Will the beginning of a novel taking place outside US turn you off?

[domisotto]

Will you drop the book/won't sub to it, if it starts in a country other than US (and it is a paranormal taking place in Real World, not a fantasy)?

[CommanderMarty]

Why would people care about that?

[Random_Guy]

Because people are racist?

I'm sure it'll be fine.

[CommanderMarty]

People are racist to locations?

[Random_Guy]

I mean, yeah.
"It's not American so I don't like it."
It's why people can sell their products purely based on "it was made in the good ol' USA."

[CommanderMarty]

So the correct term in this case would be Locationism.

[DWaM22]

It'll be fine. Especially since I imagine there's a large amount of people who use the site that aren't American themselves.

[Kelheor]

... is the USA pride this huge?
Of course I believe everyone should be okay. But then I am not from US. This won't change the answer if it was "not about my country" though

[Random_Guy]

is the USA pride this huge?

I guess????
I'm a US citizen but I'm not super prideful about it or anything.

[DualDragons]

I'm not in the US so I don't care for the country at all. Wherever a novel begins is fine by me

[Kelheor]

I am more surprised by the OP's question if anything, really, not being condescending

[Wocalich]

I don't think you need subs from people who would care about that

[scribesunlimited]

Absolutely not, especially if your novel is able to convey to the reader, in pretty good details, what the foreign land is all about. This is where world-building comes in. The people, the places, etc. Give us a sense that we're in that country, and we'd find it either interesting to visit, or to shy away from, etc.

[carreonaiwille]

Maybe because I'm not from the US, so all books or a least most books and media I read and watch take place in countries not my own all the time.

Also, I don't know. This just reminded me of a thing in TV shows in our country where the first few episodes would be in a foreign place and the advertising makes sure you don't forget that. I mean, the locations would be part of the marketing.

[cherrystark]

I don't see a problem. I'm okay with stories taking place in different countries as long as there is some I recognize like schools, churches, grocery stores, etc. Stuff like that gives me a connection point to the story. I'm not always a fan of stories that take place in different cultures but that's more because I don't know about it. If the story is also teaching me about the culture while I read the story, I'm okay with it.

[HGohwell]

I do sorta understand the worry. After all, specifically with places like Japan, you get people assuming it's an anime thing and you've never been there and it'll all be based on anime cliches, for example. It's not the only example, but it is the most common. So, you do have to be careful sometimes.

But think about how many people not from the US read novels set in the US. Or how many people were ok reading Harry Potter despite not being from the UK ect. Some stories don't even bother giving you a specific country, it's just generic. As long as you do actual research, I think it'd be fine. And really as long as you're not spending the entire first chapter just describing the place with nothing happening, it shouldn't be too much of a big deal, I imagine lots of people wouldn't pay too much attention to it.

[domisotto]

Thanks everyone for answering. Fingers crossed, I guess?

[joannekwan]

I'm from the U.S. and I don't care if a story's set in another country. It could actually be quite interesting. It's one of the reasons I like watching 90 Day Fiancé, seeing what life is like in other countries. ¯l_(ツ)_/¯

[skicoak]

So the correct term in this case would be Locationism.

I think it's more commonly referred to as jingoism.

Will you drop the book/won't sub to it, if it starts in a country other than US (and it is a paranormal taking place in Real World, not a fantasy)?

American here, and to riff off what @wocalichofficial said... You're not likely to run into too many of those types in this format anyway.

[Crusoe]

As a non-us citizen of course I won't mind! As long as you're doing your research if you're not from that country then sure.