From Paranormal Romance to Romantasy: Subgenre Differences and Transition Tips
Author Kait Ballenger breaks down the subtle differences between paranormal romance and romantasy and shares how to make the transition.
I wrote romantasy before it was cool.
There, I’ve said it. We’ve addressed the elephant in the room: Romantasy wouldn’t exist, if not for the legacy forged by ye ancient mass-market paranormal romance authors of olde.
Never mind that I’m only 34, and my first dark romantasy, Original Sinner, just released this week.
“But they’re different!” you might say! Or “romantasy’s more like YA!”
Don’t worry—we’ll get to that.
But though both paranormal romance and YA fantasy were the true predecessors to the romantasy genre, surprisingly few paranormal romance authors have successfully made the transition.
Why?
The answer is simple: It comes down to a rapidly narrowing mid-list.
For romantasy, packaging is critical, and publishers are making a huge mistake by not repackaging their backlist titles from already successful paranormal romance authors to match the romantasy look/feel. They could reach new audiences with already acquired titles, but that’d require a level of creative flexibility traditional publishing has chosen to cede to indie publishing.
But as a professor of romance writing at Southern New Hampshire University, and an author of both paranormal romance and now dark romantasy, thanks to my new release, Original Sinner, I’m here to provide tips on how to better make the transition from paranormal to romantasy.
Though first, some genre context...
The Dark Days
Though Bloomsbury claims to have coined the term romantasy to describe Sarah J Mass’ work as far back as 2008, in publishing pre-2020, there was nary a whisper of the portmanteau of fantasy and romance we all know and love. We hadn’t yet seen the massive rise in the term’s industry use that came about in 2023 with the release of Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing and prospects for women fantasy authors writing romance and fantasy mashups were...well, bleak.
Women speculative authors who included strong romance themes in their work—notably a central love story and a happily ever after (known as an HEA)—didn’t have a lot of options.
If you wanted to publish traditionally, you could choose paranormal romance or YA fantasy. Take your pick.
High fantasy + romance? Unheard of! Unless you were one of a rare few working with an innovative editor willing to take risks, which is to say, not many. At the time, I could count them on one hand.
The differences were clear.
If there were on-page sex scenes: You were shelved in paranormal romance.
If it was high fantasy or God-forbid, a creature other than shifters/vampires or the occasional Norse God: YA and there had better be no sex scenes.
Because if you were writing YA, you didn’t want to be like that salacious A Court of Thorns and Roses author who nearly got *gasp* canceled for having sex in her YA fantasy books.
Never mind, that the series was already a bestseller, and the character was 19...
I can practically hear all the current romantasy readers screaming, but I digress.
The Rise of Romantasy
So how did romantasy become a thing?
Enter TikTok. More specifically #BookTok, along with the simultaneous rise of indie publishing. (As always, indie authors were doing it first, and sometimes, better.)
Suddenly, thanks to #BookTok, Sarah J Maas was a massive star. Nobody cared any longer that her books had started out as YA and had been reshelved as adult fiction—well, nobody who wanted to sell books anyway.
The writing on the wall was clear.
Readers wanted more.
Enter indie books like From Blood and Ash. Then Fourth Wing exploded. And publishing couldn’t buy up romantasy fast enough.
The Problem?
For about five years leading up to this explosion, retailers stopped shelving paranormal romance. Huge authors of the genre who sold hundreds of thousands of books couldn’t get shelf space. With the rise of romantasy, many of these authors who’d been the predecessors of this genre and had been writing these same themes were left in the dust. Suddenly, the rules changed. Things we’d always been told we couldn’t write were not only okay but now expected and under a new fancy name. And to make it even more confusing, many of the genre elements remained the same.
- A blend of speculative fantasy and romance? Check.
- Badass female main characters (i.e colloquially known as FMCs)? Check.
- Fated mates? Check.
- Tall dark and brooding heroes? Double check. And make them morally gray!
- Did I mention they should still be 500-years old just like Edward Cullen back in the day?
So, what in SJM’s now-holy name is the difference?!
The Solution
These days the lines are still blurry. In fact, maybe even more blurry as a select few publishers have figured out repackaging and some old paranormal romance titles are now considered romantasy.
But with so much romantasy lining the shelves, the solution to making the transition is simple: The key to making a successful transition between paranormal romance to romantasy is to know the difference. No matter how subtle.
For those who have made the transition, the reader preferences are clear.
Paranormal Romance is...
- Primarily written in third person alternating POV with equal focus on the two love interests. Though sometimes in first person single POV if you’re indie.
- Usually single-titles or interconnected standalones. Paranormal romances rarely follow the same couple for more than one book in a series. Though there are a few exceptions. Instead, a series will offer a different couple as the main characters for each book and have an overarching plot to tie the series together.
- Often takes place in the real world or an alternate version of our real world.
- Often is limited in scope to creatures that are more “paranormal” or “supernatural”—whatever that means—(i.e werewolves, shifters, vampires, demons, witches, etc). I’d love to say the difference here is use of “magic,” but those of us who’ve written and read paranormal romance for a long time know there is plenty of magic in those old mass markets, both literally and figuratively.
In contrast, Romantasy is...
- Usually written in first-person, often focusing on the FMCs point-of-view and/or journey.
- Often follows one couple over the course of several books. Think duologies or trilogies.
- Often high fantasy set in an alternate world, though “urban romantasy” is also a thing. (See titles such as Original Sinner and other like it).
- Fantasy elements are often more magical or Tolkien-esque in nature (i.e faeries, dragons, elementals, gods, etc). But again, not always.
- Successful romantasy demands a high concept idea. Paranormal romance can be high concept too (see my Seven Range Shifter series that can be sold in two words: cowboy werewolves), but in an already saturated romantasy genre, the demand for a high concept idea that is fresh and new is greater than ever.
“That’s it?!” You might be saying.
Yep, that’s it.
See what I mean about those differences being paper thin?
The Conclusion
Really, a lot of the difference between paranormal romance and romantasy comes down to marketing: the cover (man chest was traditional for paranormal romance, non-man chest for romantasy), whether the book is sold in trade paperback or mass market, the back cover blurb, the release timing. And you can’t break the rules unless you know them.
Does that mean you can keep writing the same paranormal romances and market them as romantasy?
Hell no, because knowing what’s selling, what readers want in both content and packaging is key.
And as I can share from writing Original Sinner, the devil is in the details.
Check out Kait Ballenger's Original Sinner here:
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