Dear Agony Editor,

I recently completed the first draft of a contemporary novel. Given everything going on in the world right now, I’m considering going back and setting my novel during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Do you think this could help me generate more interest from potential publishers?

Signed,

Sign o’ the Times

 

Dear Sign o’ the Times,

I’m giving you a hard “nope” to that. While I understand the temptation to increase the marketability of your book, you’re going about it the wrong way. Whenever you introduce a plot point or setting in the name of getting your book sold, a little red light should go off in your head. That’s because the same little red light will go off in your readers’ heads. It’s a signal that you’re not being authentic in your work and trying to capitalize on a trend or current issue. And a reader will sniff that a mile away.

That’s not to say you can’t set your book during COVID-19, but that idea should’ve been there from the start. There needs to be an artistic reason for its inclusion. I spoke to a senior editor at a large publishing house for her feedback. “Getting published is a lot more complex than just changing the setting of a novel,” she says. “For me, the attraction to a manuscript is, ultimately, about the quality of the writing and the originality of the story. I would not suggest changing the setting to the time of COVID-19 unless that change somehow fundamentally enhances the overall quality of the manuscript. If it’s just a cosmetic change for the sake of seeming ‘timely,’ I wouldn’t bother.”

This editor also points to something that many of us are suffering from: COVID-19 fatigue. I don’t know what books you are reading, but I could certainly use an escape from what’s going on right now. “Maybe a few years into the future, people will become interested in revisiting this time,” she said. But right now, and given the uncertainty about everything, you run the risk of turning publishers – and readers – away. If I were you, I’d stick to your original setting. Good luck and stay safe.