In every sado-masochistic relationship, the participants always agree on a safety word, the one word from the whipee that will tell the whipper to stop with the whipping already.
So, dear readers, I have to ask. When do you move on? When do you shit-can a project that's not selling, an agent who stops returning your calls, or an editor who wants to change your masterpiece about the reanimated hooker into something for the YA market? When, in this S&M relationship we call publishing, do you use your safety word?
Recently, a young friend landed an agent for his first novel. I've read a fair chunk of the ms and if I had to categorize it, and we always do, I'd say it's a suspense novel as written by Peter DeVries. It's funny, the characters are loveably left of center, but there is a dark note that plays throughout.
For a little less than a year, his agent has tried to sell the ms with no success. That's not all that surprising. But what intrigued me, and made me want to solicit your opinion, was a note the agent sent to my friend. I'm paraphrasing it so that I won't get my friend into trouble, but here's what the agent said:
"I've heard from a reliable source that some agents send a ms. from a new client to only 8 editors. If those editors reject the ms, that project is dead and that client stops getting his calls returned. I'm not like that. I really tried to place your ms with every editor in the known universe and no one bit. It doesn't look promising. Editors who bought humorous suspensers in the past aren't buying anything new. What they want now is non-fiction. No suspense, especially with male protagonists. Women's fiction and erotic fantasy or romance still sell and the buzz on the next big thing is urban fantasy."
Then the agent tells my friend that if he writes anything non-fiction or urban fantasy, to let him know and they'd talk.
My friend asks my advice and I'd suggest moving on to the next book and letting this one go. I'd also start looking for a new agent when the new ms is done. I think what we have here is a first novel that isn't quite ready and an agent that isn't enthusiastic about future work, both so common in this business as to be near universal.
My questions to you, dear friends, are these:
1. Have you heard of agents flagging new clients and soliciting a select few editors?
2. Is suspense with male protagonists dead? After reading Ray Banks, Sean Doolittle, Ken Bruen, Jason Starr, Victor Gischler and Jim Born in just the past few weeks, I'd say no, but maybe things are changing.
3. What would your advice be to this young writer? Should he move on to a new novel and a new agent, as I've advised? What would you tell him?
4. What the fuck is urban fantasy?
I've referred my friend to this space so he'll read your comments. I appreciate your help.
9 comments:
1. No, and yes, sort of, if I understand the question. That's what good agents do. They select editors who they think would be appropriate for the material. The criteria is the material, not the newness of the writer.
2. Oh please.
3. Based on that letter, my inclination would be to look for another rep. In any event, your friend should be coninuing to write no matter what. And he should be working on a story he wants to tell, not writing to the market.
4. Not a clue.
1. If only I had an agent.
2. Look at the success of all the great new thriller/suspense writers. No, the male protagonist is definitely, and thankfully, not dead. Maybe harder to break into. But not dead.
3. Keep writing. Find a new agent.
4. Huh?
1: No, and yes.
2: Things have changed, definitely. It's much harder to get published now than it was even a couple of years ago (and it was pretty hard then). The big books are getting bigger, and the smaller books are disappearing. I'm hearing increasingly that new authors require a 'platform' (ie publicity hook). Non-fiction is probably about ten times easier to sell than most fiction at the moment.
3: Probably advise to get an agent who's going to stick with suspense regardless of the current state of the marketplace. It's very, very tough at the moment, but not impossible.
4: Horror (if it's "dark urban fantasy"), otherwise paranormal. Very, very hot just now.
Al
1. What Harry and Al said.
2. If you check the deals at Publishers Marketplace, the idea that male protagonist led fiction is dead is absurd. Any agent who says "No one is buying (fill in the blank)" is full of crap. If a manuscript can't be sold, it can't be sold - that happens all the time for a number of reasons - but it's not because publishing has put a moratorium on a specific genre.
3. Agai - what Harry and Al said.
4. A reasonable commute time?:)
"1. Have you heard of agents flagging new clients and soliciting a select few editors?"
Yes. Sucks, don' it? Haven't had enough experience with it to tell you what it means.
"2. Is suspense with male protagonists dead? After reading Ray Banks, Sean Doolittle, Ken Bruen, Jason Starr, Victor Gischler and Jim Born in just the past few weeks, I'd say no, but maybe things are changing."
Sure. And the PI is dead. But PI's are on the verge of a major comeback. Romance is dying. But its sales are up. About the only genre we can honestly say is really and truly dead - or at least criminally marginalized - is the Western. I don't know what it is about publishers, but they can't seem to figure out how to bottle and sell DEADWOOD for the masses without giving it a cover that looks like it was drawn before Spaghetti Westerns were ever dreamed up. Note to the Bigs in NYC: You might want to start by not slapping a horse and cowboy on the cover of every goddamned Western written since 1980, especially when many of them have no cowboys.
"3. What would your advice be to this young writer? Should he move on to a new novel and a new agent, as I've advised? What would you tell him?"
If the agent reads the next book, I'd tell him to stay at it. If he won't even look at the next one, politely write a letter that says "I've decided to seek representation elsewhere" and move on. Believe me, that may sound terse, but it's business-like, always a good thing even if it's an unpleasant task.
"4. What the fuck is urban fantasy?"
Imagine Gischler picking up Harry Potter where Rowling left off. However, if this "reliable source" is saying it's the next big thing, someone's been asleep for the last two years. HELLO! Kim Harrison? Jim Butcher?
It's about like saying, "I think stories about boy wizards fighting dark lords will be big" two days after DEATHLY HALLOWS came out.
It's also like all that stuff that supposedly is dead or not selling. Except for all those inconvenient examples of stuff that is.
How dare you, Banks? How dare you not leave the PI dead and buried where the literati says it is. You're lucky they don't send you nudes of Margaret Thatcher.
(Yikes! My brain hurt typing that last line!)
I was gong to give an opinion of what urban fantasy is, but its actually irrelevant. Yes move on to the next book. Yes dump the agent. It really doesn't matter at the end of the day if the agent can't or won't move the book. If it doesn't move, it doesn't move.
If you go to Amazon and type urban fantasy it will lead you to something called paranormal romance, then urban shaman, vampire romance, etc. Me I'm happy enough with some of Landsdale's more off-beat stories.
As a reader, not a writer, I never seem to get tired of good crime fiction and tough guys. There's always a new kid on the block who seem to be making their best effort. They take on this much abused old genre and give it all they've got. I think those are the one's who love it.-SDA
Right now where I live the urban fantasy is being able to drive anywhere without encountering road construction.
If you're talking about books though, not a clue.
Suspense dead? Check the top 15 of the NYT bestsellers list. 11 of them are clearly mystery/suspense, many with male protags.
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