18 November 2007

Over-saturated But Still Thirsty

I’ve been reading lately about how the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres are over-saturated when it comes to vampires and werewolves. I understand how this could be assumed with the sheer number of titles out there with vampires and wolves running about at their carnal or otherworldly best. However why does it seem I’m still forever looking?

Perhaps I, like many vampire fans, suffer from selective perception. As we peruse the shelves, picking up this one and that one, and looking for that spark of connection, we filter out those that don’t resonate. Through that filter we cease to see those which don’t connect and only focus on looking for more of what does. Depending on what you’re looking for, it can make the shelves seem like a virtual wasteland; each favorite, a tiny oasis in a desert of the not-quite-right.

During that torturous time inbetween releases of solid favorites comes The Search. It’s tentative at first. A shy glimpse at a title here, a curious peek between the covers there; all done with a soaring hope that another will now fill the void left behind. We talk to our friends, look for recommendations on line, and search out excerpts and blurbs like the cure for some deadly disease of mundane-ness we seek to avoid.

The first time a friend enthusiastically pushes us toward a title we take a deep breath, hesitate and then dive in. Like any blind date, we don’t expect too much but secretly we hope for everything. We imagine a happily ever after where we’re reading the series or author five books from now, ten, more. We foresee celebrating triumphs, weeping over losses and blushing over carnal victories for characters that become like friends or even family over time. And at our luckiest, we get it.

We get everything we hope for and there’s yet another staple on our PR/UF shelf waiting for the next release. But then, well then, we have to start all over again with the search and we’re rarely so lucky twice in a row. We try another, a third, a fifth, all hoping for that spark, that happily ever after again. And then we drink it in until we’re full and the search begins anew.

I’m new to werewolf UF/PR and find myself even pickier than with my vampire fiction. That connection is harder to find and even more fleeting at times as so much can go wrong with shifter mythos. Of course at the same time, so much can go right and that’s why I still search. It’s why we all still search. But the fact that we much search by definition means over-saturation doesn’t hit the reader the same as the industry.

If we connected with everything out there and were left swimming in titles every week, as readers we might see what the publishers are looking upon. But because we must sift and sort and search, it seems like there’s never enough of what we want as individuals to even get sufficiently wet, let alone drown in choices.

In the end, as with all things, it’s a matter of perception and reception. One side perceives endless choices while the other is only receptive to a limited few. And just like in dating, it’s not about the numbers but about the quality within the quantity that appeals to our particular palates.

Everyone is looking for the next big thing, but there are still of those at the core of it all that are looking for the next good thing, even if looks like the same old thing to the untrained eye.

Perception Ramble Done


~X

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to laugh because WOW, you nailed it.

I used to be *extremely* picky when it came to vamps; if they were far too different from Anne Rice's version, or Dracula, I was all ew. But I've gradually gotten past that as I realized that every writer cannot be Anne Rice (and anymore, as weird as she's gotten, thank the gods for that) and that new and different can be fun and interesting to discover.

The vamps in Jossverse is a good example of that. I HATED them at first because they got all ugly when they put on their game faces, but I adjusted. Boy did I adjust because you know how I feel about Joss. I'm still Ms Picky Reader and TV/Movie Watcher, but I'm far more open than I used to be.

Sophie Athens said...

GREAT post. I think you make a good point...I'm the same way--highly selective about what I like to read, but once I find an author I love, I run out and get everything in his/her ouevre.

Sophie
http://www.sophieathens.com

Maddie H said...

I went through exactly this in the late 80s/early 90s, trying to find the good vampire novels after I read Anne Rice's books the first time. I found a few, and so many that were just not right. I think I stopped looking by the late 90s, just because I'd been burned so many times.

I still love the idea of vampire fiction, and since my definitions of what makes a good vampire have changed much like Melissa's, I should probably go looking again.

Anonymous said...

Melissa: I had a bit of an adjustment to make to vampires in the Jossverse myself. I'm not a fan of the soulless thing at all. But Joss is my exception because he made them intricate and compelling despite the loss of a soul and I could forgive and keep watching.

It's left me a bit more open, but just a bit. I can't help but want my vamps the way I want them and not being as willing to budge as I likely should at times.

Same with my shifters. I don't like the mindless forced change, but I don't need to go into that with you. You know better than anyone my take on shifters. *wink*

Sophie: I still get laughed at because of the way I stock up on an author's backlist the moment I find them appealing. There just seems to be so few that really fit me that when I get it, I've got to get it all so it'll last me a little while.

Of course...it never seems to last long enough...

Lisa: I'd say to definitely give it another go. I didn't really dive back into vampire fiction until '05. I was so taken by the greater selection out there that I never looked back. I've been going through Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance like they're on sale I have to get it before it's all gone.

I didn't realize how far I'd broadened my vampire horizons until I was taken in by things I know I would have passed up in the past.

Make sure to come back and let me know what you found that you love. :)

~X

Rae Lori said...

Everyone is looking for the next big thing, but there are still of those at the core of it all that are looking for the next good thing, even if looks like the same old thing to the untrained eye.

Beautifully said, X! I keep hearing in the industry that no one is buying vamps anymore, it's too saturated and all that jazz but like you said it's quality vs. quantity and if it has a good story, readers will flock to it.

I was a huge vamp and paranormal fan growing up as a teen and I'm soo happy to see it have a resurgence with the paranormal genre. Now I can't get enough! lol

Bring on the vamps and weres!

Rae
http://www.raelori.com
http://raelori.blogspot.com

Jenna Leigh said...

I 'grew up' on Anne, literally, because I discovered Interview With the Vampire in the school library when I was in the 7th grade and was hooked. Some think she's too flowery, but I'm a southern girl, so hey both her vamps and those witchy folk were right up my alley, you know?


Weres, hmm, I'm too close to that one having written them more.

I suppose I'll have to be content with a good story that happens to have vamps or weres in it. If they're the bad guys, okay, if they're the good guys, even better.

Because of my Anne-obsession, I knew I couldn't compete, so my one vampire story was total vampcamp, but hey he was fangoliscious baby.

Maddie H said...

I'll check them out, although it might be January before I can start on that - I promised my niece a gorram video game system for her birthday in December.

I also agree on the soulless thing in Buffy not really working for me. I mean, as much as I like Buffy, and I like how it was used in both Buffy and Angel, but I don't want to see it treated as the norm. It removes something from Vampire fiction to set them up as amoral killing machines with no conscience.

I need to read up on urban fantasy anyway. I want to get into writing fiction (as opposed to my previous RPG work), and that's one genre that I enjoy the idea of, even if I don't read it as often as I could.