Battle Plans, Part One
So I've got a little under a month until I go to the convention where I will (he prayed devoutly) find an agent to represent me. To this end, I am bringing along four horses to throw into the race.
HORSE ONE: The Phoenix Initiative, 2006. Science fiction. My first successful attack at National Novel Writing Month landed me with a pretty darn good sci-fi yarn, and as we all know, that genre is one of the oldest and most enduring in your local bookstore. It's a story with a definite twist, an interesting cast of characters and sets up for the possibility of a franchise run, since I intentionally left the ending opening to be followed up upon at another time.
CHANCES: Good. This book stands a pretty good chance of finding a home, since as I said, the sci-fi section of your local bookstore is always on the lookout for new talent. I'd love it if my first published novel was in this genre; a run through the local library fiction shelves reveals many of my favorite authors are happy campers on this section of literary turf. I'd love to be seated next to folks like Alan Dean Foster, Michael Chrichton and Robert A. Heinlein.
HORSE TWO: The Final Nine, 2008. Sports fiction. The story of a pivotal three-game series between the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels in the final days of the Oakland Coliseum is a my own personal love letter to the game of baseball. There is a richness and romanticization of the sport that has always lended itself well to books, and I've been a baseball fan for just over thirty years now. I feel this game in my bones the way I do few other things.
CHANCES: Um, not so good. Unfortunately, sports fiction is usually a very tough sell. The amount of agents who even represent the genre are very limited, and usually if you bring up sports in a sales pitch, they want to know if its the backdrop of a mystery; Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels are an excellent and crackerjack example of this school of thought. This is a straight sports story, and unfortunately, most of the sports books that sell are nonfiction. Still, I believe very strongly in The Final Nine, so I'm bringing along a few proposals under its name.
HORSE THREE: Salvation, 2003. Urban fantasy. Not only does it kick off what is planned to be a six-novel story arc, it turns the urban fantasy genre on its head by focusing not on the person who slings the spells, but the person who shares their bed. I've spent a lot of time polishing and shaping this novel from the 121,000 word unwieldly behemoth it existed as in its first incarnation to the 71,000 slimmed down and sleeker model it exists as today. Therefore, it's the one I have the most personal feelings and pride invested in.
CHANCES: Moderate. Urban fantasy is seen as a growth genre, although the main character is male and therefore would not look so good on the cover with a half-shirt and tramp stamp tattoo, as so many other UF protagonists seem to be marketed as. It's not the typical book that opens with an invocation or anything like that; the problems are for the most part very human ones, and we don't really get magic crammed down our throats until we're into the book's back half. Still, the Alpha Readers have thus far responded positively and like I said, I've got a lot invested in Salvation, so it's going to get a whirl on the dance floor
HORSE FOUR: Lottery Odds, 2009. Contemporary romance. The characters of this story have existed within my own personal universe since I was a slave to the grind in my sophomore year of high school, so it would probably be tagged as the sentimental favorite. This is the fifth stab I have taken at the love story between Richard Ventura and Stephanie Curtis, and I think this time I finally got it right while also allowing the supporting characters a chance to shine. I didn't write it with any thoughts of publication in mind, but my wife has pronounced the intro "very good and I would definitely want to read more." Based on this, we're throwing this hat into the ring.
CHANCES: Probably the best of the bunch. The number one genre in terms of how many books get published each year is far and away romance, with all the various flavors of it that come down the pike. Boy-meets-girl still has a ton of fans out there, so in all likelihood, Lottery Odds will probably draw the most interest just due to the sheer amount of titles that are needed every year.
NEXT TIME: The sales pitches for each.
HORSE ONE: The Phoenix Initiative, 2006. Science fiction. My first successful attack at National Novel Writing Month landed me with a pretty darn good sci-fi yarn, and as we all know, that genre is one of the oldest and most enduring in your local bookstore. It's a story with a definite twist, an interesting cast of characters and sets up for the possibility of a franchise run, since I intentionally left the ending opening to be followed up upon at another time.
CHANCES: Good. This book stands a pretty good chance of finding a home, since as I said, the sci-fi section of your local bookstore is always on the lookout for new talent. I'd love it if my first published novel was in this genre; a run through the local library fiction shelves reveals many of my favorite authors are happy campers on this section of literary turf. I'd love to be seated next to folks like Alan Dean Foster, Michael Chrichton and Robert A. Heinlein.
HORSE TWO: The Final Nine, 2008. Sports fiction. The story of a pivotal three-game series between the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels in the final days of the Oakland Coliseum is a my own personal love letter to the game of baseball. There is a richness and romanticization of the sport that has always lended itself well to books, and I've been a baseball fan for just over thirty years now. I feel this game in my bones the way I do few other things.
CHANCES: Um, not so good. Unfortunately, sports fiction is usually a very tough sell. The amount of agents who even represent the genre are very limited, and usually if you bring up sports in a sales pitch, they want to know if its the backdrop of a mystery; Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar novels are an excellent and crackerjack example of this school of thought. This is a straight sports story, and unfortunately, most of the sports books that sell are nonfiction. Still, I believe very strongly in The Final Nine, so I'm bringing along a few proposals under its name.
HORSE THREE: Salvation, 2003. Urban fantasy. Not only does it kick off what is planned to be a six-novel story arc, it turns the urban fantasy genre on its head by focusing not on the person who slings the spells, but the person who shares their bed. I've spent a lot of time polishing and shaping this novel from the 121,000 word unwieldly behemoth it existed as in its first incarnation to the 71,000 slimmed down and sleeker model it exists as today. Therefore, it's the one I have the most personal feelings and pride invested in.
CHANCES: Moderate. Urban fantasy is seen as a growth genre, although the main character is male and therefore would not look so good on the cover with a half-shirt and tramp stamp tattoo, as so many other UF protagonists seem to be marketed as. It's not the typical book that opens with an invocation or anything like that; the problems are for the most part very human ones, and we don't really get magic crammed down our throats until we're into the book's back half. Still, the Alpha Readers have thus far responded positively and like I said, I've got a lot invested in Salvation, so it's going to get a whirl on the dance floor
HORSE FOUR: Lottery Odds, 2009. Contemporary romance. The characters of this story have existed within my own personal universe since I was a slave to the grind in my sophomore year of high school, so it would probably be tagged as the sentimental favorite. This is the fifth stab I have taken at the love story between Richard Ventura and Stephanie Curtis, and I think this time I finally got it right while also allowing the supporting characters a chance to shine. I didn't write it with any thoughts of publication in mind, but my wife has pronounced the intro "very good and I would definitely want to read more." Based on this, we're throwing this hat into the ring.
CHANCES: Probably the best of the bunch. The number one genre in terms of how many books get published each year is far and away romance, with all the various flavors of it that come down the pike. Boy-meets-girl still has a ton of fans out there, so in all likelihood, Lottery Odds will probably draw the most interest just due to the sheer amount of titles that are needed every year.
NEXT TIME: The sales pitches for each.