: Re: How acceptable is "alternate history" in writing (nowadays)? On another site, I wrote a critical review of a book that featured a "King Frederic II" of France who reigned between 1777-1819. I

I started with this as a comment but it's not really a comment. It's also not much of an answer.

Historical fiction and alternative history are separate genres in my understanding. I would expect historical fiction to be accurate and minor characters can be fictitious. A commoner living through the Black Plague should experience it correctly but need not have actually ever been a real person... But documented facts must be accurate.

I would also expect in historical fiction that the parts of history that are in focus (documented history) will remain so. The parts we don't know ( greater than 99.9% of actual history) have a lot of wiggle room.

My answer: Don't confuse Historical Fiction with Alternate History.

In alternate history, be clear up front that it is alternate.

(Even the alternate universes in Star Trek take heat from time to time for not following the 'real' history - a spore drive in Kirk's time? I don't think so!)

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: Re: How acceptable is "alternate history" in writing (nowadays)? On another site, I wrote a critical review of a book that featured a "King Frederic II" of France who reigned between 1777-1819. I

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: How can I determine good comparative titles to include in my query letter? Typically, a writer includes one or two recent titles that are similar in some fashion to the story they are telling,

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