My friend Craig Rullman says that when society makes us outlaws, we have to start being outlaws. The immediate context of this philosophy concerns Oregon’s repeated attempts — thus far fended off — to make law-abiding firearms owners felons overnight. But there is a broader context in which multiple institutions are working hard to push folk like those who stalk the pages of Frontier Partisans beyond a social, cultural — and commercial — Pale.
Publishing is one of them. I’m not going to go into a culture wars screed here — you can readily find that elsewhere. Suffice it to say that in the world of “literary fiction,” there isn’t much space left for anybody writing along the lines of, say, Jim Harrison’s Legends of the Fall or Revenge. Or Norman McLean’s stories. My friend Malcolm Brooks is writing in that territory. Straight outta Missoula, in fact. His Painted Horses made a big impact when it was published in 2014. Should have set him up for a hot-shot career. For a variety of reasons, that’s not what has happened. His second novel, the excellent Cloudmaker, by his own admission…
…pretty much crashed and burned on the runway, a very hard thing for this boy to watch…
But with time comes hindsight, and hindsight brings perspective. Two years and on from that sobering failure, I’ve come to see it like this: Painted Horses caught the very tail end of an era in which traditional marketing and publicity strategies still had relevance, and politics and ideology were less projectable, and certainly less of a minefield. Very soon afterward, that world was gone. Truth be told, if I hadn’t landed that first book when I did, but rather started to shop it around after November, 2016? I doubt even it would have sold to any New York publisher. Sobering, indeed.
Now, Malcolm ain’t whining. He’s explaining why and how he decided to turn into a literary guerrilla fighter. An Outlaw. Like this guy was an Outlaw.
As traditional publishing (and journalism) has spun out into a cultural ditch, creatives are going their own way. Some of them are making a damn good go of it — on Substack. Bari Weiss gave The New York Times the finger and started up The Free Press. Matt Taibbi ditched writing for Rolling Stone to ride for his own brand. There are folks out there making a decent haul serializing their fiction, which is just wonderful.
It’s a reader-supported subscription platform. Simple, direct and subversive. Outlaw.
I am all for this. Check out View From the Bluff by Malcolm Brooks. Check out Craig Rullman on Substack: Free Soloing in the Age of Deconstruction. Good writing without hall monitors. Waylon smiles down from Valhalla…
I’m sticking with this space, because we’ve built something here over the past dozen years. Likely there will be a Substack as an additional option sometime in the future — I’m plotting something. For now though, if you want to support FP, you can do so through Patreon right here.
Oh, and… The Outside Circle: A Movie of the Modern West is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
Matthew says
I won’t go so far as to say traditional publishing is dying but it definitely needs a course correction. It use to be that self-publish books were looked down upon, now it is just a choice. As it should be.
A lot of men don’t read because the type of books they liked to read aren’t published. That’s particularly true in fiction. Jim Harrison probably would have to go the alternative route today.
Craig Rullman says
This is just a great fuckin post.
Michael Towns says
Agreed!
Mike says
I struggle with this one. Creatives shouldn’t be squashed solely because their work doesn’t fit someone else’s cookie cutter views. And if they can find a way to earn a living while thumbing their nose at those who would do the squashing, the pain in the ass part of me says three cheers for them. But in an era when we seem to be watching Balkanization in real time, I can’t help but lament a solution to the creatives’ problems that also seems to further establish echo chambers. If the people most inclined to pay to peep behind a paywall are those already predisposed to an author’s worldview, we’ve found a way for the creative to make a living, but I’m not sure how many minds we’re going to be expanding. I fear that shortcoming may catch up with us in the long run.
JimC says
Valid concern, I think. Not sure what is to be done about that. I feel fortunate that my work connects me with a variety of communities and I guess I’ll just keep putting things in front of them that I think are worthy and hope at least some folks will step out and explore.
Malcolm Brooks says
Hi Mike–thank you for weighing in with this observation, because as Jim notes below, it’s a valid concern. But unfortunately, legacy publishing has become its own echo chamber, which is why the alternatives are gaining so much traction in the first place. If you haven’t read Alex Perez’ recent analysis of the state of the industry, here’s a link. It was pretty eye-opening even for me, and I’m one of the people he interviewed while writing it. All best! https://www.thefp.com/p/the-fight-for-the-future-of-publishing
Matthew says
That link is pretty disheartening.
Ugly Hombre says
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-fiction/
Yikes!
https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/
Not quite as bad “ghosts of Honolulu” hmmm.
Where are ERB and Stephen Becker when you need them?. The Dino of Men’s fiction croaked a long while back.
If you are a “Old Tarantula American” you are a outlaw. You looked in your pants and know what benjo to use. You have friends from everywhere in many shades. You know some people are good and some bad duh.. You are long in the tooth and know that the only thing that changes more and is more fickle than than a political wonk- is the weather.
You know the Communist/Socialist paradise fable is bullchit, proven for over a century now 100 million plus killed. you know that America is not bad or racist or people from every SO A Bitching place in the universe would not be jumping the American border.
You know that people who want to take your squirrel rifle are squirrely in the head and never had to eat squirrel stew.
You know the Pinkertons are watching.
Look in the mirror Amigo- is that Black Bart or Butch Cassidy behind you?
Maybe-?
lol 🙂
Malcolm Brooks says
Jim! Thank you for your plug and support on this–a few days back I went into the local B&N to see Painted Horses on a display table next to Lonesome Dove and Huckleberry Finn, which seems ridiculous, but I’ll take it. Now with this Waylon deal, things might be getting out of hand. But…I’ll take it! Merry Christmas, amigo.
JimC says
I’d say you are in the right company.
lane batot says
Wow! Next to “HucKleberry Finn” and “Lonesome Dove”? That’s certainly a flattering comparison, I’d say! Don’t despair, folks–humans are the ficklest critters out there, and “fashions” of all genera come and go….and come again! Write as you damn well please, and archive it for another generation in the future. So many artists are rarely appreciated while they are alive, anyway! It’s like planting trees for the future–you may not see the forest that eventually establishes from yer efforts, but you gotta plant those seeds NOW(or saplings, as it were…..), for that forest to eventually exist……
Quixotic Mainer says
Someone that seems to continue to land up in the Best Sellers, despite filling nearly every page with faux pas’ to the currently hip is CJ Box. There is usually an anti modernity/establishment theme somewhere in each book, but it seemed like in his last few he had just dug his heels in and swung with both fists.
I will give Painted Horses a try!
I’m finding myself jealous of those ringtails the author bagged, we had a miserable rainy spring here and the grouse are consequently rare this season.
JimC says
The “thriller/mystery” genre is a sort of last bastion in the legacy publishing world — and, of course, CJ Box is an established and proven seller, which still matters. Rullman and I celebrated with a Rancher breakfast at The Gallery here in Sisters when Jack Carr topped the NYT
Bestseller list — I believe he hit #1 in hardback, electronic and audio with Only The Dead. That’s gotta give all the right people the vapors.
Matthew says
My mother likes C.J. Box.
JimC says
My daughter and son-in-law listened to Joe Pickett novels all through their honeymoon trip through Wyoming. Theming, as it were.