That novel you've written that you know has sincere guts, but was turned down by publishers because it was over the line, or too risky.

[Noir Nation]

Tell me about it. 

 

Right now I'm an editor of Noir Nation, but also there is Bare Knuckles Press, "books worth fighting for" . . . those books that no one else will touch. 

[Stephen Brayton]

Isn't it interesting, though? Publishers want a 'fresh voice' yet one of the questions they'll ask you is beside whose books will yours sit in the bookstore? I was worried about my upcoming book because of the subject matter. Even though I handled the scenes without completely turning away people, you understand what's going on.

 

For Night Shadows, though, I wasn't worried too much about the blood and violence. In fact, the only 'bad' review I received was I didn't go far enough in one of the opening scenes with the lovers. The guy thought I should have had them actually having sex before they got killed. lol.

[Jeffrey J. Mariotte]

I don't know specifically that the crime novel my agent is shopping has been turned down for those reasons, but a couple of editors have mentioned the fact that it involves a hunt for an active pedophile was a problem for them, and one or two said it was too "hardboiled" for them--hard to know what they mean by that.  I've had some of my best "reviews" ever in some of the rejections, which is a bit frustrating. An editor for a very high-profile crime imprint wrote: "Detroit, here, is encapsulated ably, ex-cop Richie makes for a compelling lead, and the eerie killer who has been operating in Detroit for decades is one of the more chilling antagonists I’ve encountered recently. Hats off to the author on extraordinarily compelling work.

 

"Ultimately, however, while I very much enjoyed the read and there’s nary a false step here..." That's the "but" sentence.

I haven't lost hope, but it's definitely an uphill struggle.