Urban Fantasy is killing Traditional fantasy

[ice_of_dreams]

*sigh* well, more appropriately urban fantasy is killing every other genre.

Well, I have noticed that once a person is starting to write in the Urban Fantasy genre, every other book goes on the backburner. I'm not saying it's the author's fault, becuase, hey the author is writing where the money is, or where the publisher wants her/him to write. But I am following several authors who have stopped writing traditional fantasy or even chick-lit, put it in the back burner and write urban fantasy every six months.

I am not complaining about the urban fantasy, I love the genre (when the writing is good... and it is quite easy to fuck up writing urban fantasy for someone who isn't experienced in writing fantasy in the first place), but sometimes I wish the publishers would allow a fantasy or a traditional chick lit book to be written in between all of that ass kicking chick. For example, Jim Butcher releases the Dresden files every year, but manages to sneak in a coupe of Codex Alera in between. (okay, so that's not ass kicking chick.. haha) or Moning still writes her traditional romance between writing the Fever series (although, I really am not a fan of her traditional romances, go figure).

I guess having less than 10,000 copies sold for the non-urban fantasy series weighed with a whopping more than 500,000 copies for a good urban fantasy would have an obvious winner. That said, publishers really have no choice but to buy the manscript that crunches the numbers. But still, it's sad for the other genres, especially since urban fantasy is starting to get so saturated, that most of the ideas are already flung in the open and enjoying a book depends on finding the best author to write down the good idea or the first author who wrote in the genre.

Comments

[shartyrant.livejournal.com]

It is a cycle that publishers go through. We went through this in the 80s with vampire romance (before paranormal romance became strong again). There was a glut of good and bad versions of these. Finally, it got to the point that people quit buying them and went elsewhere. Chick-lit was strong, but now it is urban fantasy. In the early 80s, it was fantasy d&D stories. Again, it is a cycle.

The one thing I have noticed that springs out of urban fantasy is the mix of so many genres that they get labled urban fantasy even if they are not. SAme for urban fantasy that is labled paranormal romance. Romance is to have an HEA and quite a lot of paranormal romances don't have an ending with that lead couple. It is very confusing when you are trying to shop for others who are picky that way. Then you have the erotica paranormal romance which means more sex. I rarely see labels for that. You just have to know that the author might've wrote erotica before this otherwise you will get a big surprise.

I do note that science-fiction is starting to make a comeback. Even in the blending in of romance section. Give it time.

[ice-of-dreams.livejournal.com]

patience is a virtue :) yeah, most authors seem to have contracts up to 2011 or 2012, so it seems to be that long before anything changes in the genre.

[future-guardian.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons I got out of urban fantasy and moved into horror was that urban fantasy and paranormal romance were becoming one and the same. I don't like paranormal romance. *Loathe is a better word, if we're hoenst with ourselves.* I don't like the happily ever after ending. I want strong characters (which is why I liked urban fantasy in the first place), particularly women, and I want action, blood, gore, and a satisfying but not necessarily happy ending. Maybe horror wasn't quite the best genre to find strong female characters (most of them are either weak to begin with or they end up dead) but it fits my other requirements. Maybe I'm just twisted or maybe there really is a problem, I don't know. Either way, I'm glad to see people speaking out about this.

[ice-of-dreams.livejournal.com]

I think this might be because you don't like the romance genre in the first place. As for myself, I don't like paranormal romance simply because everything is written ... with lack of world building. Romance authors who try to break into the fantasy genre lack the practiced hand of establishing a world in the first place so they end up with a ton of info dumping on the reader like the narrator is a tourist guide and the reader just bobs along.

I don't enjoy paranormal romance, becuase mostly they end up too surreal, and in some cases, they end up ten books too long in the series. On the other hand, I do enjoy romantic fantsy, which is not urban fantasy in itself. And of course I like traditional fantasy too.

Horror is not a genre I have ever been interested in becuase... well, I'd really rather not stake awake the entire night looking over my shoulder for dead people. I have tried a couple of horror books and ended up not sleeping for more than two weeks. They were scary, highly enjoyable, but not worth my sleep time.

But ditto on the happy endings. Happy endings are not required for me to enjoy a book. It's just that, happy endings make more money than sad ones.