Guest Post from Bookouture: What is Commercial Fiction? And how to submit.

What is commercial fiction? 

What is commercial fiction? 
‘Commercial fiction’ describes books with broad appeal and accessible storytelling with a focus on character and plot. Where ‘literary fiction’ could be described as the art-house cinema of books, ‘commercial fiction’ is the Hollywood blockbuster. 

A good way to decide whether or not your writing is commercial is to ask yourself ‘Does this book sit clearly in one genre?’ If, for example, you can easily identify it as crime fiction or contemporary romance, then it’s commercial! A note that this rule works slightly less well for science fiction and fantasy, which can still sit in literary subcategories, and also book club fiction, which is used to describe books that sit between commercial and literary fiction. 

What makes a good commercial fiction novel? 
Good commercial fiction should be easy and entertaining to read, with broad appeal for a wide audience. Manuscripts that are fast-paced and tightly plotted, regardless of genre, always stand out. It’s also really important to have a strong hook: you should be able to summarise the central issue of the book in one intriguing sentence. Finally, characters that readers can invest in, whether that’s cheering on a heroine or enthusiastically hating a serial killer, is key for drawing readers in. 

What makes submissions stand out? 
Following on from the above, the hook is the key bit of the story that grabs reader’s (and publishers’!) attention and makes them want to read on. Submissions that stand out are very clear on this and deliver a sense of the hook in the opening chapters. 

It’s also helpful when submissions note comparison authors and/or novels in their pitch. This helps the publisher see where in the literary market this submission will sit. Authors should feel free to be ambitious: pick well-known authors and novels that indicate to an agent/publisher that they will love what you have to offer. 

Why is commercial fiction important? 
Commercial fiction is the bread and butter of any publisher’s fiction list, as these are the titles which consistently hit the Sunday Times and Amazon bestseller lists and drive the core of the business. 

For readers, commercial fiction is important because of the accessibility of the storytelling and its ability to connect with so many people. The power of a commercial thriller to reach millions of readers and touch their lives should not be underestimated. 

The availability of commercial fiction in electronic formats is important too. Where a hardback might cost £20, a commercial novel in eBook can cost as little as £0.99. This enables us to reach a wide range of readers. 

What are some misconceptions about commercial fiction? 
The most prominent and harmful is the idea that commercial fiction is ‘trashy’. The truth is, there’s a real skill to being able to write a book that places the plot and characters’ voices above stylistic flourishes. Style doesn’t count for much if it is at the expense of the story. 

Related to this is the idea that commercial fiction is fundamentally lightweight. Just because a book is easy to read doesn’t mean it doesn’t have something important to say. 
 

Where can I submit my commercial fiction novel? 

You can submit your commercial fiction novel to us at Bookouture!  

Bookouture is a leading digital publisher of brilliant commercial fiction. In just eight years, we have sold over 40 million books and published numerous bestsellers in genres such as crime and thriller, women’s fiction and historical fiction. We accepted agented and un-agented submissions, which you can send to us via the below link. 

http://www.bookouture.com/submit  

Please send us a clean manuscript in clear font with double spacing. If you have used tracked changes to edit your book, make sure you accept all comments/edits and switch it off before sending to us.