Nags to Niches

The sunset that I was merrily riding off into in my last blog post has become obliterated by cloud cover. Otherwise known as rejection from publishers. Combine this with the fact Cheltenham Festival has come and gone with only two of my favourite champions retaining their crowns (that’s Quevega and Big Buck’s for those of you who follow National Hunt racing).
One horse that did catch my writer's eye though was Zarkandar.  And not because I want to write about him (give it time though) but because his career is almost a metaphor for a writer's.  In some ways, this young horse is a failure even though with only two races over jumps, he is already the Triumph Hurdle champion, with a record unblemished.
Why is he a failure?
By simple association. He is the half-brother to the great mare Zarkava, whose uncompromising speed burnt up the French racetracks and whose untainted career ended with a sound whipping of every turf champion from around the world in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Zarkandar was not his sister all over again and didn’t have her acceleration to push him to the front of Flat racing’s field. Instead, he was sold and trained to jump. And here he excels. He is at the top of his game with plenty more years and titles to come. He was simply not suited to Flat racing.

Back to those two rejections I received last week: one said it wasn’t funny enough, the other said it wasn’t raunchy enough. Now for me, sexual prowess and sense of humour are attributes which I am more sensitive about than others (my sense of fashion has taken enough flack for me to wear crocodile skin and not notice the difference in texture to my own). So my confidence took a bit of a knock. But a couple of days and a few encouraging words from my agent and friends* later, I was willing to look at the rejections again with a more objective eye. After reading Sue Moorcroft’s Love Writing: How to Make Money Writing Romantic or Erotic Fiction, I deduced that At Long Odds, the book in question, is not a romantic comedy or chick lit or erotica novel. It is a contemporary romance. Here it fits perfectly, whereas as chick lit, it falls way short.  Just like Zarkandar fitted into National Hunt racing much more than Flat racing.

So, it just goes to show how important identifying what your book is in terms of genre/category/market. As an unpublished novelist, unless you are unnaturally and constantly high on self-confidence, there are moments when you ask yourself who are you kidding? Who on earth would want to read - and God forbid, spend money on - stories which you have made up? These attacks on self-belief become more acute when you receive another rejection, the familiar thump of your returned MS landing on your doormat coinciding with your heart becoming lodged somewhere between your arches and your toes. More than likely, your writing is probably very good but you are entering a race not suited to your strengths. Send your manuscript to agents and publishers who you know are interested in the type of fiction you write. When making comparisons to other writers in your cover letter, don’t be overambitious and rattle off a list of blockbuster writers. Giving the agent or publisher high expectations will most likely result in them being disappointed and it won’t have done you any good at all. Living up to a pre-built reputation like Zarkandar had to do following Zarkava’s success, will probably end in disappointment.

The next Jilly Cooper? Well, it was flattering to be called that but do I honestly think it? I like to think I can create a good heart-warming romance around the horse-world but is it as raunchy and the humour as flippant as Jilly Cooper’s?
No.
That’s not to say it isn’t sexy or funny. They’re just different.

I am Zarkandar. Jilly, you are, quite deservingly, Zarkava.
　
　
*Here’s lookin’ at you, Twitter