"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

[Gary Compton]

I just wanted to be the 1000th post

How sad!!

 

[John Jarrold]

What would your definition of supernatural fiction be John?

All this talk of toilets has got me a little flushed, glad to get back to sensible questions

I'm wary of definitions, Gary. But you know it when you see it, I think!

 

[Gary Compton]

Would you say my story fitted into that category?

 

[John Jarrold]

To some degree, yes.

 

[Gary Compton]

You might see it more in the latest draft. Congrats on a 1000 posts.

Very Impressive

 

[Gary Compton]

When choosing a name for your book do you have to consider other books that have the same name. would you infringe copywrite if you used one already printed for example "the psychic detective"

 

[John Jarrold]

You can't copyright a title. There are three novels called CAT'S CRADLE, for instance, Kurt Vonnegut's wonderful SF novel, a mystery and a romantic novel...

And so to bed...

 

[Flemcodogmusic]

Thanks for the in-depth answer, John!

Much appreciated, as always ...

Hopefully, there'll be a place for Horror-Comedy somewhere out there. (But I won't hold my breath ...)

 

[Barney]

You can't copyright a title.

Interesting. I might self-publish a series of novels with titles like "The Da Vinci Code", or "Harry Potter and the X of the X", and so on. Hopefully I can pick up some accidental sales and watch the money roll in

 

[Anatedhrai]

Harry Potter is a trademark owned by Warner Brothers, so that will be out. So for that matter is Star Wars.

Back in the 90s I remember one year when the same publisher published two different novels, both called Beauty - one was a horror novel, the other a glitz saga.

 

[ctg]

Happy thousand posts John.

 

[scalem X]

Lol I can imagine some surprising glances when people started reading the horror novel by accident. The "butcher's" wife can sound so different according to context.

 

[John Jarrold]

Happy thousand posts John.

Cheers!

 

[Flemcodogmusic]

How do publishers tend to view tongue-in-cheek horror? Or crime, for that matter?

I know that Fantasy and SF humour are a bit of a dead duck, John, as we've discussed in the past ... but do you think a humour writer has more chance of being published in the world of literary fiction, or genre fiction?

 

[John Jarrold]

It's going to depend on an individual editor's take on the specific book, David. You can sell humour in many areas of fiction, but 'funny fantasy' is a case where the UK book chains have made up their mind that there is no sub-genre market. And they did that because sales dropped off for all but a couple of writers over a number of years, not just because they felt like it!

 

[Flemcodogmusic]

Thanks John ...

So Horror/Comedy isn't necessarily in the same boat then? It's down to the subjectivity and professional opinion of any particular editor?

 

[scalem X]

Probably a hard/weird question:
How long does it usually take an agent to get you a deal (if he or she manages to get you one)? I know of course it will depend both on the agent and on the novel and such, but surely an agent only has limited connections to publishers. Once those are exhausted, the chance of the agent getting that writer a deal gets pretty small, I think.

 

[John Jarrold]

Timing matters - right book, right place, right time. I recently sold a novel that had originally been sent out in 2004, because the market has changed in the intervening years. And by no means will the first book always be the one that sells (which seems to be the belief underpinning the question). As an agent, you believe in an author in the long-term, not just for one book. Since it took Iain Banks ten years of writing and submitting six different books to get a publishing deal, I don't think anyone has the right to think their first book WILL sell!

 

[John Jarrold]

Thanks John ...

So Horror/Comedy isn't necessarily in the same boat then? It's down to the subjectivity and professional opinion of any particular editor?

As long as an editor believes a novel is in an area of the market that they can sell to the book chains, and they LOVE it, you have a chance.

 

[scalem X]

Timing matters - right book, right place, right time. I recently sold a novel that had originally been sent out in 2004, because the market has changed in the intervening years. And by no means will the first book always be the one that sells (which seems to be the belief underpinning the question). As an agent, you believe in an author in the long-term, not just for one book. Since it took Iain Banks ten years of writing and submitting six different books to get a publishing deal, I don't think anyone has the right to think their first book WILL sell!

I see, so having an agent doesn't guarantee you'll get published and if you're lucky it may take a while. That's just what I wondered.