Close qry with "science fiction debut" if I self-pubbed a mainstream novel?

babbage

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I wasn't sure where to post this, but I was wondering whether I should refer to the SF book I'm querying as my "science fiction debut" since I've never published a genre novel before. I have some speculative short fiction credits that I've listed in my closing, but I've been told not to mention any self-publishing I've done. Well, I self-pubbed a novel that was marketed as "literary fiction" but could just as well have been called a mainstream book. So should I say that this new and unpublished SF book (and I intend to write SF from now on) is my "SF debut," or does that sound really pretentious?
 

waylander

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Don't bother with mentioning it is a first novel/debut.
 

lizmonster

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Don't bother with mentioning it is a first novel/debut.

This. First, an agent doesn't care if it's the first or thirtieth novel you've written. Second, "debut" is generally used for a book that's being published. It doesn't really mean anything in a query.