Inadvertently Butchered

[jethrien]

I've got one story, an urban fantasy piece, making the rounds that has gotten comments that it's a bit too like the Dresden Files. Another one, a classic fantasy, just got rejected with the note that the sidekick is too similar to Bob the Skull.

The really annoying thing? I wrote both of these before I ever read a Jim Butcher book!

Comments

[firynze.livejournal.com]

I'm just WAITING for someone to tell me this, or to tell me I'm too Pratchett. Even though I've been writing in both modes since well before I'd read either author. Sigh.

Personally, I think there's room out there for more Dresden-ish stuff. I WANT more occult detectives, damnit!

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

It's a fine line to walk. People definitely want more of things they like, but you don't want to be too derivative.

I'd like to write more with this particular character, but I'd kind of like to get this particular story sold first before I write another one. That, and I now have two stories that need revising, a halfway completed novel, a novel I've mostly given up on revising, and, oh yeah, a novella to write. So there's a bit of a backlog.

[firynze.livejournal.com]

True, but at the same time, I feel as though sometimes editors are looking for a reason to just blow through and keep going. Some things ARE too derivative; other times, they seem to want an excuse for why they don't like a piece.