Does Anyone Know Publishers Who Take Seedier Horror Novels?

[Anonymous No.22895399]

I wrote a horror novel. In the novel there is cannibalism, child-abuse, explicit sexual themes ('X' rated stuff), animal abuse, body horror, and instances of physical torture.

It's definitely NOT 'Baby-in-a-Blender' tier, but it's not exactly Steven King-tier either. I'm just wondering if anyone here knows of any publishers who take that sort of thing. I wouldn't wanna upset anybody, waste anybody's time, or get myself put on any lists.

If anyone wants further details I'll be happy to oblige. I'd also be happy to post excerpts of the text to give people a sense of things.

[Anonymous No.22895404]

Do you have a agent?
Have you published anything before?
Do you have some sort of following?
Is this your first completed work?

[Sage No.22895412]

SEEK HELP!

[Anonymous No.22895440]

>>22895404
1. Nope.
2. No.
3. No.
4. Yes.

[Anonymous No.22895442]

>>22895412
You don't like horror, anon? It can be fun to be scared, disturbed and disgusted, and I hope to achieve those (exciting!) feelings within my readers.

[Anonymous No.22895444]

>>22895399
I love whory asian chicks. I want to go to Thailand so bad.

[Anonymous No.22895449]

>>22895399
I wrote a fantasy novel with very frequent and explicit child rape scenes and it never got published. Pretty sure if I told them i was a fag lgbt tranny i wouldve gotten published tho

[Anonymous No.22895451]

>>22895399
Got an email? I'm curious, but I'm no publisher. I've just had ideas for an edgy zine, if that interests you.

[Anonymous No.22895454]

>>22895449
post one of them so we can evaluate whether you took reasonable enough liberties or were writing thinly-veiled smut

[Anonymous No.22895459]

>>22895451
GLOWNIGGER ALERT!!! GLOWNIGGER ALERT!!!

[Anonymous No.22895461]

>>22895451
>>22895459
Fine, here's mine: [e-mail].

[Anonymous No.22895465]

>>22895449
I didn't include any child sexual abuse in my stories (save that one of the monsters pretty clearly WANTS to have relations with a young boy protag, but the monster-- of course-- is non verbal). Similarly, I never even implied any incest. Some things are so easy they become edgy and hollow.

[Anonymous No.22895469]

>>22895444
The Lil Mariko album art inspired one of the stories in the (fragmentary) novel. While the girl is Chinese, and serves as an allegorical criticism of 'whory' behaviour, she does become rather... 'Forward', by the end of the story. I think you'd like it!

[Anonymous No.22895471]

>>22895399
I dunno anon but I wish you good luck with your novel.

Also, checked!

[Anonymous No.22895477]

>>22895469
>and serves as an allegorical criticism of 'whory' behaviour
boring

[Anonymous No.22895479]

>>22895399
>seedier
>cum is seed

[Anonymous No.22895500]

>>22895399
Post one (1) page showing your most violent scene, please

[Anonymous No.22895507]

>>22895399
No publisher will touch anything mildly controversial anymore. Anything that could possibly warrant a "trigger warning" from a "sensitivity reader" will get you black listed. Welcome to the feminist matriarchy.

[Anonymous No.22895516]

>>22895399
Get a printer and a paper cutter

Go to /diy ask how to make a book, good luck and remember am here for you anon, keep up the good work

[Anonymous No.22895520]

>>22895507
This is not true. Horror lit and weird lit are doing better than ever. Lots of outlandish shit being published.

[Sage No.22895532]

>>22895442
No, I don't like horror. It isn't healthy to think about such things, and even the wise pagans knew it. "Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a man of understanding." ~ Proverbs 10:23

I hope you have no readers, until you write something wholesome. You'll just be harming them otherwise.

[Anonymous No.22895534]

>>22895532

[Anonymous No.22895559]

>>22895500
https://pastebin.com/AAzJMtG2

Here ya' go, anon. An excerpt from page 131. Probably tied for most violent part with the climax of 'Little Lin-Kim the Heartbreaker'.

It's not super bad, I know. I do think it might turn off a few publishers though.

[Anonymous No.22895563]

>>22895516
Kek.

[Anonymous No.22895711]

>>22895559
>https://pastebin.com/AAzJMtG2
I think this narrative pov is not doing you favours, it comes across as abstracted and less impactful than it could be in first person

[Anonymous No.22895725]

>>22895711
I take your point anon. The previous story is somewhat similar (themes of being made into a monster, and strong body-horror elements), and it is written from a first-person perspective. As such, I chose a third-person perspective for this story to help differentiate it, and also emphasise the more philosophical nature of this story vis a vis its predecessor.

What did you think of the prose? This is my first time writing a novel, and I worry that my work is subpar/hammy/creepypastaesque, but I just don't realise it.

[Anonymous No.22895734]

Fiction itself isnt scary. Thats why horror has never frightened me

Like imagine getting scared of imaginary things

[Anonymous No.22895762]

>>22895734
So long as the thing COULD be real, I think it can be scary.

[Anonymous No.22895763]

>>22895762
True, like speculative fiction?

[Anonymous No.22895876]

>>22895763
Indeed.

[Anonymous No.22895883]

>>22895520
Self published?

[Anonymous No.22896411]

>>22895399
KDP takes literally anybody. you have hyper-feminists and neo-nazis selling with them and plenty of splatterpunk so you should be good with that form of self-publishing.

[Anonymous No.22896416]

>>22896411
Thanks, anon! I'll check KDP out. :)

[Anonymous No.22896671]

>>22895725
I know that "show, don't tell" is a bit of a meme but really I couldn't help thinking about it when I read the passage. The fundamental issue with the prose is that too much of this (presumably intended to be extremely intense) experience is being captured purely on the level of a statement of facts. The surgeon-general is doing this, the pain is incredible, et cetera. I am not saying that the problem is necessarily a lack of subjectivity, of subjective feeling, although recentering the portrayal of the scene on one character's subjectivity would, I think, be a good idea. Truth is you could just as well go the other way and push it to an extreme of (scientific?) abstraction, detachment, 'factual' statement. This would seem apt to the surgeon-general's perspective. My point is that, as is, the passage remains in this unhappy medium; it doesn't get across the S-G's clinical detachment or the victim's subjective ordeal, but hovers in the middle, editorialising about what they feel or say.

My advice to you would be to try, first, to rewrite this scene as if you are watching it play out on a CCTV feed. No sound, no subjective content. Once you have isolated in your mind what this whole thing 'looks like' outwardly, you can more clearly think through how you want to use subjectivity.

[Anonymous No.22896696]

>>22895440
I am not going to bullshit you.
It's very unlikely for you to find even a indie publisher to pick you up.

Maybe try contacting a few literary agents who specialized in horror, but you will probably end up having to self publish and self promote. There are tons of good options for self publishing nowadays but because it's so easy it makes it really hard to stand out and get noticed.
Without some sort of following you work would likely be lost in the huge sea of mediocrity that floods sites and marketplaces that offer such books.

[Anonymous No.22896742]

>>22895559
From what I seen it isn't bad but it doesn't quite have the polish that comes with more experience.

I don't think it would be unpublishable due to content.
I have read worse in clive barker books as well as most things from "splatter-punk".
It's more that the prose is very plain, the approach to the scene straightforward, it's just lacking that ever-present connection to themes instead of just a recitation of events taking place that elevates a work to above average.
Which for a first book from a nobody has to be be far above average to get the attention of agents or publishers.

[Anonymous No.22897859]

>>22895399
Sounds like In the Miso Soup

[Anonymous No.22898185]

>>22896671
>>22896742
OP here. This is fantastic criticism guys, easily the best I've ever received. Part of the trouble with writing like this is that you can't just show it to your friends for their feedback, so I've sort of been working blind this whole time.

While it stings a little bit to hear that your prose is mediocre/lacking, the force of your arguments are undeniable. I will go back and see what I can do to enliven perspective of (at least) this pivotal part of the short story. Sadly, adopting a first-person perspective from either the Surgeon-General or the victim isn't quite possible (for narrative reasons), but I'll see what I can muster!

If either of you would like any more please just ask, your feedback is extremely valuable to me. If you'd like, I'd be happy to send either of you my full novel if you'd be happy to critique it. I do confess though, that at this stage I am in no position to pay you for your time. I understand if this renders any extended criticism unattractive to you. In any case, I thank you for your time. :)