tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post7971151501225775002..comments2024-03-28T06:16:39.508+00:00Comments on Help! I Need a Publisher!: Books with foreign settingsNicola Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-81052905617811047622012-01-13T19:50:45.711+00:002012-01-13T19:50:45.711+00:00I'm the opposite of Anonymous, being a Brit se...I'm the opposite of Anonymous, being a Brit settled in the US since the late 90s. And when you left, Anon, there may not have been that much British TV, but we're now the hottest new thing. <br /><br />Doctor Who! Downton Abbey! The Tudors! They love our telly, and are getting much better at speaking Brit as a result. Public TV in America has always been a champion of British drama, but Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07338002014574933192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-22609333023384155602012-01-12T10:49:33.477+00:002012-01-12T10:49:33.477+00:00My 2 pence/cents, as an aspiring America-born auth...My 2 pence/cents, as an aspiring America-born author now settled in the UK for 10 years...<br /><br />There's a definite mindset in the US entertainment industry (and I guess we have to include publishing here) that Americans would never understand British (or Irish, Welsh, S.African, Aussie or NZ) English. British television programmes are never shown on commercial networks, they're &#Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-4936025586986957202012-01-12T08:37:38.103+00:002012-01-12T08:37:38.103+00:00Di (anonymous) - thanks for coming here. Ah, we...Di (anonymous) - thanks for coming here. Ah, we're perhaps seeing a cultural policy, and this refers to "Australian writing." I'm familiar with this as a "Scottish writer" as sometimes in Scotland there's this desire amongst some in the cultural establishment yo promote "Scottish" writing. It's valid, I feel, but does not mean that's all we'reNicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-57488182138505007192012-01-12T07:35:39.601+00:002012-01-12T07:35:39.601+00:00It is exceptionally difficult for new writers to b...It is exceptionally difficult for new writers to break into print in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia there is also a very definite bias towards material set in Australia, as shown by the books which are published here. If you break the rules about location you are going to have far more difficulty getting accepted. Australian writing is expected to show an Australian "voice, theme Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-13378893803458107172012-01-12T07:04:13.395+00:002012-01-12T07:04:13.395+00:00I can confirm that Leicester is indeed terribly ro...I can confirm that Leicester is indeed terribly romantic.<br /><br />Both Gok Wan and Englebert Humperdinck were born there so who needs gondolas and roses?Whirlochrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09846196906206886945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-25370646807242834582012-01-11T22:23:24.326+00:002012-01-11T22:23:24.326+00:00Perhaps it's not the setting so much as the or...Perhaps it's not the setting so much as the origin of the characters? A home-grown character gives the reader an 'anchor' in which to explore the new setting?<br /><br />Whenever I see this topic arise on the webs, there are always dozens of replies from readers refuting it. Many of them American, many saying they love reading books set somewhere else in the world.<br />Yet from an Ebony McKenna.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02724727996270658767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-59067958496778562562012-01-11T20:06:02.494+00:002012-01-11T20:06:02.494+00:00Yes Nicola and I would agree with you - if she had...Yes Nicola and I would agree with you - if she had actually read a word I had written! I admit she is known for a quite fierce pro-Australian stance.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-38255329530525583762012-01-11T17:42:21.146+00:002012-01-11T17:42:21.146+00:00Wow, Vanessa. I've just checked out The Coward...Wow, Vanessa. I've just checked out The Coward's Tale. I'm impressed. It's going on my list. Congratulations.Elizabeth Dunnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-43219798399182884342012-01-11T17:07:40.346+00:002012-01-11T17:07:40.346+00:00My novel is partly set in Scotland and partly set ...My novel is partly set in Scotland and partly set in the outback of Australia. I've changed the setting thousands of times before finally settling on one. I just hope it works!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-12767113338031557322012-01-11T16:49:04.872+00:002012-01-11T16:49:04.872+00:00I've read this post with curiousity. Here in I...I've read this post with curiousity. Here in Italy most readers (including me) are generally more attracted by books set abroad then those set in Italy, in particular when the location is important for the story itself. So practically the countrary than US reader, as I'm understanding well.<br />I don't know what's the reason for US readers, but the one for Italian readers to Rita Carla Francesca Monticellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15964352924463232998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-31675199341944697852012-01-11T13:25:10.378+00:002012-01-11T13:25:10.378+00:00Thanks for input, everyone.
Cat - remember that a...Thanks for input, everyone.<br /><br />Cat - remember that agents do sometimes latch onto a specific as a way of avoiding saying they don't want the book. (You know that and i apologise for pointing it out but the others need to know, too.) Also, some agents are wrong! If an agent said, "nobody would be prepared to look at my middle-grade novel because it is set in Australia and France&Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-3392036634886792862012-01-11T12:41:09.907+00:002012-01-11T12:41:09.907+00:00Fascinating comments and thanks Nicola for your ti...Fascinating comments and thanks Nicola for your time and advice. The key words are the 'power of the story'. Right and damn and don't we just love the challenge?! (In case E. Maree's link doesn't get you there, Gardner's article was posted on her blog on December 6th.)Elizabeth Dunnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-50758868710787122392012-01-11T11:29:53.705+00:002012-01-11T11:29:53.705+00:00I've never written anything where the setting ...I've never written anything where the setting was crucially important, so I've never really thought about this, but out of interest I opened the file for the novel I'm currently working on. I did a quick search for "London," since that's where it's taking place in my head, and didn't get a single result. I haven't mentioned the city once. This blog's got Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755472634583011546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-946543348900684582012-01-11T09:45:14.196+00:002012-01-11T09:45:14.196+00:00It may or may not be relevant to the discussion - ...It may or may not be relevant to the discussion - but just for current info, I offer this: 'The Coward's Tale' comes out in the USA in March - set in a small south Wales valley mining community, and voice very accented (if that is possible). The publishers are pushing the setting as a selling point, and pre-pub mentions in the press are all mentioning it as relevant, and a plus.Vanessa Gebbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09088301040602803489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-83182338580468060622012-01-11T09:13:07.547+00:002012-01-11T09:13:07.547+00:00@Cat
absolutely! I will refrain from partisan rema...@Cat<br />absolutely! I will refrain from partisan remarks but that's certainly true. It may just be accident - that earlier writers like Lewis Carroll started a snowball, or something else altogether, I'm too close to be objective. I can certainly say from experience that Oxford is an "easy sell" - I did very little to promote the book I self-published other than use the Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-74620139393114956122012-01-11T09:07:24.343+00:002012-01-11T09:07:24.343+00:00Gosh, what springs to mind first says a lot about ...Gosh, what springs to mind first says a lot about one doesn't it :) - any other takers for Thomas Mann's piece of gloom?<br /><br />Very good advice on the centrality and realisation of the setting. Of course, in Hull's case, they have a rich (and increasingly well-known) Larkin heritage, and sometimes a book that brings to readers' attention a setting that *should* be better Dan Hollowayhttp://danholloway.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-13176029090424305252012-01-11T09:05:26.772+00:002012-01-11T09:05:26.772+00:00If it's important to the plot (and not just th...If it's important to the plot (and not just there for decoration), then surely 'foreign' settings are a must? My debut is set in Britain and Algeria - found it hard to explore concepts of 'home', 'belonging' and Berber culture without leaving the village ;)Wendy Meddourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11232145254833119663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-42520550770620064832012-01-11T08:56:46.458+00:002012-01-11T08:56:46.458+00:00Yes Bethonie - and I was told by one agent that no...Yes Bethonie - and I was told by one agent that nobody would be prepared to look at my middle-grade novel because it is set in Australia and France. I still hope that agent will be proven wrong! Perhaps one "exotic" setting is acceptable but not two? There is a strong demand within Australia for new Australian authors to set their work in Australia. I am not suggesting it is the only catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-34320909642794241922012-01-11T08:28:15.239+00:002012-01-11T08:28:15.239+00:00The blog by Rachelle mentioned is this one:
http:/...The blog by Rachelle mentioned is this one:<br />http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/12/i-write-multiple-genres-how-do-i-choose-an-agent/<br /><br />Though Rachelle's advise is usually fairly good, that blog post rang false to me and I'm glad you've confirmed it. Readers seem quite happy to read about books in any location, as long as the setting is an enjoyable part of the story - E.Mareehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17283073495361530535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488887316391780144.post-79951947719835745582012-01-11T07:45:16.676+00:002012-01-11T07:45:16.676+00:00A little more proof for you. The year before last,...A little more proof for you. The year before last, a book set in the Australian outback won the Coventry book awards, and Coventry is definatly not the australian outback.bethonienoreply@blogger.com