Is vampire romance dying?

Only thing I can say is that I sat in an Agents and Publishers panel last spring, and listened to them telling us that Vampires were dead.

And then there was Stephanie Meyer.

???

Williebee said:

Only thing I can say is that I sat in an Agents and Publishers panel last spring, and listened to them telling us that Vampires were dead.

And then there was Stephanie Meyer.

???

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Well she came before last spring...

There may be a problem with originality. Perhaps agents/publishers are tired of the same ole, same ole. Lately, in reading guidelines, I do see more "not accepting paranormal or vampire novels.”

I read Anne Rice's Interview With a Vampire when it came out in '76, and that got me hooked, except nobody else wrote about vampires as well as she did. Then Laurell K Hamilton happened. New problem...I read enough of her stuff to get burned out on 'sexy' vampires. Then came the deluge. Now, I can't imagine picking up another book about vampires EVER again.

Make her an alien.

Am I the only person in the world who doesn't find vampire's sexy? It's right next door to necrophilia, people.

Stake it in the heart, cut off the head, and burn the body, then bury the ashes in separate unmarked graves or scatter them over running water.

Since Rice more or less started the flood back in '76, a 32-year run for romantic vampire fiction has been more than long enough.

I can't remember a time in my relatively short life when vampire fiction wasn't popular in one form or another.

Most likely vampire novels won't die unless someone writes a very clever (and widely-read) deconstruction of the genre.

Neurotic said:

Am I the only person in the world who doesn't find vampire's sexy? It's right next door to necrophilia, people.

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No. I don't find them sexy at all. There are way too many on the shelves at the bookstore.

To the OP, I think it would be incredibly difficult to change your MC to some other paranormal being. I assume that her being a vampire is very integral to the plot. I can't see this being easily adapted. I think it would be easier in the long run to start fresh rather than trying to revamp your story with a different MC. I suggest that you continue shopping your story as is and start working on a new novel. I don't think I would give up on it entirely. You've already invested a lot of time and energy into writing it and Vampire romance does still sell.

Wow! I came off as a patronizing little snot. Sorry about that. I was trying to be encouraging. sigh. My bad.

Otter, vampires always come back in style. They are the single most popular things in entertainment from Nosferatu on. Shelf it for a while, wait for the agents to "clear" their current vampire fiction.

(I hope this is how it works in the real world, because this is what I tell myself about a lot of things in life. I'm still waiting to see the results.) When the moment is right, you'll have a manuscript that is ready for publication.

I'm assuming your MC being a vampire is vital to the plot. If she could be anything else and the story would still work, why make her a vampire at all?

My advice would be to continue querying agents, but focus on your next novel. Then query that novel once it's finished. If you land an agent for that novel, you can mention that you have this vampire novel as well, and would they like to see it? Worst thing that happens is they say no, and it gets shelved again for awhile. You can always try again a few years down the road.

I myself have never been interested in vampire novels. Vampires in general have held little appeal for me since becoming addicted to Buffy for several years. However, I know a lot of people out there love vampire stories, so there will always be a market for it. Don't give up on the project, just let it settle for awhile.

Donkey said:

Make her an alien.

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Stephanie Meyer's been there, too.

Otter, I can't really add much to what's been said already, except that 'born' vampires aren't a rare thing lately. But then, what is? Keep trying, keep writing and never SURRENDER!!

Cheers, Lisa.

I'm not going to comment on the irony of vampire romance dying, but I will say that I couldn't be happier than if the genre took a bit of a breather. It's time to find a new wave to ride, especially for the less talented writers out there.

The vampire genre romance thing has been going very strong since the early eighties and been a presence since the 50s. I doubt it will vanish entirely within a few short years.

The Otter said:

I'm always working on a new novel. But I have a fondness for this one so I'm not quite ready to retire it to the desk drawer yet. I still have a few agents/small publishers on my list, but once I've exhausted all my options, I'd like to think there's something else I can try before scrapping the whole project.

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Rae22 said:

My advice would be to continue querying agents, but focus on your next novel. Then query that novel once it's finished. If you land an agent for that novel, you can mention that you have this vampire novel as well, and would they like to see it?

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Rae22 beat me to it.

Unless your take on vampires is extremely new and refreshing, many agents will hesitate to take it on. They may already have one or two clients who write vampire romance. They may feel that editors are inundated right now, and while the agent likes the book, maybe they don't think they can sell it. Many of the recent vampire book sales I've read about have been from authors who've presented something new and unique (I'm not saying yours isn't, since I haven't read it).

If you believe in the story, hold onto it for a while. I still believe in the first paranormal book I queried (oh, about two and a half years ago now). One day I'll mention it to my agent, see what he thinks.

Vampires have been around in one form or another pretty much since Bram Stoker popularized them in "Dracula."

The romance (Harlequin type) has been going strong for god knows how long.

Vampire romance will continue to be successful despite claims that it is dying. Most of that is just wishful thinking by people who don't enjoy the genre.

Neurotic said:

Am I the only person in the world who doesn't find vampire's sexy? It's right next door to necrophilia, people.

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*Joins Neuro's club*

Vampire fiction a la Rice, fine. Vampire romance?? gag dead things aren't sexy. Neither are four-legged hairy things. I can't wait for this paranormal trend to end.

jennontheisland said:

Vampire romance?? gag dead things aren't sexy.

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*giggle*

Sorry, don't mean to laugh. It's just the overwhelming mindset that makes people go vampires=dead, when not all UF or paranormal romance novels present them that way. It's part of the whole "do something new" trend agents are clambering for.

Cuz my Vampires aren't dead things. Or demon-possessed humans.

jennontheisland said:

*Joins Neuro's club*

Vampire fiction a la Rice, fine. Vampire romance?? gag dead things aren't sexy. Neither are four-legged hairy things. I can't wait for this paranormal trend to end.

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Hey. How'd you like it if I went around and hoped the genre you write in died. I don't think that's very cool. Sorry if I'm taking it personally, but I'm taking that personally.

Ah, the lovely "don't bother with that, it's a dying (sub) genre" game. It's eternal.

In the 1980's, I was told not to write Contemporaries because Historicals were the only thing that sold and Contemporaries were dying--unless you wrote for Harlequin. Regencies, BTW, would be eternal and a good bet to build a career on.

In the 1990's, I was told that Paranormals and Futuristics weren't going to take off because Contemporaries had returned and no one wanted "weird" stuff in their Romances.

In the late 1990's, I was told that Erotic Romance was already dying and to keep my books sweet. I was also told that the Historical market was dying and stop writing in it, period.

My experience of the last 30 years of writing and watching the "market experts" is that any time there is a shift in the focus of a genre (and it happens OFTEN), that those people with an agenda (either to change things or keep the status quo) are the first ones to start the rumors that something is dying or no publisher in their right mind would ever look at that subject matter.

It's all horse hockey.

Write the book that excites you. Write it well enough and someone will want to rep it then someone will want to publish it. There is NO WAY anyone can judge where the market will be in six weeks, let alone 6 months or years because no one can gauge when the next big thing the reading audience will embrace and make a runaway bestseller that everyone else wants to copy. It just can't be done, so it's pointless to waste your time and energy on it.

If the book is a Vampire Romance, then it's a Vampire Romance. In today's market, if it doesn't sell and something else does down the line, then you can put this up to share with your fans on your website as a special treat. Fans adore free stories from their favorite authors to help tide them over until the next book is published.

I hope the vamp romance novel is dying, and that the lycanthrope romance catches the same.

I hope that the tortured little anguisette princesses will pack their leather and latex trousseaux, put the cap back on their emo eyeliner, run an Emjoy over their furred bosoms and jump back into the Victorian penny dreadfuls from whence they came.

I hope that silverfish eat the 'H' section of the Urban Fantasy shelving, and clear some room for writers with two new thoughts to rub together, character arcs that actually reflect on contemporary issues, and who bless their starving souls, are able to write fantasy imagery that actually manages to enchant rather than just titillate.

I further hope that the writers of Horror circle their desks, fill their fountain-pens from the ink-wells of bile, and write screeds of material so blasphemous that flocks of Paranormal Romance tomes flutter screaming to the nipple-pink and 'I own twelve cats' purple covers of the Romance section where, quite frankly, I don't care who shags what.

...and all so that we get some depth and breadth back on the fantasy and horror shelves again.

Vampires aren't dead. In fact, they're UNdead. Jeez, the uninformed.

Me, I'm going for all those open shoggoth romance slots.