Thread by @GoshDarnMyLife, As someone who has been validated by outside parties in regards of [...]

As someone who has been validated by outside parties in regards of his abilities to judge what makes good short fiction work, allow me a thread on the state of short fiction in the crime genre (specifically the hardboiled subgenre, which this spiel is entirely about).

Short: nobody gives a damn about short hardboiled fiction. We all need to accept that. Money's scarce. Collections don't blow up those royalty checks. It's not a dead end, but it's certainly not a place to hang up your hat permanently if you have big plans for your writing.

Now breathe. I'm not done yet. I know there are great publications working overtime to maintain a short fiction scene for little to no compensation. I've been an editor at one, I've pushed the work of newer entities, and I've been published at others.

Long version: short fiction is a labor of love and, in my perspective, less about engaging readers and more about engaging the writing community itself. It can be a way to establish cred among a crowd that often does not have time to read every single book out there.

I'll add that the above bums me out because I fucking LOVE short fiction, but I also understand that it's no longer 1947 and I wouldn't be able to pay for two days of cheese sandwiches let alone my rent thanks to short fiction rates remaining stagnant for decades.

So, back to the cred stuff. Short fiction allows us as writers to refine our craft, get a good idea of our contemporaries' styles and chops, and take a step towards networking as writers. All good stuff.

A bonus of that is an opportunity for marginalized writers to have an entry into a market they may either have no normal entryway into or are denied for other, more obvious reasons.

But, of course, like any other niche, there are those who see opportunity in low ceilings that would rather entrench themselves to create little fiefdoms built for their own purpose.

Reminder: this is only about the subgenre of hardboiled fiction.

I'm not going to call out quality of writing as an issue. Frankly, I don't believe that's the case. Assholes can be fantastic writers - history's proven that.

What assholes tend to do, though, is ruin ecosystems.

I love hardboiled fiction bc it allows me to write fun stories while diving into headier topics under cover. I can understand that's not everyone's thing, but for me, someone of a marginalized background, it means something to write my voice from my perspective and upbringing.

But you know what drives me crazy? The perpetuation of hardboiled as criminal cosplay. It's a turn off and I know for a fact it turns off other marginalized writers as well. Which leads me to believe it's no coincidence that those who run their toxic fiefdoms insist on cosplaying

The cosplay is meant as gatekeeping. Meant to project an aura of authority that doesn't exist in lieu of portraying substance (which is a shame since like I said before, writing quality isn't the problem 90% of the time, it's the writing choices).

And ultimately, outside viewers look on into the storefront, see the cosplay as the loudest marketing for this little slice of literary pie and you know what they do? They roll their eyes and walk on by. In the meantime, they miss out on great stuff!

All because decision makers are more concerned with projecting themselves as something only they care about (since most successful writers aren't really worried about all that and readers just want a great story, I mean, who IS the audience for that stuff?).

I believe the solution to a lot of this starts with the community. We need to support platforms that are inclusive and do not subscribe to antiquated notions of what hardboiled/pulp/gritlit is.

Nobody is saying the antiquated stuff needs too be destroyed, but it's tired, man.

I mean, I still write crude stuff, but it's exclusively at the expense of my main characters. FFS, I have a story involving buttplugs and puffer fish dropping next month.

But all that stuff is at the expense of a narrator who deserves the tragicomedy coming to him.

What does need to go? Dead white girls. Gruff outlaws with hearts of gold. Private detectives stinking of [insert alcoholic beverage here]. We need new stories and we NEED new perspective.

The bottom line is if you want this market to thrive, you need to open the doors wider.

I always joke that folks like to cosplay as Needle or Thuglit and I realize those that do never read those pubs critically or just decided to pull the editorial spirit without the substance.

Go read those zines. Go read the old Beat to a Pulps and All Due Respects. Look for the editorial voice in those stories; how they're arranged, what they're about. They're hardboiled but they are something more. There's evolution.

I cite Thuglit and Needle b/c look at all the incredibly successful writers to come out of those pages. You think that just happens out of nowhere? You really think it's coincidence that you can open an issue of Thuglit and read five or more writers who are names now?

And like I said, there are entities trying their hardest. Which is why I read them: Vautrin, Tough, Rock and a Hard Place, Beat to a Pulp, Shotgun Honey.

Just b/c you don't see me kissing author's or editor's asses doesn't mean I'm not enjoying their output.

I'll add, knowing it's hard to do this with open or blind subs, I do want to see more women and marginalized voices at those pubs too! The first step, is to change the content to make the scene feel comfortable to those looking for entry.

Because if that doesn't happen, something we love dies. Maybe not in the way you think it will die, but it will be dead. A fossil. Something nobody has interest in.

All because it needed to stay the same.

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