- Joined
- Jul 7, 2016
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 12
This board seems pretty dead. If you're writing a memoir, I'd love to hear from you.
On a side note, I have an opened ended question for anyone with an opinion.
Do you think there is a market for a first time author with no platform who has written a male oriented memoir?
IMO memoir is a genre that is always relevant. But the majority of the industry and market appears to be women. Look at any agency contact page and it is likely 85% women. Look at market trends and it also appears to be driven largely by women.
I guess what I'm getting at is -I'm starting to wonder if women have a difficult time identifying with a male protagonist (I'm classifying the subject of a memoir as the protagonist) and if this affects the marketability of a male oriented memoir. I know the general rule is: If the writing is really strong, nothing else matters. But it's hard to get past the query stage if your manuscript is perceived to have three strikes against it (first time author, no platform, male oriented memoir).
I know Augusten Burroughs and a few others have made a living in the male memoir market, but there are exceptions to every rule. I'm speaking in general terms here and just looking for a little insight.
Thanks.
On a side note, I have an opened ended question for anyone with an opinion.
Do you think there is a market for a first time author with no platform who has written a male oriented memoir?
IMO memoir is a genre that is always relevant. But the majority of the industry and market appears to be women. Look at any agency contact page and it is likely 85% women. Look at market trends and it also appears to be driven largely by women.
I guess what I'm getting at is -I'm starting to wonder if women have a difficult time identifying with a male protagonist (I'm classifying the subject of a memoir as the protagonist) and if this affects the marketability of a male oriented memoir. I know the general rule is: If the writing is really strong, nothing else matters. But it's hard to get past the query stage if your manuscript is perceived to have three strikes against it (first time author, no platform, male oriented memoir).
I know Augusten Burroughs and a few others have made a living in the male memoir market, but there are exceptions to every rule. I'm speaking in general terms here and just looking for a little insight.
Thanks.