This week I want to talk about inevitable comparisons between books. Or more specifically, my upcoming book Seeder's Poison and The Hunger Games (THG).
Now that I’ve sent my little MS out into the world for critiquing, I’m getting a bit of feedback which likens my story to The Hunger Games. Someone even told me they're too similar to even bother publishing my MS. So before I ditch my story altogether, I wanted to share this insecurity with you guys and see if you've had similar problems.
I won’t deny the similarities between my MS and THG: an all-powerful and controlling government situated in a central area, an oppressed populace that’s divided into sections, a strong heroine who is handy with a bow and knows plants inside out. But there are things which are different as well. No love triangle for one. No games for another. Definitely no themes on the hazards of war (at least I hope not).
Regardless of what I say, comparisons will be made whether I like it or not. After all, there are many claims that The Hunger Games is based on Battle Royale by Koushun Takami and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Heck, when I described the plot of THG to my husband when we were contemplating watching the movie, he said, "That's the plot of every Final Fantasy game I've ever played."
Besides, if there's any book my novel could be compared with, The Hunger Games isn't too shabby at all. It's just that I'm a picky reader and I know that I haven't picked up books because they've been compared to other more popular stories that I've read. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout (too close to Vampire Academy) and Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon (too close to Twilight..although admittedly I didn't like Twilight) to name a few. And if I could go back and remove the things which are similar I would. It's just that I can't do so without losing the the central theme of my MS.
Also, the second book in the series will deviate from what makes my book so similar to THG, but now I'm not sure if I should even worry about writing the next book if no one is going to read the first book anyway. What are your thoughts guys? Would you read a book that's too similar to something else that's popular?
