Men's Fiction vs. Women's Fiction

One of the reasons I submitted KILLER OF KILLERS to Melange Books was because they had listed "Men's Fiction" as a specific genre for which they were accepting submissions. And it was the first time I had ever seen that in a publisher's guidelines. Sure you see Women's Fiction all the time, or Chick Lit. But Men's Fiction? Not really. But I think there should be a Men's Fiction genre.

Sure you see Thrillers all the time, and that's what I had called KOK. It's a thriller. An Action/Thriller. I call THE VASE a suspense novel. Or a Suspense/Thriller.

To be sure, KOK is more action-packed, whereas THE VASE is more suspenseful. But both could be labeled as Thrillers. To be more specific, KOK is a Martial Arts Thriller. And who might read a Martial Arts thriller? Mostly men, I would think. But women might too, so it's not like women couldn't enjoy the book. My first literary agent was a woman and she said she loved it.

But I wasn't really actively submitting KOK, because I was focusing on getting THE VASE published first. I believed it would have a wider appeal. You know, KOK was about a martial artist on a mission of justice. That's a man's story, with all the action, the fight scenes, the killing. But you know what? There is love and romance in there, too. And women like that.

And that's where Women's Fiction comes in. I mean look at all the women's fiction. Virtually all of it is some sort of romance story. (Featuring a shirtless man on the cover, showing off a ripped six-pack.) I suppose I could have featured a shirtless Trent Smith on the cover of KILLER OF KILLERS. After all, he's got a ripped six-pack, too. But... naahh! It's MEN'S Fiction. I wrote it because I wanted to write a book that I would like to read. And I achieved my objective. I've read it more times than I can count, and every time I love it as much or more than the first time I read it. Yeah, it's that good. (Pardon the humility, please.)

And THE VASE? Well, there's romance in there, too. A different kind of romance, but it's a different kind of story. It's weird. My first two books, although they both can be called thrillers to a certain extent, are really two very different kind of books. But both have romance. I suppose every story should have romance. If you want women to like it, that is. And I do.

But neither one can be called Women's Fiction. And that's what I wanted to point out. Both are Men's Fiction books, but can be enjoyed by women. Maybe that's the difference between Men's Fiction and Women's Fiction. Women's Fiction is for women. Only. But Men's Fiction can be enjoyed by both men and women. At least that's what I think.