Too late for 2008 Olympics?

Enzo · Feb 7, 2007

I'm an unagented, unpublished writer living in Asia, and right now, I've got a great idea for a thriller involving the August 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Problem is, of course, that the games are not that far away anymore. Would it still be worth it for me to write this thriller - very intensively for the next few months - and try to get it published on time to reap the interest in the Olympics?
Or am I too late and should I just drop the idea and focus on more realistic stories?
My 'Olympic' thriller would not actually be set at the games, but involve them as a deadline before which certain action must be taken to avoid a calamity.

Just a sudden idea, but I wanted to run it past you more experienced thriller writers.

Enzo · Feb 15, 2007

OK, I know it's a rather personal question.
I'll be off for a holiday in Southeast Asia Saturday and when I get back home, by the end of the month, I'll make the decision whether to go full tilt at the Olympic thriller, or whether to dump the idea in favor of completing the thriller I'm already writing.
Outside of thriller writing, I also have a project for a board game, an idea for a Chinese-language non-fiction book, and plans for a small-scale business project that has nothing to do with writing.
I'm lucky I don't have a fulltime job anymore!

JanDarby · Feb 15, 2007

You'd be cutting it REALLY close. Major publishers tend to have their releases slotted a year to 18 months in advance, with a year being something of a rush, and 18 months being more normal.

You've got, what? exactly 18 months. Which leaves, at best, six months to write, get an agent and then have the agent get a publisher, averaging two months each. I don't know if you've written a novel before, but very few people can write a publishable one in two months. And many agents take 30-60 days just to respond to a partial (plus, there's the 4 weeks or so for the query to request the partial), and up to a year to read a full manuscript.

I don't mean to be overly discouraging, and if you want to write the book, you should, but don't do it on the assumption that it could be released in time for an event only 18 months from the day you start writing.

JD

Too late for 2008 Olympics?

Enzo

Enzo

JanDarby