A failed mutiny aboard a US frigate during the War of 1812 leaves the captain dead and the crew in the hands of the first lieutenant, an authoritarian sadist. Rebellion starts to foment amongst the crew. The chaplain's a huge pussy, and has to struggle between his duty as an American to obey and his duty as a Christian to intervene, even though intervention would mean staging a mutiny of his own.

hieratichead

2 months ago

That sounds interesting. How many agents/publishers have you submitted it to? It doesnt sound like its too long or weird of a novel to sell.

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>I tend to view the act of writing as essentially thankless screaming down an infinite abyss Agreed. Doesn't make it any easier to reconcile myself to, but agreed. I've been trying both, but my novel's probably too long (350-ish pages) for a small press to be viable, since they'd end up losing money on it. That leaves agents, a much harder target to hit.

amf

2 months ago

Yeah that is a challenge. Researching agents was a massive bummer -- they were almost without exception looking for YA slurry -- and after several thankless queries, a kindly woman who published some of my writing in a literary review confirmed that my weirdo writing was well beyond the pale for major publishers. That being said, 350 pages ain't exactly The Anatomy of Melancholy, and the subject matter per your other comment isn't either. It seems doable, even if a struggle is required. Excelsior and all that shit.

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tokyodrifter

2 months ago

Thanks for the encouragement. One of my writer friends who's pretty well established said it would be too genre for lit fic agents and too lit fic for genre agents, and thus unsellable in the current market. Good to hear a differing opinion.

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