Have agents and editors had their fill of paranormal romance / fantasy, even if teens haven’t?

I just can't seem to think of as many YA books with love triangles as everyone else seems to imply there are (maybe it's because about half of what I read is Aussie YA, and I lean towards contemp. But I can think of some great US/UK based YA that doesn't revolve around love triangles -- Meg Rosoff comes to mind as having some romances in her successful novels that just exist between two people ).

And...I think the public IS getting sick of paranormal romance (no offence to anyone who writes PR. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I like reading it on occasion). It's just that as its the only thing available in many YA sections, of course it's going to be what people buy and will outsell everything else. What would be helpful to this discussion would be to see comparisons between how strongly paranormal was selling last year, and how strongly it's selling now. I'm guessing it's probably still selling strong, but not quite *as* strong.

My answer, OP, is to write what you love (and if that's paranormal romance, chances are you've got a better chance of selling it than a contemporary realistic novel, according to this agent's recent post about contemporary YA: http://kidlit.com/2010/11/08/is-contemporary-ya-a-difficult-market)

Also, @Glen, in a lot of ways, publisher's marketplace (well, not the website, that would be odd, but the industry behind it) DOES determine what sells. What editors are acquiring now will shape the landscape of the market in a couple years' time. If agents and editors all think paranormal romance is reaching saturation point, and aren't buying it (not saying they aren't, cause they are), then no paranormal romance books are going to reach the mass market. And the mass market won't really access books that haven't been 'traditionally' published.

I think in some ways, the publishing industry dictates the market, but the market also dictates the publishing industry.

inkspatters said:

Also, @Glen, in a lot of ways, publisher's marketplace (well, not the website, that would be odd, but the industry behind it) DOES determine what sells.

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If Publishers Marketplace determines what sells then how come it didn't determine the whole twilight phenomenon which in turn led to the surge in YA paranormal sales? How come it didn't see Harry Potter coming? That was the fans job, A.K.A the public, not publishers marketplace. Publishers marketplace simply details what majority of editors and agents are buying at the moment, and what they'll publish in the future. At the end of the day it's all about the public deciding what they want as their latest big thing. It could be the most obscure novel from an obscure genre that strikes a cord in the hearts of many, and the next thing you know publishers and editors and agents will be after the same thing.

Over and over, editors and agents try and second guess the public, and they fail most of the time.

So, sorry, but I'll stick to what I'm seeing right now, at my local waterstones, where the YA section filled with paranormal romance is one of the most popular sections visited by teens and adults. As for the future, that's for the public to decide, not publishers marketplace.

I'm wondering if, as JWheeler says, I should consider labeling my book differently. The thing is, when I think of "Paranormal" I think of what the market has been saturated with: vampires, werewolves, angles, demons, ghosts/spirits and that sort of thing. And I wonder if an agent sees, "I'm seeking representation for my Paranormal Romance" they automatically get that annoying tickle in their stomach that says, "Oh brother. Not another one." I'm not saying that books about the afore mentioned topics aren't to be written. Obviously, if you can write a story with any of those characters with a unique twist, it can gain interest. But, my story deals with more of the Xmen-ish kind of thing and I wonder if paranormal is the only label that can be used for my kind of story. I would love to just write YA Thriller Romance, but I feel like it would be misleading. No?

Well, I guess when they read the query, they will see for themselves what it is. It is even more important now to make sure my query is strong and screams I'M DIFFERENT! I'M UNIQUE! If I can accomplish that, perhaps the words "Paranormal Romance" won't cause them to groan, but to lift an eyebrow with some interest.

Here's to hoping

Glen, I could argue the PM comment about Twilight that editors DID in some ways see the beginning of the Twilight phenom....they did give SMeyer a 750,000 advance when advances really weren't that big. The editors and marketing team at Little Brown sunk a helluva lot of publicity into the book when it first came out...it was the "hyped" book of 2005 kinda like the hyped books we see now. HP and Twilight are extreme book scenarios.


And yes, PM or the publishers determine what sells. If they didn't buy it, hype it, etc, you'd never see it on a shelf to buy to become a fan. Like with Harry Potter, if Bloomsbury hadn't taken a chance on JK b/c the editor's young daughter loved HP, we would have never gotten it.

I should probably correct and say Publicity and Marketing control the industry rather than editors bc just b/c an editor loves your book and wants to pub it, it doesn't mean it'll happen....speaking from personal experience here.

Glenakin said:

So, sorry, but I'll stick to what I'm seeing right now, at my local waterstones, where the YA section filled with paranormal romance is one of the most popular sections visited by teens and adults. As for the future, that's for the public to decide, not publishers marketplace.

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I think was inkspatters was referencing was the marketplace of the publishers, not Publisher's Marketplace, the website. Ultimately editors dictate what's on the shelves by what they buy. They're the ones that ultimately push the readership to take a look at this particular book or that book over there. But we all know, all the marketing in the world can't guarantee the success of a book. Only the readers can as its their ultimately approval that determines whether a book truly succeeds. So a $750,000 advance rightly means nothing. They just got REALLY lucky with Twilight. The timing was right, the stars were aligned perfectly. But I know there are examples of books with huge advances that end up flopping. A few celebrity books happened to go that way. Huge hype but an ultimate failure.

So after all of that, it boils down to the chicken or the egg after that initial storm is brewed. Editors certainly aren't going to halt publishing PR altogether because they're sick of it. The readers aren't. That's where their money comes from to the readers need to stay happy. But in the meantime their requirements get stricter, the flood lessens and different books start popping up. So they want to move on and they want to try and get the readers to move on but it doesn't always work and they haven't been able to crack the PR bubble yet.

But it is cracking. I can tell you, from a review standpoint, readers are getting tired of the same old in YA PR and are branching out into different categories just for something different. Kind of to cleanse the pallet type of thing. And a lot of these reviewers are teens too. Sure, they still love PR but they need something different too.

As for categorizing, agents want to know you can categorize your book properly so if what you have is a paranormal romance, then I wouldn't get creative and call it something else to try and be different. That might hurt you more than help you. You keep mentioning X-Men, though. Is it closer to pulp? Paranormal Romance isn't that broad of a term so if you're dealing more with superheroes than something paranormal, I wouldn't tag it paranormal. Action Romance maybe?

The defintion of paranormal romance from Wiki is -

Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of the romance novel. A type of speculative fiction, paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the genres of traditional fantasy, science fiction, or horror. Paranormal romance may range from traditional category romances, such as those published by Harlequin Mills & Boon, with a paranormal setting to stories where the main emphasis is on a science fiction or fantasy based plot with a romantic subplot included. Common hallmarks are romantic relationships between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other entities of a fantastic or otherworldly nature.

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Based on what you've mentioned of your story, your characters might not fit this definition of paranormal. I could be wrong, of course, but just my opinion.

Bs_08 said:

i think agents are ACTUALLY looking for the next Edward Cullen. A male character that can drive hormonal girls (and grown women who should know better) into a frenzy. if you can create this guy and a good story to place him in, you can laugh your way to the bank. Just forget about fairies, angels, vampires and werewolves.

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Couldn't agree more. Sure, a good plot will sell books, but what I'm seeing over and over again is that a character is what makes readers obsessive. Take Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione - they all have their loyal fans. Take Edward Cullen - who cares about Bella, she is just the FPPOV so that everyone can pretend to be her. And take loads of other examples in adult fiction: Sherlock Holmes, Hamlet, Lisbeth Salander, Mr. Darcy... I know those are characters from different genres and different time periods, but that's the point. A character that makes people feel something is what makes them buy more and more books about that character, or from the same author.
Now, as far as paranormal romance, I totally understand what you mean, Mellymel. My characters fall more into the X-men category, and that is paranormal, but it's not what is overfloing right now. I'd say go for it and write Action Romance as your genre in the query. Once agents read the rest, they will know what you're talking about and can categorize it any way they feel. On the other hand, if they read paranormal romance in the first sentence, right after "Dear Agent", they might have that feeling that can ruin everything: "Oh, not another one..."
Good luck! And let me know how it goes!

You know, I think I'll just post the query in QHL (when I'm ready, but soon) and ask if people can help me decide the best way to present it in the QL. I'm kinda at a loss at this point. *shrug* But, in the end, if it's paranormal romance then by all means, that's exactly how I'll present it and hope for the best.

Thanks Laquesi! I know you are familiar with the feel of my story from the first chapter so you know what I mean and since you are writing a similar genre, it's nice to know that you get it. And, there is no way I'm starting my letter with the introduction to the genre word count. Mine is going at the bottom. That way, they'll have a feel for the story before genre is even introduced