Can I 'Lie' About The Genre?

captaincrow · Apr 6, 2017

Heyo,

the title might be a bit misleading but I didn't know what else to call it.

I stood pretty much in the front of the line when thick skin was handed out so receiving rejctions doesn't really hurt me. I'm expecting them anyway and then look at the e-mail to make sure it's really a rejection, shrug, move them to the bin, and head over to Query Tracker and mark the agent with Rejection. But there was one where the rejection really stung. The agent was my favourite and he wrote something along the lines of, "Sounds tempting but I haven't had much luck with urban fantasy lately. If you've got anything else ready for querying just contact me again." I'm pretty sure it wasn't a form letter. He also mentioned my name, as in "Dear Matthew", but others did that, too, with form letters.

I've just started working on my other novel so, obviously, it's not ready for querying. I'm not even sure if he read the whole query, much less the sample pages, because he usually wants word count, genre, etc. at the beginning of the query.

So, the question is: should I generally change the genre from "YA urban fantasy" to "YA fantasy" in my query to at least raise the chances of them reading the sample pages. Because it's still fantasy, right? It's not even a lie, just a tactical move.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

Matt

PS: I'm also very tempted to just write my other novel and then query him with that one, but that could take months and he won't remember me. But as far as I know, he's got one of the best sales records in the past few years. I'm torn.

PPS: Maybe I'm reading too much into this. This was probably a form rejection and he just changed the genre and name.

waylander · Apr 6, 2017

Is the novel he rejected YA? If it is for the adult market and your 2nd novel is YA then don't worry, the two markets are different.

Aggy B. · Apr 6, 2017

I doubt it was a form. Agents don't ask to see future work unless they are interested in seeing future work, so I've never run across an agency form that said "We'd love to see something else from you."

Urban Fantasy is super-saturated right now. It doesn't surprise me that he's not had much luck with selling it recently. (It's still pretty popular, but that means a lot of folks are writing and querying it.) However, I would be really wary of changing the genre in your query. Yes, Urban Fantasy does fall under the larger umbrella of Fantasy. But, if you are pitching it as Fantasy and an agent reads the rest of the description or sample pages and sees that it's clearly Urban Fantasy they will at the very least wonder how well you know your product. And they will have varying degrees of irritation over the fact that something that is Urban Fantasy is being pitched to them as Fantasy.

I would not do it if I were in your shoes. (I had a similar dilemma querying a Steampunk novel a few years back. At one point I considered not referring to it as Steampunk because the reaction to the subgenre was so tepid, but it was really obvious that's what it was. And it's not worth it to finesse that detail just to try and get someone to read a little further, if they may feel like the author is trying to deceive them or doesn't know what they're doing.)

Best of luck with your querying!

captaincrow · Apr 6, 2017

The one he rejected is YA, yep. The second one crosses over with Adult. I think. (I should probably open another thread and ask for opinions to determine the genre.)

Old Hack · Apr 6, 2017

captaincrow said:
I'm not even sure if he read the whole query, much less the sample pages, because he usually wants word count, genre, etc. at the beginning of the query.

He will have read the full query. He might not have read the sample pages if the query didn't interest him, though.

So, the question is: should I generally change the genre from "YA urban fantasy" to "YA fantasy" in my query to at least raise the chances of them reading the sample pages. Because it's still fantasy, right? It's not even a lie, just a tactical move.

You could. But why would you? If it's urban fantasy and you don't tell agents that, and they aren't interested in urban fantasy, they'll only reject your work later. It'll still end in a rejection.

PS: I'm also very tempted to just write my other novel and then query him with that one, but that could take months and he won't remember me. But as far as I know, he's got one of the best sales records in the past few years. I'm torn.

It doesn't matter if he remembers you or not. You remind him that he invited you to submit further works when you send it in.

CameronJohnston · Apr 6, 2017

I'd always aim be as accurate as possible with your pitch. It won't stop them reading it (they will find out what the text is like anyway, whatever you label it) but at least that way it will show you know what you are talking about with your target market.

Slaven · Apr 6, 2017

I think the answer would be the same even without "urban". That doesn't mean it sucks!

WeaselFire · Apr 6, 2017

I try to tell agents everything I know or believe. If it's urban fantasy, I tell them. I gotta say, there aren't a lot of agents who automatically reject something based on genre, as long as it's something they're interested in, provided the query catches their interest. If the query is good but the agent doesn't feel comfortable in that genre, they will often refer it on to other agents.

So, be up front on the genre as you see it, write an awesome query letter and reel them in when they're hooked.

Jeff

Laer Carroll · Apr 6, 2017

I usually mention the general genre in my queries in the subject line, unless the agent only handles that genre. But the subgenre may not be relevant, so I don't (for instance) say "hard science fiction." An experienced agent will instantly recognize the subgenre from the contents of the first few sentences in the query.

I agree with WeaselFire. They may reject a work on general grounds: too much recently published urban fantasy, post-apocalyptic, vampires, etc. But on rare occasions a tired trend will be revived by a brilliant new entry in the field. An agent who rejects SOLELY on the genre or subgenre would miss out on being the handler for that new entry.

My guess is that an agent who mentions the subgenre as the reason for the rejection is mentioning only one reason for the rejection when s/he has several reasons for doing so. One being that the query doesn't show how this particular work is different enough from the usual category (of urban fantasy, for instance) to excite editors and readers of this work.

blacbird · Apr 6, 2017

I think you can overworry about categorizing "genre". Beyond the simple major genre categories, in a query an agent will be looking at your description of the work, not your assessment of where it fits in the market.

caw

captaincrow · Apr 7, 2017

All right, so the solution seems pretty clear: I'll keep on querying with "urban fantasy".

Thanks for your answers!

Can I 'Lie' About The Genre?

captaincrow

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

captaincrow

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

CameronJohnston

Great Old One

Slaven

Wetting my feet get

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

blacbird

captaincrow