What should I do?

Do what works for you and the story. An agent won't care if you call 'em zombies or freaks or geeks or whatever if you tell a good story.

elindson said:

I've read the zombie genre is long dead and over used. Am I ever going to get an agent with a zombie story? My query shows other monsters, but are they just going to be stuck at the word zombie? should I change the word zombie to flesh-eater in my query? Or cannibal? Need some advice, or hopefully reassurance on this one from my horror hounds.

Click to expand...

Uh, where are you hearing this? Sources? Because I do quite a bit of reading in the genre, and my impression is the exact opposite of this.

Unless you're talking about a zombie mashup, e.g. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, zombies are alive (so to speak) and well. Compared to vampires and werewolves and other creatures, zombies are a niche primarily covered by small presses (e.g. Permuted Press). But they're definitely on the rise (har har). Look at AMC's The Walking Dead, a zombie graphic novel turned into an original series.

I research alot of publishers and in the horror pubs, they specify it in there guidelines. I always wanted to write a good vampire/zombie novel, but I went with a demon instead. It all depends on if the story is new and fresh and stands out from the others. I don't think they look at one word "zombie" or "vampire" and say too many stories like that, forget you.

Although I think I stumbled upon one that said "no vampire, Twilight like stories. It would have to be unique to be considered"

Hope that helps. Good Luck Erika

Yeah, can't tell ya how to stop worrying completely, cause I worry too (almost to the point I can't function...but that's another story) LOL

Just roll with it. You got nothing to lose. Just think, you got this far with completing the story and that is a feat in itself.

I pumped out two novels and am struggling horribly with the third. Only one chapter into it and I am starting to lose it. Anyways...I am rambling.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. Give us an update on it when you start to get your responses.

The Monstrumologist, a monster novel, was a Printz honor book last year, and The Forest of Hands and Teeth (zombies) and the sequels are very popular. Kids love zombies and the like. YA horror isn't huge right now, but I'd say for querying that it's fresher than urban fantasy?

I queried a YA horror last year and had a very high request rate.

elindson said:

So I'm about to jump back into querying my young adult urban fantasy. It's about monsters-more specifically zombies, harpies, and vampires taking over the world. I've read the zombie genre is long dead and over used. Am I ever going to get an agent with a zombie story? My query shows other monsters, but are they just going to be stuck at the word zombie? should I change the word zombie to flesh-eater in my query? Or cannibal? Need some advice, or hopefully reassurance on this one from my horror hounds.

Click to expand...

vampires were dead after twilight, because of a boatload of imitators and a flooded market.

They were dead before Twilight, because nobody was buying vampire stories....


other than immediately following something that is hot, being part of the crowd of wanna-be's snapping at its heels, there's always a bad time to be writing any given genre, all you need to do is listen to the right naysayer pissing in your well.

Write the book, make it good, and try to sell it. Considering the time, effort, and willpower it takes coupled with how fast what's "hot" changes, that's about the only realistic way to go about things--if you sat down to write a twilight ripoff just as twilight got big by the time your book was done and you were shopping, it would likely be catching the tail of a dying trend or on the outs, unless you did a half-assed, quick job.

Don't let people tell you something is "out", do the best you can with what you write, and if it isn't hot, fix it or trunk it....I'm really not sure there's much else you can do. Maybe in six months zombies will be hotter than Phoenix asphalt.

elindson said:

thanks lisa. i hope my query conveys a new twist, i do mention my zombies can learn. plus i have harpies which are so much fun. just worry im doomed

Click to expand...

Often, in the horror genre (can't speak for UF because I haven't read enough of it) the story lies outside the monster, in the characters, setting, and overall tone. If this is strong it often doesn't matter what horror trope you're using. I think the uniqueness of a horror novel comes from the uniqueness of the story around the horror/threat, not from it.

P.S. Zombies are doing just fine, but probably won't be later, so get your story out without thinking about it to much.

You don't know until you try. Like every other story out there, you don't know if it's going to be rejected until you submit it somewhere.

If you get a rejection letter, take it, file it away and send it off somewhere else. If you've got a good story, someone will take it.

Doesn't matter about the 'market.'