Agents see this all of the time...
"I have this great 90,000 word manuscript that is part this and part that with a little hint of..." Honestly, I would say that 20%-25% of the submissions I see say something like that.
Now, let's add in this concept circulating out there on the loops called "genre blending." In other words, authors are trying desperately to create something new and unique.
While I applaud authors for their inginuity, I am often frustrated at their missing the point when they think of writing as a business. In other words, authors forget about the concept of marketing.
If an author struggles to be able to define the genre he or she writes, you need to consider what the agents are faced with. Again, remember that your story is not something that belongs with every publishing house. Each publisher has a specific focus, and yes, that includes genres. To add to this, publishers have to know how to market those books to the book buyers, who, in turn, have to know which shelf to put your book on.
Although coming up with this unique blends might sound innovative, it makes it extremely difficult for marketing. Simply put, it doesn't matter how good your story is, how unique and exciting the characters are, we still have to consider marketing.
I should add, this marketing level extends to all aspects of your writing and not simply the genre. If you have characters, plots or storylines that are not marketable, we can't do anything about it.
Before you start your next project, stop and consider the marketing aspect. Is this something we can sell?
Scott
Could you give us a few examples of what you're seeing that has "characters, plots or storylines that are not marketable?"
ReplyDeleteMany thanks!
Hoo boy, and I've been asking for two years, what genre does "Water For Elephants" and "The Help" fall into?
ReplyDeleteI hear what you are saying but still think it puts writers into an impossible bind, especially when these "no apparent genre" books are the only new things being picked up out there. Feels like No Win to me, once again.
All one can do is try try try, but I agree it must be a pain to wade through this stuff. Care to give us a genre for these two? Does it even matter? They got bought.
Do you really expect us all to write detective, romance, sci-fi, etc, just to fit in with your limited know-how? There’s no reason creativity has to start and end with authors. And, it’s time the rest of the industry caught up.
ReplyDeleteMiss Sharp,
ReplyDeleteI think the one that I see more often than not are situations where the heroine is a high school student falling for a teacher and they have a relationship.
In other words, those things that really do tend to go against what is socially acceptable,
Anon,
ReplyDeleteAs far as Water for Elephants and The Help, I would classify these as general fiction.
Yesm this is tough but it is business and we do have to have a target audience and a market. It doesn't matter how good it is, if no one will buy it, then it is not successful.
Anon #2
ReplyDelete"Do you really expect us all to write detective, romance, sci-fi, etc, just to fit in with your limited know-how? There’s no reason creativity has to start and end with authors. And, it’s time the rest of the industry caught up."
No, I am not saying that I want you all to write in these genres. No, i am not saying that I want you to limit creativity. What I want you to remember is that you are a sales person and you have to know your market and know who will buy your writing. Where do you plan to sell it. This really has nothing to do with my "limited know-how". This has to do with you trying to sell a product to someone that doesn't buy that. it would be as if you were a wholesaler going to a car dealership and trying to sell them elephants because you like to ride them. According to your description, their failure to buy this is because they are limited in their thinking. No, this is simply not a product they sell.