The next big thing

Most of the time I've heard agents say "Ugh, no vampires!" they are specifically referring to Paranormal Romance. I haven't been looking for Fantasy agents, so I skim over if they say they want or don't want, but make sure you're not confusing paranormal (vampires, werewolves, selkies, mermaids, etc.) with fantasy. Just a thought.

It's definitely a broader YA fantasy issue. In the list of genres represented, fantasy was removed for some agents who were in my notes as accepting YA fantasy three to five years ago.

But I can totally see how "No vampires" can also specifically mean "No Paranormal Romance."

I was on a spreecast/live chat with Barry Cunningham today (J.K. Rowling's acquiring editor for Harry Potter back in the day) and he said that YA science fiction is making waves. Take that for what it's worth.

CoffeeBeans said:

As someone who's revising something she's calling a YA "Firefly" the sound you hear upon reading that first listing is my heart breaking. (Not really. You know.)

But - I have no *princesses* (I do however have missing settlers, even if they're just backstory mentioned in passing.) Why are there always princesses? I suppose I'd be way more bummed if there was a hacker.

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Don't feel bad; I had a Xerox of an adult Firefly that took me years to sell. I hadn't even known about Firefly when I wrote Planet Janitor. I got the copy cat moniker right away from all directions.

tri

Sage said:

The SF news is so confusing.

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No kidding! I've been pitching a YA Space Opera for a year with a quirky protag who knows how to make mistakes and sometimes learn from them. But not in that awkward way sitcoms make their stories work. I keep hearing "Sci-Fi is the next big thing!" but then every time I look online or at a bookstore, no one is selling ANYTHING in space. It's all near-future sci-fi. Which is cool, but not what I want to read (and not what I write).

Well I mean, the deal for that YA Firefly was from an already pubbed author so perhaps that's part of the reason why it was taken. Who knows? Another book that was deemed a YA Firefly got pubbed last year (can't remember the name). I think it's alright so long as you try to have some kind of twist that helps it stand out. And when you're querying you don't have to actually mention Firefly as a comp title, so if they don't see it, they don't see it.

Anyway, Firefly itself is kind of a Cowboy Bebop rip off anyway.

Sage said:

I don't know about now, but for a while "no vampires" meant anything. I have a friend who was already agented and they shopped her contemporary (maybe literary) YA with kids who were obsessed with vampires and still were rejected for "no vampires" by publishers. Even though there were no actual vampires.

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Wow. That's interesting. (Also kind of reminds me of the vampire vs. goth episode of South Park.)

Windcutter said:

It runs hot and cold--driving me crazy.

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Yes, and it seems like at a pretty fast clip, taboot.

tri

I can't tell if this is YA or MG, but regardless, it's sure to be the next big thing, especially given the Star Wars comp:

Author of the international bestselling Divergent series, Veronica Roth's duology pitched as in the vein of Star Wars, exploring the story of a boy who forms an unlikely alliance with an enemy -- both desperate to escape their oppressive lives, they help each other attain what they most desire: for one, redemption, and the other, revenge, for publication in 2017 and 2018, again to Katherine Tegen at Katherine Tegen Books, by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary (world English).

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There was another cool sounding YA spec/contemp, too:

Harriet Reuter Hapgood's debut THE SQUARE ROOT OF SUMMER, in which a seventeen-year-old physics prodigy navigates a summer of grief, world-stopping kisses and rips in the space-time continuum, as she tries to reconcile her first heartbreak with her last, to Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication May 2016, by Gemma Cooper at The Bent Agency (NA).

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Just saw this on the Bent Agency blog. The book sounds so quirky! I think I like the sound of it, but tbh I just have no idea what it's about.

[FONT=&quot]We’ve had a crazy few weeks with an 8-publisher UK auction, an heated auction in the US, a French pre-empt, and auctions in Spain, Italy and Brazil. THE SQUARE ROOT OF SUMMER has captivated everyone who has read it, especially me! It's a YA contemporary with a twist, in which seventeen-year-old physics prodigy Gottie Oppenheimer navigates a summer of grief, world-stopping kisses and rips in the space-time continuum, as she tries to reconcile her first heartbreak with her last.

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ETA: whoops! Totally missed your post, thisprovinciallife! I also just saw Veronica Roth's new deal on Twitter. I think you're right. Barring some unfortunate freak event, that will most probably be the next big thing.

THE SQUARE ROOT OF SUMMER sounds fantastic. And it is so, so awesome to hear about a significant deal for a debut! (I think that's 250K to 500K if I remember right?)

Also the Roth thing sounds interesting. I'll be interested to see how it is received, considering there was some controversy over how the Divergent trilogy ended. My hubby devours her books, so I'm sure we'll buy this one.

The Roth deal sounds so interesting! Although it's a bit vague. The thing is with continuing series from big authors, especially authors known for one big series, you never really know what's going to happen once they branch out and try something new. They will undoubtedly keep the majority of their fans, but there's no telling whether these fans will receive it in the same way (we want the thing we liked before!). Plus, as wampuscat mentioned, there was a bit of controversy over the end of the Divergent series.

One other thing to consider is that the whole 'trend'/ 'what's in' aspect of YA tends to work a bit like fashion in that consumers may end up moving on to the next 'in' figure. I know a lot of the authors that were huge back in the post-Meyer YA boom still have their loyal readership but aren't the big names at the top of the Most Anticipated lists on goodreads. It's really weird how the teen reading market has changed. Still I don't think that'll matter so much in this case since the Divergent series is still going strong on the big screen (can't wait for movie 2!) and still has a loyal following (the THG movies happening at the same time is probably helping with that too).

Anyway, I'm excited to read it regardless! What's the genre? It would be interesting if it were middle grade! Are there any big epic deals for middle grade these days anyway? There doesn't seem to be much discussion over the middle grade market in the middle grade section of the forums.

The 'Sqaure root of summer' is giving me definite 'the girl who leap through time' vibes from the sound of it. Kind of like magic-realism but...sci-fi realism instead?

I really like the idea of a duology.

I think Roth is big enough that she can get away with the generic "for redemption" and "for revenge" stuff.

Roth's blurb tells us both a lot and nothing at all I didn't care for Divergent but I might check this new series out if reviews are good.

THE SQUARE ROOT OF SUMMER sounds kind of interesting, although I'm getting a bit tired of "teen physics prodigy" type MCs.

When I read the description for the V. Roth book, my first thought was "maybe something like LEGEND, but in space." Both LEGEND and DIVERGENT were entertaining in a forgettable B-movie sort of way, so I'm not exactly jumping up and down for this news.

triceretops said:

Don't feel bad; I had a Xerox of an adult Firefly that took me years to sell. I hadn't even known about Firefly when I wrote Planet Janitor. I got the copy cat moniker right away from all directions.

tri

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triceratops, it's funny how often this happens. I -sort- of know how you feel (I'm not querying yet): my novel is mostly dialogue so I while resting from writing I decided to watch a well - reviewed movie with lots of dialogue. Well it turns out that my novel which is not even a romance, has a couple of close similarities with Before Sunrise (1995). Ugh.

I had to go in and change some things or else it would appear that I lifted from that movie.

The thing is though, the two strong similarities were not even tropes!

I feel for you.

Windcutter said:

I just wanted to say yes, it's odd how some authors seem to be all hot and famous and then the trilogy is over and they kind of disappear. Like Tahereh Mafi. There was so much hype, so many interviews. She and Ransom Riggs got called the celebrity power couple. Then it was like suddenly there was nothing going on anymore.
Until her new MG deal got announced in January, so probably not the best example.

Sooo Sci-Fi then? But 2017 is pretty far away, it's even a bit weird since Ms Roth is such a big time author, why push the release date so far away? It's not like she's got books coming out right now, right? Maybe it's not written yet.

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I've noticed this too. I was just watching some writing tips videos from a valid NYT Bestseller and I was surprised that this woman's videos had only 85 or so views each. He advice is fantastic, plus many of her videos focus on her characters and books (something that would appeal to her fans). I also notice that other bestselling authors don't have many comments (or any) on their blog posts. They certainly have sold lots of books, did everything "right", so what happened?

I've been thinking about why this may be. When I was a kid, I read R.L. Stine and Chris Pike books (not sure iirc but I've heard that those two authors are pseudonyms for a mills of writers, and if so then it's hardly inspired work), but pretty much forgot them after I finished. It was pure distraction. They were like junk food. Now, I'm not saying that I have some master key to being a successful writer, but this has encouraged me to develop my characters well and care a lot about my story rather than letting the supposed market determine any of my decisions. That's just my approach.

Windcutter said:

I just wanted to say yes, it's odd how some authors seem to be all hot and famous and then the trilogy is over and they kind of disappear. Like Tahereh Mafi. There was so much hype, so many interviews. She and Ransom Riggs got called the celebrity power couple. Then it was like suddenly there was nothing going on anymore.
Until her new MG deal got announced in January, so probably not the best example.

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I follow Tahereh Mafi on Twitter and it looks like she's been busy with non-writing stuff? I did wonder about authors who have gotten famous for their trilogies and then took a break from writing, specifically Suzanne Collins. Or does she have a new book out which I don't know about??

breaking_burgundy - "Entertaining in a forgettable way" is exactly how I felt about both Divergent and Legend! Come to think of it, I have forgotten both stories except for a general "Society is divided into 5 groups blah blah blah".