The publishing industry is filled with terms that seem to mean one thing to the industry but something entirely different to everyone else. For the writer who is just entering into the publishing scene, this barrage of new terminology can leave us confused, staring at the word forever trying to discern its meaning.

Three of those words for me were literary, commercial, and upmarket. There really isn't a simple definition for these three terms as they apply to the nature of the narrative used within a story. Here's hoping that today's post can clarify it for at least some writers.

The first time I encountered these words was a few years ago, back when I first decided to head down the traditional publication path with my fiction. I was researching different agents, and these three words were well entrenched in the wish lists for various agents. As I saw the words repeat themselves over and over, I knew they had some sort of meaning that I had to be missing, but the dictionary wasn't helping.

Dictionary Definitions

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the words are defined as follows:

Literary

1 a: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of human learning or literature;  b: bookish; an essay written in a very literary style; c: of or relating to books; a literary agent.

Nope, not helpful at all, and the secondary definition isn't any better.

2 a: well-read; b: of or relating to author or scholars or to their professions.

So that definition isn't going to help me at all to shed light on the industry's meaning. And the definitions for the other two words isn't much better.

Commercial

1 a (1): occupied with or engaged in commerce or work intended for commerce, e.g.,  a commercial artist; (2): of or relating to commerce; (3): characteristic of commerce; (4): suitable, adequate, or prepared for commerce, e.g., found oil in commercial quantities; b (1): being of an average or inferior quality. (2): producing artistic work of low standards for quick market success

It's the definition 1 b (both parts) that is closest to the publishing industry meaning, but I actually take great offense to that wording.

2 a: viewed with regard to profit; b: designed for a large market.

3: emphasizing skills and subjects useful in business.

4: supported by advertisers.

Upmarket

Upscale

I hope we can all agree that the dictionary definitions are not helpful, and in some respects they're insulting. But you can definitely get this feel of where things fit within the marketing regime.

So, what do these words really mean when it comes to fiction?

Literary Fiction

Any new writer will look at the term literary and be totally confused, because surely any fiction book is a piece of literary fiction. Well, within the industry, literary writing is filled with metaphors and similes and other devices that shift the cadences of the narrative to almost a poetic way of writing, but in prose format.

In some cases, literary fiction doesn't contain a plot as such, but rather plays on the colorful pictures that the narrator paints. Literary stories focus on the characters, using various literary techniques to get their point across.

Some books that fall into the literary fiction category include (according to some):

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margret Atwood
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

There are many famous books that are on the literary fiction book list, and in all honesty, I have not read a single one of them. Why? Because I don't like literary fiction.

For casual reading, I want to be able to turn my brain off. This mean simple language and a good story filled with a strong affinity to plot.

Enter what is known as commercial fiction.

Commercial Fiction

If you go through a brick-and-mortar book store, the bulk of fiction books found will be commercial fiction. Almost ALL genre fiction IS commercial fiction, where genre fiction is divided into what we understand as genres (romance, science fiction, fantasy, etc.). There might be literary moments found within the pages, where the descriptions take on the poetic nature of literary fiction, but for the most part, the language used is simpler and more accessible.

Is commercial fiction inferior to literary fiction? HELL, NO! I don't care what the dictionary definitions of the word commercial say. Well-written commercial fiction is a piece of artwork.

Is commercial fiction simpler? Well, it is simpler to read, but in no meaning of the word is it simpler to write. To write good commercial fiction, a writer needs to spend a significant amount of time perfecting their craft.

The reason why it is called commercial fiction is because it is marketable to a much wider audience, simply because it is more accessible and IS simpler to read. That certainly doesn't diminish its value.

If you look through that catalogs of Harlequin Romance, you will find ONLY commercial romance. A large number of thriller writers are all commercial fiction writers: James Patterson, Brad Thor, Kyle Mills, Michael Crichton, Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy, and the list goes on.

Agatha Christie wrote commercial crime fiction, and J.R.R. Tolkien wrote commercial fantasy.

Brandon Sanderson. George R.R. Martin. Robert Jordan. Isaac Asimov. Arthur C. Clarke. Stephen King. Charles Dickens. Mark Twain. J.K. Rowling. Jane Austen. Dan Brown. Janet Evanovich. Danielle Steele.

Do I really need to list almost every single writer in existence to make my point?

For the most part, agents and publishers—and readers—are after commercial genre fiction, but there is a branch of genre fiction which breaks the boundaries that have existed for years between literary and commercial fiction.

Upmarket Fiction

Upmarket fiction aims to bring literary fiction to the commercial market. It will follow all of the conventions that are associated with genre fiction, but it incorporates literary writing techniques. As such, another term used for upmarket fiction (one that I think is a better description) is literary genre fiction. (Sure, upmarket is shorter, less syllables, but sometimes it's better to be more accurate with your descriptions to avoid confusion.)

Some books that fall into this category would include the following:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The subject matter of upmarket fiction tends to be of a more gritty nature, pushing the boundaries on more than just the literary front.

Many agents are looking to sign writers who write upmarket fiction. Within their listings, they might actually say upmarket, or they might specify the genres then add "with a literary feel". Or they'll say that they want something that has a literary bent/slant, but is not pure literary. There are many different ways that they'll say it, but they are all referring to the same thing.

Literary, commercial or upmarket? No one category is better than the others.

Before I finish this post, I do want to mention that there is no "better" category to be working in. The literary/commercial/upmarket classification relates to the marketability of a manuscript. Some boutique publishers specialize in literary and upmarket fiction, as editing literary works does take a special editorial skill. However, other publishers prefer to work in genre fiction, sticking to the commercial lines (like Harlequin specializing in commercial romance).

Exactly which of these classifications applies to you will depend on your writing style and your narrative voice.

Almost every single writer that I know works in commercial fiction of some ilk. My personal writing falls into commercial fiction and it likely always will. It's what I prefer to read, so it's what I prefer to work in.

What about you? Where do you think your writing fits?