One of my books was recently accepted for a bundle on itch.io that I’m really excited about. (It’s not out yet; I’ll talk more about it when it is.)
Probably because of some of the tags I used on itch, it was classified as a cozy fantasy on the list of books in that bundle. Now, I’m not arguing with the organizer about this; they did nothing wrong and honestly, it’s not that important. But this is one of the things that has, historically, bothered me far beyond what’s rational. It’s a compliment! What’s the problem?
Well, allow me to stretch a metaphor.
These two songs sound similar to me. (To be clear, I enjoy both, and I don’t think there’s any kind of plagiarism or anything here)
“Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse
“Garden of Eden” by Lady Gaga
Now, can I explain how or why these sound similar to me? Absolutely not. I don’t have the musical theory or terminology understanding to verbalize why they feel like they have something in common.
To someone who actually understands music theory, song structure, uhhhh chords … and … things (?), I must sound like an idiot. “The fuck are you talking about, the song structure(?) is entirely different, the chord progression(?) is entirely different, the instrumentation is entirely different, the lyrics are entirely different, insert scorching rant here.”
I think the problem with getting hives over people calling my work “cozy” is that I forget that most people aren’t analytical weirdos about this. I’m like “the fuck are you talking about, I do not follow the plot beat structure of a cozy fantasy, the characters are not anything like cozy fantasy characters, there are too many challenges for the MCs, characters get sad and angry all over the place, there are no cute talking animal sidekicks, insert ten-minute-long rant that will melt any reasonable person’s brain here.”
And yet maybe there’s something in the back of other people’s heads that vaguely says “IDK, these books have something in common and I don’t know what it is,” the way I feel like “Supermassive Black Hole” and “Garden of Eden” have something in common and I don’t know what it is.
If I were to ask a favor of the universe, it would be for folks to understand what they do and don’t know, the way that I understand that I know nothing about music. But it’s hard to realize what you don’t know, and it’s generally not acceptable online to sound less than authoritative about anything at any time. The internet doesn’t like admitting that you don’t know things. So people say things like “This is a cozy fantasy!!!!!! [because I had a vague inkling in the back of my head that I can’t break down into plot structure and character archetypes because I’m not an obsessive dweeb like S.E. Robertson is]” and I lose my tiny mind for the umpteenth time.
So. I’ll try not to do that. I have disclaimers everywhere I can put them. I’ve pulled the “cozy fantasy” phrase out of the description of Healers 2, because there’s a goddamn food shortage in that book seriously what the hell was I thinking. (I have to wait to change the back cover of the paperback; there are limits on how often you can make changes.) I’ve always categorized it as cozy adjacent on sales like Cozy the Day Away, and I will continue to do so. I will not use the C-word again. If other people apply it, that is not something I can control, and it is not something I have to agree with.
I need to understand what I can and cannot control.
That’s all.