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So, I just got my third story accepted for publication. The significance of this is, I've only written three non-speculative pieces of fiction (two crime stories and one piece of erotica). All three of those have been accepted, while my speculative stuff languishes. Another significant thing is they also happen to be my earliest work (before writing workshops and critiques, etc... came along).
So, I'm wondering if I'm in the wrong genre (before you ask, I've been reading fantasy, sci-fi and horror all my life so the fixation isn't new. I love this stuff).
Do any of you ever feel that way? What's convinced you that this is really the right thing for you.
I'm not planning to give up on speculative fiction, I have a plethora of stories in various stages of completion. I'm just wondering...
posted
It may just be that the competition in the sf and fantasy market is very stiff. There are many writers, few publishers. On the other hand, your gift may lie elsewhere.
Posts: 557 | Registered: Jun 2007
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posted
Have you tried writing without a specific genre in mind when you start? Start out with a setting, character, conflict, whatever you need to get going and let the story develop. As you tell the story the genre can reveal itself and you can enhance this with your 2nd and 3rd drafts. For example you may be writing what you think is going to be speculative fiction only to find it lends itself much more towards a crime story. Do you need the speculative fiction elements, or can you focus in on the crime elements. What does the story need to be its best.
Are you worried that you are speculative fiction that is not being published? It is very common for a writer of one genre to enjoy reading another genre all together. In fact I have read several places where it can be better not to write in the same genre you enjoy reading so that you do not subconsciously borrow ideas.
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It's funny because I used to read tones of mystery and suspense when I was younger. I started to find it was too formulaic -- don't get me wrong, there are lots of great authors out there, it's just hard to be truly surprised. I often enjoyed the characters more than the actual plot. There can be formula in fantasy and sci-fi too, but I started reading more speculative stuff because there were more leaps of imagination.
Posts: 63 | Registered: Jan 2007
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posted
I can't agree that there aren't many publishers of fantasy and SF. Take a look at Ralan.com. There seem to be a lot out there, not that you'll make a living with short fiction.
I don't think anyone could tell you why your fantasy isn't selling, especially without knowing more about it. There are certain things that are extremely difficult to sell these days even if they are imaginative and well-written such as vampire stories. And there is always the possibility that you're offering to the wrong publications. Certain publications tend toward certain niches in the market. Or they could be lengths that are difficult to sell. Novellas are notoriously difficult to find a publisher for, as an example.
When it comes to short stories, urban fantasy seems to be by far the easiest to sell. But if you really want to do the genre, I'd keep plugging at it. It can be a long, slow road no matter what you write.
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I'm not complaining that my stuff isn't selling. The fact that it doesn't seem to pique folk's interests tells me plenty. I'm wondering if I should go with a different genre. It may be that's where my strength as a writer really lies.
I'm not looking for writing advice. I'm wondering about the paths other writer's have taken. Maybe all I need is a break from speculative fiction. If you write in another genre as well as speculative fiction, please speak up. I want to hear from you.
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I have started stories in a number of genres, fantasy, science fiction, horror, triller, romance, comedy, fantasy-comedy, modern fiction...
But the only ones I have been able to produce manuscripts in are fantasy and science fiction, it is where my passion lies and therefore more fun to write and apparently more interesting to read (I submitted the first 13 of a thriller short story, and the first 13 of a fantasy short story here and the only real bite I got was about the fantasy.)
I think that if a writer has fun and finds the writing relatively easy (as opposed to almost impossible) the book is better. I once heard an interview with JK Rowling who said that book 3 was the easiest to write, and book 5 the hardest. In my humble opinion this matches the enjoyment of reading those two books well.
So I will write what I like to write and hope someone publishes and someone else (or someones) read it,
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I think OSC says something about how he hates being confined and stereotyped in a specific genre (he says it in "How to Write Sci-Fi" I think. I have the book sitting here right next to the keyboard, but I'm way, way too lazy to check :P). I have to agree with him, I don't like to think of myself being confined to a specific genre. I have quite a few ideas for other genres I'd like to try out, at least.
Posts: 87 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I've wondered---boy have I wondered---why I stick with writing in a genre that's rejected my efforts. I don't even read that much science fiction anymore. But I am stuck in it. I've tried lots of other things, from Harlequin Romances to Internet Fan Fiction, but I always come back to science fiction.
(I have this odd mental picture of it. Long ago, I fell in love with science fiction---but science fiction has never loved me back. I'm trapped in a One-Sided Love Affair.)
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JeanneT mentions Ralan as a source for science fiction markets. As it happens, I just got back from there. The pro and semi-pro market list contains 69 titles. Of these, 24 are closed to all submissions. That leaves 45. Of the 45, about 14 are mystery or horror only, no sf or fantasy. That leaves 31. One does not look at unagented manuscripts, one requires the manuscript be by an Australian, one only looks at cat stories, one only a comic book stories, one only at superhero stories, one only poems, one requires payment with submissions, one is by invitation only. We're down to 23.
Several of the 23 are online publications I've never heard of, with very low payment caps. And several of the 23 accept sf only or fantasy only. My guess is for a given story that is sf or fantasy, there are fewer than twenty markets.
I've got stories out at 16 of them.
Many of the listed markets mention that they are currently overstocked. Thus my deduction that there are more good stories than there are markets.
Of course, the trick is not to write a good story but rather to write a great story. There are not so many of those.
posted
We have to remember that our choice of genre isn't much of a choice. I don't remember ever saying, "You know, I want to be a fantasy or horror fan." It just kind of happened.
I do remember saying, "You know, I think I ought to read science fiction (and crime fiction, and literary fiction)."
You want to know something? Almost all of my stories have some element of fantasy and/or horror in them.
My mind simply doesn't offer up too many SF, crime, or mainstream stories. Every once in a while, yes, but not often.
So in that sense, I think we are naturally drawn to a kind of genre, or a kind of emotional experience, and that's usually the kind of fiction we write.
That doesn't mean we can't learn how to write in other genres. Writing is a craft, after all; there's nothing mystical about it. Yet, our innate artistic ability will like somethings more than others.
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