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This question is about genre and reader expectations. I'm not trying to change my story to fit a mainstream genre. I have already taken steps to broaden it's appeal, but it's too late to create an entirely different type of story.

I'm writing and illustrating a graphic novel. My difficulty is that I have issues communicating what it's about, the "1-minute elevator pitch".

Describe the story in 2 words...

I was fine with calling it Science Fiction, but I noticed non-writers had certain genre expectations which they get from mainstream works that I wouldn't even consider to strictly be sci-fi. My story is character-driven. It lacks melodramatic villains. There are no fantasy races or magic aliens or telepaths. Explaining this, I'd watch people's eyes glaze over. I can't get people excited by saying how it's not all these other things they expect.

In niche communities like Writers and Worldbuilding, genres have a narrower definition. To get around gatekeeping debates with other community members about scientific plausibility, I switched my genre label to Space Opera. It got them to accept my "alternative science" (it's consistent, but based on a specific pseudo-science) as not requiring a deep explanation (not integral to the plot). However, I'm still not providing genre expectations like dogfights in space, laser shootouts, space empires and half-dressed space princesses. I'm not fulfilling the promise-to-the-reader of what I think a Space Opera ought to be. None of the action even takes place in outer space.

Subverting expectations, or genre salad…?

At each phase, I took steps to try to make my story more commercial (in a George R. R. Martin sense) suggesting the implied genre promises but subverting expectations to get back to my story: a "melodrama villain" is taken out early leaving unanswered questions, the "action hero" isn't able to solve problems with a laserpistol, and the "half-dressed space princess" is a social-climbing thot trying to get to another planet. Feminist and social justice themes were subverted in favor of more complicated, frustrating characters who act in their own self-interest. No one's a "hero", no one's a "villain". Characters are imperfect and no one gets exactly what they want.

While this made the drama better, it moved further away from mainstream sci-fi. Looking critically at my full script, it's like I hang a lampshade on some mainstream tropes and then wander away to do something else. To try to be clear, it's not just that I have grey-morality and adult themes, it's more like "is this story even in this genre?"

Wait, it's actually some obscure genre no one has heard of that has zero marketing appeal…

Earlier this year I found the term Planetary Romance, and it fits. My story isn't really a "clash of worlds" so much as it's a clash of individuals from different worlds. The story takes place (mostly) on one planet where the socio-political situation is more important than technology, and the conflicts are small and inter-personal, at first anyway.

For anyone who knows the origins of Planetary Romance, I feel they would accept the story in the spirit it's intended. It's a modern twist on the White Savior goes to a Primitive Planet, rescues a native princess, and sparks a revolution, except the planet is a libertarian slum and all the hero and damsel tropes are subverted.

I know "romance" here is not indicating an actual relationship, as in Romance genre – but to anyone who doesn't know the term (non-writers) it at least gives them the right sense of scale to the conflict. Of course there is more than boy-meets-girl-on-Planet-Z, but if someone came with that expectation I feel they would be happily surprised by a complex character-driven story with some exotic stage dressing. There is a "which guy will she choose" aspect they can read into that carries through.

I'm at the stage where I need to solidify how I discuss this project. The script is finished and the artwork is in production. I can't keep fishing for genre labels. I need to communicate the basic scope of the story quickly so I can turn attention to the individual characters the story is really about.

Can I call my graphic novel a planetary romance?

Does it help me communicate the idea, or is it just too obscure to be useful?

Considering that George Lucas revived serial Movies and Space Opera with Star Wars and Serial Pulp Adventure with Indianan Jones, both genres that were long dead in theaters but given new life in the works. There were racial components in those genres as well but it was more product of the times and both works sort of eliminated them... India was not to happy about the Second Indianan Jones movie. That said there were some subtle moments that pointed out that Jone's ignorance of Local Cultures to the point of offense wasn't entirely out of character for him.

Others will address the problems of the genres and steer into the skid. In Deep Space 9's episode "Badda Bing, Badda Boom", the show's love letter to heist movies (Oceans 11 wouldn't be remade for the better part of a decade at the time of the original airing.), Captain Sisko (an African American) does not want to anticpate in the holosuite Casino Heist because he has problems with a historical piece set in 1960s Las Vegas, when Casinos weren't always open to African Americans and some discussion is had about the matter, which basically acknowledges that this was a problem then, but we're telling a story that celebrates the good parts of the genre, not the bad. In Archer Dreamland (A season long Parody of 40s Noir genre), one episode has Archer, Ray, and several members of a mostly African American club band (Ray is the only one who isn't black) are forced to sneak out of jail while disguised as as police officer. The uniforms stolen only fit the African Americans and Archer suspects that they'll get caught because the cops are black is a dead give away... only for the characters posing as cops to point out that LAPD was integrated pretty early in it's history and had a number of Black Cops serving at this point in history. To top it off, Archer tries to claim leadership because he had been in the Army during World War II... only for the every member of the band save Ray also having served, and while two were given jobs typical for the time (Cooks for their unit) the third actually outranked Archer and served in a unit that Saved Archer's own unit from defeat in one battle. And they actually make it out the door and are only discovered when one of their decoy cops is stumped on police jargon, which would happen to anyone in such a situation.

In scifi, the use of aliens can substitute for racial relations as a way of discussing it without discussing it. Star Trek was famous for doing this, as most recurring aliens have something in common with exaggerated national stereotypes in the real world. Deep Space 9 again (which is pretty much a Planetary Romance as a bulk of the plot revolves around politics of the space station and the planet nearest to it, Bajor, which was a recently released occupied planet that was under the rule of Nazi-like aliens that used Bajorans for slave labor and target practice. Here, the similarities to real life discussions allow for a mix of various types of racial injustices... while the Bajorans were frequently tied to the Israli's and Jewish people immediately after the Holocaust, they also had common themes with Native Americans and the Catholic Church (both in power abuses and presecutied religions).

This is literary science-fiction. I identified it by taking the genre it definitely must fit in, and then looking for a commonly used, readily understood modifier that subtracts the "gee whiz" elements of the genre, and adds in what for-lack-of-a-better-word we might call more "literary" qualities.

It is a well-known, critically acclaimed, and reasonably popular subgenre.

EDIT: Based on comments from the original poster, I'm amending my answer to science-fiction soap opera. The justification is similar. Since this is set on another planet, the primary genre of "science fiction" is mandated. But the modifier "soap opera" tells you to expect a trashy, fast-paced read, filled with backstabbing interpersonal conflicts.

There are two separate issues here:

1. What do you call your story as you pitch it?


2. How would your story be marketed?

Although you tag marketing and use the word, you're asking more about the second question, how to pitch the story, so let's not worry about it. Your publisher will choose an appropriate genre and market accordingly. It would be a separate question anyway.

I'll focus on the first question. Of course you can call your story whatever you wish. But, as perfectly as it might fit the genre of planetary romance, you run the risk of your listeners not knowing what you mean. I had to read your whole question before I understood.

So use it, but explain it. Something like:

It's a Planetary Romance novel. A clash of individuals from different
worlds. Literally different worlds, since it's a sub-genre of Science
Fiction.

Or...

So it's Science Fiction but a character-driven story focused on the
politics and cultures across planets. A small genre called Planetary Romance.

Or whatever wording works for you.

The advantage here is you'll be educating people about this genre, which can only work in your favor.

What did you think the term was supposed to mean when you first came across it?

You only found the term "[e]arlier this year" and you are writing a story in that genre. You are far more knowledgeable about the details of genres close to your story than the average Joe that is supposed to read this. I am a fantasy reader and have read a lot about some obscure genres outside of my usual reading habits, but I have never heard the term you used.

What I first thought when reading the question was that you were making up a new sub-genre. Never heard of planetary-romance being a thing.

And after that I had some very weird thoughts about who the love interests of a planetary-romance might be...

Sure, there may very well be quite a few people out there who know about the genre. And if you find the internet forums these people frequent they will be extremely glad that someone made the effort to understand their genre and further enrich it. They will love you for giving it a precise genre description and you will have quite a few plus points before they even start reading your story.

But I'd bet that those people are not the majority of people.

For everyone else you need to find some genre description that they have heard about and that allows them to understand the very rough things your story will be about. For the average Joe I'd still say that's "Science Fiction". Labelling it "Sci-Fi" will give you access to a whole lot of more readers. And then you will probably have a short blurb or teaser that allows them to judge whether the specifics are what they want to read. Just make sure to hint at some of the most glaring difference between "cookie-cutter sci-fi" and your story.

Different groups have different expectations for genre labels. Use the most generic one for general marketing, the more specific one in forums where people know about it and if someone asks about differences just tell them what you wrote in this question.

For the average population "Sci-Fi" is enough and will give you a wider audience that stumbles across your work. It's easy to market something as "Sci-Fi" because everyone knows something about it. Some more specialised groups, like WorldBuilding.SE, need something a little more specific, like "Space Opera". And then some might love "Planetary Romance". Adapt the specifics to your audience and if someone asks you in an interview why there are so many differences between "Sci-Fi" and your story just tell them all the things you mentioned in your question. It's an interesting discussion, but that is only something people very interested in your story or the sub-genre want to know. For most people the generic label plus a short description of the content is more than enough to judge whether they want to read something or not.