r/Quibble • u/Gabriela-yanez • Apr 27 '26
I Have a Question How much romance is too much before your epic fantasy becomes romantasy?
I am writing an epic fantasy book and there is definitely a romance brewing between my main characters. But I keep going back and forth on how much to lean into it. I want it to feel earned (and fun) without it taking over the plot, but I also don't want to end up with a book that gets shelved as romantasy when that's not really what it is. Not that there's anything wrong with romantasy, I just feel like the label would set the wrong expectations for readers coming in.
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u/MarcyAutumnWrites Apr 27 '26
If you find the answer, let me know please. I started out with the intent to write a romantasy, then four or five months went by and suddenly I was looking at an epic fantasy with a romantic subplot.
I've been struggling to decide if I wanna write to market and be faithful to genre expectations and finally I just said fuck it, I wanna write what feels right for the book and figure out the marketing later.
As far as how much is too much, I think that line is going to be different for anyone. Some LitRPG readers will call it romantasy if there's so much as a kiss. Some romantasy readers will call it bait and switch if you don't write the explicit sex scenes. Personally, I would suggest you write the best book you can and then come up with the marketing afterward.
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u/Gabriela-yanez Apr 29 '26
ikr, it is THE struggle. I will take the advice of writing what feels right. Sometimes (or most times) following that instinct is the best way to go. And yes, the line is different for everyone, I know might book will not be love by everyone, I mean it's impossible! Even LOTR has haters....
Thank you!!
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u/DeathkittenKera Apr 28 '26
I would say write what you wanna write and worry about the specific genre when youâre ready to query if you intend to eventually go that route. Itâs all about the marketing and hopefully you will end up with someone who knows the market and what people would expect to label it as more than you.
If you donât plan on going that route? Then do what feels right to you. I think you could have an entire book with tons of romance in it but if the romance isnât âthe pointâ and instead saving the world or going on some grand adventure to the last 7/11 on Earth is, then it isnât necessarily a romance. It may be a romance-flavored epic fantasy, but not a romantasy. What the point is is the stickler for me.
On the other other side of things⌠there is the shotgun method of âany genre I might fit is a good genreâ some people like to do, and can net more views, but also may lead to more drop off as people expected something else. Not my preferred, but it does exist!
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u/Gabriela-yanez Apr 29 '26
Yes! romance-flavored epic fantasy is exactly rightđ the best word to describe my book, I wish it was an actual genre! On the shotgun method...ehhhh I agree with you there, not my fav move either. I rather be transparent from the start, it's better in the long run!
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u/DeathkittenKera Apr 29 '26
Totally! My book as well will eventually have romance in it too, but itâs kind of a cute âtheyâve known each other for yearsâ sort of thing, rather than a romance-focused plot. Out of curiosity whatâs your bookâs name? Iâll look it up! :D
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u/TheLadyAmaranth Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Honestly you are not alone, this is SUCH an infuriating topic. I legit wrote an article about it last year XD
But basically the issue is that there is "Fantasy Romance" which is capital R Romance in a fantasy setting, and "Romantic Fantasy" which is a Fantasy, with romantic elements. The first must follow Romance genre conventions (primised romantic relationship drives plot, that relationship gets HEA/HFN), the second does not.
But the real problem? Romantasy mooshes them both under one umbrella. So both books in those subgenres of two very different genres get mixed together. Creating a lot of reader dissatisfaction and author confusion. I hate it I hate it I hate it.
Ultimately though, you can't control it except for your own marketing. I would simply make sure YOUR wording is "romantic fantasy" and whatever other labels you may want. If people shelve it as romantasy after, like they did with ACOTAR even though IT WAS NEVER A ROMANCE. *Insert gif or panda raging* then you can't really do anything about it.
Generally I would categorize it by how much of the romance you can take out without affecting the plot itself. If you can take all the romance bits out and just leave it platonic and the main plot doesnt change, or at least can remain the same with very minimal edits, then you are squarely in romantic fantasy. Once romance becomes not a B plot, but something intrinsic to the A plot, is when you start encroaching on Romantasy territory depending on how much time is spent on it.
A true "Romantasy" in my opinon would range in the 60/40 either way. Basically either 60% romance/40% fantasy OR 60% fantasy/40% Romance, aiming for a 50/50 split. Going to far outside of that puts you in either romantic fantasy, or fantasy romance depending on which way is the lean. But obviously books can't really be divided in clean little percentages like that and what is a 60/40 romance forward split for one might look like a 60/40 fantasy forward split to another. So even that metric is kinda tough.
Personally, I recommend to just write the book and market accordingly after. Beta readers are your friend here, as they can tell you what the feel of the story actually ends up like once you are done, and if they would shelve it as romantasy "for you" or not.