What's in a word?

My tidbit from Malice Domestic today is really more "food for thought" than anything else. At the conference, there was a survey being handed out, asking folks if "cozy" should be replaced by some other term. For those not familiar with the term, a "cozy mystery" usually has an amateur sleuth (often female), no "on screen" or graphic blood, gore, or sex, and no (or very little) profanity. For further discussion of what goes into a cozy mystery check out Definition of a Cozy Mystery here or Writing the Cozy Mystery here.

Anyhow, there is a general feeling I've sensed (and heard expressed) that cozy mysteries do not get their due. That, in the world of crime fiction, "big thrillers," "literary mysteries," and so on are better respected, more heavily promoted, get the bigger bucks (in advances), and are higher on the review chain.

I'm not going to dive into that kettle of fish (or mangle any other idioms), but I do find it interesting that there's a belief that, by changing whatever you call this genre, you can somehow change how people view it. If we were to call cozy mysteries something else, they would still be what they are. If we labeled such mysteries as, oh, I don't know, "extreme mysteries" would it make a difference, do you think? Can you come up with another label for these sorts of cat-and-teapot traditional mysteries? (If you are still not sure what constitutes "cozy," think Jessica Fletcher and Cabot Cove).

Applied fiction?

A random musing from the West Coast....
A recent discussion at work today concerning "pure physics" vs "applied physics" set me to thinking about parallels in the world of fiction writing (and publishing)...
There's a tendency, according to my work colleague, for those on the "pure physics" side of things to look down upon those from the "applied side" of the house. Ah yes... this rang faint bells, from my years ago at Cal. I remember how the theoretical types would sniff disdainfully at the applied types.
So...What is applied physics?
From Wikipedia:
"Applied physics: a general term for physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use."
Note the word practical.
Turning from the world of science to that of fiction....
What would be the parallels of "pure" and "applied"? How about "literary" and "genre"? More and more these days I see literary fiction titles structured to read "Blah Blah Blah: A Novel". The "A Novel" tag seems to be pointing out that is no mere work of fiction ... but literary or "pure" fiction.
On the other side of things we have:
Crime fiction. Mysteries. Romances. Suspense. Science Fiction. Fantasy. Westerns. Thrillers. Or....
Plots with a purpose. Or genre fiction. Or practical fiction. Or perhaps Applied Fiction.
... signing out from the West Coast (which was doing a little "rock and roll" last night, geologically speaking).