Worst Genres of Writing for Traditional Publishing
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In the writing community, we talk a lot about what genres are in vogue or trending in a certain year, particularly when it comes to what literary agents and publishers at Big Five publishing houses are looking for.
But while these trends might come and go, I want to talk about four genres that traditional publishers typically are not interested in. Because these genres are generally less desirable to traditional publishers, therefore it is less likely that you will get a literary agent's representation if you are querying them, as a literary agent’s job is to sell manuscripts to publishers.
While getting rejections from literary agents and publishers can feel extremely personal and disheartening, I want you to know that at the end of the day it is a business decision on their end. The business of selling books is what feeds into their decisions on the authors that they represent and that get book deals, so it is not a personal judgment on your storytelling abilities—it’s just business.
Additionally, as I go through the worst genres of writing for traditional publishing, know that I am speaking from the perspective of the Big Five publishing houses in the US. Those are Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, and HarperCollins. These houses, and all of their various imprints, require a literary agent's representation for manuscript submission. But remember that you don’t have to go the traditional route for publishing your book, and there are other methods available, so as I go through these genres I will also mention other options for publishing that you can take.
If you are writing in one of these genres, don't get your hopes down! You might have an easier path to publishing that doesn't go through a Big Five house.
Of course, there are examples of many books within these genres that have been published through the Big Five. This article isn’t to say it’s impossible for these genres to get traditionally published, just that they are harder to sell these days. If you find yourself getting consistently rejected despite having a strong manuscript, having an unfavorable genre might be the reason why.
Novellas
Novellas are pieces of fiction that are between 20,000 to 50,000 words, and their smaller size is the main issue that publishers have. This is why they are considered one of the worst genres of writing for traditional publishing.
Big Five publishing houses usually publish novels between 60,000 and 90,000 words, and so every part of the production process is tailored to that length. From the sizes of the pages, to the way the books are bound, to the costs of printing, everything is tailored to produce a product that comes within a specific range of cost that is then offset by the way the books are priced—usually at around $18-$20.
The problem that publishers have with novellas comes down to the length and therefore the actual size of the book upon printing. Anything that deviates drastically from their formatting standards is less appealing to the publisher because they will have to make exceptions just for that one book, by reformatting or redesigning book elements, and they will also have to change the pricing of the book.
Since it’s shorter and it looks like the consumer is getting “less story,” the consumer will also expect a lower price point compared to a full-length novel, which then throws the publishing house's profit and loss statement off. They will have to expect to sell more of them in order to justify what they are paying you as the author. And since there is the reader's expectation of works of fiction being a certain length, it’s hard for publishers to expect novellas to sell as well as novels do.
If you are working on a novella, don’t fret! Many independent presses accept novella manuscripts, as they aren’t as tightly bound to a production process the way the Big Five publishing houses are. If you publish a novella that sells well, it’s a great way to boost your credibility as an author, which can help you publish traditionally in the future.
Poetry Collections
Poetry collections simply have a smaller audience than novels or nonfiction books, and thus literary agents and traditional publishers are less interested in investing in them. They can’t be certain that they are going to make back their investment in the book through high sales.
There’s also a similar concern in length akin to novellas, in that in order to have a hundred pages of poetry, you're going to need to have a lot of poems. That’s why most poetry collections published by the Big Five tend to be anthologies and curated collections from a poet’s lifetime—they need material to fill up all of those pages. Again, the disruption of the standard production procedure is the main issue making this one of the worst genres of writing for traditional publishing.
Of course there are breakout poet superstars like Rupi Kaur and Amanda Gorman. However, combined with the fact there are generally fewer casual readers of poetry compared to fiction and nonfiction, it makes poetry manuscripts less attractive to agents. The New York Times’ bestseller list doesn't even have a poetry section
Fortunately, there are many other publishing paths that are easier to pursue with poetry collections, which I’ll go into below.
Short Story Collections
Many of the points raised about novellas and poetry collections also apply to short story collections. There are typically fewer readers seeking out these specific types of books, and there can be concerns with length and therefore production costs with short story collections.
There's also an issue of continuity. Do all of these short stories actually belong in the same collection? Is there an overarching takeaway or thematic link that the reader can identify throughout all of the short stories, or do they feel disparate and independent of one another?
Short story collections have to justify being published as a collection versus having those stories independently published in magazines and journals. They are particularly difficult to publish as your debut book—it is much more likely for a publisher to publish a short story collection by an author who is already well established in the genre, because they will already have a significant and established readership who will want to buy the collection.
Faith-based Books
Imprints from the Big Five publishing houses typically don't publish books that are intended to provide spiritual guidance or that include heavy references to religious texts such as the Bible or the Quran.
In the case of Christian fiction and memoirs, there is actually a very robust Christian publishing landscape that operates in parallel to traditional publishing, with literary agents who specifically represent Christian books to these Christian publishing houses. These Christian publishers also have specific connections to outlets like religious bookstores that help make a lot of the sales in that particular market, so there's definitely still a pathway for faith-based books.
An important note here is that if religion is a component of your novel or your characters are religious, or if you're writing a memoir and it mentions your faith, that does not mean a traditional publisher or a literary agent is not going to be interested in your book.There are tons of books in the market that feature characters going on spiritual journeys or who are religious. The main question is if faith is the dominating force of the book and if it intends to provide spiritual guidance. If that’s the case with your manuscript, an alternative publisher is likely your better path.
How to Get Published in Niche Genres
Now, what should you do if your story falls under one of the worst genres of writing for traditional publishing? I hope you're not feeling discouraged, because there are plenty of other outlets that can publish you. You absolutely don't have to give up on your publishing dreams.
1) Literary Magazines/Journals
Submitting to literary magazines or journals does not typically require a literary agent's representation, which means there is a much lower barrier to entry. This is amazing, especially for first-time authors. Many magazines and journals are interested in short stories and poetry, and some would also accept a novella, if it's on the shorter end of the length spectrum.
A major plus of getting published in a literary journal or magazine is that you can use that publication as a writing credential in your future query letter to literary agents.
2) Independent Publishers
Another pathway to publication is independent publishers that are not part of the Big Five. These are smaller presses that still will give you an advance for your book and handle all of the design, editing, publicity, and marketing. Your book will just have a smaller distribution than if you went to one of the Big Five imprints, but that's not to say that these are not legitimate presses. Many of them publish books that make bestseller lists and win awards.
Smaller indie presses tend to be more experimental with what they publish because they are less concerned with the corporate bottom line that the Big Five conglomerate publishers have to use to make their business decisions. They're less concerned with genre trends, and many of them have amazing reputations just as good as Big Five imprints, so definitely check them out.
Now, the key is some of them will still require a literary agent's representation, but some do not. If you’re interested in finding a smaller, independent press to publish with, make sure you read their submissions guidelines carefully.
3) Self-Publishing
The final option is to self-publish. Self-publishing gives you complete and total control over your publishing timeline. It is a completely viable path to publishing, and it’s also always an option if one of these other publishing methods does not pan out.
I hope these tips help give you a more robust understanding of the publishing industry, what publishers are looking for, and why they might reject certain genres.
Thanks for reading and happy writing!