Finding Literary Agent for Weird Fiction

Hey... I've been suffering a lot trying to find a literary agent for a collection of short stories I've written in the weird fiction genre. I've spent copious time editing them, and every publisher or literary agent I've come across has been too busy to read my works for consideration. Does anyone have any advice on how I can find a literary agent who will sit down and actually read my damn works? Thanks.

You can't get published as a white male today. Only SJWs

Yeah, it's something I've noticed. I feel Iranians/Persians are considered White, btw, since I've made that clear in most of my emails.

Maybe if I say I'm trans?

yeah then you'll get a $100K contract probably, whereas a man who wrote the same would be publically humiliated. Soon we will be put in jail for trying to write

Might as well, if you're a dude just say you're a really good ftm.

If you follow what constitutes trans logic, this should still count. If you're a dude who feels like he's a female to male, that should mean you're transgendered.

I would have thought you were exaggerating before my experiences with them. One self-centered faggot led me on and then swindled me, no joke. Peculiarly, his FB became littered with anti-Trump rhetoric after election period, which I did not find professional. This is supposedly one of the highest rated weird fiction publishers, so I don't see the point in bringing highly polarized, irrelevant topics.

The others just don't have time to read it.

I'm just worried that's the first thing they'll mention in my author biography.

Damn, this stress is killing me. I found one who initially seemed interested, but he is unreliable and is taking too damn long to finish. It's only 25k words, so I don't see what the fuck is going on.

You might have to bite the bullet and self-publish an eBook. The downsides are well-documented, but it's kind of like the unpaid internship of fiction authors, if you do well then people will start knocking on your door to publish you.

As everyone has mentioned, a white male writing non-degenerate fiction has a pretty tough time these days. I'd think being Iranian would not "count as white", and being Muslim would be a huge plus, but maybe they only want Muslim women and/or pushing degeneracy.

I am currently considering writing shit-tier YA lefty propaganda under a pen-name to cash in on anti-Trump hysteria and maybe become the next Stephanie Meyer, then once my $1,000,000,000 is safely in the bank, reveal that it was all a joke and I think my fans are fucking retards and start publishing actually good stuff.

Self-publishing costs too much. Do you have any advice on how to go about this without losing money?

My fiction is based on Pre-Islamic myths, not Islamic.

I pity you if you actually think that'll work. Genre fiction is a tightly knit community. You're better off trying to network with other weird fiction writers etc.

Not the same guy, but in regards to this:
"better off trying to network with other weird fiction writers etc."

It's not going to happen because I ruined my reputation with them due to political disagreement. I was a part of an online community, but I kind of ruined my online reputation due to heated political disagreements and my own idiosyncrasies, which I regret. Before then, I was considered a valuable member and could have probably networked more easily. It's painful to reflect on...

>Self-publishing costs too much

I mean shit-tier Amazon and Kindle "self-publishing" not printing books and trying to sell them face to face. You have to build a following to prove to publishers that you are worth their time, because that's how they think of things now, instead of seeking out new talent like they used to. There's also not really pulp magazines anymore. Unless you're dealing with big publishers I don't think you really need an agent. You could look into e-zines and short story competitions as another way to start gaining attention.

Being an author these days is all about self-promotion

>It's not going to happen because I ruined my reputation with them due to political disagreement.

Well, this'll set you back a bit. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to have your own beliefs nowadays. I never lie about what I think, I just avoid the topic of politics. It's going to be a constant problem for anyone who isn't a braindead leftist though, because your lack of indoctrination will show through in your work.

You can just embrace it and write republican fiction because that's a content-starved market niche, but you'll be typecast forever if you do, and still have difficulty getting published. You could also try writing under a pen-name if you think people might be spreading rumors about you or trashing your name

Hm. Well that is a shame. Building a readership online is the best option in that case. I know kids meme about publishers and minorities but I've worked as a slush pile reader and it's not true unless the publisher specifically is gay erotica or something like that. IME reputation and people vouching for new work always rocketeer the manuscripts to the top of the list

Bullshit. Genre fiction has and always has had a very vocal group of reactionary libertarians in it. Larry Niven being an infamous example. You're not slowed to be a caustic autist tho.

Allowed* fucking autocorrect.

To be honest, I just want my fiction to speak on its own. Most people who have read it said 2 of my stories within the collection rank with the best of weird fiction, like Thomas Ligotti and Laird Barron. You won't believe how much time and effort I put into these stories, and I am disappointed no literary agent or publisher is giving them the time they deserve. In fact, I feel a bit light-headed and numb ever since I finished writing these stories, given how much goddamn effort I put into them.

I am kind of losing my mind. I am hoping someone here can read this and say, "Hey, user, I am a literary agent myself, check my link here. Go ahead and send me your manuscript. I'll be completely honest though if they're up to snuff." I want complete brutal honesty AFTER the agents read my goddamn fucking stories!!!

>reactionary
>libertarian

The fact that you think these two words go together speaks volumes about your preconceptions and lack of self-awareness.

That's what Niven himself indentified as you sperg.

Try to get your shit narrated at the literary horror/sci-fi/weird fiction podcasts out there.
One of the better ones for horror is Pseudopod.
(It would help if you could show ANY publication at all. And be it in some college amateur anthology or some shit. No matter where you are, there are sure to be some shitty writing circles around.
Or shoot for shitty niche magazines.)

It's an easy way to get your name out there and make connections. If they take your story on once, they are likely to do it again.

That's cool but unfortunately publishing is no different from any other aspect of life. Just like most people getting their first jobs through friends or family, so do new writers tend to get published through networking. There is no tricks or hacks, calling yourself a tranny won't improve your chances.

>Born 1938
>First published 1970

This was before these standards we're enforced. Once you're established, the money you make will trump the agenda your publisher wants to push, to an extent.

Also "reactionary libertarian" is a contradiction, unless he's literally talking about Hoppean snake memes which I highly doubt.

Furthermore, "unless you're a caustic autist" is proving my point. You're allowed to think whatever you want, as long as people like you approve of it, if not then it's "toxic" and "caustic" and needs to be banned.

You can't even be apolitical. They demand not only that you withhold forbidden ideology, but that you express and endorse the sanctioned ideology.

"Why aren't there more female and minority characters? Why aren't there any gay sex scenes? Just because it's medieval Europe that doesn't mean you can't have subsaharan African characters."

If any of this sounds like a ludicrous exaggeration to you, then you are simply not paying much attention to genre fiction criticism. Even established, leftist authors are attacked for for ideological impurity, like Alan Moore, Gurrm, and Bakker (all for too much rape). Ardent feminist content creators are being attacked for sexism. Gays for homophobia. Muslims for islamophobia. This is discussed in the mainstream media (approvingly) every day, so you're either aware of it or you have blinders on.

To be honest with you, social networking is a bit more difficult than writing the fiction itself. My friend introduced me to a publisher who said to wait one more month and he'll read my fiction, so I may just do that. It took him awhile to respond, but he just did a few minutes ago. I've been patient for a year, sending my queries to many agents, but I think it may pay off in 1 month due to my connection with my friend.

1.) You are not going to get a short story anthology traditionally published if you don't already have a pre-existing portfolio of published work and existing clout with an agent / publisher. Those just don't sell unless they're by already big name authors.

2.) If it's weird fiction, you're best bet is to find a a smaller publishers that takes submissions for multi-author anthologies within your genre. There are a lot for Sci Fi and Fantasy, weird fiction is a bit more niche but they exist. If that's not it, send out to lit mags. Keep in mind that more people try to get stories published in lit mags than actually read them, so the competition is fierce.

3.) Publish on Kindle. Almost no cost on your behalf the only thing you'll have to put work into is marketing your work. Try to build up your fanbase first. Veeky Forums is kind of weird about giving a good appraisal of amateur fiction but Veeky Forums eats that shit up.

i'm no alt-right conspiracy theorist, but like says niven is a very poor example. to prove your point you would need to demonstrate that there are young, growing writers (perhaps ones that have yet to even publish their magnum opus) who are right-leaning and have published genre fiction in the current sociopolitical climate.

i personally can't think of any, and one look at the social media profiles of any of the prominent fiction editors or literary agents will show you the ideological reasons why. it isn't for lack of talent, that's for sure.

Mark Samuels is a traditionalist Catholic whose The White Hands and Other Weird Tales has widely been praised. He's recently been dealing with poverty though.

there's this thing called military sci-fi. you should check it out.

yeah, networking is hard. genre fiction is also a grind that's hard to make a career in unless you're a good hack. it's why a lot of writers end up very bitter. fortunately the internet makes it easier than ever to build a readership yourself and then make them publish you.

>If any of this sounds like a ludicrous exaggeration to you, then you are simply not paying much attention to genre fiction criticism.

as I said, I did a stint reading slush for a publisher. fandom and the industry are two different things and caustic austist means much more than having a different opinion. If you call people names, shout at them, etc. then you're not going to get along in any space of society. conservatives are not ostrocised my friend but caustic people are.

i think the problem is that caustic liberals in the arts are not ostracized because the people with power in the arts are overwhelming liberal.

keep thinking that. publishing is a business, which means most arts professionals are MBAs. not exactly the most politically active group of people. if you want to be a writer then you have to do with the work and apart of the work is getting along with people. caustic doesnt have a political affiliation.