Setting in Coastal Mississippi- Will It Be A Problem?

elisadasilva said:

I have been working on a mid grade horror novel for about 8 months. It is set here on the coast, but that was before the hurricane. I am worried that a publisher might have a problem with the setting now because it has changed so drastically. For example, one of the main characters lived on the beach. there are no homes on the beach anymore. There are a few other such examples. Part of the main plot is that the evil guy lives on one of the islands and swims to houses on the beach.

Do you think a publisher will have a problem with my setting?

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If you think it might be a problem, could you move it somewhere nearby, like Florida? But personally, I don't think it will be a problem -- it is fiction, after all. And with the average time between acceptance of an MS and the book appearing on the shelves well over a year, it might not be something people are as aware of by then.

Or you can change it from present day to a few years back, maybe? I have a middle grade book set on the Coast, but I don't mention the casinos at all in the landscape. (I do have a hurricane in the story though, so I really don't have the heart to send it out to publishers at the moment.)


Robin

Elisa

Keep on writing; with time and more experience little that appears to be a problem now will even faze you then.

Look at the classics. Many of those books that have lasted have faced and dealt with the great and calamitous situations of humankind. The strongest characters have come through major life situations and prevailed.

Dickens for example wrote about many parts of Victorian England that couldn't be touched by nonfiction writers at the time (their books would have been banned). Why did he write them? Probably because like many writers he just HAD to write about them. How are you going to "fully" develop as a writer if you don't listen to your inner voice? (and trust it?)

These are questionings that most writers must face sooner or later, so it is good that you are looking at them.