The Decline of Paranormal and My Predicament

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging much this summer, but something has come up that I want to talk to y'all about...

Starting last year, publishers began picking up less paranormal and more contemporary.  Personally, I believe this is because they're trying to battle the massive amount of reasonably priced self-pubished pieces out there (the vast majority of which are contemporaries).  It could also be because there was so much paranormal written in a few short years that it's becoming harder to keep things new and original.  Whatever the reason, paranormal is on a major decline.  

As many of you know, the 2nd and 3rd books in my Sweet Trilogy almost weren't picked-up last year.  Sales for Sweet Evil had only been "okay."  Now, because of you incredibly dedicated readers, sales for Sweet Peril were up 86% in the first five weeks of sales over Sweet Evil's first five weeks.  You. Guys. Freaking. Rock.  Thank you for making HarperTeen's gamble a win for all!!  

That being said, my agent and I recently submitted another story (an urban fantasy romance set in Ireland) and it was rejected.  I'm actually not at all upset or bitter about this, because I knew it was a very different story and it was a long shot.  And while there were things they loved about it, it might be a bit too far out of the norm for comfort.  Also, I was told once again that paranormal/fantasy YA sales are down.  Publishers are a business, and it's not always good to take risks.

So, now my agent and I are stuck with this wee little story on our hands, wondering what to do.  I have a funny feeling that if we submit it to other publishers, we'll get much of the same response.  There's always self-publishing, yes.  But there are things about this novel that I'm unsure of.  There's one aspect of the plot that made both the publisher and my agent nervous.  Naturally I'm second-guessing this element now.  Do I take it out?  Change it?  Leave it?  I don't know...

I have an idea, but I want to test the waters and see if you guys are game.  I'm considering having a contest in which several "winners" would be chosen to be beta-readers of the book.  Said beta-readers would provide feedback that will help me to decide which direction I'll go with the story.  (It feels really arrogant of me to say that "winners" will get to read my possibly sucky story. Like, "Congratulations! You get to help me for free and you might not even like it!"  Lol, wow.  I apologize for using you in this way.)  All of my personal beta-readers have read it, and the overall feedback from them has been incredible.  But it would be beneficial to have the opinion of "regular readers."

Bad idea?  Or would you be game?

Let me tell you a little about the story, and you can comment below with your thoughts.

It's called See Me.  Let me tell you what this story does NOT have:

• a mysterious bad boy (Sorry! I already gave you one of those, haha)
• a main character who was adopted or has dubious parentage
• a main character whose family is mostly absent
• two or more boys who are in love with the main character
• a sequel (it's a stand alone! They really can exist!)

Let me tell you what this story DOES have:

• a handsome, albeit shy love interest
• the crazy, cute, and funny best friend of the love interest
• creepy faeries and sweet leprechauns
• another girl who's after the love interest! *gasp*
• a sister who's best friends with the main character and tends to stir up trouble
• kissing  :)

Here are some fun covers made by some of my beta-readers when the story was up on Inkpop:

(This is how I see McKale)

What say you???  Yay or Nae?

(To enter to be a beta reader for this story, visit the next post!)