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Note: this article is written in UK English; I swear I'm not just bad at spelling. When I get emphatic, I get very English.
It's pretty rare that I make bold declarations or give advice without any nuance. That's not the type of editor or book marketer I am.
But the happy ending as a requirement for romance novels is a hill I will die on. Seriously, I will die on this hill (or moor, as is the more appropriate term in my neck of the woods). Sounds dramatic, but I am a romance genre specialist after all.
Repeat after me: you can't call a novel (or novella, or short story) a romance if it doesn't end in either a happily ever after, or a happy-for-now.
You may have questions or "what-abouts." Here's one of the most common.
What about a novel that ends on a cliffhanger, but is part of a series that eventually ends with a happily ever after for the main love interests? Is that a romance?
Technically, no, but . . . also yes? With the exception of fantasy romance, a sub-genre known for romantic stories that develop over multiple books and only end in a happily ever after in the final book in the series, most other types of romance series that end in cliffhangers until the final book lie in a no-person's land, because while the series' romance plot eventually ends in a happily ever after, each individual book does not, and therefore, no book except for the final one in the series qualifies as a romance.
The issue is further complicated because when most readers hear the phrase romance series, they think of a series of interconnected standalones (books that can be read in any order), or a series of books with different romances in each title but an overarching sub-plot that requires readers consume the series in order.
This makes a sort-of-but-not-quite romance series much harder to market, though again, that isn't the case for fantasy romance.
Fifty Shades of Grey is an example of this sort-but-not-quite-romance type of series. Now, that particular series did enormously well, but that does not mean that all sort-of-romance series will. Remember, Grey had a Big 5 marketing team behind her.
My best advice if you've written this type of series and (it isn't a fantasy romance series) is: make it very, very clear to readers that they'll have to endure cliffhangers before they get their happily ever after. And, if you have a secondary genre, like thriller or mystery, sewn into your story, try marketing your series as part of that genre, but make it clear in your marketing that it contains a romantic sub-plot.
Now, back to the main issue, which concerns novels, rather than series.
Why can't a novel be called a romance if it doesn't have a happily ever after (HEA)?
Romance is a genre, and all genres are defined by specific characteristics.
For romance, those are characteristics are: a central love story and a happily ever after or happy-for-now for the main characters in that love story.
You have to stick to a genre's requirements.
Why?
Because you want to make your book easy for readers to find. If you miscategorize your book, you're going to make it harder for the right readers to find it—with "the right readers" being people who want to read a story like yours.
Now, let's repeat it for the people in the back.
Central love story+happily ever after or happy-for-now=romance novel.
A book without those is going to disappoint readers who opened it looking for a romance.
You might be wondering if genre definitions change over time. If there's wiggle room.
No.
Now, do conceptions about a genre change over time? Yes. Below, I've listed 5. But while these conceptions have changed, the tenets of the romance genre have remained the same.
5 ways the romance genre has changed over time, but the HEA requirement hasn't
People used to think a romance novel could only focus on the love story between two people. Now, we recognize that love can and has always existed between two or more people, and that this reality should be reflected in the genre. Repeat: romantic love has and always will come in couples, triangles, squares, hectagons, and more. It's not a political statement, it's just a fact.
Romance used to be an overwhelmingly white genre, written by and about white people, with little representation of relationships between people of colour. Now, we recognize that love has and always will exist between people of every race and ethnicity, and this should be reflected in a genre with a readership as diverse as the world those readers live in.
For a long time, most romance novels only showed heterosexual love stories. Now, we recognize that love has and will always be between people who identify as straight, as well as people who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Again, not a political statement. Just a fact.
For a long time, most romance novels only showed love stories between neurotypical people. Now, we recognize the existence of neurodivergence and the importance of neurodivergent representation in a genre with many neurodivergent readers.
For a long time, most romance novels only showed love stories between non-disabled people. Or, when disabled characters were written about, it was done in a damaging, ableist way. Now, we recognize the importance of empowered disabled characters and storylines that make their disability a part of, not all of, their lives.
All of these changes have occurred in the last 25 or so years. The romance novels of today look and read very differently than they did in the 1990s.
But what hasn't changed are the requirements of the genre: a love story between people (or other sentient beings like orcs, centaurs, anthropomorphized doors, etc.) that ends in a happily ever after, or a happy-for-now.
Those will always remain the same.
Why?
Because together, they add up to hopeful stories. And that's what people come to the romance genre for: slices of hope in book format. Reminders that despite the trauma or tribulations lovers have to go through, in the end, things will work out.
It's why romance remains one of the most popular and bestselling fiction genres. No matter what is going on in the world, people want stories of hope and happy endings.
What if you've written what you thought was a romance book or series, but it doesn't have an HEA?
If your book doesn't have a happily ever after or happy for now, that doesn't mean you've written a bad book, so swat that thought away.
What it means is that you need to figure out which genre your book fits into.
To do this, think about the other storyline/s in your book that aren't the romance.
Is there a thriller element, i.e., a high-stakes quest to find a villain, run away from one, or both?
Is there a mystery to solve?
Does your book take place in the past?
Do your characters live in a fantasy world? Are they on a quest to solve a problem?
Does your story focus on a woman, or group of women, at a crossroads in their life? Are they on a journey of self-discovery?
Chances are, you answered yes to at least one of those questions. If you did, then your book most likely falls into the thriller, mystery, historical fiction, fantasy, or women's fiction genre.
If it doesn't, your best bet is contacting an editor to ask them to review your book just for its genre classification. While this isn't often a service many editors advertise, plenty will be happy to do it, because they want you, and all authors, empowered with the information you need to write, edit, and market your book for the right readers. And you can't do that without understanding your genre.
Until next post, happy reading and writing!