The gothic splendour of Kenilworth Castle
Like most readers of historical fiction, I have my favourite eras. I love the seventeenth century, the Tudors and the medieval period, with the occasional foray into Victoriana, WWII and Greek myth. So I am unlikely to purchase anything set in the Napoleonic era, Roman times, or the Dark Ages – that is, unless you work extra-hard to persuade me!
Also, I have a penchant for dark gothic stories set in castles or old houses (you can blame an early passion for ‘Jane Eyre’ and ‘Rebecca’ for that!) so a historical romance would have to be quite gritty for me to want to read it.
So – I’m a fussy reader – like nearly everyone else. This is a problem for historical fiction writers who want readers to find their books. We have to not only find those readers interested in history, but also those limited few with an enthusiasm for our particular era and tastes.
But more importantly than this, there are different types of stories even within this narrow readership. Some readers are looking for concept-driven stories – books for the book club market often naturally fall into this category. Some literary historical novels are driven by the psychology of the characters, and some, such as historical mysteries are all about the intricacies of the plot. Some readers enjoy epic novels with a wide sweep, some enjoy books focused on one historical personage, such as Anne Boleyn. ‘Wolf Hall’ is not the same as ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’, is not the same as Sansom’s ‘Dissolution’.
So, deadly sin no 7 is thinking that all readers of historical fiction are the same. They are not, and paying attention to what the reader expects is courteous. It is a question of tone, and working out where your novel falls on the spectrum. A historical thriller might contain explicit sex and gore which would be inappropriate for a novel of manners set in the time of Jane Austen. Your novel may be concept-driven, plot-driven or character-driven, in differing combinations. Each historical novel is individual, and creates its own atmosphere and reality.
Picture from Gina’s Library – click to check out her blog which features historical fiction
The thing that all historical fiction readers require though is genuine immersion in the past, and a momentum that will carry them through the story. So the key to understanding your reader and your tone is to look at other popular writers who have written the kind of book you are writing. Analyse the other author’s successful book in detail. What creates the tension and momentum? How much description? How much inner dialogue? How fast does the book move?
Check out another author’s amazon reviews for what makes that book a success. Here’s an example of an ordinary reader’s amazon review from Tracy Chevalier’s Girl with A Pearl Earring:
‘This book appears so simple on the outside, it’s only after you finish it that you realise how complex and rewarding it is. On reflection, a plot that centres around the creation of one painting could easily be very weak, but told through the eyes of a 16 year old maid – wise beyond her years as it turns out – it’s a charming slice of 17th century life in Holland. It plods along a bit in the middle and loses its grip on the reader somewhat, and don’t expect fireworks, shocks, plot twists, etc because there are none; just a slow, tantalising build up of sexual tension between the artist and his subject, and nervous tension between every other member of the household – servants and masters alike. All I want to do now is see the painting for real so that I can look into the girl’s eyes …’
This tells you a lot about the appeal of this particular book – complexity of the relationships, the tension between the characters. No fireworks. If you were writing literary historical fiction, this gives you a fair idea of your reader and what they might enjoy. The key to reader satisfaction is to both think of your book as unique, and yet also to be scrupulous in assessing how your novel fits in its tiny niche within the broad scope of historical fiction.
You might also like:
Deadly Sin 1 – Melodrama
Deadly Sin 2 – Purple Prose
Deadly Sin 3 – Stuck in the Past
Deadly Sin 4 – Lost or Glossary?
Deadly Sin 5 – The Length of Time
Deadly Sin 6 – The Aura of an Era
So agree! There are many many categories of #histfic, as Twitter hashtags it. I write Victorian crime fiction…BUT it is pastiche, with flashes of Thackeray and Dickens. NOT Sherlock Holmes at all! And very difficult to categorise via Amazon key words! Another way to find potential readership is to start following the followers of someone who writes your ‘stuff’. Done that a lot. Mr Kasasian and I are almost the same person….
Yes, following your famous ‘similars’ seems a good strategy! I love your books – but your right, they’re fiendishly difficult to categorize. I think many #histfic writers have this same problem. It’s a genre that seems to include every novel set before 1960, so that’s an awful lot of fiction!
This is a wonderful post and echoes my sentiments exactly. Novels titled ‘historical’ or ‘historical romantic fiction’ and ‘historical romance’ vary enormously, even within these broad categories. What is critical is not to ‘info dump’ the historical research into the reader’s lap but to use this lightly whilst creating characters with problems that will resonate with modern readers. This truly brings history to life, whether it’s an Austenesque tea party or living through plague or famine.
So right! For instance, the books of your good self and Ms Hedges above are so very different… and some historical romance is more like chick lit. I do, of course, wish to be told as soon as your next book is out (*drums fingers impatiently*) .
I think we can all agree finding readers is difficult. That said, I’m not convinced that market analysis and categorisation is going to help. I write historical mysteries set in a specific period in the eighteenth century and in a very specific part of England (Norfolk). Looked at like this, the task of finding interested readers appears overwhelming. What has helped me most is trying to concentrate on doing just one thing as well as I can—telling an engaging story through the eyes of interesting characters. Get that wrong and all the analysis of markets and successful books will not help you one bit. Sure, different writers’ books are different in many ways. Where all the people whose books sell most are the same is in their ability to produce a satisfying story that draws the reader into their world—whatever that world may be.
Yes, I completely agree that the engaging story is key. Popular periods are popular precisely because people know more about them, and therefore have some preconceived notion about what the book might contain. Much harder to convince someone to read a book about a people, a place or a time they know next to nothing about. Doesn’t mean its not worth doing though – even for one person to love and really ‘get’ what you’ve written, is exciting. And of course as a writer we have the joy of the chase – of actually writing the book we are passionate about in the first place. Good luck with your 18th century mysteries, and would you like to guest on this blog and talk about your period and your books?