Novel idea - what do you think?

[littleshakespeare]

Hi all,I'm sketching out a new comedy novel set in a retirement village. Problem is, I'm not sure whether I'm wasting my time - do you think such a novel will have a very limited audience? Would agents/publishers immediately be put off by the setting? The material is rich, and very funny, I'm just worried about the market...Thanks for any comments.

[Alpha Echo]

I don't think so. Just write the novel and see what happens! I wouldn't worry so much about the market just yet. If you have a great idea, get writing!!!

Then, worry about the other stuff.

[Deccydiva]

Have you had any of it critiqued independently to confirm it is "rich and funny" ? If so, have you gone on to consider what the audience would be? A prospective Agent or publisher may throw this question at you, so it's best to be prepared. Personally, if the novel appeals to my sense of humour I would buy it, almost regardless of setting. However, humour is highly personal. I can't stand a number of popular TV programmes which are supposed to be funny, on the other hand there are others where I would go out and buy the DVD so I could watch it over and over, for example "One Foot in the Grave" or "Keeping up Appearances" both of which feature "older people" mainly. Okay, these are TV shows but for me, the same would apply to the written word.

[CaroGirl]

How many people watched Golden Girls on TV in its day? Probably 75% of people had seen and enjoyed at least one episode at the height of its popularity. Funny and well-written is funny and well-written regardless of setting. Go for it.

ETA: I just read this novel: http://www3.sympatico.ca/jbarfoot/exitlines.html, which is a humorous look at life in a nursing home. It's doing very well.

[NeuroFizz]

You may want to check out the various places at AW that deal with comedy. In fiction, it is frequently extremely subtle--overt comedy doesn't always come off well within the context of an 80,000+ word story. I'm sure there are many people here who can give good advice, and there is always the Share Your Work forum for feedback on pieces of your story.

[storygirl]

Movies and TV have had very successful comedies featuring characters that age, and I personally love 'em. I love to laugh, no matter the setting, so as long as it is done well, I'd say it is as viable as any other novel.

[RJK]

One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time is The Crew, with Burt Reynolds and Richard Dreyfus.

[smoothseas]

Funny and well-written is funny and well-written regardless of setting. Go for it.

I agree...

[qwerty]

As a wrinkly, I'd love to read a hilarious account of life in an old folks' home. I think young people would go for it as well, rather than be depressed about the thought of getting old.

Steptoe and Son is still held up as one of the classic Brit comedies, and one of the two MCs was ancient.

What I hate, hate, hate is mis-lit about old people.

[Adam Hammonds]

If the material really is rich and very funny the market will be much broader than just the geriatric.

[Lady Cat]

I think that a novel set in a retirement village has great scope for humour. And I don't think your audience would be limited at all.

We're all going to get old some day, and I, for one, would rather look forward to it with a sense of humour than a sense of dread.

[job]

There aren't really good and bad 'ideas' for books or good and bad sorts of characters or good and bad settings.

There are only good and bad books.
Someone out there can make rutageba farming in Maine the height of subtle humor. Someone can make Seattle funny.
Go for it.

[Danthia]

I was reading an article maybe six or eight months ago that talked about the "graying of readers" and how readers are getting older and looking for books that they can relate to. So sure, a retirement setting could work. Any setting works really, if done right. It's the story that matters.

[dawinsor]

One of my favorite books is Muriel Spark's Memento Mori, which is about old people and is full of Spark's typical, subtle humor. I think there are readers who wouldn't read about old people, but that's true of any subject. This could work well, especially since retirement communities are relatively new settings.

[Polenth]

I'm surprised with all the British sitcom name-dropping, no one has mentioned 'Waiting for God'. That was set in a retirement home. Funny characters are funny characters, whatever their age.

[littleshakespeare]

Thanks, everyone. Your replies have been very encouraging and have given me a 'new wind'.

[JoniBGoode]

Hi all,I'm sketching out a new comedy novel set in a retirement village. Problem is, I'm not sure whether I'm wasting my time - do you think such a novel will have a very limited audience? Would agents/publishers immediately be put off by the setting? The material is rich, and very funny, I'm just worried about the market...Thanks for any comments.


Actually, I think the market for this one is excellent! Let's see, there are 1100 gazillion Baby Boomers, all of whom are at or approaching retirement age. So that's a pretty good market. And, boomers read more (and purchase more books) than younger groups. So that's good. And women tend to read and buy more books than men. Because women live longer, there are more women (readers) in that demographic than in younger ones.

And oh yeah, AARP has 38 million members. So that's a reasonable targeted market.

You might think that they are all humorless old crones, but not necessarily. Madonna just became old enough to join AARP. Whoopi Goldberg is a member. So I think if your book is really funny and touching, and upbeat, you've got a major winner on your hands!

[Petsey]

I think its a great idea. Nothing better than laughing at ourselves, after all we're all getting there, some of us sooner than later. As mentioned the number of TV shows, movies etc related to aging - don't forget the Grumpy Old Men movies too! Have a go and see what happens.

[Stormhawk]

One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time is The Crew, with Burt Reynolds and Richard Dreyfus.

I was going to bring this up.

...now I need to go rent it, because I only own it on VHS, and don't have a VHS player anymore...

[Orchestra]

Getting old has tremendous comic potential since it's something we all know about, have to face and are a liitle scared of. You can write your own fears into an old character and laugh at them. It's very rewarding.

And you don't write for a market. You write for people. You might sell to a market but you write for people.