How close to another published work?

Your timing is interesting.

Just last night I was browsing some smaller publishers, looking to see who had published books similar to my "back in tweakland" manuscript. I was floored to find a novel with a familiar backstory, even though the actual plot was different.

We both have:
*Research companies responsible for human experimental testing
*Scientists trying to create the ultimate human weapon
*Someone on the inside trying to do the right thing
*Someone on the outside trying to stop it.

Fortunately, this other novel's main character a military investigator, sent from completely outside of things to go inside and snoop around.

I pondered the comparisons for a minute, then shrugged my shoulders and continued my search.

Dulvarian, I'll repeat the old saying that there are only so many plots in the world. Just by writing about vampires, you will have agents/editors sighing and thinking "No, not this again." Dazzle them with your take on things. Be new and write to the best of your ability.

There will always be similar books. It's what makes yours stand out among them that will make all the difference.

chaostitan said:

We both have:
*Research companies responsible for human experimental testing
*Scientists trying to create the ultimate human weapon
*Someone on the inside trying to do the right thing
*Someone on the outside trying to stop it.

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I may be wrong but scientist trying to create the ultimate human weapon is not a new concept? I would guess it's been done lots and lots of times. Also the research companies thing and well, what would a story be without a scrupulous insider?

Just a thought.

The wider themes of my series plot are nothing new:
-Heroic fantasy
-Setting is a medieval world that used to be abundant in magic, which has since been lost with the fall of the more advanced ancient civilization
-The heroine brings the art of spellcasting back to the world
-Lots of war and nations trying to invade each other
-At one point, there is a guy who is a prince but doesn't know it, and is destined to defeat a dark lord
-Prophecy involving the heroine's children later on in the series
-There is eventually a civil war in her homeland

But the characters and style-well, shameless plug, if you haven't read my short in the Share Your Work fantasy section, read it! THAT'S what Rose is all about. She's definitely not your average fantasy babe. Hardcore 4 life!

Also, I really mess around with the conventional plot devices, like having the prophecies fail because of people fighting them, and the (legendary, 6'8", 400 lb) hero being jealous of the heroine's prowess in battle.

Don't let it stop you! I hit the same snag earlier this year. I wrote a werewolf/ detective piece and sent it out a query to a publisher. They asked for more so I got very excited. I watched their website just to see what was happening and discovered they are publishing a similar book this month. I about dumped a load but realized that they were already planning on publishing the other book. I e-mailed the author and joked about it which he replied back to, encouraging me not to give up hope. Ideas are few and far between, it's how we spin them that makes them interesting. BTW- the query went out in January and they haven't rejected it yet.

Ok, here's the rundown on the comparison

DBD/WIP)
Southern LA setting/same
Vampires/same
Small town/same
Vampires "mainstream"/the "mainstream" shift hasn't happened yet, soon
Precivil war vamp/yep
Female MC with psychic powers/ Male MC with untrained magic ability

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Well, there are a LOT of other books with these same themes, so what's original about yours? Different character backgrounds? Maybe. Strong plot? That helps. But one you might think about would be "Vampires/same" WHY are they the same? Have you considered a slightly different take? Something that makes yours unique? Spin it a little to make yours the one that OTHERS compare to. For example, our vampire series turned them into sentient parasites (like ticks or tapeworms) that use humans as both food and HOST. Christine Feehan has her Carpathians that are a different species that only look human, and are old as dirt.

What publishers look for when they "the same but different" is a twist that turns it away from the original Dracula legends into something original and plausible that is BASED on legend. Maybe they're actually BATS (as a species) that can merely appear human, so you can play around with their past and how "cute" it is that people think they're undead. Or something like that. Just one thought of a thousand spins.

JMHO, of course. But I will say that my co-author and I had to rewrite about a dozen chapters of several different books because of similarities (down to names and descriptions, for crying out loud!) to books in the same genre that beat ours to the shelf. Sometimes the muse strikes different people with the same ideas. But first to shelf is generally the rule. It's a PITA, but there you go...

DamaNegra said:

I may be wrong but scientist trying to create the ultimate human weapon is not a new concept? I would guess it's been done lots and lots of times. Also the research companies thing and well, what would a story be without a scrupulous insider?

Just a thought.

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Oh, you're not wrong, Dama. It just struck me that this topic showed up the day after I found that other book. The bareknuckle idea has been done before, I have no illusions about that.

Hopefully my take on it is different enough to stand up to what's already been published.

Dulvarian_Eldritch said:

On a seperate note, is there a moral stadard on very realistic drug useage in stories? The hero in my story has a flaw, and it is heavy substance abuse. I'm pretty familiar with it on a personal basis, and I present a rather stark and unpleasant view of a lot of things that involve drug use including some of the very real consequences. However, my hero does smoke a lot of pot, skips school (high school senior), illegally carries a handgun, and has a few intersting sessions with some of the female characters in the story. He has some dealings with organized crime and takes a payoff from drug dealers for it on a recurring basis. (I did make them all over 18 by the way). Morality is one of the themes that emerged. So anyway, does any kind of drug usage count as glamorization? I think it is pretty deglamorized, and I think that some of the examples in there ring pretty true to most middle class Americans.

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Morally flawed characters show up in modern fiction quite often. So does drug use without the author passing any judgement on it. Remember the opening line to Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

Don't worry about writing a gritty, crime-filled story. There's plenty of market for that.