need help figuring out subcategory for my YA fic.

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ksbaby

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DELETE THIS PLEASE:)

Hi! I've just finished a 74,000-word YA Fiction that falls between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. I'm in the process of writing up a query letter, but I don't know what to call my book. Let me give you guys a short plot and hope some of you can give me an answer:)
My 18 yr. old female protag. comes from another world but all the action happens here in the modern, human world. She falls in love with a human and there's a bit of romance thing happening. However, the plot is around the event that takes place where the antag. from her world crosses over to the human world for a take over. There a lot of twists and turns including a few deaths, although this book does not have gore or serious violence. It's your basic good vs. evil plot. So, what would you call it? It seems like every agent out there wants you to put your book in a set category or find a book that resembles yours. Help!!
 
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suki

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I'd call it YA Fantasy and leave it at that. I don't think from the description it's a Romance, because in any kind of Romance (paranormal or otherwise) the romance, the will they or won't they, *is* the central plot. In this explanation the romance isn't the most central plot.

And I don't think any YA agent who accepts fantasy or paranormal is going to care about the subcategory one bit.

So I'd call it YA fantasy, and leave it at that.

~suki
 

ksbaby

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Suki, thanks for your advice. Just getting down to details trying to come up with that perfect query. Guess I'm just a bit nervous...
 
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suki

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ksbaby said:
Suki, thanks for your advice. Just getting down to details trying to come up with that perfect query. Guess I'm just a bit nervous...
Click to expand...

Perfectly normal to be nervous, and become obsessive over the details... LOL. But remember that agents are just people, and few if any agents will, IMO, reject your query because you call it YA fantasy versus a subcategory.

They care much more about a coherent and attractive plot pitch and that the query show no signs of delusional or unprofessional (ie, naming all 32 of your cats in your query, promising your book will be bigger than Harry Potter and Twilight combined, forsaking the plot pitch for glowing reviews written by you, your mother and you best friend, listing every irrelevant job you've ever had, etc. LOL).

good luck working on your query. Check out the Share Your Work section for info on queries. While you can't seek critique until you hit 50 posts, you can read and comment on others' queries and learn while you are gaining your 50 posts.

~suki
 

ksbaby

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Wow, did not know that. I'll look through all the old posts. Meanwhile, I can't wait until Personal Effects is ready to read. I'm a sucker for all YA. Can't wait for the holidays to be over so I can start querying.... Thanks!
Su
 
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