/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.17025626]

Favourite horror?

Anything actually scary?

The Exorcist got me. But that was a while ago. I fuckin loved it

[Anonymous No.17026847]

>>17025626
Read Clive Barker

[Anonymous No.17026917]

>>17026847
Which Clive Barker? I've read some Books of Blood stories, but most were verging on cringe, a few interesting ideas, but none that scared me.

[Anonymous No.17026980]

Is this scarier than the movie? It was hard to take the movie seriously when every potentially scary scene has Regan yelling "your mother sucks cocks in hell" or "stick your dick up his ass"

[Anonymous No.17026995]

>>17026917
Barker's fantasy stuff is far, far better than his horror. I'd strongly recommend Weaveworld, Imajica, and The Great And Secret Show (in that order). They're great books-Weaveworld is my favourite book of all time.

[F. Gardner No.17027300]

My books, hopefully. Interested in hearing your thoughts if you check them out.

[Anonymous No.17027319]

>>17026995
Why The Great And Secret Show last? Is it because it's his greatest work and everything else will seem inferior to it?
Also Damnation Game is my favourite horror novel out of the ~20 I've read in my life

[Anonymous No.17027542]

>>17027300
Are you actually the author? Man, I really would like to communicate with you and get some tips on self publishing. I am a young published author but I have multiple projects at various stages of completion that I want to publish.
Could you give me:
>wordcounts for your books
>how long they took to write
>any tips on self publishing on amazon
>how to handle negative reviews and stuff

I posted my horror fiction in the critique thread a month or so ago and the responses were unbelievably positive (I know, I was ecstatic) so now I have gained the confidence to self publish. Sorry to go autism mode, I just have been seeing your books and although I admittedly havent read them, I have read about you and your work and went through your amazon page. Thank you for any replies.

[Anonymous No.17027720]

>>17027319
I wouldn't say its his greatest, since it has a ton of flaws in pacing/characterization that really hold it back. Honestly, I put it last because I feel like it'd be the one most likely to put someone off Barker, since its the one with the highest amount of weird sex stuff.

[F. Gardner No.17027790]

>>17027542
Yes, it's really me. I guess it's kind of unusual, but I browse 4chan all the time. I'd be happy to answer your questions.

The wordcounts for my books are as follows:
>Call of the Crocodile - 51K words
>Call of the Kappa - 40k words
>Call of the Arcade 43K words
>Call of the Cherokee 50K words
>Call of the Cradle 46K words

Call of the Crocodile was the first one I wrote and it took me the longest. Probably about 3 solid months.
Call of the Kappa, Arcade and Cherokee all took me about a month and a half or so, each.
Call of the Cradle (my most recent book) was kind of an irregularity. I wrote it after having a really vivid dream, and tried to base the story on that as much as I could. I wrote the whole thing in 13 days, with about half of that time spent editing. I felt really burned out by the end of it, as I never wrote anything that quickly before.

My advice for Amazon would be to stick to a genre, and try to release things consistently. I'm a new author, but that's largely how I achieved the amount of downloads I have, so far.

As for how to handle negative reviews? This is easier said than done, but just try not to let them get you down. The world is filled with mean spirited assholes. That much isn't going to change. This is especially the case in the literally world. Lots of people who will be bitter to see you achieving what they have dreamt of but could not do. Publishing your books.
Plus keep in mind, even the most successful authors have their naysayers. I've seen threads on here about people shitting on Stephen King, JK Rowling, etc. No matter how great your books are, there will always be people like that out there with nothing better to do, than to try to bring you down.

I hope that answers your questions and I wish you the best of luck!

[F. Gardner No.17027824]

>>17027790
>literally world

*literary world

[Anonymous No.17028597]

>>17026995
that was literally one scene. you have never seen The Exorcist.

[Anonymous No.17028768]

>>17028597
Wrong post, fella.

[Anonymous No.17028896]

>>17027790
Thank you. No, really. Thank you. We will in all likelihood never meet but I just want you to know that no matter the degree of success I achieve, I will fondly recall this post.
I feel compelled to buy your stuff now; what would you say is your personal 'best' / favorite? Crocodiles are by far my favorite animal, so perhaps that is the route?
Do you have an email I can contact you at? It's okay if you don't want to give it out; heck, I would not post my own email on 4chins. But you seem like you're where I hope to be soon and I could really use a mentor or just some tips here and there.

>My advice for Amazon would be to stick to a genre, and try to release things consistently.
I have a general genre of horror/grotesque with a theme of biology and extinctions across my unrelated stories.
I have a 90k word 'novel' on Neanderthals that I am editing, and a bunch of much shorter projects including a 40k about a Tyrannosaurus rex living at the end of the Cretaceous. Not to overload you with "ME ME ME" but I am just giving you some perspective on what Im working on, so I can ask you the following:
Should I release multiple shorter works as a singular package/collection? How should I advertise, and where have you gotten your audience? Did you get official copyright for your stories? Are you at all unsettled by the possibility of stealing? Again, apologies for the schizo-tier barrage of questions. I don't mean to waste your time. You can ignore any that don't interest you or simply not respond further; you've already been very helpful.

[Anonymous No.17028899]

>>17026980
But that was literally the horror. The fact that a young girl would be doing these things.

[F. Gardner No.17029119]

>>17028896
Glad I could help. As for my personal best, I'm proud of all of my work but Call of the Arcade is the one I've received the most positive feedback from. People seem to like that one, in particular. I have a Facebook page and Instagram page for my books, so it might be a better approach to exchange info through there. But sure, I'd be happy to provide more tips. Search "Horror's Call" and I should come up.

>"Should I release multiple shorter words as a singular package/collection?"
That sounds like a good idea. Alternatively, you could try combining stories as long as they fit. It would take some retooling, but can be done as long as they're within the same genre. There's not necessarily one right or wrong approach to this, as much of it is contingent upon your writing style.

As for your other questions, I think most of my readers are from 4chan. I try to engage with them, as much as possible. I also pay for ads on Facebook, Instagram and Amazon. I copyrighted/trademarked all of my stuff, as a precautionary measure. The possibility of someone stealing your work, is always unsettling, so it's best to play it safe and get an attorney to take care of the legal (copyright/trademark) stuff.

[Anonymous No.17029154]

>>17029119
Thank you so much dude. How did you copyright/trademark them? I hear it costs money

[F. Gardner No.17029211]

>>17029154
You're welcome. Copyright can be done on copyright.gov. Trademark stuff can be done on USPTO.
Trademarking is more technical, so you'll need an attorney to make sure you're doing things right. I strongly recommend you do both though (Both copyright and trademark.)
There's a charge, but it's not too much. I think I spent a few hundred dollars, total.

[Anonymous No.17029307]

>>17029211
Sweet. If I copyright but don't trademark, what will this mean? Is it a potential hazard or threat of stealing ?

[F. Gardner No.17029347]

>>17029307

Yes, it’s a risk because trademarks deal with brand names. It’s always best to trademark stuff, just to be extra safe.

[Anonymous No.17029349]

No horror novel has EVER scared me. Only supposedly true story books like Amityville Horror and ghost story compilations from the likes of Colin Wilson have spooked me somewhat. (Amityville films are non-scary. They blow their load way too early unlike the book that enjoys a bit of build up).

[Anonymous No.17029381]

>>17025626
Heard Graham Masterton is pretty good.
Also there is a french collection called "Gore", a lot of them are translations of English speaking authors iirc, you should find some in it that are what you're looking for

[Anonymous No.17029442]

>>17025626
Neville and Langan are both great new cosmic horror types

[Anonymous No.17029829]

>>17028768
time to off myself

[Anonymous No.17030194]

>>17026980
I found it scarier than the movie. But you have to set yourself up to be scared. Read only at night. Low light.

[Anonymous No.17030216]

>>17025626
What I loved best about the Exorcist is how reactionary it is.

>>17026980
It won't be for you, because you are the grandchild of transgression. This book is for people on the border.

[Anonymous No.17030348]

>>17025626
>The Exorcist got me. But that was a while ago. I fuckin loved it

If The Exorcist got you, then Malachi Martin, Hostage to the Devil might, too. Malachi Martin was a Jesuit priest with actual experience as an exorcist, and a very gifted writer, to boot.

The older you get, the less *actually scary* horror fiction becomes (although there are still the pleasures and frissons of the genre -- the feels -- even in the absence of being actually scared).

Hostage to the Devil, which I read about 5 or 8 years ago, was the last book to actually scare me. I mean, it really gave me the heebie jeebies.

[Anonymous No.17031624]

>>17025626
The Willows, The White People, Grimscribe