Category: publishing

Fantasy is More Than Just Castles and Dragons

The BBC has run an article by Jane Ciabattari that examines the relationship between George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones saga and the works of J. R. R. Tolkein. It’s a decent read, though I took issue with several paragraphs toward the end:

By definition, fantasy should be a limitless genre of unbounded imagination. Isn’t it time we came up with something new?

There are two reasons for this. To start with, it’s about sequels. In the age of algorithm-assisted online shopping and ‘if you like that, you’ll like this’ recommendations, the gatekeepers at the biggest publishing companies tend to choose the tried-and-true over the quirky or original. The five novels in Martin’s series to date have topped bestseller lists and sold more than 15 million copies in all.

And secondly, the familiar prevails. Readers often gravitate toward the childhood obsessions they love, which include games like Dungeons and Dragons and books involving swordplay and witchery.  And the swords-and-dragons tale works in any century, because of commonalities across Western history.

It’s a shame that Ciabattari failed to acknowledge that there are a number of contemporary fantasy authors who avoid the stereotypical medieval setting. For example:

  • Aliette de Bodard’s Obsidian and Blood trilogy is set in the Aztec Empire;
  • Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon is set in a world that’s inspired by the medieval Middle East;
  • N. K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy and the Dreamblood series are both set in unique universes that are influenced by a wide range of cultures;
  • Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is set in 19th century England.

These books might not be mega-bestsellers like GoT or LoTR, but that doesn’t mean they’re obscure. They were all published by big-name publishers, and many of them won prestigious awards. The genre isn’t quite as homogenous as Ciabattari seems to believe, and it’s unfortunate that she chose to resort to sweeping generalizations.

Professionalism and self publishing

You may already know David Kazzie through his YouTube videos “So You Want to Go to Law School” and “So You Want to Write a Novel.” Even though he has an agent, he chose to self-publish his debut novel The Jackpot. I stumbled upon his blog this evening and found this interesting piece on self publishing.

The moral of the story is that a self-published book needs to be just as polished as a traditionally-published one. That means no covers that look like they were done by a kindergartener using MS Paint and no text that looks like it was typed by drunken howler monkeys. Unless you’re lucky enough to have the right friends, you’re going to have to pay for professional editing and cover design, and it could cost you a sizable chunk of change.

Unfortunately, it may be difficult to recoup that initial investment since most self-published ebooks still sell fewer than 100 copies. Even when one becomes a hit, it usually endures several months of sluggish sales before it starts to sell well. For me, that uncertainty is one of the biggest drawbacks to self publishing. Traditional publishing certainly doesn’t guarantee success, but at least you don’t have to pay money upfront.