It’s a rainy evening here in the Big Apple so I figured I’d stay in and indulge in a little online narcissism and look up my name on the internet. In addition to apparently being an actor of questionable talent in the Fantastic Four movie franchise I discovered I’ve provided amusement with my recent book deal in an overview of the SF&F publishing genre here.
The article provides a lot of details that you may find interesting:
* There is a huge audience for “immersive” works of epic fantasy
* More and more SF/Fantasy titles are being released as original hardcovers
* Trend is away from mass market editions (and toward trade paperbacks)
* Fantasy outsells SF
* SF is a very conservative genre
* Romantic fantasies and other cross-genres are hot
* “Space operas” (SF epics) are becoming increasingly popular
* Genre novels are becoming more “literary,” with covers to match
* Global warming is hot (pun intended)
* Smarter, more empowered (aggressive) females drive fantasy chic-lit
* More tie-ins with games than movies
* SF “trending younger” with urban fiction and Manga
* Fantasy becoming darker and increasingly enamored of vampires
* Military SF continues to be popular
I’d like to know what the hell “more literary than genre” means (from that piece). Well, I do know, but that comes with such a Samsonite array of luggage that it deserves–what? An essay? An article? A book? A movement?
Hell, if a few authors were able to start the mundane science fiction movement, why not get the ‘literary’ science fiction movement to coalesce?
Stupid everyone. I must go have my cold caffeine now.
The need to categorize everything seems to be driven by the bookstores far more than readers. Publishers, though, feed into this by assessing books by how easily they fit into a recognized genre. If a book doesn’t conform it can be a tougher sell, which is a shame. From the editor’s side, I always judge the quality of the book first, but admittedly I do have to then take other factors into account, like will our sales force be able to work with this title.
Finding you on the web
Yes, give in Dude even if it isn’t you, you’re everywhere! Cheers I finally found your blog. Get on with the website 🙂 Congrats on being the vanguard for the launch, that’s excessively cool. Don’t worry I’ll stack them in the aisles and praise you to the heavens. Had lot’s of fun reading your prior posts and glad to hear things are moving along with IE2 as well as your YA project. Keep writing.
cheers
Jeff Young
(guess it’s not annonymous any more . . .)