Hi, could anyone help me with what genre humorous(?!) 'life advice for females' would be, please?
non-fiction?
creative non-fiction?
something entirely different?
I'd like to know so I can submit it to the right people (if and when).
Thankyou in advance. Q
I can only suggested you do the same as I do in a similar situation, consult the most recent W&A Yearbook (2019). I know it takes time, but it is accurate material (well as accurate as eight months out of date can be).
Agents list what they will and will not accept, I find it a good starting point. The listings should also answer your comment about fiction or non-fiction.
Dear Edward.
,thankyou for your reply. I appreciate that you took the time to to give me a detailed answer.
May I ask you, since I don't have an agent, should I approach a fiction or non-fiction agent? I ask this because of the submission letter having to be laid out in a different way for each.
Thankyou in advance.
Q
Lifestyle genre is simple enough, it is what it is.
It is the humour part and the addition of a sexist label that is causing the trouble.
If your work is a humorous exposition of how to live, then P G Wodehouse and Fiona Neill should provide ample guidance – these writers give lifestyle advice, but wrapped up in a funny story. For instance, try not to laugh when Wodehouse gets into the swing of things, and do not titter at the goings on in ‘The Secret Life Of A Slummy Mummy’.
The point about the two writers I mention is the genre is not ‘lifestyle’ but ‘humour’, they just happen to wrap up their advice in a funny package.
Lifestyle, as most people accept the phrase, is about ‘how to live your life’ For example: do not smoke; do not drink alcohol; do not eat meat; do not do anything to excess and do not drive on the wrong side of the road. Is any of this ‘funny’ or not, ‘female’ or not? It all depends on how you write it.
Your main target is ‘lifestyle’, so with that in mind I suggest you raid a large bookshop and see what they have on their shelves. Get the feel of the market place. See what is already out there, and try to match your offering to what you see on the shelves.
If you see nothing that matches your own writing, ask yourself if you have discovered a rich new vein – or does no one read such material?
And lastly, the very obvious point (it is to me anyway) is to ask your agent. The agent, above all people, will know the market, and they will know in which genre to place your work.