Yes, it is. For all the aesthetic and creative reasons that come to mind, but also because at the end of the day the book needs to be shelved somewhere. Maybe not on Amazon, but if you want to find your book in a bookstore, it needs to find a shelf: fiction, current events, biography and memoir, history, etc.
In Forest for the Trees, I wrote that not knowing your genre is a little like not knowing if you’re straight or gay. I no longer know if I agree with that. For some people, it takes time to find the right genre to work in and you may be good in a couple or more. The MFA programs tend to keep the breeds in separate kennels. And I’ve always subscribed to the idea that if you want to do something well, you need to remain intensely focussed. But look at Updike. Stories, novels, essays, poems.
I started writing poetry when I was young and miserable. I wrote two non-fiction books in my thirties. And now I write screenplays that are so spectacular it’s frightening. Okay, no one wants my screenplays, but I love the form. If only NYU hadn’t kicked me out of film school, I might’ve been in Diablo Cody’s girl writing group, the Fempire. Damn you, Diablo!
But you do have to know what you’re doing, genre-wise, so you can be in control of what you’rewriting, and well versed with the tropes and conventions within the genre.
Also, to the fair maiden who wrote in, you must have this question resolved before you approach agents and editors. Otherwise, people won’t know if you’re straight or gay.
Betsy Lerner 
I have been pondering this question myself lately. I am writing a novel from the perspective of an Egg Donor, who first donates in Los Angeles, and is then commissioned by another Los Angeles couple to travel to India (because it is more cost effective) for a second donation.
It is based on my real life experiences doing exactly that. I have finished writing half of it. I am super excited about the novel and feel it is an refreshing twist on an interesting topic with a lot of characters and emotions to explore in two colorful settings: Los Angeles and Hyderabad, India.
I am writing the book as fiction, to protect the identities and people involved (for obvious reasons) and even the children produced, who are only infants now.
However, I want to share my positive experience with other women considering hiring a egg donor, or donating their eggs. I want them to know they can rely on the comparisons of the medical practices in LA and India, and emotions involved, as TRUE.
Can a book of this nature be published as both fiction and reliable information??
Muchos Gracias!!
Whoa – okay. First, just changing names and hair color doesn’t necessarily protect you from a lawsuit. If your “characters ” are recognizable to friends and known associates, then you may be liable should they sue for slander or invasion of privacy — that is if you have written anything slanderous about them or invaded their privacy. Private citizens do have rights. I’m not really sure where the law comes down on this (rather, there is a lot gray area). Still, you are, after all, allowed to write about your own experience, but you can’t invade theirs. But if everyone in their lives already knows about it, then that would be okay. CHECK with the Authors’ Guild lawyers.
To maximize exposure, you could write it as a novel but include an author’s note explaining that it is based on your experiences, etc. This could also be in the flap copy and front and center of your publicist’s kit.
My deeper question, which goes to the heart of the writing, is what writing experience do you have?Have you written journalism and personal essays, or have you been writing short stories. I mean if you’ve been playing the piano all your life, you might not be able to pick up a flute and start playing — if that analogy helps. Anyway — lots to consider. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks Betsy! I will look carefully into legal matters…
I have spent the last two years in writing groups writing personal essays and short stories. This is my first attempt at a novel.
I know you said, in The Forest for the Trees, that writers should set out to write articles and short stories about their topic before going for the whole novel… which I would definitely be open to.
Thanks for bringing that up because I’m going to research writing an article on the topic now… !
I will continue working on the novel, exploring what I have to write about my experiences, and having my chapters workshopped. I plan to submit the best chapters in my MFA applications this December for the fiction genre writing submission option of “part of a novel.”
Then there’s memoir, described by Philip Lopate and others as a hybrid form. Yikes.
A little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.
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