Can we not write stories about vampires anymore?
I have read many Q's on here where a writer writes a story about a vampire and immediately a ton of people answer saying
"publishers have read a 1000 of vampires stories, they're tired of them. Stop writing .That's so cliche"
Does that mean nobody is ever allowed to write a vampire story anymore and actually get it published?
No I don't plan on writing one. I'm just asking..
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March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Laura, Kool is and It’s Me hit the nail on the head. Publishers don’t want anymore Twilight knockoffs. Forget them. They will not be published. The market is flooded.
I think book subjects are cyclic. Vampires kind of drifted a little off for a while after Anne Rice. Now they are back. The problem is that so many kids are writing them and each one thinks they are the next Stephanie Meyer. Publishers are literally up to their ears in them. And it takes time and money to read every submission and respond to it. You are seeing agencies having to hire extra people to handle the overflow of queries - 99% of which they reject. So who do you suppose is going to take the hit for the salaries of those new hires? The authors they work with, that’s who! 15% commission is going to go up to 20% - watch and see. And that is not fair to published authors to have to pay for their agent to reject a ton of vampire stories. That is money out of our pockets. So agencies and publishers are starting to ask for no vampires - just as they ask for no poetry. They just do not have the ability to handle it all. It wouldn’t be half bad but about 80% of novice authors seem to think submission guidelines don’t apply to them and they send in unsolicited manuscripts - which takes up more room and takes up more time. Please read submission guidelines. If it says query letter only - don’t send them your poems, short stories, vampire stuff - whatever they are not looking for. Send your vampire stuff to http://www.southernhorror.com. They will read it. Pax-C
EDIT### Right on Larry - you said it perfectly. That is sooooo true.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
no but it has to be REALLY orniganal
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Are you planning on writing one???
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
that better not be true i just finnished writing a 300 page book about vampires and its ORIGINAL ive spen 6 months reserching it. that you im going to go slulk now…
cliche vampires are the coolest thing on the planet and hello look how well twilight did nows the time for more vampire stuff
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
well if your into vampire stories there is this new series by stephenie Meyer, they are some of the best books i’ve read. Its about vampires.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
i can understand that mayb the whole vampire thing mite b a lil overdone after the huge explosion off fans of the twilight series but im pretty sure alotta those fans wuld b interested in another vampire read lyk that [i kno i wuld] so im sure publishers r still remotely open but itll prolly havta b pretty original.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
people write stories that are basically different versions of twilight. Not original.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Well, it’s rare to actually find a non-cliche vampire story. In fact, I’ve never read one. That’s not to say that someone couldn’t write one, but still. The majority of the time, the vampire aspect makes the character all "dark and mysterious", which has been overdone to death. Even character flaws can become Mary-Sue-ish in a vampire. Just look at Lestat.
But people are ALLOWED to write vampire stories. They’re even allowed to write cliche ones. These probably won’t get published because, well, they’re cliche.
But here’s the thing. Someone who understands literature may hate cliche stories. But look at Twilight. It’s vampires are very cliche, Bella and Edward are Mary-Sues, and yet, it’s very successful. If the cliche ones DO actually get published, they DO have a chance of getting popular.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
i think it means, unless your vampire story is amazingly original and not just riding the wave of vampire poulatarity brought on my stephanie meyer…then you probably shouldnt be writing a vampire story.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
well i don’t think so cuz there is only a few people in the world that are oldschool
most people these days are more in to pornography,money,power,music,cars,tv,and only a few are in to books
but if you want a good vampire movie you might want to see the buffy the vampire slayer movie series
p.s. i’am in to computers
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Vampire stories will not be profitable or desirable in the future. There are just so many of them.
Vampire Movies I liked:
The Lost Boys
Dusk Till Dawn
Braum Stoker’s Dracula
Blade
Vampire Movies that were extra cliche:
Blade sequels
Vampires
Interview with a Vampire
anything produced since Bella Lugosi’s time
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
ok heres the thing:
i am about the BIGGEST FAN of the twilight series by stephenie meyer… THEY ARE SOOOOO AWESOME I CANT STOP READING THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!!
but that is not to say that no new vampire stories can be written and that no publisher will accept another vampire story.
the twilight series was such a success — so HOW can vampire stories be cliche? some are, sure, but all this about "nomore vampire stories" is total and complete utter cr@p!!!!
hope this helps!!!
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
whatever you write, even if it envolves vampires, just make sure its a good story.;-) there are people out there who still read vampire stories. I’m more into the Tom Clancy war titels myself, but i the story Twilight is about a vampire and thats having a huge success.
it’s not about what genaric character you put into your story, it’s more about how you make that character stand out and make it special and interesting.
Take Care & Stay Safe
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
ok its true theres like thousands of vampire stories that copied twilight and possibly that twilight copied but i do think you can still write them… scince i read twilight i have read 19 serieses or books that involve vampiires and loved almost all of them…
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Does that mean nobody is ever allowed to write a vampire story anymore and actually get it published?
Pretty much yes.
I know a girl who writes horror fiction as a hobby. If you look at the submissions guidelines for horror magazines and websites they ALL say "NO VAMPIRES" or something close.
Just think about it from their point of view. EVERY bored 16 year old girl in the country is writing "Muffy the Vampire Killer" stories about Muffy, and her friend Birch… and how Muffy falls for Cherub, the cute vampire that is 200 years old, and she winds up having to kill him…..and they are BAD. I saw one site that had in big letters "Vamprie wakes up, vampire hunts, vampire gets laid, vampire feeds, vampire dies IS NOT A STORY!!!!!"
So yes, yes, yes that is TOTALLY true. If you do send it in it probably won’t even get read.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Does that mean nobody is ever allowed to write a vampire story anymore and actually get it published?
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Actually, no, quite the opposite. Any story that includes vampires and is primarily written for young adults is hot on the market right now. If anyone has a vampire story that they feel is truly original, they have a better chance of getting it published now then waiting, perhaps, twenty years when all of this dies down.
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
You can still write them; but it had better have an original plotline for them to even consider it. Publishers can’t mass-produce books in the same vein of fantasy for the rest of the company’s existence.
I think other mythical species will see in an incline in the next few years, as more and more stories about mermaids, werewolves, fairies, and giants are picked up by publishers.
: )
March 21st, 2010 at 2:38 pm
I love vampires, and I think vampire fiction should be welcome. However, the thing is that Twilight butchered the originality out of vampire-novelists. The obsession people have with Twilight has completely turned me off from the book, however, I don’t think all vampire fiction is bad because of it. What about Vampire Academy or Blue Bloods? These are original vampire fiction, with other interesting original things such as different types of vampires and the reasons why they are vampires are in it. As long as you can write something different and original, then go for it. But it better be quite noticeable amongst a sea of awful Twilight clone fiction!
Try watching Lost Boys. It’s a vampire movie, and it’s fantastic. Thats how vampires should be. Not sparkly whiners.
June 21st, 2010 at 4:43 pm
It has nothing to do with the Vampire as a species [for lack of a better description.], but upon the core of the story. Your story can have vampires in it, if you wish it. The ultimate key is to create a compelling story in accompany to compelling, well rounded characters. If your characters are great, but your plot and story fall flat, it will be fated for failure. Same goes for a great story with lacking characters. “Twilight” just happens to be the latest Vampire series to have a huge blow-out in popularity therefore, a lot of up-coming authors are trying to drive their hooks into that type of vampire novel. Which, is all well and good, to a point.
“Twilight” is actually a roll-off of, “The Vampire Diaries.” and “Night World”…among a few others, that came way before it. Yet, it was still an overnight sensation.
Publishers may be weary of the constant flow of novels that consist of unoriginal and unsatisfying matrial. I
June 21st, 2010 at 4:46 pm
(Post continued) But, does not mean you could not try. Just do not expect to be the next J.K Rowling or Stephanie Meyers, L.J Smith or Anne Rice, if your story is not original compared to the latest vampire era.