If Fantasy is hard to sell, why are fantasy character's talking to me?

A few days ago I read a post from a friend. Her agent told her Fantasy was a hard sell right now.

Well, great. I've got three of them jockeying for finger time. And they aren't being nice about it.

The first manuscript I finished is a fantasy. In an age before a plethora of internet research tools, no it wasn't that long ago - sheesh, I didn't have the time to spend hours at the library. My kids would have thought it was great at first and then forcibly rebelled after a couple of weeks.

Me, get lost in research? I have no idea what you're talking about.

So anyway, I decided to do fantasy. I set up the social structure, climate, terrain, abodes and everything else that goes with creating a world. I have glossaries, maps and calendars to keep it all straight.

I knew there would be sequels at some point, even knew which character it would be. That was my Nano last year. And then in true writer fashion another idea had me chasing a completely different stick.

All the while the third book in the series was swirling on the edges, so I started that to shut it up.

Okay, so now I'm in it.  I've got a contemporary, I want to finish, not to mention it has a better chance of selling in this market.

My bully warriors won't be quiet. T'nok isn't a bully, but his stupid brother, Keegan is.  Their ladies are more polite, but still chatty And the secondary characters? Oh heaven help me.

The original is mocking me. 'You created us. Deal with it.'  Hang my head.

So I need to round this unruly lot up and corral them somehow so I can finish the one that has a chance of sale, or do I give in and work on them in turns?

No wonder I don't discuss my writing with the general populous. I'd be stuck in a looney bin.

How do you handle more than one story at a time?