Don’t ask me where they think this will be a useful or weather-appropriate shoe, but Prada open-toe boots for Ben, who writes:
How much does mismatched presumable genre and book feel destroy a writer’s chance to get published? Say someone writes a book that has a general plot that hints that it very well could be a thriller (man wakes up to space in his bed indicating a missing wife, is presumed by the police to have killed her, and has to find out where she has gone and why before he gets arrested/killed). Say this book is then written with little to no action but a plot that nonetheless progresses and a likeable, lazy sort of wit. When an agent reads it, are they just going to toss it because of its potential unsaleability to traditional thriller readers?
Interesting question, Ben! I think the way to make sure you don’t confuse an agent reading your query is to speak plainly and inform them of the unique way you’re handing the plot.
“In a meandering, literary tone that emphasizes intellect over action, my novel takes the trope of a thriller and reexamines it as high brow, non-genre fiction.”
Something like that. Don’t sell it as a thriller and try to surprise a reader with something completely different. If you do, you’re more likely to piss off the readers who would read it as a thriller, and you’ll never find the readers who’d like it literary.
It’s a difficult sell, but no more impossible than a YA mystery with an autistic detective, or a high fantasy retelling of the Three Musketeers, I’d think.
One thought on “Ask Daphne! What if style doesn’t match genre?”
The Phoenix Guards was entertaining, not nearly as good as Brust's Jhereg series, but he is always a readable author. A great voice can take any subject and make it a pleasure to read.