What is the difference between literary fiction and commercial fiction?

Question

I just don't get the difference.Fiction. Fantasy. Commercial fiction. Literary fiction. Please only answer if you know what you are writing.

Answer 1

Commercial fiction uses high-concept hooks and compelling plots to give it a wide, mainstream appeal. Commercial fiction often has the “ouuuh” factor: summarize what happens in your novel is a single, succinct sentence, and you invariably get, “ouhhh, that sounds interesting!” Plot (the events) and story (the overall tale) are first and foremost; characters’ choices and actions create heightened drama that propels the reader forward with urgency. (More appealing to the agents and publishers. If you can write what they want based on market needs and client listings, then you're going to be a shoo-in!)

Commercial fiction in layman's terms is just what it sounds like: A commercial with everything needed to attract a prospective consumer--in under a minute.

Think: Toothpaste, car-ads, and programming blitzes.

So you have to have a novel that will appeal to a much broader base and be able to deliver a wicked punch!

If you can't...?

Literary fiction explores inherent conflicts of the human condition through stellar writing. Pacing, plot, and commercial appeal are secondary to the development of story through first-class prose.

Multi-layered themes, descriptive narration, and three-dimensional characterization distinguish this genre from all others. Literary fiction often experiments with traditional structure, narrative voice, and storylines to achieve an elevated sense of artistry. (And is very hard to break into as a first-time author--because most agents and publishers no longer publish literary fiction these days.)

Literary fiction is more "laid-back", and allows the writer to better express him or herself without the added peer pressure of having to deliver a "best-seller".

Most of these books are experiments in theselves, because they use methods which have yet to be embraced by the mainstream, and would be considered "high-risk"; and not worth representing.

While the writing genre itself reached its peak in 2001 before going the way of the dodo, there are still many writers out there whom still write literary fiction. But their chances of being noticed and published are essentially nil--even though they deliver on a solid front.

Most literary authors concentrate on smaller fan bases to support their work, instead of the national scene.

I should know. I'm one of them.

Answer 2

Commercial Fiction

Answer 3

Literary fiction is what people will be reading and studying hundreds of years from now, takes an actual brain and an attention span to read and understand, isn't completely plot driven and full of cliffhangers and predictable characters, and doesn't have a woman's shoe/purse/lipstick on the cover. They also don't have names like Girl, Get Your Pedicure On, and The Ultimate Bridesmaid (or whatever). Plenty of literary writers achieved commercial success: F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf, Don Delillo to name a few.

Answer 4

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RE:
What is the difference between literary fiction and commercial fiction?
I just don't get the difference.Fiction. Fantasy. Commercial fiction. Literary fiction. Please only answer if you know what you are writing.

Answer 5

Literary fiction is supposed to be more 'high brow.' Many literary writers don't become 'big names,' so it is hard for me to list an example. Rick Moody is one who worked the morning show circuit a few years ago, so you MIGHT know his name. The language is, ideally, more beautiful, more intelligent, and depending on who the writer is, the structure of the story may be experimental... you are not only reading the story, but appreciating how the story is presented. Many people would say, "Oh, Faulkner was such a beautiful writer" whereas they would say, "That Steven King novel was so scary!"

To use a movie analogy... The movie "Memento" would be viewed as experimental, literary fiction, whereas the latest "X-Men" movie would be viewed as popular fiction, though perhaps a bit more on the science fiction side.

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

literary fiction is like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle where commercial fiction is like Mary Higgins Clark

What I view and literary....there is more to the book than just the mystery (or whatever the genre). Popular authors today, write more for the audience not for the sake of a good book. (Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Paterson, etc...are more good examples of commercial fiction.)

the actually definition I do not know, this is all personal opinion

Answer 7

It's important to clear up some incorrect information in this conversation.

Literary fiction is alive and well: Donna Tartt, Toni Morrison, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie White, Jumpa Lahiri, Joyce Carol Oates, Blake Butler, Lily Hoang, Marilynne Robinson, Janice Lee, Rickki Ducornet, Alice Walker, Margaret Atwood, J.M. Coetzee, Jose Saramago, Martin Amis, Joan Didion, Michel Houellebecq, Cormac McCarthy... are living, writing and publishing regularly. Plus the more avant-garde literary writers like Carol Maso, Lydia Davis, Steve Tomasula and hundreds of others.

Most commercial fiction books for adults, with the exception of a few, are forgotten after a few decades. Literary writers like Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Marilynne Robinson, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jean Rhys, Marguerite Duras, Doris Lessing, Virginia Wolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Guy du Maupassant... They're still taught and studied and read at major colleges across then world, and their books still sell thousands (some hundreds of thousands) of copies a year. The Great Gatsby continues to sell about a half-million copies per year.

What separates readers of predominantly literary fiction from readers of predominantly commercial (I prefer "mainstream") fiction may be a matter of reader intent. Literary fiction readers typically seek books as means of intellectual and aesthetic development. Their preference results in reading increasingly more challenging books, those that demand attention to the aesthetic quality of writing (e.g., the music and structure of language), philosophy, semantics, and historical references. Plot may be the least important part of a literary novel or story. In fact, some literary masterpieces have no plot to speak of, and some contain no human characters.

Readers who prefer mainstream novels tend to prefer books as a form of lighter entertainment. The term "a page-turner" is often used to describe a successful mainstream novel. Using that phrase to describe a literary work would be, well, hilarious. Mainstream readers are interested in plot and characterizations that answer more questions than ask. There's nothing wrong with being a reader of mainstream fiction. What I've learned over the past 30+ years as a publisher and author is that some readers simply don't desire to read complex books any more than some that don't desire to play chess. And, sadly, many readers have not been taught to skills to read challenging books, making it virtually impossible for them to begin, let alone finish, one.

To exemplify my point, here is a list of fiction bestsellers of 1926, the year Hemingway published his classic novel, The Sun Also Rises. How many of these have you heard of? How many have you read?

The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
Sorrell and Son by Warwick Deeping
The Hounds of Spring by Sylvia Thompson
Beau Sabreur by P. C. Wren
The Silver Spoons by John Galsworthy
Beau Geste by P. C. Wren
Show Boat by Edna Ferber
After Noon by Susan Ertz
The Blue Window by Temple Bailey

Answer 8

I don't know