I am working on the final edits of a novel that takes place during Christmas time. It is not a “Christmas book” per se, but I’ve begun to wonder, because it’s my first book, if I ought to change the season for marketing reasons. Does the season a book takes place in have any bearing on a publisher accepting a first time novelist?
Not really. We might schedule the release date based on the season of the book, but that wouldn’t make any difference for acceptance.
I’m assuming there was a reason your book takes place during Christmas, so I’d say, no, don’t change it unless a publisher asks you to.