Yep. That was totally a thing. Once upon a time. Guess what? That time is now. Because why shouldn't there be Elven Space Vampires taking over the entire galaxy?
All right, perhaps I should back up a bit. Many of you know that I've been querying my post-apocalyptic vampire novel. You also know that I am up to 27 rejections. It's harsh, but I remain determined. Determined enough to create Elven Space Vampires.
Oops, I jumped ahead again.
One of the hardest things about being rejected is that it is difficult to know why you are being rejected. Is it the writing? Is it the query letter? Is it the fact that the market is no longer ripe for vampires? Or is it some other reason that I've yet to even think of?
I suspect it might largely be due to the fact that the vampire ship has temporarily sailed, however I hate to simply leave it at that because it seems like a cop out on my part. If I blame it on the market, I'm leaving no accountability for my own writing, and I know that I have room to improve. There is always room to improve.
Of my 27 queries, only once did I receive a partial request. This lets me know that my rejections were either due to a poor query letter, or the market not having enough fresh blood for the vampires. I suppose the solution is to address both issues. So, much to my discontent, I will be rewriting my query. Because I'm into self-torture. Yep. Writing a query is self-torture. All right, I'm being slightly melodramatic, but hey, I'm a writer. So, to address this issue, I've posted my query and first page on my blog. If you'd like to take part in ripping my query to shreds, see my previous post "Give me your best shot." (Update: I received a ton of good feedback and have taken the post down. Thanks to everyone who contributed.)
Okay, so I've addressed the query issue. What about the market issue? Never fear. That's where the Elven Space Vampires come in. I've done some research and have discovered that many agents are looking for space operas. Fairy tale reworks are also in style, and high fantasy is still alive and kicking.
Does this mean I should write a space opera, rework a fairy tale, or create a whole new universe? Nope. By the time I finished that, agents would be looking for something else. So I've come up with a much easier solution: rework my current manuscript. It shouldn't be that hard. I've got vampires taking over Earth. So, I just need to make the vampires come from another planet. Simple.
As far as the high fantasy elements, I just need to give my vampires pointy ears and Elven magic. Easy. Elven vampires from planet Elvampiter (Hey, I wrote an entire novel, I don't have time to think of a better planet name). Instead of conquering Earth, they conquer multiple planets. Easy.
Oh, the fairy tale part. I almost forget. I'll just begin with "Once upon a time…" That's all that makes a fairy tale, right? Okay, I guess I can throw in a red cape just to be on the safe side. Yeah, that's it. And my MC can wear glass slippers that give her psychic powers. Awesome. Problem solved. Soon I will have a post-apocalyptic space opera fairy tale urban romantic fantasy. Look for it on shelves near you.
(If you do happen to see something like this on the shelves, I suggest you run the other way.)
Feel free to check out my query. Any comments are greatly appreciated. As always, thanks for reading.
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