Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A Question Of Subject Matter

Every morning, Suzanne of St. Martin's Press sends me a brief excerpt of a book that's on the new releases schedule. It's a marketing ploy, to get the words under my eyes in the hope that I'll like what's about to be laid down and buy it up.

Anyone can join the Read-It-First club. Authors in the making will find a regular source of opening pages, free of charge, that serve as perfect examples of what caught an agent's eye and what snagged an editor's interest.

Five excerpts are delivered to the e-mail in-box over the course of a week, the first few pages that are often included in a query letter. Of course, since it's free, you don't have a choice in what you get and the subject matter might not be relevant to you.

That's how it is this week. I don't care to read a non-fiction travelogue-memoir from a guy who was dumped at the altar and went on his honeymoon with his brother. It's simply not a subject I'm interested in reading. Glad the family managed to re-connect, thrilled that the two brothers traveled together several times, and delighted that Franz Wisner found peace and happiness. But I don't care to read all about it.

Oftentimes, a literary agent isn't interested in the subject matter of the novel you're querying. They may not think they can sell a story that's set in Eighteenth Century Glasgow. No matter how good the writing, they may not know of a single editor that is looking for romantic comedy that features rodeo clowns.

Study what's out there, to learn about the craft of writing, but always keep in mind that your story might not be marketable.

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