posted
Okay, I know that I asked this awhile ago, but. . . .
My novel is basically an adventure tale, except for the fact that it deals with judeo-christian supernatural elements . . . and a little bit of Pagan . . . with a strong fantasy backbone . . . with some heavy suspense elements . . . and some horror scenes . . . and a modern setting. (did I mention a strong fantasy backbone?)
My question is . . . what is it? Okay, dark fantasy (some people call it fantasy, others call it horror). To compare it, it would be a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellraiser, with strong epic fantasy ties. Yeah.
Well, I'm having trouble marketing it. Sure, it's a fast growing market (or at least it should be) with Buffy, Charmed, and the Harry Potter crowd coming of age, but the fantasy folks say it's not fantasy, the horror folks say that it is, and I can't really tout it as suspense.
What I really know is: 1. Can I market it as "mainstream"? 2. Can I market it as "experimental"? 3. What can I market it as?
I'll say this too, it has strong psycho-analytical undertones and an "experimental" format. Each chapter/subchapter switches viewpoint (all 3rd pers. limited), with a differing writing style for each character.
posted
Sounds similar to what Clive Barker used to produce, and he had his down as Horror. That maybe because he was labelled after producing Hellraiser, but books like Imajica and Weaveworld had a heavy fantasy bent. He also wove in religious things within the stories. I would be tempted to try for contemporary fantasy as a genre, although I am not sure how well this fits. Perhaps when writing to editors, you could say "In the same genre as Clive Barker" etc... At least then it looks like you know where your story fits even if they don't.
Posts: 575 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
First, I'd be warry of comparing my work to an established writer. Either you'll come across as an arrogant ass--"I'm the next Clive Barker"--or you'll come across as a hack--"I'm imitating Clive Barker."
Though you probably don't want to hear this--I know I wouldn't--but perhaps if you don't find a home for this novel you'll have to wait until you're established before you can publish it.
Look at Stephen King. What kind of author is he? In the broadest sense, he's . . . well, I don't know. He's known as a horror writer, of course, but The Dark Tower series is fantasy, The Tommyknockers is soft-SF, and some of his best work--The Shawshank Redemption and The Body--are mainstream fiction. Then you have The Stand which starts as SF, ends as religious fantasy, and is marketed at a horror novel--go figure. But before he did all of this, he published four or five novels that firmly put him in the horror genre. Only then did he venture to publish other things. (In fact, you should read the "Afterwards" in Different Seasons.)
Here's my point. As a unknown novelist, publishers will be reluctant to take your novel. You don't have a fan base, and you're novel transcends genre.
In my not-so-humble opinion, you should think about which genre you'd like to write in and try to get established. Then, once you have a publisher, you'll have better success publishing this novel. Consider for a moment, Tad Williams. His first novel was a fantasy called Tailchaser's Song, and for a follow up DAW encouraged him to write another fantasy novel (which ended up being his trilogy, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn) because his first novel was a fantasy. But then he went on to write a massive four-volume SF epic.
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited March 26, 2004).]
posted
So none of you think I could market it as mainstream, contemporary, or experimental (I really didn't think so, but I wasn't sure)? It seems to me that each publisher has a different idea in his/her head about what each of these words mean.
Posts: 12 | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
I don't think you'd find many who would see it as mainstream. I've never really heard anyone refer to 'contemporary' as a genre, more as a sub-genre of other genres (e.g. 'contemporary fantasy'), usually simply indicating 'of the variety that is currently fashionable'.
'Experimental' would, I think, be a red flag to most publishers. They want 'reliable', which experimental is normally the opposite of.
posted
Perhaps you shouldn't try to categorize it at all. Really, coming up with the category -- dark fantasy, urban fantasy, what have you -- is ultimately the job of the publisher/agent (depending to whom you are sending it). If you aren't sure, don't slap a label on it, just give your brief description in your query letter and let the agent/editor decide.
I also agree that saying your work is comparable to (fill in the blank) can be risky. What if the person you're sending it to hates everything Barker? She might have liked your piece, but won't even give it a try. The potential for sounding either arrogant or derivative is also a serious consideration.
By the way, slipstream is growing in popularity. It is a catch-all for stories that transcend established genres, so don't fret that your story cannot be neatly categorized. Good luck!
posted
Agreeing with Hildy. I'd further add that at a recent conference I was at, an editor was talking about taking a chance on Laurel K. Hamilton, who also writes somewhere between fantasy and horror (with, from what people tell me, an increasing percentage of what I'd call sketchy content), and how she created her own subgenre. I don't think she said she was going to do that when she shopped the books around: I think the editors branded/genred the books for her. Dark fantasy and horror seem to have a lot of crossover. If you tell people, they can disagree with you, but if you let them form their own opinion they may stick to it. (Although as usual, the boulder of salt and milage may very caveats apply to the advice.)
As for branding the books as non-genre? I'm by no means an expert, but what I've observed is that books dealing with genre subjects are only branded as non-genre if they're going to find a larger audience (read: make more money) that way. Cases in point: the Left Behind series, which can be considered speculative, but is based on theological speculations: I'd guess the target audience for this book isn't accustomed to reading Sf/F. Similarly with Margaret Atwood and other "literary" authors who tackle Sf/F themes. People assume if the books sell, it's going to be on the basis of their literary content, not on the basis of their interesting take on Sf/F tropes. And paranormal romances are marketed as romance, not as Sf/F, because the romance is the main point and that's where they'll sell. Genre is, on some level, based on market. Who do you think your book is going to appeal to? Where do you think your book is going to sell best?
posted
A piece of advice given by a publisher at a writing conference that I attended a couple of years ago was to search out titles that are similar to your novel and see who published them. When you query them concerning your novel, mention the similar books they have already published and let them know that you feel your book is in the same category. Another similar tactic that has worked for me is to mention other authors they have published that you feel have influenced your work. I agree, you don't want to say "I'm the next . . " but letting the publisher know that you have taken the time to research what they have published seems to make a difference.
Posts: 266 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Yes, I agree about the genre stuff, but my real question is: When looking for a publisher the Writer's Market lists publishers by their needs, i.e. Fantasy, horror, mainstream, etc.
I'm just wondering if I should use time and effort to contact publishers that don't generally deal with fantasy, horror, etc. by touting my novel as one of the types they're looking for, i.e. mainstream, contemporary, literary, or experimental.
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