Historical Fiction Books discussion

How old must the setting be to 'qualify' for 'historical' in your opinion? 1900? 1920? 1950? 1987? 1996? 2006? Do any of these qualify? Thanks! ;-)

Officially anything in the past is history. I hate to think of my generation as history, but it is. I suppose one could consider any time that differs from the present is history. To tell the truth, I find this concept easier to accept then the yesterday is history perception. When one considers that next year’s college freshmen were probably born in 1991 (before internet, cell phones and DVD’s), history isn’t far away.

Thom wrote: "Officially anything in the past is history. I hate to think of my generation as history, but it is. I suppose one could consider any time that differs from the present is history. To tell the truth..."
Thank you, Thom. This tends to confirm my thinking. My first novel is set in 1987. I put news headllines of the day at the start of each chapter. It is a story about a family of the time. Fiction, but they feel very real. The second novel, The Homeplace Revisited, is set nine years later, in 1996. Again, this is 15 years ago... a life-time to younger folks. See the headlines, they feel ancient.
Thanks, again, for your comments! ;-)

Do you have a publisher in mind to submit it to? For practical purposes, you need to go by what they say is historical. Instead of historical, it might be considered 'vintage' or 'retro' or something else. The only thing I'm sure of is that you couldn't call it contemp! :)

Andrea wrote: "Do you have a publisher in mind to submit it to? For practical purposes, you need to go by what they say is historical. Instead of historical, it might be considered 'vintage' or 'retro' or somethi..."
Thank you for your comments, Andrea. At this point, I'm thinking from a marketing perspective... to identify readers. Both novels are published via a small family publishing company, without a wide distribution network. I might affiliate with a publisher with wider distribution, but right now, my concern is efficiency in getting the story out to the right potential readers. I'm intrigued by 'vintage' and 'retro' - can you tell me more? Thanks, again. ;-)

Certainly, William. Vintage is usually set in the 1920's or '30's. I'm not so sure about the term 'retro' but what I was thinking of was the 70s-80s.

I'm not sure what you mean about the small family publisher vs. the other kind. Most publishers, no matter how small, have submission guidelines. If you self-publish that would mean a more direct link to the readers. It seems you've already noted that you need to identify a specific group of readers to target.

Willam it seems like your books could be classified as 'retro' and 'modern retro'. My question is why is it important to classify it as anything? What’s classified today as ‘retro’ will eventually achieve a categorization of ‘classical’ and even ‘ancient’. It doesn’t, however, really say anything about the work. A much better cataloging (if one has to be) is readable or unreadable. If a particular piece of prose is satisfying to its author to write and fulfilling, enjoyable and rewarding for that majority that pick it up and take the time to read it; it can be classified as a success. That must inevitably be the bottom line for all.

Excellent additional comments, that I really appreciate. Thank you. My readers have certainly told me the books are readable. Most say they couldn't put them down... wanting to know what comes next. Thank you. You have been very helpful, each of you. ;-)

I'm not sure something from the 70s/80s would be classified as historical fiction. Could you better call it Crime? Mystery? Saga? And avoid categorising it as Historical/Retro fiction at all?

Kirsten wrote: "I'm not sure something from the 70s/80s would be classified as historical fiction. Could you better call it Crime? Mystery? Saga? And avoid categorising it as Historical/Retro fiction at all?"

I do now promote all of my writing, which tells the story of "The Homeplace" community in the Southern Missiouri Ozarks from 1833 to the present as "Family Saga" stories. Thank you for your comment!! ;-)