Paranormal Market Slowdown?

Well, it was bound to happen sometime. Things may be tight, but it's a popular genre, so there's still a demand.

Best of luck to you.

The editor could have simply meant the market at their house was tight. It's hard to know for sure. Since paranormal breaks down into so many sub-markets, it's a tough assumption to make. Paranormal romance, for example, seems to be going as strongly as ever. However, people seem to keep saying vampires are a hard sell unless you've got something unique. Fey still seem to be hot, as well as shapeshifters who aren't werewolves.

If it's slowing down overall (which I don't think it is), I'm in the same boat as you Toni, as my paranormal/UF is going on submission next week (hopefully).

ChaosTitan said:

If it's slowing down overall (which I don't think it is), I'm in the same boat as you Toni, as my paranormal/UF is going on submission next week (hopefully).

Click to expand...

I'm also under the impression that it's quite the opposite. I think the overall paranormal market is just as strong as before, if not stronger. I hope it isn't really slowing down. If it is, I guess we'll have to change it the old-fashioned way: buy more paranormal books. Brainwashing unsuspectng readers into buying them would be useful, but sadly not likely.

The paranormal market is still extremely strong, but I suspect the number of writers aiming at the paranormal market has soared. So while there's still a big appetite among readers for vampire/werewolf/etc. novels, there's more competition.

It's always a tight market. All markets are tight to a certain extent. It's probably because companies can only publish so many books for so many genres at a time. If you have an agent that knows what s/he is doing, then you should be safe a while longer. Just go for it with every ounce of everything you have and then let your work squeeze into the tiny hole, that's all you can do and all you should ask of yourself. The rest is up to your agent.

ChaosTitan said:

If it's slowing down overall (which I don't think it is), I'm in the same boat as you Toni, as my paranormal/UF is going on submission next week (hopefully).

Click to expand...

*shaking in boots* Me, too.

It's tight, and it's popular, and it's competitive, and everyone is looking for the next big thing. There may be more writers writing paranormal, but if a writer doesn't love what he or she is writing, the result isn't going to be a very good book. So it really doesn't matter if there are more books in the genre. Are there more fabulous books? That's the million dollar (advance) question. Heh heh.

A slowdown? Well, that seems apropos to me. I've spent 15 years of my life on this concept. And over 5 working and polishing the novel.

Of course now that I'm ready the market would go flat. That's just my luck.

Guess I could trudge out my sword and sorcery novel now.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Guess I could trudge out my sword and sorcery novel now.

Click to expand...

that market is in no better shape according to my agent

It was a joke!

But I really should get back to my Dunsanyan fantasy.

How about the market for Piping Servitors of Azathoth? I hope that one's still as strong as ever. As for the Shoggoth market, well, blobs are perennial.

At this point the entire SciFi Fantasy Market is tought to fight yourway into if you're not toting a lightsaber or phaser.

Uh, question. I've never heard of the paranormal market. Is it real-world fantasy involving vampires and werewolves? I always thought that stuff was just "dark" or "urban" fantasy. Or is it more specific X-Filesish investigative stuff?

Albedo said:

Uh, question. I've never heard of the paranormal market. Is it real-world fantasy involving vampires and werewolves? I always thought that stuff was just "dark" or "urban" fantasy. Or is it more specific X-Filesish investigative stuff?

Click to expand...

It's a confusing maelstrom this genre naming thing, ain't it?

I think, and I could be wrong, that Paranormal is the entire umbrella under which fall all the others. It's the real world but things like the supernatural, paranormal, and preternatural are real within it. It includes Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal mystery, Paranormal Thrillers, and Paranormal romance.

I think.

Now I'm lost, I thought it always involved things like aliens, ghosts, demons and apparitions.

Not sure about aliens, that would be science fiction, no? But the rest of those fall under supenatural. paranormal, and preternatural, right?