Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
And then you have to decide, "do I advertise this by its most essential themes, or by a label that isn't inaccurate and will bring in the most sales?"
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Consider this:
"Military hero is discharged so he can go undercover infiltrating a vast criminal conspiracy involving piracy, slavery, and drug trafficking. In his quest to reach the highest levels of the conspiracy he finds himself fully participating in all the vices of his 'comrades' and slowly sinking in the same sinkhole of adiction and iniquity. Will he find the inner strength to complete his mission or be derailed by temptation?"
That marketing could fit a drama, a thriller, or a police procedural, no?
Perfectly "honest" description of the narrative, too. Definitely "not inaccurate".
But I suspect not everybody buying into that blurb would be pleased if inside they found E.E. Smith's GRAY LENSMAN.
(shrug)
SF has its native audience who will seek it, buy it, and appreciate it for what it is. They don't need to be tricked or even "eased" into reading it.
Me, if I were aiming for a non-SF audience, I would simply avoid SF trappings, themes, and concepts. Instead, I would focus on the subjects and themes that particular audience values, whether it be chills, thrills, or humor.
Not that it's a decision I will ever have to make, though.