How alive is the Western Market?

John342

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Hi,

I wrote a western romance last year, got very little response querying agents (one request for 1st 50 pages), and am wondering if I should keep it shelved.

Is the western market dead?

A friend of mine suggested I try marketing it as an historic romance since it included historic figures and skirted an historic event... the one agent that read the 1st fifty pages said "The writing is good, but it reads too much like a western."

Just seeing what everyone thinks.

I have since moved on to other projects, hoping to sell the western after I have a relationship with a publisher.

Any comments would be appreciated.

John
 

alleycat

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Maybe, but I think the thread just sank before most people even saw it. I'm here most of the time, either directly or with AW as a background tab on Firefox, and I just noticed your thread when you posted a reply.
 

Dave Hardy

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I believe Musa has published some Western-themed romances. I don't write 'em or follow the markets, but if it's a romance, I think you have more opportunity than the old-style Western shoot-'em-up.
 

Jamesaritchie

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The western market certainly isn't dead, but the market for the traditional western is definitely far smaller than it once was.

The problem with your book is that it be be neither fish nor fowl. And while any book may have elements of historical, elements of romance, and elements of a western, one of these must dominate to the point where there is no doubt which genre the book falls into, which audience will buy it, how it will be promoted, and where bookstores will stock it. An historical romance is not a western, a western romance is not a historical romance or a western, and a western is neither of the above.

If you can try to sell your book in more than one of these categories, it probably doesn't fit properly into any of them. It may have a ton of quality, but fit matters, and a book that's hard to fit is a book that's hard to sell.

I have just such a novel sitting on my computer right now. I co-wrote it, and the blasted thing doesn't quite fit into any cetagory. I hate co-writing.
 

John342

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Thanks for the replies. I hope people know I was just teasing. I have a full out now that is a paranormal romance, and perhaps I can interest that publisher in reading my western if they like my first.

Other than fit, my bigger problem is it is 120k. It is a sweeping epic saga sort of piece ala Lonesome Dove and I'd hate to try and split it...

Thanks again

John
 

Jamesaritchie

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Thanks for the replies. I hope people know I was just teasing. I have a full out now that is a paranormal romance, and perhaps I can interest that publisher in reading my western if they like my first.

Other than fit, my bigger problem is it is 120k. It is a sweeping epic saga sort of piece ala Lonesome Dove and I'd hate to try and split it...

Thanks again

John

If I remember right, Lonesome Dove is about three times that long. 120k is actually not all that long. Only about twenty thousand above average, in fact.
 

Arislan

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John, I have a sci-fi being queried and western's up next if I sign. I just don't know if agents have to shop my book around or if they're not obligated to do so if it's a genre different from what made them sign me up. But if I get signed they better be ready for plenty o'westerns. ;-)
 

EMaree

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Fantasy/Paranormal Western seems to be selling well for Lee Collins, who just had a sequel come out. It looks like the Western market is still going strong in the spec fic aisles.

I'm guessing Space Western is still popular too, because I refuse to believe anyone can get sick of Cowboy Bebop and Firefly-style goodness, but I can't name any titles off the top of my head.
 

jimmymc

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Maybe ripe for the picking. "Hell on Wheels" as a TV series seems to be doing pretty well and "Lonesome Dove" wasn't that long ago.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Maybe ripe for the picking. "Hell on Wheels" as a TV series seems to be doing pretty well and "Lonesome Dove" wasn't that long ago.

The western market, like and market, is always ripe, if you can come up with something new, and do it well enough. What you can't do is write same old, same old, and expect it to sell.