Historical fiction has special rules. Because of this, you’ll need to ask yourself a couple questions when you first decide to write in this genre. The first question would be if you are writing far enough in the past to be considered historical. The answer to that question, which I found here; is you need to be writing at least 50 years in the past.
The second question, which is a bit more complicated, is does your work fit in another genre? Sometimes you are telling a story that’s really literary fiction, just set in the past, or maybe it’s really women’s literature, again just set in the past. If the thing that the story is about is how the people in that time lived and worked, and of course there is a story there–then it’s historical fiction. But, if the story is really about how the words cascade like a waterfall down the page, how they live and breathe for themselves; then it’s probably literary. Or if it’s about a woman who would not give up no matter the odds, then it may be a women’s literature piece. Or, if it’s really more about the romance than anything, well… I mean, I think you get it. You probably get it.
Another thing about the historical novel, is the readers are very picky about the details. So, you have to do your research and get it right. Whatever timeframe you are writing in, it has to be accurate. It’s very easy now to read something that you think may not be exactly correctly and then check it, so you, as a writer in the genre, has to be better at checking everything than your readers could ever dream of being.
Let’s talk word count. For Historical fiction, the length is a bit longer, they come in around 100,000 to 150,000. Take that however it makes you feel.
Thanks for reading about historical fiction requirements. If you are looking for information on a different genre, check out literary, kid lit and Religious publishing requirements. There will be more information to come on the other genres shortly. Thanks!