Storytellersunplugged

Once upon a time, a young writer named Brian Keene met an editor at his first World Horror Convention.  The editor said, “Brian Keene?  I’ve never heard of you.”  Brian Keene responded, “That’s okay.  You will.”

Sometime in 2004, an emerging young author named Michael McBride contacted me to write a blurb for his upcoming novella, Zero.  At that time, I had a handful of magazine and anthology credits, a short story collection, and two novels.  I was feeling pretty good about myself, convinced that it was only a matter of time before some paperback publisher (I had my heart set on Leisure) would offer me a deal and take me to the next level. 

I was pleased with my writing, confident in my future, and, I have to be honest, a little cocky about my place in the new genre pantheon.  Overconfidence and cockiness are not the greatest sins a guy in my position (gaining a readership and some credibility in small press dungeons of the horror genre, but by no means a name) could commit, but they are two serious inroads to the much greater sin of complacency. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  We will get back to complacency shortly.  We were talking about Michael McBride, and his flattering request for a blurb. 

It was a simple enough transaction.  He requested a blurb and I requested a copy of the manuscript.  I read it, liked it, and provided the requested blurb.

Now fast forward one year to WHC 2005 in New York City, where I first met an amusing genre newcomer (at least I assume he was a newcomer, as I had only very recently heard of him) Jeff Strand.  He was quirky, he was weird, he was over the top.  He was a strange hybrid of Howard Stern and Goofy.  I liked him, I wished him well in his career, but, to my shame and embarrassment, I did not take him seriously.

From then to now - Delirium Books publishes Broken Angel, then Hacks, both in hardcover limited editions.  Broken Angel took almost a year to sell out its three-hundred copies, but Hacks sold out its two-hundred and fifty by publication date, which is a definite move in the right direction.  My publisher told me he was confident that any Brian Knight novel he released would sell out pre-publication, if I continued to stay productive.

My swelling head grew a little larger.

And I waited, still confident that a mass market paperback deal would happen very soon.

But that paperback deal continued to not happen.

Overconfidence, cockiness, and complacency slide into frustration, inadequacy, and an inactivity that was half writer’s block, half despair.  I have written in the interim, a young adult novel that really doesn’t fit the markets to which I’ve already sold, another novel that is not quite ready for an editor’s eye, a few novellas, and a handful of shorts, but production has definitely dropped. 

In the meantime, writers like Michael McBride and Jeff Strand continued to work, to improve their craft and more importantly to practice their craft.  They have built backlists and fan bases.  They have not only caught up to me, but passed me by. 

Good for them for not giving in to arrogance, complacency, or despair.  They are my new heros.

Readers, keep your eyes out for the new guys and galls on the block, because you never know who’s going to blast off from the starting line of the small press and distinguish themselves.  Give them a shot, and judge them on the quality of their work, not the obscurity from which they’ve come.

Fellow writers, always keep an eye out for the up and comers.  The sneaky bastards are always only a few steps behind us.  If we can’t squash them before they rise to challenge our positions in future publication schedules, we can at least look to them for inspiration.  Their hope, drive, and dedication might help us to remember and rediscover our own hope, drive, and dedication.  Newcomers often look up to their more seasoned counterparts for advice and inspiration, but how often do those more seasoned writers take them seriously enough to look back to them for the same?  Perhaps they could help those of us who have been around a little longer forget our hard-earned cynicism and bitterness for a while, and remember what it was like to hope, and how satisfying it can be to write with that hope very much alive in our slightly jaded hearts.

Brian Knight