It must be transition time again in the business. A lot of authors are switching representation or changing direction with their writing. I haven’t been in the business long enough to have the ebb and flow of things down yet. I’m still finding my way. I don’t think there are any perfect situations in this business. There are good ones, bad ones, and a lot of in between. The whole thing boils down to what an author is willing to put up with. This is when it’s really important to know what you want from your career and your professional relationships. Like I’ve said many times in the past, you have to be willing to leave a situation that isn’t working for you. I know it’s scary, but it tends to work out for the best in the end. Good luck to everyone who’s in the middle of a transition. 
August 16th, 2007
Hmmm. Interesting that there’s a lot of changing going on in the market right now. I’m sure that things do have a natural ebb and flow, and sometimes you have to change direction. Now I have this image of authors as surfers, paddling out and waiting for the waves…*g*
by Charli August 16th, 2007 at 5:49 pmCharli, That may not be a far off analogy.
by Jordan August 16th, 2007 at 6:03 pmThe analogy of Rats in a Maze works better for me.
by BernardL August 16th, 2007 at 9:32 pmBernard, It gives a whole new meaning to ‘Who Moved My Cheese’. LOL!
by Jordan August 16th, 2007 at 11:22 pmI’m out of the loop when it comes to changes with representation, but just when you think the migration to writing paranormal/urban fantasy has plateaued, another author announces another deal (usually a series, rather than a single book) with another publisher.
by Jaye August 18th, 2007 at 9:51 amJaye, There have been a lot of authors on the move as of late. As for the migration to urban fantasy, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of it as the need for paranormal romance wanes. I know I’m trying to make the jump. Don’t know if I’ll make it, but I’m going to try.
by Jordan August 18th, 2007 at 11:11 amWell, JOrdan, aside from being a kick ass writer, you do have ‘fantasy/para’ elements in much of your backlist, I don’t see it as much as making a jump, rather than across a bridge.
So you see the demand for paranormals declining? I know vamps and shapeshifters seem to have reached ‘glut’ point in some cases, and now we’re seeing a lot of demons and some ghosts, but I get the sense demand will plateau and stay there. Or maybe the demand has always been there, but it was finally be met. Now the current supply has out-stripped it, once things level out, things will be fine.
by V.Jaye August 18th, 2007 at 1:46 pmVanessa, Bless your heart. Thank you.
There’s definitely a glut in the market with vampires. Shifters, not as much, but that will probably change soon. Yes, demons appear to be the ‘new’ vampires. I do think that publishers are being much more cautious with their paranormal purchases. Do I think the paranormal market will disappear? No, it never has before. I think what will end up happening is the publishers will get to a point (kind of like with the erotic romances now) where there will be a few authors who have made their name in the genre and will continue to write paranormals and sell well. I think in another year, it will be much harder to get your foot in the ‘paranormal romance’ door. I think that the urban fantasy genre will have a much longer shelf life. It’s just starting to really gain momentum.
by Jordan August 18th, 2007 at 4:05 pmSo what exactly is Urban Fantasy? Bare with me for a sec. When Chick Lit became all the rage I was kinda scratching my head because chick lit was just another label for a type of woman’s lit. I didn’t see the big deal, and it felt artificial. A fews years later and Chick Lit has been re-asorbed back into Woman’s Lit. For me Urban Fantasy is part of HORROR, or FANTASY (but taking place in an urban setting rather than a psuedo medieval setting). Feels like that same sort of articifical definition for marketing purposes. I do agree, though that there’s probably more future opportunities in the subgenre than in paranormal and that the peeps on the first wave, who can establish themselves will reap the most benefits.
by Vanessa Jaye August 18th, 2007 at 5:39 pmVanessa, Urban fantasy is a mixture of contemporary fantasy and horror. It’s changing to incorporate rural along with urban settings. Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s actually been around since the eighties. I don’t know whether it’ll be absorbed back into fantasy and horror. My guess would be probably not since it’s hard as Hades to sell a horror novel these days. If anything, it’ll turn into dark fantasy and light fantasy. Only time will tell.
by Jordan August 19th, 2007 at 12:39 amCool, Jordan. I agree, this your definition, btw, just wanted to see what it was. While I do see dark fantasy as part of horror, I also see your point about horror being hard to sell, for that reason I’ll also agree that U.F won’t get absorbed into Horror, but will remind slightly separate (along with D.F.)
by Vanessa Jaye August 19th, 2007 at 5:45 amVanessa, Dark fantasy is definitely part of horror. The strange thing is I think the separation of all these different types of stories comes from them not being well-defined in the first place. Add to that, the sudden popularity of shows like Buffy, Angel, and Supernatural and you have a surge in marketing.
by Jordan August 19th, 2007 at 10:33 am