Weird Dilemma

[Will Lavender]

Here's a strange problem.

My first novel is a psychological thriller. It is a genre novel, but just. It's a bit more literary than most thrillers you see on the market, and of course that comes from my reading habits. My agent takes on thrillers, but she clearly says she will not accept more genre-oriented mysteries. Also a no-no: sci-fi, fantasy, horror.

Okay, here's the issue.

I've worked on bits and pieces of five or six novels this summer. In part because of the birth of my second child, it's been tough. At times very tough. But I did finish one (very uneven) novel, and I'm working on a promising WIP right now. (At least it's promising after 20K words.)

This WIP is clearly genre, though. And, as I said, my agent hates genre. I know she's going to cringe when she sees this MS. It's got monsters, gore, and a lot of other strangeness that's not going to be her cup o' tea.

Anybody else been in this situation before?

[Stew21]

I don't have an agent will, so I can't be too much help, but perhaps someone at your agent's firm reps the genre you're after? Or, depending on how well Obedience does, maybe your agent will reconsider for you? Or if she won't, based on your success with Obedience, you shouldn't have trouble getting another agent to rep it, or even talk to your editor at the publishing company that is publishing Obedience, maybe they can make a recommendation.
I truly don't know, just thought I'd throw out some ideas.

[Will Lavender]

I don't have an agent will, so I can't be too much help, but perhaps someone at your agent's firm reps the genre you're after?

I thought of this, too. I know Folio reps Mario Acevedo, who writes vampire novels. (My WIP isn't a vampire tale, but it's close.) So this is a possibility, though I have no idea if it's common or not.

I will possibly have to use a pen name, but there's still the problem of giving something to my agent that she might not be interested in selling. (Or perhaps won't even be able to sell. The market for genre fiction like this, I would imagine, is fairly small.)

[Stew21]

maybe pose the question to agents here and see if any of them have experience with it? Try Nathan Bransford's thread first, he checks it fairly regularly and responds to everyone.

[The_Grand_Duchess]

I think that you can explain that the new book isn't really her thing and ask her what she wants to do. If she declines to repersent it then you can go to another agent. I think proper protocal is just to ask before for you send it to someone else. I think I remember a similar problem coming up in another thread a while back.

But do what Stew said, ask one of the agents on here.

[Susan Breen]

Congratulations on your new baby. I would talk to your agent now. She obviously likes your writing and you'll probably want to map out a long-term plan with her. You are obviously incredibly productive, so she may want to nudge you in one direction or another. Maybe this WIP should be your third book, or maybe she'll love it just as it is. But I would talk to her.

[rugcat]

Part of it may be her personal tastes, and part may be that because of those tastes, she doesn't feel she has the contacts or knowledge of the genre to effectively represent or sell the book.

I would simply ask her how to resolve the situation.

I had a slightly different situation years ago when my then agent didn't want to represent my second book. I sold it directly to an editor, and my agent then negotiated the contract (At a reduced commission, I might add.)

Of course, editors were more easily approached back then.

[DeadlyAccurate]

I would go with Her Grace's idea. You should definitely check with your agent first. If nothing else, the agent may be able to find a co-agent on your behalf, which may be easier than finding another agent (not that I think that'd be a problem for you.)

[Prawn]

Why does having a new baby make your writing about monsters so compelling? Are you a breastfeeding mother writing about vampires?

[wayndom]

If I were you, I'd tell my agent I wrote a terrific genre novel, and since she doesn't want to handle it, could she recommend someone who would?

The biggest problem I foresee (if my information is still valid) is that for the most part, no one is publishing horror. You might want to research that yourself. The last time I wrote a horror novel, it took me almost a year to find an agent willing to shop it around, and he spent a whole year trying to find a publisher for it, to no avail.

It's a good novel (according to all the editors who passed on it because "nobody's buying horror any more"), so if the situation has changed, I'd sure like to know about it.

Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it turns out.

[JamieFord]

I'm in a similar spot.

In all honesty, I think your agent should care about your career, whatever direction you want to take it. But...if she's not passionate about the genre, she might not be the best person to sell your work.

Safe to assume you signed a one-book deal, with Shaye having the option on the next? If Obedience is a hit, your agent/publisher/readers will probably be looking for something in the same vein. So the pen name might be the way to go. Either way, just talk to your agent about it.

I went to a reading last year headlined by Alice Sebold, who read the first few chapters of her new book, which was untitled at the time. It was dark, twisted and strange--I watched the crowd who was visibly freaked out. It was clear they were expecting something closer to The Lovely Bones. I think her new book (The Almost Moon) is going to be a huge disappointment to her readers.

Like you, I'm working on the next novel. The current WIP is an easy follow-up, but since I have so much time before 2009, I'm trying to squeeze in a YA novel I've been kicking around. In my case, my agent loves YA so it's not a problem.

[katiemac]

Ask your agent about it.

[Will Lavender]

The biggest problem I foresee (if my information is still valid) is that for the most part, no one is publishing horror.

Ah yes. This is my biggest fear. You just don't see horror in bookstores anymore. Not out front. (Strangely, though, it's all you see in Blockbuster.)

I'm going to pitch this as Cormac McCarthy meets Joe Hill. It's definitely "literary horror," whatever that is. Don't know if that'll change anything or not, but who knows.

My publisher won't touch this either. So this might just be career suicide. But dangit, it's such a weird idea that I can't stop now. :D

[Will Lavender]

And of course I'll ask my agent about it. I'd set up a meeting with her before I made the post. I was simply wanting to know if anyone else had encountered the problem before.

Thanks for the responses.

[amber_grosjean]

I had the same problem, having the kids not the agent part. It was really hard to focus on writing while chasing after children running in different directions. when the first one was born, I didn't even think about writing for a short while. I was "in the now" with her, paying attention to each little thing she did. So I do understand the difficulty. You just have to find the right medium between the kids and the writing.

As for the agent, I would talk to her first. Being your agent, she has the right to know. She may want to read it first and agree to represent you anyway since there is a history. She might know someone who would work better in the company she works in. Never go behind your agents back. It would give her reason to drop you or not trust you anymore, or both. If she turns it down (like publishers with this), then you can go elsewhere with it.

Amber