First rejection of a full manuscript yesterday. The good news/bad news: "it's not your writing, it's the genre." Chick lit is a tough sell these days, apparently -- a number of other agents to whom I've submitted said the same thing -- and this agent just doesn't think she can sell what I've written, although she had briefly hoped that she could repackage it as women's fiction (which is selling quite nicely). She said some nice things, and we agreed that I would get back in touch once I wrote something with a strong zombie heroine. Now THAT would sell.
So sorry! Don't give up! Lol zombies. I guess zombie chick lit is the way to go. Wonder if there are any zombie blogs out there? I know...zombie kittens!
ReplyDeleteI can see it now... zombie LOLcats.
ReplyDeleteI can haz brainz?
Wait... you mean to tell me there is a difference between "women's fiction" and "chick lit" other then the name? And how does zombies fit better into the former then your story?
ReplyDeleteThis is information I need to know.
Based on the information I've been able to glean from the internet, the difference between women's fiction and chick lit really comes down to tone. Apparently chick lit has a first-person narrative, confidential tone, and a certain level of humor/witty banter.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there's a category known as "humorous women's fiction", women's fiction can also be told from a first-person POV, and chick lit can have weighty themes, and is no longer limited to novels about girls who buy expensive shoes and drink while searching for Mr. Right. So it's all kind of a blur, but I think having a 20-to-30-something female protagonist in NYC pushes me over the edge into chick lit.
Hey, I was raised in NYC. I wasn't going to write a book set in South Dakota just to avoid the genre label.
Where do zombies come into this? To our knowledge there is currently NO women's zombie lit or chick zombie lit. Untapped market, y'all. Let's get cracking.