Rebecca: As you know (but let me tell the Literary Rambles reader), you are a very prolific writer. When it comes to agents, research is key – but sometimes you also just need to go with your gut. I think it is interesting, though, how I didn’t know about your love of magical realism and still chose to query you! I liked how you mentioned being an editorial agent and I thought that a lot of your favorite books had similarities to the realistic parts of Stones & Stones. So though the magical realism helped me narrow my search a bit, it also required me to dig deeper. It made querying more difficult because magical realism can be as broad as it is specific (don’t mind me, I’m just going to talk in opposites for this entire paragraph!) There are different styles within the category of magical realism, and many agents prefer magical realism that has a more literary tone. Writing magical realism also gave me a very specific set of comp titles if an agent mentioned enjoying Savvy, A Tangle of Knots, or When You Reach Me, for example, I knew he or she might enjoy the magical elements of Sticks & Stones. It was easier because a lot of agents specify on their websites/wish lists if they’re looking for magical realism. If a book fits into multiple genres, don’t fret, just describe it as you see it and leave it to others to label it.Ībby: I think it made querying simultaneously easier and more difficult. Sticks & Stones will be shelved with other books for its Middle Grade Fiction readership.
I haven’t yet seen a bookstore that has a magical realism category let alone a MG Contemporary w/ Magical Realism section.
Ultimately the hope is that it will be prominently featured in bookstores. Publishers will work to best position your book via sales reps.
There are so many people through the process to and beyond publication that are going to try to fit your work into any given boundary, so why should you, the author? Work with your agent to make decisions on how best to position your text with publishers. If you are a prospective client wary of mislabeling your work, here’s my advice- don’t label it all! The query should describe your work compellingly and most importantly the writing in your MS itself determines an agent’s interest. What if you’d labeled your work only as Contemporary? Or if you had not categorized your book at all? There are several books that don’t fit neatly into a given readership and/or genre, and I am betting there are even more authors that don’t feel comfortable classifying their writing in this way when first approaching an agent.
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