Fuck. I've done it again. I've written something that I have no idea how to market. I'm pretty sure there is zero interest in something like this. Those of you who know me are probably not surprised by this development. I do this on a regular basis, and every once in a while I luck out. Take for example my recent story about butts. I was 99.99999999% certain that no one would want it. Surprise! It has found a home. I probably can't talk about specifics, but the likelihood of this happening again in the same way is very, very slim.
It is not horror, but it's horrifying. It's not bizarro, but weird and fucked up things happen. It's not crime, but crimes are committed in it. It is not mainstream, but its intent is literary. I'll go you onne further: a rape is central to the story. No one fuckin' wants to publish rape stories. It's a touchy subject, and no one wants to even take a chance with something like that.
It's not an endorsement of rape, by the way. (Collective sigh of relief from all of you.) It's not a rape/revenge thing, either. That's too easy, and we've all seen I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE already. Why tread such familiar waters? Explaining it would make me sound like a pretentious asshole, so I won't bother. Anyone reading it would know my intentions are pure, and a lot of it is based on a kinda-sorta true story.
But here's the problem: I have no idea of who to send it to. The rape scene is within the first 300 words. I don't think anyone would read beyond that. There is nothing titillating about this story, and it's not some shock value thing, either.
When I find myself in such a position I usually take the scatter gun approach. Sure, a lot of publications wouldn't want this kind of thing, but what the hell? I'll send it out to some in the hazy area of whatever genre I'm writing in, and maybe I'll get lucky. Sometimes I do.
As someone who wants to make money in this business I should probably stop writing things I don't think I can sell, but I can't. Even if I know a story isn't going to get into readers' hands I have to get it out of my head. Even if I'd never gotten published I'd do it. This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme (shit, if only that were true!). This is a compulsion for me. Some people bite their fingernails. Others lose themselves in sex addiction. Still others hoard to the point where they're not surprised to find a dead cat in their house.
I write. It would just be nice if I could find a home for this thing. No one likes to work and have nothing to show for it.
Anyone interested in a story like that?
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