In the past year I’ve written three novels that re-tell Old Testament stories. My idea is to re-freshen some of the tales that many of us heard as kids and, by moving the time, venue and even setting, place a new spin on old truths. I’m hoping that I’ve written entertaining stories with engaging characters. I re-counted the story of Job, for instance, by chronicling the life of a young boy in Indiana. His story starts in the depression and attempts to create a real character that fits the description of the Biblical Job: a great man of high character. The actual account from Job is only a small part of the book, most of it is spent building a believable character and in understanding what the after-effects of such an experience might be.
The results have been something I’m very proud of, and <insert standard comment here about beta readers loving it and telling me that it needs to be published>. So, based on that effusive feedback, I set out to find a publisher and an agent. I’ve gotten some interesting responses from agents. The ones that do respond tell me that historical Christian fiction based on the Bible will not sell; they don’t even want to see sample chapters. When I look at the bookstore, however, I see Scott Card with his “Women of the Old Testament” series, “The Red Tent” and several other very successful lines of work.
So, my question is: do I need to improve my query letter, or are they correct and I need to get a new genre?
The results have been something I’m very proud of, and <insert standard comment here about beta readers loving it and telling me that it needs to be published>. So, based on that effusive feedback, I set out to find a publisher and an agent. I’ve gotten some interesting responses from agents. The ones that do respond tell me that historical Christian fiction based on the Bible will not sell; they don’t even want to see sample chapters. When I look at the bookstore, however, I see Scott Card with his “Women of the Old Testament” series, “The Red Tent” and several other very successful lines of work.
So, my question is: do I need to improve my query letter, or are they correct and I need to get a new genre?