The next big thing

Cyia said:

You're looking at it from the wrong end of the market. Paranormal, zombies, etc. burned out over a year ago on the acquisitions end.

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I don't think zombies are dead (ha!) yet, at least I hope not. There aren't that many YA zombie books that I know of - Forest of Hands and Teeth obv. and the upcoming Courtney Summers book, This is Not a Test. There were some other comedy ones (can't remember any names), what else is out there? There seems to always be a couple around but I don't remember a huge influx.

perfectisafault said:

Are ghosts played out? Because I'm currently querying an MS that has a ghost (though there's no romance between the ghost or any human characters), but at the same time, it has unique aspects, like the setting, plot elements, etc.

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I would love to see more ghost stories - I loved A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb.

I'm probably a bit too early for any SF revival, but I do have a golden-agish space opera that's doing fairly good. It might have done better in a YA format, but I didn't think of it at the time. I'm intrigued with Steampunk, but haven't knocked one out. Yet.

I heard the terms "Nerd Romance" bandied about from a few sources, but it hasn't got too much reception. It's only on the wish list of few editors/agents. Nerd romance with humor might work.

tri

I totally missed the entire Pirate trend. And I'm the world's greatest pirates fan (or well, Jack Sparrow fan).

I want to see more gothic horror ghost type of stories. Not exactly romance stories involving ghosts. I've read too much of those as of late. Also, a current trend in YA after the Anna Dressed in Blood hype and the Supernatural hype seems to be ghost hunters/demon hunters actively out to hunt things. Or it might be that I'm just seeing this trend now, and it's been around for a while, but I've received a handful of ARCs during the last couple months that were dealing with this type of novel.

triceretops said:

I heard the terms "Nerd Romance" bandied about from a few sources, but it hasn't got too much reception. It's only on the wish list of few editors/agents. Nerd romance with humor might work.

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Can you think of any specific agents who wanted to see this? I have a book that could be considered nerd romance.

But at the same time I feel like the stuff I'm truly passionate about and want to write about is just really, really far out of the mainstream interests of most agents or editors

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I say if you're truly passionate about it, write it. You never know, it may appeal to someone. You just have to find one agent/editor who likes it! If it no one wants it, trunk it and write another. You can always pull it out of the trunk if you see the winds shift in the future.

I don't think you should write to the trend, but I don't see any problem with reviving an old ms because it fits a trend.

By the way, this lovely thread inspired my blog post today, so thanks! I was sitting here just staring at my computer screen not knowing what to write about.

Becca: Cupid's Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating contest last month had a "nerd romance" type entry the agents went wild over. Specifically, Brooks Sherman at Fine Print and Sarah LaPolla at Curtis Brown requested it, so you may want to query them. It also made it through the first round of ABNA. Not that I'm stalking it or anything, but I participated in both contests too and saw the name. "How to Date a Nerd" if you're curious.

Kats: is your avatar a picture of Jordan Catalano? Swoon.

Re: wiped memory, saw several upcoming YA releases on goodreads today featuring it, too.

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There's a great book out called "Forgotten" by Cat Patrick that's similar, but a cool twist on the wiped memory. I highly recommend it.

triceretops said:

I heard the terms "Nerd Romance" bandied about from a few sources, but it hasn't got too much reception. It's only on the wish list of few editors/agents. Nerd romance with humor might work.

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I've never come across the term before, but this being the next big thing would bode so well for me.

Becca C. said:

Can you think of any specific agents who wanted to see this? I have a book that could be considered nerd romance.

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I totally forget where I saw it mentioned, and they even had a brief description of it. But if I run across it again, I'll post the link (origin).

In fact, I'll bet the gals over at Romance Divas would know exactly what it is and who is seeking it.
http://romancedivas.com/about-us/

I've seen a couple books cropping up on Goodreads (this one, this one, and this one) that are about the British monarchy, either as a subplot or part of the main plot. I'm so excited! My book is big-time about the monarchy.

It's probably because of the royal wedding last year. That's definitely when I got the idea for mine. I hope this baby trend can help me when I'm ready to query

Haha, yes, I am

eternalised said:

I totally missed the entire Pirate trend. And I'm the world's greatest pirates fan (or well, Jack Sparrow fan).

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We should totally bring back pirates. Pirates are awesome.

You need a twist on pirates to make it work.

How about glittery vampirates?

Drachen Jager:
How about glittery vampirates?

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Justin Somper already nailed the vampirate idea. Unfortunately.

MM

Momento Mori said:

Justin Somper already nailed the vampirate idea. Unfortunately.

MM

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Ok, scratch pirates. We're going with ninjas now. KATANA is forging the path for us.

Puppies maybe? I'm all out of ideas.

Vikings.

Zombie pirate were-puppies who retro-fit a stolen viking ship to run on steam, then embark on an interstellar mission to save the universe from cloned vampires.

Personally I'm really hoping for an upswing in adventure stories. I looooove adventure stories.

But I'll settle for zombie pirate were-puppies, I guess.

What about witches(more salem witch trials than Harry Potter)? I just read Born Wicked which was decent. Maybe a few more will follow. Who knows. Just a thought.

I should probably start paying more attention to what YA is selling on Publishers Market place. That's probably the best place to see what publishers are buying now as apposed to what is coming out now (big gap in between)

Vikings would be friggin awesome. And I mean historical, honest-to-goodness vikings, not paranormal romance vaguely, half-assedly involving Norse gods.

AmyJay said:

I've never come across the term before, but this being the next big thing would bode so well for me.

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Would The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky be considered "nerd romance"? If so, the movie's coming out in September which may cause a surge in interest for that kind of book...

What I'm trying to say is, HURRY UP AND FINISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT and start shopping it ASAP!!!

Electric Chinese Batman.

Cyia said:

Zombie pirate were-puppies who retro-fit a stolen viking ship to run on steam, then embark on an interstellar mission to save the universe from cloned vampires.

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Challenge accepted.