Thursday, May 29, 2014

On the Demise of Urban Fantasy

Posted by: Seleste deLaney/Julie Particka
A twitter conversation yesterday about how hard it is to break into the urban fantasy genre took a rather depressing turn as more and more authors chimed in that their agents have told them to step away from urban fantasy entirely unless they already have a successful series going. The genre has not only been declared dead by New York, it seems, but dead, buried, and eulogized.

Then a lone voice spoke up (a reader/reviewer) and begged authors not to give up on the genre.

So how did this happen? And what is an author to do when publishers are shying away and readers still want books?

On the former, there are only theories.

  • The typical glutted market argument. Too many books not enough readers. I, for one, don't buy this argument as urban fantasy was not a sudden surge genre and hadn't had some random book or three that was a colossal hit and made everyone sick of it. *NOTE: for the purpose of this exercise, paranormal romance is a different animal, and as far as I know that's still selling okay.
  • People have burned out and moved on. Again, based on that reader who spoke up (and I don't know about anyone else, but jumping into a convo with a bunch of authors was always hard for me as a reader, so I'm not surprised there was only one) people still want these books.
  • They want unique but not too unique. Pretty much this same book, only different. New authors hear this all the time. We want a series like ______ only without vampires. Maybe, but too many books that are supposedly "different" still feel "the same." From the outside, it seems as if New York is afraid of anything really unique, which leads to the genre feeling stale.


So what do I really think happened to urban fantasy? Too many series that dragged on past their prime (or are still dragging on). Rather than finding a good spot where the story could end strong, series were teased out until even die-hard readers were done. And if the ending was unsatisfactory? Why would those readers invest in another series, knowing it could be equally disappointing?

You know what I miss? What I would love to see revived to reinvigorate the urban fantasy genre? Limited run series. Three books and done. Five books and done. Whatever number the series REQUIRES to tell the story--and then it's DONE. No stretching it out because it's selling like mad. Let the profit be in a great story told start to finish. The problem with this is it would take publishers to really commit to an author.

Think about Harry Potter (not urban fantasy, but a good example for my purposes). A SEVEN book series by an untested author. Can she do edits? Can she meet deadlines? What if book one tanks?

Obviously I don't know the ins and outs of the contract Jo Rowling signed but I've heard of publishers trying to back out of signed three-book contracts when they don't feel the first two have lived up to their expectations. That's right, trying to renegotiate on the last book.

But if we can't get New York to commit (and small press/digital publishers are still performing best in the romance arena), the only way for urban fantasy to survive it seems is through authors self-publishing. The commitment there is from the author direct to the readers--with no one else standing in the way.

I don't know about you, but if New York doesn't want to find new ways to support and sell urban fantasy, I'll look to the people who love it like I do--the authors who are willing to go it alone and give the readers what they want.

For me, I want more vampires, werewolves, witches and zombies in my life. Don't you?

15 comments:

  1. I have an idea for a five-book urban fantasy centered on vampires, but I haven't written it because everyone in publishing says they don't want UF or vampires anymore. Glad to hear some readers still do.

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    1. *I* still do. ;-)

      (Also I have a vampire series to finish, damn it. I hope readers are still reading!)

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  2. Hmpf. I read UF and I'm writing a UF. Readers of UF exist and we're out here - buying stories. Boo to NY if they think it won't sell. YAY for the authors who keep churning it out. I agree with the 3/5 book limits too

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    1. I'm finishing my UF series for sure (even though I've parted ways with my publisher on that one *sigh*). I know *I* still read it, so I know there have to be other people out there reading it too.

      In fairness, I think a series can go longer than that and stay strong (Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld comes to mind), but the key is to have a plan from start to finish and stick to the finish part.

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  3. I don't buy the "dead and buried" argument one bit. Have overall sales in UF dipped? Perhaps. But genres ebb and flow and you're always one hot book or series away from it being the "in" thing.

    Besides, a good story is a good story no matter what genre packaging it's wrapped up in.

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    1. Agreed! I'm still hoping steampunk finally gets a book that really CLICKS with a wide audience. Same with new adult non-contemporary (really, I don't care what sub-genre at this point).

      So glad the conversation here is positive about wanting more because yesterday's convo made me rather depressed :/

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  4. It's not just uf. It's fantasy romance and pnr too. New York just isn't buying it but the readers say they want it.
    My uf series is going to be five books. There may be a short story or a Novella in there but the series has been five books since the day I thought it up. And even though people love it, i'm not going to stretch it out just for the sake of more sales

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    1. THANK YOU! I hate when authors do that, and after a while it becomes so obvious it's painful.

      Honestly, I think NY publishing is starting to run scared from any authors/manuscripts they don't see as sure things. And that's sad on a lot of levels.

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  5. ....When I was little, I read fantasy sprinkled with sci-fi and I was happy with it. It was home, even if there was something missing. Then I found Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Pamela Dean...and I was HOME. But it wasn't big enough. I had to wait. And it morphed in that time...changed enough that you can catch me saying things like, "Oh, great. Another snarky heroine." But I still want to be where the fae and vampires and shifters are. I always will, and I think I won't be alone.

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    1. I like my snarky heroines--mainly because that feels like home to me ;-) But I know what you mean. People want the books. We may just have to go about getting them to the reader in different ways.

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  6. I love urban fantasy. It makes up 90% of my reading diet, and I don't see that changing any time soon. I'm shopping a contemporary fantasy series now, and it's close enough to UF to send editors scurrying. Like you, I don't mind. I'll try to place it with a few houses I'm interested in and, failing that, I'll self-publish the series.

    It's a win/win if you ask me. ;)

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    1. I'm self-pubbing the rest of my UF series. And I'm oddly okay with this (which I never thought I would be). Adventure time! ;-)

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  7. I love urban fantasy and PNR and definitely want to see more.

    Regarding length of series... some series are designed as a trilogy with a definite end in mind and others are more on the mystery model with a separate plot for each book. I'm find with both types. I will happily read as much Harry Dresden and Mercy Thompson as the authors put out.

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    1. I want to see more too. And I do understand the love for certain series that keep going and going, but I'm sure you know some others that lingered past their last good breath. Even if Dresden was planned as a 20 book series, I'd be okay with it...as long as there was a plan and not just a "let's make more money" which tends to be the factor in series that go on past their expiration date.

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  8. I'm late to this post, but as a reader, I just wanted to chime in to say that I love UF and don't see myself burning out on it any time soon. I especially love shifters, elemental powers, Fae, and any kind of mind control stories. On the surface it might seem like the books are all the same, but it's the way the author chooses to tell their story, and the little details, that make it all seem fresh and new.

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