. Also known as pulp fiction, mainstream or commercial fiction writers fulfill their reader's expectations of anticipated story resolutions with a recognizable and forward-moving narrative. The stories are plot-driven and active. It's rare for mainstream fiction to end on anything other than a happy note.

Some publishers and booksellers narrow the genres down even more into categories such as chick-lit, historical fiction, contemporary, suspense or literary.

Literary authors use symbolism and imagery with metaphor and strong language but their books have commercial value, depending on market demands. The literary writing style focuses on character, psychological depth and style rather than dialogue, narration and plot as mainstream commercial writing. Literary fiction can be complex with many layers. Each publisher may have a different definition of what qualifies as literary; this is a very subjective topic.

Some believe literary fiction involves transcendence, and while difficult to define, transcendence provides a depth to a particular piece of writing, something not found in mainstream or some commercial writing. Literary fiction may entertain its readers, but it also strives to change how readers see themselves. Deep themes, powerful characters, complex plots and exceptional writing skills are on the path to writing transcendence.

Not intended to be strictly academic, literary fiction can be fun to read and write. Well crafted with lush imagery, detailed characters and thought-provoking story lines, literary fiction can entertain, too.

Most award-winning authors are proud to call their fiction, literary and many pieces of literary fiction, though not all, are short stories or novellas, rather than full-length novels.

If you still don't understand the differences between literary, contemporary and mainstream fiction, let alone the various genres and their sub-categories, I recommend checking with particular publishing houses to see how they define these classifications for their purposes.

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