When I wrote the first volume of The Lilean Chronicles series I was very uneducated about the writing world and how cut throat it is. I wrote my book, edited it, re-edited it several times, printed it and then began to research how to get it published. It became obvious very quickly that these days one needs an agent first. So I researched UK agents and found hundreds. As I began to read their websites for their submission guidelines, a worrying and disappointing truth began to make itself apparent. Agents and publishers hate science fiction and fantasy.

Site after site carried notices saying “sorry we don’t accept submissions for science fiction or fantasy. WTF..?

The science fiction and fantasy genres are without doubt the most popular and successful in both books and movies, bar none. The vast majority of high status movies that are released these days are these two genres and in the literary world, science fiction and fantasy have more titles than the others. This proves that these two genres make more money than the others so why don’t agents and publishers accept them?

This was the biggest reason I decided to self publish. The ability to publish more than one book every two years was another, as was the ability to publish my book without having to go under anyone’s knife but my own. The indie vs trad debate aside, I think that if agents should ever begin to worry that they may be becoming redundant, they might want to entertain the idea that perhaps their refusal to accept the most widely loved genres may be a huge part of the reason.