what kind of fantasy would this be?

[grahamguitarman]

I recently read Terry brooks flight of the jerle shannara novels (better than his first tolkien rip-off trilogy) and there is a lot of sci fi elements in there, robots, lasers a huge Ai computer ect, remnants of a much older civilisation, but mixed in with a magic based world.

And as has been pointed out Anne McCaffrey mixes Fantasy and Sci-Fi in the Dragonrider books (gets more SciFi as the series progresses) which were hugely popular too.

Point being that its possible to get books published that mix genres, you just have to convince highly unimaginative publishers of the worth of your book.

Personally I'm finding all the 'categories' publishers insist on a bit pointless. Go into WH Smiths (UK Bookstore chain) and its all lumped under a single section called 'Fantasy/SciFi' same in Watersatones. If most bookstores lump sci-fi and fantasy together then what does it matter if the genres get mixed together in the same book?

 

[Devor]

Personally I'm finding all the 'categories' publishers insist on a bit pointless. Go into WH Smiths (UK Bookstore chain) and its all lumped under a single section called 'Fantasy/SciFi' same in Watersatones. If most bookstores lump sci-fi and fantasy together then what does it matter if the genres get mixed together in the same book?

You've got to understand, though, that the publishers have a salesman who sits down with a buying agent and may only have thirty seconds to pitch each book. Similar pressures are put on agents. If they have to spend those thirty seconds just trying to explain what type of book it is, the buyer is just going to say "Next" and skip it.

That's why I wanted to know what kind of cover materials she's using for this book. Sometimes you can include your own version of the 30-Second sales pitch with your cover letter, and that might help show them that the book can be sold to their buyers.

 

[Jabrosky]

Sometimes I wonder what kind of fantasy my own WIP would fall into.

My story uses real historical cultures and geography, but the world's history is actually quite different from our own; not only are all the characters and events fictional, but civilizations that were separated by centuries in our own timeline are juxtaposed together in my story. For instance, I have Dark Age Anglo-Saxons, Bronze Age Egyptians and Nubians, and medieval Ethiopians coexisting. I guess the best genre title for my story would be "historical fantasy".

 

[Graham Irwin]

I like that label, it would fit my writings as well

 

[Wyndi Gayle]

I would call it 'Modern Fantasy'. But there's so many sub-genres that I think it really depends on how the publisher interprets it. I'm wondering why the publisher wouldn't just market it in a genre they feels is most befitting. This is one reason I stick to mostly high-fantasy, but I do like to throw in the occasional mix up now and then. Best of luck to your friend. This sounds very interesting.

 

[Al-Ahondra]

Sounds like sci fi/fantasy