A Possible Repositioning
I've been considering an additional way to present and market my book: as "Nice Guy™ Tells His Side of the Story" or "Testimony of a Self-Identified Nice Guy™" or something of that ilk.
I've blogged in the past about how I've perceived a connection between the Nice Guys thing and where my head is at (or has been at in the past), things that I see in their alleged whinings and complaints that mirror some of the things that made me angry and frustrated growing up.
This wouldn't be an "instead of" effort but perhaps something I'd use when requerying lit agents or when the profile for a lit agent or publisher makes me think they wouldn't see themselves as appropriate for A GenderQueer Tale.
I could fashion a query letter, kicking off with something like this:
Yes, I'm a Nice Guy™. From when I was a little kid, I tried to be a good boy, and I wanted to be seen that way by others. And yes, it's fair to say that I wanted and expected good things to come my way as my reward for being good and nice, so guilty as charged on that.
It's a gendered thing. Rocky Horror Picture Show aside, Nice GIRLS are generally not held in the same contempt for seeking the same things, even when they commit the egregious sin of expecting the boys to value them over the bad girls and to reward them, eventually, by seeking their ongoing relationships with them.
You haven't heard our story. You've heard other people repeat some things that some of us have said, in order to mock us and express their annoyance and disgust with us, but it's really rare for any of the so-called Nice Guys™ to speak on out own behalf beyond an occasional 1st-person complaint that the women keep going for the Bad Boys who mistreat them and that it isn't fair.
The book itself wouldn't have to change much. I think I might make an alternative final chapter, one that adds a paragraph or two describing the Nice Guys™ stereotype and summarizing the ways in which my own attitudes and experiences fit right into that, but otherwise it would be the same book.
I'd need to work on that query some more - I need more of the plot to be described or at least hinted at, so that a lit agent or editor gets a glimpse of the conflicts and likely story arc. Come to think of it, the synopsis should probably be reworked a bit too.
Oh, and I need a book title. "Testimony of a Self-Identified Nice Guy™" could work as the subtitle but I think I need something both shorter and catchier for the main title.
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I am now echoed on DreamWidth, like many other LJ folks. My DW acct is here. Please friend/link me on DW if you are a DreamWidth user.
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I've blogged in the past about how I've perceived a connection between the Nice Guys thing and where my head is at (or has been at in the past), things that I see in their alleged whinings and complaints that mirror some of the things that made me angry and frustrated growing up.
This wouldn't be an "instead of" effort but perhaps something I'd use when requerying lit agents or when the profile for a lit agent or publisher makes me think they wouldn't see themselves as appropriate for A GenderQueer Tale.
I could fashion a query letter, kicking off with something like this:
Yes, I'm a Nice Guy™. From when I was a little kid, I tried to be a good boy, and I wanted to be seen that way by others. And yes, it's fair to say that I wanted and expected good things to come my way as my reward for being good and nice, so guilty as charged on that.
It's a gendered thing. Rocky Horror Picture Show aside, Nice GIRLS are generally not held in the same contempt for seeking the same things, even when they commit the egregious sin of expecting the boys to value them over the bad girls and to reward them, eventually, by seeking their ongoing relationships with them.
You haven't heard our story. You've heard other people repeat some things that some of us have said, in order to mock us and express their annoyance and disgust with us, but it's really rare for any of the so-called Nice Guys™ to speak on out own behalf beyond an occasional 1st-person complaint that the women keep going for the Bad Boys who mistreat them and that it isn't fair.
The book itself wouldn't have to change much. I think I might make an alternative final chapter, one that adds a paragraph or two describing the Nice Guys™ stereotype and summarizing the ways in which my own attitudes and experiences fit right into that, but otherwise it would be the same book.
I'd need to work on that query some more - I need more of the plot to be described or at least hinted at, so that a lit agent or editor gets a glimpse of the conflicts and likely story arc. Come to think of it, the synopsis should probably be reworked a bit too.
Oh, and I need a book title. "Testimony of a Self-Identified Nice Guy™" could work as the subtitle but I think I need something both shorter and catchier for the main title.
--------
I am now echoed on DreamWidth, like many other LJ folks. My DW acct is here. Please friend/link me on DW if you are a DreamWidth user.
--------
Index of all Blog Posts