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Hi,
Not an expert in these things but literary fiction covers nearly if not all genres of fiction, in that it can be Historical, Sci-fi etc. and most often in my experience refers to the novel or novella, though again I have known the term used for graphic novels and short stories.
This literary fiction comment you've received then, for me, neither affects or alters your submission, as a YA Historical Novel falls just the same under the broad category of Lit Fiction.
One thing about Lit Fiction I think that sets it apart though is, to use an excellent example Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time', a ginormous work with not much plot but an endless minutiae of beautiful writing. Others would be James Joyce (eg his 'Dubliners' is a collection of short stories where nothing much happens but together paint a literary history of the city of Dublin in early 20th c Ireland). These might be distinguishable from say a Stephen King novel (though usually this is a symptom of literary snobbery - even jealously as today's literary fiction writers would kill for the millions of book sales that he gets.)
Sounds like both publisher and editor thought highly of your work!
Hope this helps.
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Literary fiction is distinct from genre fiction in the sense that each distinct genre has its own rules and conventions, and genre fiction follows those rules at least to some extent, whereas literary fiction makes its own rules.
For instance, in a whodunit a crime is committed, usually near the start. The protagonist, an unusually observant and methodical detective, is presented with various clues and suspects. Some of the clues will be red herrings. The likeliest suspects will probably have a seemingly watertight alibi. Maybe everybody does. There's a strong likelihood that the victim was discovered alone in a room that was locked from the inside...
In a typical thriller there'll be a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. The next chapter will take up a different thread, forcing you to wait to see how the cliffhanger is resolved.
In a typical fantasy there will probably be dragons, and elves, and castles, and a quest.
These are examples of genre fiction. Literary fiction might not fit into any obvious genre. It might mix several (a dragon is found dead in a locked room..). If it does seem to fit into a specific genre, it will probably break most of the rules of that genre.
If you're writing literary fiction without realising it, then that's generally good. It means your writing isn't bound by clichés. Bear in mind, though, that there are reasons for the rules. Readers have certain expectations, and if those expectations are not met, for instance if a story has the form of a whodunit but there's no resolution at the end, then those readers will be disappointed.
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