ZA Furries

Hi guys! I need some advice. I've been thinking of writing a furry novel (not a yiffy one, a fantasy-romance), but there's a problem. With any book, the subject matter dictates the target market, therefore a furry novel won't be profitable, seeing as the furry market is just too small. Even if I write a masterpiece, it probably won't even be eligible for publication (at least not from any main-stream publishers I know of).
So, here's my dilemma. As a novelist, I can't let an unprofitable project take away from my "real" work (by that I mean main-stream fiction that can actually make money), so I'll only be able to work on it during weekends (I usually take those off to chill). The thing is, it usually takes me 1-2 years to finish a novel, and the one I have in mind will have to be at least 150000 words long. Working only on weekends, it might take me as long as 5 years to finish.
What do you guys think? Should I pour so much creative energy into a project that only a few furs will ever see online? Or should I just put everything I have into making normal, profitable fiction (at least untill I'm well-established enough to pop out a personal side project without risking financial ruin)?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Well agreed the furry market would probably be too small for such a venture if the target market was just us buuuut just because a book is furry themed doesnt neccesarily mean it wont be enjoyed by other people.

A good fantasy novel has a pretty big target audiance regardless of what the protaganist is so if you write it well it can be more than just a fun hobby

But of course only person who can keep the balance and make sure that they are on top of things is you so if it starts to affect your lifestyle negatively put it on hold till your more in control

I have no experiance in this field really though other than i know what i like in a book and current trends

It is 1AM.....so here is the only answer I can think of right now...

Yes, yes you should right a furry novel.


I might say more in the morning.....

Ok....5:21....Brain now working....

I definitely think a furry novel has great potential. Firstly, even if the general theme is anthropomorphic, that does not necessarily mean that the audience will be limited to furries. For example one of the most successful series of books I know of is the 'Redwall' series by Brian Jacques, which spawned many highly successful novels and even a tv series. Redwall is undeniably a 'furry' novel, with anthropomorphic mice, rats, badgers etc as the characters, yet it was successful worldwide.

The other point i'd just like to make is that you don't necessarily need to sell the book to make money. Nowadays, in a world where people can just download a pirated copy of a book off the internet, sales of books are dropping horrifically quickly. What several authors are catching onto however, is the notion that there are other ways of raising money off your work, without selling it per se. For example, the furry webcomic 'Twokinds' (a personal favorite of mine) is published online once a week completely free of charge. So how does the author, Tom Fischbach, earn a living? What he recently did, was create a "kickstarter" campaign online in order to fund the continuation of his writing and the publication of his paperback version of the comic, offering various incentives to people ranging from signed copies of his work to the chance of appearing in the webcomic as an extra. As i'm typing this, the amount he has raised currently stands at $197,512. Almost 2 Hundred thousand US Dollars! The reason he has been so successful is that he established his works popularity first, ensuring that it reached the maximum amount of people by keeping it free to read, before then asking for "donations" with benefits. And again, Twokinds is a furry webcomic, so there is definitely money to be made within the genre.

So in short, if you have a good idea for a novel, even a furry one, write it!

If you think you will enjoy writing a furry novel, then you should write it. Do it because you want to. Time itself is not really relevant, unless you're bound into a contract. Stephen king wrote the Dark Tower series from 1982 until 2004, and the latest book came out this year. That's 8 books in 30 years, in between his other obligations. He is, after all, a very prolific author.

Perhaps you should have a chat with Umuntu sometime, he has published a furry novel. See http://forum.zafur.co.za/viewtopic.php?p=6060#p6060 for the details.

Also, on the topic of piracy, here are the views of a writer I respect:

Grayhound wrote: 'Twokinds' (a personal favorite of mine) is published online once a week completely free of charge. So how does the author, Tom Fischbach, earn a living? What he recently did, was create a "kickstarter" campaign online in order to fund the continuation of his writing and the publication of his paperback version of the comic, offering various incentives to people ranging from signed copies of his work to the chance of appearing in the webcomic as an extra. As i'm typing this, the amount he has raised currently stands at $197,512. Almost 2 Hundred thousand US Dollars! The reason he has been so successful is that he established his works popularity first, ensuring that it reached the maximum amount of people by keeping it free to read, before then asking for "donations" with benefits. And again, Twokinds is a furry webcomic, so there is definitely money to be made within the genre.

Ever since I found and read TwoKinds, I have always enjoyed and loved it! May I just add, Grayhound, that Tom ended up raising $201,310.22 due to the PayPal option of paying. What you are seeing on kickstarter are the payments through Amazon. I know this... because i backed it, lol, and am getting to signed hardcover editions of Vol 1 & 2 plus a name in the thank you section. lol

Contrast, I think it would be awesome to write a furry novel. I think it is change for a fresh story because not many people write about the topic. I know I would read it and recommend if I like it!

I want to start a novel but I am still deciding on genre.

~TC

As Valerion pointed out Umuntu has written/is writing a series of furry novels. Don't worry about publishing because there are a number of furry-run publishers that will publish. There's a whole list on FurPlanet Productions: http://furplanet.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=136

There are a number of furry novels, in the sense that they are written by furs, both adult and general audience. For example Kyell Gold is probably the most well-known furry authors. He's apparently won more Ursa Major awards than any other individual and he's done well in the wider world too.

http://www.weaselwordsmith.com/2011/02/16/kyell-gold-shorty-awards/ wrote:The Shorty Awards, an annual award ceremony honoring standouts in social media, announced the finalists lists for their categories on Tuesday, and a furry beat out a ton of actual celebrities.

Award winning furry author Kyell Gold was among the six finalists in the author category, a list of authors spanning three continents, including JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

Gold beat out other famous authors such as Neil Gaiman, Meg Cabot, James Rollins, Nicholas Sparks, and Rick Riordan (as well as Hilary Duff, Justin Bieber, and the Jonas Brothers, who are authors now apparently).

So if you want to write then write. As long as you write well people will read it.

TotemCoyote wrote:Contrast, I think it would be awesome to write a furry novel. I think it is change for a fresh story because not many people write about the topic. I know I would read it and recommend if I like it!

You might want to read my post because there are plenty of people writing about the topic.

Ok I'm also gonna point out that just because a book has anthro character does not mean that it won't sell well.

Look at Fanatstic Mr. Fox. the book sold well enough. now some might argue that it wasn't writen for furries and yes thats true but that not my point. The characters were anthropomorphic, huminoid animals. yet there were thousands of non furry people who enjoyed it.
So if you were to write a "furry" noval, try not to perhaps use the word "furry" or put it in context of the furry fandom. so, for example, you could write a fantascy/romance story just like any other, including the big scary dragons, wizards, black smiths, festivals in kingdoms and what not. and simply instead of humans, have anthro animals.

its "furry" in a sens. its written by a furry so the furry comunity will know its furry. and the non furry readers will simply just have an awesome book to read. you could even post an artical it up on FNN (furry news network) and other places so that the furry community will know of it and what not.

Now if you are concerned that it will take too much of your time and about being established as a successfull writer and all, you can keep with your mainstream story and just tinker with the furry one on weekends untill you are ready to go full out on the furry one

on a final note:
There are some rather big-ish publishers that have a catagory listing of "Furry", apart from the major furry publishers. can't remember who they were but I'll try and see if I can find them again.

Wow! Thank you so much guys! I had no idea there were writers and publishers who actually specialise in furry novels. Maybe I'll check out those web comics too.
I think I'll keep my furry idea as a side project for now (I'm already 42000 words deep into a main-stream Sci-fi right now), but I'll tinker with it over the weekends, and I'll definately keep everything you've said in mind.
Maybe I'll even show you guys the first chapter when it's done (it may take a while, though. I'm a slow writer).
Thanks again.

Durosuka wrote:on a final note:
There are some rather big-ish publishers that have a catagory listing of "Furry", apart from the major furry publishers. can't remember who they were but I'll try and see if I can find them again.

I think you meant this story. http://www.flayrah.com/4049/melange-cre ... -publisher
I'd recommend using Flayrah rather than FNN. Flayrah is far more active and a sizeable chunk of FNN's submissions are actually just syndicated from Flayrah.

no that was not the site I was thinking about but close enough. point being is that there are those who specialise in furry, doesn't have to be listed as furry. non furry people read furry books

okay, due to exhaustion and lack of brain working-ness... I like the idea of a furry novel, and if i have to wait five years for it, then by gum i will wait.... because having a furry novel five years from now is better than not having one at all....

i is just *yawn* sayin'....

Heya! If you are planning on writing it, most furry writers use this publisher to publish their works:
Sofawolf
this might make it more profitable...

I have seen some writers (like Umuntu) use Lulu. Found a few out-of-print books there as well, so I was happy.

O_o..... thats so cool!!!!! i didnt know ur writing was that awesome!

Thanks Punk. It still needs a lot of work, but I'm glad you like it so far. I'm still a bit self-conscious about my work, and hearing something like that means a lot to me.

Wow. This was amazing. You really do have talent.

An update for you guys on my furry novel situation. I'm running a little experiment on FA by turning it into a serial with regular updates that range from 200 - 2000 words (3 times a week). I'll probably continue in this fashion till the first chapter is complete. After that? Who knows. It depends on the feedback.
You can find it here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10174741/
It's pretty much the same as the sneak preview higher up in this thread, so nothing new there, but it shouldn't take long to progress past that point.

The very talented Arobynn Greyrain has composed a theme song for my serial novel! Check it out: http://www.sofurry.com/view/607613

Best. Fan. Ever.

Ander might be getting a full OST soon. I'll post the details as they become available.

Arobynn has completed the first song of the Ander OST! ^_^
You can give it a listen here: https://www.sofurry.com/view/789636

I started this thread on Saturday, June 16th, 2012, asking if it would be a good idea to write a furry novel. Today is Wednesday, February 7th, 2018, and my furry novel, my little "side project", the novel I have spent the last 5 years, 7 months and 22 days working on, is finally, finally done.

3800 Pages.
1 182 527 Words.
3 288 kb.

It is done. It is finally, finally done. Never before has a novel taxed me to the same degree Ander has. Never before has a novel made me feel anything so intensely, from the insane happiness at my characters' triumphs, to an overwhelming sadness bordering on actual mourning for their losses. Every day was an uphill battle to translate all those feelings onto the page, and many days, even most days, I had to retire from my writing desk feeling empty and spent, like I hadn't done my imagination justice, like I wasn't able to properly convey all those thoughts and feelings into something that could reach my readers in a meaningful way.

In short, it was difficult. It was the most difficult thing I have ever attempted my whole life. And you know what?

It was worth it.

I love my story, and I'm glad I wrote it, and even though I am ecstatic at finishing it, I can't help but feel a little sad, too. I had come to love my characters like real people, the good and the bad, and saying goodbye to them was just as difficult and frightening as starting their journey all those years ago, back when I had no idea what I was doing or where their story would end up taking me.

So for all of you who accompanied me on this journey, for all of you who ever commented on any of the chapters, who ever faved or voted, who ever left me a little donation to wake up to, and for all of you who simply read and enjoyed my work, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Congratulations! That is quite the achievement. Are you going to get that published somewhere? I know its on SoFurry but novels are something that it's to have an actual book of.

I'd very much like to get it published, yes, but there's still a lot of work left to do. I may be done on my end, but I'm still uploading the story to SoFurry and dA three times a week, so it'll take a while for the story to end for my readers (I considered just uploading everything all at once, but I'm terrified of unexpected plotholes cropping up, and then I won't be able to fix them). But once that's done, I'm going to ask what they liked, what they disliked, and then, once that's done, I'll give my brain a bit of a rest. Stephen King recommends at least 6 weeks for your brain to reset so you can see your manuscript in a fresh light, just like a new reader, so that's probably what I'll go for as well. Then, after everything is uploaded and my brain has had enough rest, I'll give my manuscript one last proof-read, keeping all my readers' thoughts and comments in mind, and edit it into the final, final draft.

After that, I'l start the long (and frustrating) road to getting my story published.

Duuuuuude!
Well done!
I'm proud of you!

Aaah!
When you do get it published. I want a copy of Ander.
A hard copy!
i haven't had the time to do much reading since starting uni... But I want to finish reading Ander... It was the last book I touched. And I want to finish it...

Thanks, Adagio. I still remember the kind words you said about Ander just as I was getting started, and I was at my most fragile. About the rain and the arrow. That really meant a lot to me.

(Oh, and thanks to you, too, Rakuen! I totally forgot to say thanks, sorry.)

Well done, Contrast! That is an incredible achievement.
I have to start out by apologizing for not telling you sooner how much I have enjoyed what I read so far of Ander.
About a year ago, I read the first few parts in a long binge of a couple of days. I have read many, many books in my life... but honestly, I would say that Ander has had one of the greatest impacts on me, and I haven't even gotten close to finishing it. I can't think of another book that made me cry within its opening chapters, or kept me so on the edge of my seat and *needing* to know what happens next that I stayed up reading it until sunrise.
Ander is truly an amazing work. I actually had to stop reading it for a while, because I knew that if I kept going I would continue to read it obsessively, and that I would be disappointed when I ran out of subchapters to read. Now that you're finished... I think I can finally think about finishing it. ^.^
Thank you so much for making such an incredible piece. A hard copy of Ander cannot be in my hands soon enough.

Thank you so much, Trace! Writing a novel, especially a really long one like Ander, can have you constantly doubting yourself, making you think things like, "Is anyone even reading this? Is anyone enjoying this? Am I just wasting my time?" So I'm really, really glad to hear you enjoyed my story that much. It makes all the effort worthwhile.

Trace wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:33 pmI would be disappointed when I ran out of subchapters to read. Now that you're finished... I think I can finally think about finishing it. ^.^

It's not all up online yet, though! I thought about uploading everything now that I'm done on my end, but I'm paranoid about plotholes and other errors. I think I'll stick to a thrice weekly schedule for now, and that way I'll still have enough time to fix any problems that pop up.

What sort of investment cost does one need to publish a book... asking for a friend (she says not actually asking for a friend and remembering she now has 1 post left before hitting her important number...)

You are most welcome, Contrast.

Contrast wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:58 pm It's not all up online yet, though! I thought about uploading everything now that I'm done on my end, but I'm paranoid about plotholes and other errors. I think I'll stick to a thrice weekly schedule for now, and that way I'll still have enough time to fix any problems that pop up.

Oh, I do understand that. But there is a definite end in sight now, and in the meantime I have plenty to catch up on.