Forum - View topicPondering... creating an OEL light novel?
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ansemaru
 Posts: 4 Location: Vermont? Pennsylvania? |
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In today's world of globalized manga and Japanese cultural exports that have gone beyond just Japan, it's not uncommon to see animation or games from the West with heavy anime influence (Like Avatar: The Last Airbender) or original English-language manga.
I'm a writer and an artist on the first leg of my journey. Ultimately, I'd love to create manga of my own, but with the way my life and artistic abilities are right now, I don't think I'd be able to create anything on a reasonable timeline. But I've been thinking about possibly making a light novel instead. I suppose that there are somewhat-similar things in the world of YA lit, but not quite... I wonder, is this possible? If it's not, I'd better step up the pace on becoming a better manga artist. What do you think? |
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GeorgeBerger
Posts: 4 Location: Minnesota |
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Is it possible? Yes, for a given value of "possible". 
There are, IMO, four questions you need to be asking: 1. Do you really want to fuel the endless debates as to what constitutes a light novel and whether "OEL" is anything more than a crass marketing gimmick? 2. Assuming you write something light novel-ish, will anyone - purists or otherwise - accept or recognize it as a "light novel"? 3. Will any publisher even take a look at it? 4. Commercially or self-published, will anyone actually buy the darn thing, "light novel" or not?
As background, late last year I wrote a 70,000-word novel and self-published it through Createspace, Amazon, and elsewhere, as both a paperback and e-book. I shan't name it or link to it, as I'm not clear on ANN's policy on shameless self-promotion, but... it exists, to the great and overwhelming indifference of the world at large. It most likely meets just about anyone's criteria for an "OEL light novel", were someone to have such a definition, and I even very briefly tried to advertise it as such. (My novel's creation was in fact spurred on by a number of fan-translated light novels online, whose abject mediocrity in plot, pacing, dialogue, and character development let me to utter "I can do better than this", so it's not as if I was merely trying to exploit the, you know, overwhelming and awesome commercial success of The Kubikiri Cycle, or something.) Anyway, in six months I've sold four copies, given away three copies in a promotion, and given away five copies to people who claimed they'd review it but haven't, at least yet, which leads me to believe that: A, the English-speaking world really, really, really hates light novels (Seven Seas would probably agree); B, I am an utter failure at self-promotion (indisputable, really); C, Despite the views of everyone who has actually read the darn thing, there's a chance I've simply produced an absolutely unreadable atrocity (maybe...?) D, My attempt to emulate a light novel in English has left me with what is, as a friend described it, "a romantic LGBT YA SF dystopian political conspiracy coming-of-age adventure novel" - basically an unmarketable genre-defying unable-to-be-easily-pigeonholed book. (alas...) In summary: Been there, done that, it's been nothing but an epic failure. But, hey; maybe you'll be luckier. Maybe you're going to be the "(American|Canadian|British|Australian|Kiwi|Whatever) NisioisiN", or you're about to write the "OEL Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya". Maybe you have the world's most awesome marketing and self-promotion skills. Maybe you're sleeping with a prominent and influential book reviewer, I don't know.
None of us know, probably. If you want to give it a shot, by all means go right ahead. Just know what you're getting yourself into, and set realistic/pessimistic expectations for yourself and your book. Because, you know, going from "I'd like to sell a hundred copies in the first year" to "I'd like to sell a dozen copies in the first year" to "dang it, I just want an Amazon sales rank better than four-million, is that too much to ask?" can have a pretty destructive effect on the spirit. |
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adam_omega
 Posts: 256 Location: Seven Seas |
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You want to create an OEL Light Novel?
In a word... don't. Just don't. If you are hardcore into wanting to write a novel, write a novel. Physically go to a bookstore and look at the sections and books they have. Look at the genres and find something that matches what you want to write and write in that genre's style. You won't ever interest anyone with your concept otherwise. |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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Kadokawa (Japan) released 『華葬伝』 by 久遠, which had been awarded first prize in Taiwan Kadokawa Light Novel Contest, in Japan. http://www.excite.co.jp/News/column_g/20101216/Sinkan_index_1620.html http://mantan-web.jp/2010/12/16/20101216dog00m200038000c.html http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/lnovel/bk_detail.php?pcd=201002000158 |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Hmm, that's a more easily understandable (translated) title. The original was 罌籠葬, which was quite archaic and even native Chinese speaker might not understand its meaning. I attended the award ceremony and got a sampler of the novel, but I had to admit that her fabulous yet somewhat confusing fantasy style was not exactly my cup of tea. On the other hand, the comedic Aladdin on the Toilet Bowl (literal translation of 馬桶上的阿拉丁), which won the silver prize, made me laughed out loud. The third volume was published last October. For the record, the ceremony was the first time I met Neneko, arguably the most famous and high profile cosplayer in Taiwan today. |
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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ですかねえ？ |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Not sure why you quoted Li's self-recommendation 與韓荊州書 here...... 
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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Oh, please don't take that too seriously. That was just a piece of joke/thought//association/〈つぶやき〉/scepticism, etc.. (See the stylistic feel of 'ですかねえ？'.) We talked about a Taiwanese person who got over the hurdle of a light novel contest and could publish a book even in Japan. It kind of reminded me of the phrase '一登龍門、則聲價十倍'. (And I had happened to leaf through 『古文眞寶』 some days before.) Speaking of Li Po, as a teetotaller, you may have something to say to Li Po. <grin>
Speaking of '登龍門', Furuhashi Hideyuki 古橋秀之 said:
Ueshiba Reach said:
Mishima Yukio wrote:
By the way, I happened to also re-read 『燕京歳時記』 recently.
I hope you will enjoy 春節. ヽ(´ー｀)ノﾏﾀｰﾘ |
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population_tire
 Posts: 576 |
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Just write a normal book. Unless there's a reason for the setting being in japan other than otaku kawaii desu ~nya.
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GeorgeBerger
Posts: 4 Location: Minnesota |
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A "light novel" doesn't have to be set in Japan... though arguing about that would probably revive the endless "what is or isn't a light novel" debate, sigh. "Western" publishers (and booksellers) are quite enamored of pigeonholing books with genre labels, to the extent that it is widely assumed that you can pigeonhole any given novel into one category or another. This raises some entertaining problems - B&N consider the "Book Girl" series to be "Young Adult fantasy", for instance, and Zaregoto is usually shelved in with Science Fiction. Having read both, I really cannot fathom why. I'm not convinced it's really a solution to anything, but I suppose that if one wrote a truly genre-defying book - a police-procedural murder-mystery love story between two werewolves, set on a space station, say - calling it a "light novel" would be no worse a label than anything else, until such time as we do away with genre labels and adopt a Dewey Decimal-like categorization for fiction. 20.12.8.2: Fantasy, late medieval, European, with an emphasis on business, trade, or economics.... |
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