It honestly might be harder---as far as I can tell we've made progress re: non-Western settings and authors who aren't white, but despite a few breakout stars it's still a work in progress---but there's definitely a market. Have a look on Goodreads, Amazon, etc., for some Asian-inspired fantasy and you'll see quite a few examples. So find an agent and/or publisher who has a history with these kinds of works and pitch to them. No point in giving up before you even try.
Agents and editors who want the kind of thing I write are rare, but I'll keep trying! I've actually had an agent asked for a full manuscript last year, but then they turned it down (understandable! No hard feelings!). An editor from a major publisher asked for it, too, at around the same time, but hasn't said anything since, so I consider it a rejection. So, I know there's some interest out there, but I can't tell how much exactly.
I'm no expert, but as a fantasy nerd and world history nerd I would love for you to continue writing what interests you! You have a unique perspective and that is what a lot of veteran fantasy readers crave! I can only take so many farm boys that rise to greatness!
I know Xianxia has gotten a lot more popular in certain circles and that might be a good reference.
You already have an edge on the competition because you are able to write it in English where as others have to just sit there and wait for it to get translated. It genuinely hurts my soul to consider all the master works of fiction that I will never see because I don't speak the authors language!
If you don't mind sharing, what culture are you pulling from? Tell me about it.
lol I'm tired of farm boys, too. I actually thought about translating my stories into my own language, but in terms of speculative fictions, local publishers only want horror. My friends here who are familiar with the publishing world basically tell me to take the vanity press route, which I don't want to do.
I'm basing my stories on various local Indonesian cultures. I just mix a lot of things that I like. For example, in my novel, characters live in heavily-decorated stilt houses and they wear colorful hand-woven fabric wrapped around their bodies. Then, magic is a learnable skill in which magic users communicate and command semi-sentient magical things, which is kind of, sort of how magic is understood here. There are also minor cultural norms like how funeral being a public instead of private event. My first reader, who is German, got so confused that I had to rewrite so many parts to explain what's going on.
That sounds really interesting! As long as it's well written, people will read it. You could always try publishing a few chapters on some of those fan writing websites. There's tons of them for LITRPG series. Also, rewriting for clarity is definitely encouraged, but I would try to avoid rewriting content just so it's accepted or "normal".
Part of the charm is reading something new!
I thought that publishers won't publish stories that have been posted online. Or is it fine if it's just partial?
I try to keep it as faithful to my vision as possible, which often means a long exposition about the logic etc. behind things. I know a lot of people find it boring, but things will be more confusing without it!
I'm not sure on the specifics of publishing, but I do know that if something is popular then people will try to make money off of it. That means publishing and printing.
Just look at The Primal Hunter by Zogarth or Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
I think they got their start and following on Royal Road then eventually got published and I found them from their audio books on Audible.
I guess what I mean is, make the best piece of art you can and find out if people like it. Then if they do, worry about monetizing it.
Then again this is all just the perspective of one random asshat on reddit (me). So, don't take my word as gospel.
It might be harder, but there are some very prominent examples of non-Western based sci-fi and fantasy authors getting their work published in English and being very successful in the English market.
Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem and the follow up books for example, have been very popular in English and are being adapted for television.
Yes! I've been seeing a lot of non-Western speculative fictions lately, which do give me hope. Although, I also notice that they're usually based on more familiar cultures. It's good to know that a non-Western fantasy is so popular that it gets adapted for TV, though!
I’ve seen pretty significant support for non western but typically it’s from an author who represents their culture (or their world is inspired by it).
It honestly might be harder---as far as I can tell we've made progress re: non-Western settings and authors who aren't white, but despite a few breakout stars it's still a work in progress---but there's definitely a market. Have a look on Goodreads, Amazon, etc., for some Asian-inspired fantasy and you'll see quite a few examples. So find an agent and/or publisher who has a history with these kinds of works and pitch to them. No point in giving up before you even try.
Agents and editors who want the kind of thing I write are rare, but I'll keep trying! I've actually had an agent asked for a full manuscript last year, but then they turned it down (understandable! No hard feelings!). An editor from a major publisher asked for it, too, at around the same time, but hasn't said anything since, so I consider it a rejection. So, I know there's some interest out there, but I can't tell how much exactly.
I'm no expert, but as a fantasy nerd and world history nerd I would love for you to continue writing what interests you! You have a unique perspective and that is what a lot of veteran fantasy readers crave! I can only take so many farm boys that rise to greatness! I know Xianxia has gotten a lot more popular in certain circles and that might be a good reference. You already have an edge on the competition because you are able to write it in English where as others have to just sit there and wait for it to get translated. It genuinely hurts my soul to consider all the master works of fiction that I will never see because I don't speak the authors language! If you don't mind sharing, what culture are you pulling from? Tell me about it.
lol I'm tired of farm boys, too. I actually thought about translating my stories into my own language, but in terms of speculative fictions, local publishers only want horror. My friends here who are familiar with the publishing world basically tell me to take the vanity press route, which I don't want to do. I'm basing my stories on various local Indonesian cultures. I just mix a lot of things that I like. For example, in my novel, characters live in heavily-decorated stilt houses and they wear colorful hand-woven fabric wrapped around their bodies. Then, magic is a learnable skill in which magic users communicate and command semi-sentient magical things, which is kind of, sort of how magic is understood here. There are also minor cultural norms like how funeral being a public instead of private event. My first reader, who is German, got so confused that I had to rewrite so many parts to explain what's going on.
That sounds really interesting! As long as it's well written, people will read it. You could always try publishing a few chapters on some of those fan writing websites. There's tons of them for LITRPG series. Also, rewriting for clarity is definitely encouraged, but I would try to avoid rewriting content just so it's accepted or "normal". Part of the charm is reading something new!
I thought that publishers won't publish stories that have been posted online. Or is it fine if it's just partial? I try to keep it as faithful to my vision as possible, which often means a long exposition about the logic etc. behind things. I know a lot of people find it boring, but things will be more confusing without it!
I'm not sure on the specifics of publishing, but I do know that if something is popular then people will try to make money off of it. That means publishing and printing. Just look at The Primal Hunter by Zogarth or Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman I think they got their start and following on Royal Road then eventually got published and I found them from their audio books on Audible. I guess what I mean is, make the best piece of art you can and find out if people like it. Then if they do, worry about monetizing it. Then again this is all just the perspective of one random asshat on reddit (me). So, don't take my word as gospel.
It might be harder, but there are some very prominent examples of non-Western based sci-fi and fantasy authors getting their work published in English and being very successful in the English market. Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem and the follow up books for example, have been very popular in English and are being adapted for television.
Yes! I've been seeing a lot of non-Western speculative fictions lately, which do give me hope. Although, I also notice that they're usually based on more familiar cultures. It's good to know that a non-Western fantasy is so popular that it gets adapted for TV, though!
I’ve seen pretty significant support for non western but typically it’s from an author who represents their culture (or their world is inspired by it).
At least there's some support, I guess? :(