Tag: writing about writiing

Will The Mythical ‘Woke Park Slope Moms’ Like My Novel?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now, let me be clear — I have always been making a joke about “woke Park Slope moms” whenever I mentioned them as an audience for this novel. And, the more I think about it, the more I realize I’ve failed even if I was being serious — this novel is shaping up to be a trashy, somewhat pulpy page turner with a lot of spicy scenes and a curious premise: a part-time stripper’s obsession with owning a community newspaper.

A building in the Park Slope area of NYC.

I think if this novel is popular among “woke Park Slope moms” it will be popular for the very reason why it’s not “woke” — it has a lot of spicy scenes. The downside, of course, is that I’m a smelly CIS white male writing those spicy scenes, sometimes from a female POV.

But these are wine moms we’re talking about, so it’s at least possible that the same dynamic that made 50 Shades of Gray a big hit might be in play when it comes to this novel. I really like what I’ve come up with. This novel is colorful, different and interesting — just like me.

A lot will depend on marketing of this novel once I somehow, magically, manage to get an agent and then sell it. I really want this novel to be an old brown shoe to people who read the Stieg Larsson novel’s 20 years ago. If I can tap into that same audience, then, well, we’re cooking with gas.

It will be interesting to see what happens, of course.

I’ll Put A Move On You


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Relative to the metrics of your typical Blue Check Twitter liberal, I’m at best a loser and at worst a deranged Internet crank. But I can tell a good story. And things are beginning to move fast with the novel I’ve been working on for way too long.

Everything is falling into place.

I’m hoping to finish a strong first draft no later than my birthday, if not sooner.

There are a few quibbly things I have to overcome, but overall I’m very, very pleased. Big unknowns: 1) will people want to ready anything set during not only The Before Times but also during (an alluded to) Trump Era 2) is my social media output too “problematic” for me to sell the thing 3) will there be an actual fucking civil war / revolution 4) should the Biden Era actually occur, will anyone want to have a cathartic read about the Trump Era?

This is not “A Confederacy of Dunces,” I have a limited amount of time to try to sell this. Anyway, wish me luck.