This post was submitted by TNG contributor, Craig Gidney

Sean Meriwether has been publishing fiction that combines literary writing with gay erotica for the past 10 years.  This desire to write arousing fiction with literary values led him to create the Velvet Mafia site, which has published authors like M. Christian http://www.blithe.com/ and Jameson Currier.

Meriwether published his collected works in a volume entitled The Silent Hustler last year, which garnered many rave reviews.  Meriwether spoke to The New Gay about gay fiction, publishing, and, of course, his own work.

The New Gay:  What made you start “Velvet Mafia” website?

Sean Meriwether:  In 2001, Richard Labonte editor of the Best Gay Erotica series, approached me as the editor of OutsiderInk.com looking for Online sources for gay erotica. At the time Blithe House Quarterly

was the only established website for gay fiction, and there was an assortment of less reputable personal sites. I had considered doing a queer fiction magazine, and I knew from my experience with OutsiderInk.com that there was a large readership online, and it was predominately male. I partnered with Greg Wharton from Suspect Thoughts and roped in Mr. Labontè for his assistance in pulling together a very respectable roster of authors for our premiere.

The site launched in November of 2001, just after the events of 9/11. The creative effort put into creating the site preserved my sanity while the rest of the world was unraveling. I put all my energy into an artistic enterprise in an effort to define what was important to me¾building a venue for stories I wanted to read and publish. It was that or to be scared of everyone and everything. Who has the energy for that kind of chronic terror?

One of the original concepts of the site was to publish an annual anthology of work by authors who had appeared on the site. That did not come to fruition except for Men of Mystery, which was out briefly before the publisher folded. The other was to help publicize the printed work of our authors, acting as an online version of the local gay bookstore, which were becoming an endangered species. We were able to market work to a global audience for almost no money. Our overriding goal was to get a book into the hands of a reader, or a writer into the hands of a publisher, and we have accomplished that for the last 9 years.

TNG:  What is the mission or “vision” of VM?

S.M.: My mission, then and now, was to define the middle ground between literary fiction and porn. It never made sense to me that literary fiction excludes erotica, as if sex weren’t something we did as gay men, but I also demand more from my porn than a stroke story. Although I appreciate both sides of the spectrum, my own work included elements from both camps and I wanted to strike a balance. Why can’t erotica be literary? Why can’t literary fiction be erotic? It was my “You’ve got your chocolate in my peanut butter” moment. VelvetMafia.com was born.

As an editor I look for well-crafted work that stands out. Over the years we have published fiction, poetry, photography and artwork that explores and celebrates gay sexuality, sometimes graphically, as well as work that explores queer identity, assimilation, AIDS, relationships, gay marriage, gays in the military, crime, boxing, vigilantism, bondage, rough sex, and one horrifically beautiful snuff story. I seek the story that isn’t something you’ve already read, one that our readers might find a little disturbing at the same time it is turning them on. The best part about fiction is it gives you the opportunity to explore things you might not in real life, and I gravitate to those explorations. I want something that doesn’t just turn me on, but makes me think or makes me question my own reaction.

I have also fostered a sense of community with the site, keeping tongue firmly in cheek as I refer to my authors and readers as the Family, borrowing from mafia terminology. In a way, as gay men (and a surprising number of women) we really build our own family. The site has been the point of introduction to numerous other writers, poets and publishers, a number of whom have become my friends and mentors. Writers are solitary creatures by habit, but we do need to socialize with living and breathing people too. The community I have built online has extended to include real life writers around the world.

TNG: What is your opinion on the state of gay literature, bookstores and publishing?

S.M.: There is no denying that the entire industry is in a dramatic state of flux. Everything is changing, whether for the better or worse remains to be seen, but I tend to be an optimist and favor the brighter outlook.

Prior to the 90s, books and magazine were almost our only resource to connect with others “in the church.” This was how we communicated our stories across distances of space and time to one another. The only other way was theater, but access was limited to the theater’s location, and restricted to perhaps a hundred seats per performance.

As we became a collective minority, which grew more visible and assimilated into the mainstream, gay characters grew into more than just punch lines and started appearing in movies and television. Actors, musicians and public figures came out. Walls came down. Where once there were few ways to reach our community, suddenly there were dozens. Books were no longer the only way to see gay characters.

Then the Internet changed everything.

Although the Internet has its own flaws–  it is incredibly distracting and may have irreparably decreased our already diminished attention span– it does have a lot of upside. The best reason to be Online as an author is that it puts your work in reach of an even broader audience than ever before possible, especially if you are unknown. It puts the reins in your hand as author, editor and reader. It is not the death knell of fiction; in fact we read more than ever. Though the micro-fiction of blogs and network sites might be ruling the day, our appetite for the written word has never been stronger. The pendulum will always swing back, and after several controversial fictionalized  “memoirs,” it might already be on its way back toward fiction.

Technology has also given us an easier way to see print, and the Internet has given us a proven method of delivery. You want to get your book into someone’s hands? You have resources to do it on your own at a minimal cost. Small presses are leveraging the new resources available, creating or targeting their niche market, and getting books into the hands of readers eager for new material. Their size and relatively low expenses due to on demand publishing will allow them to stay viable. They will lead the way forward out of the morass of bottom line publishing that has dominated the larger houses the last two decades. Blockbusters are one thing, but the real success of publishing is in longevity, not the book of the moment.

For me the printed book will never become obsolete. My bookish friends and I have a visceral response to books, owning a physical copy, having it on our shelf, the weight of it in our hands, can never be replaced by a digital version. I have books that I have read at pivotal times in my life, and just seeing them on my shelf can give me a physical sense of comfort, just as photos from that same time my elicit. A Kindle or iPad will never replace that. However, the generations coming up behind us have known digital media and prefer the accessibility over the nostalgia of the printed version. The one thing that needs to be resolved in that arena is how to make money from it; authors, despite the stereotype, do like to be paid.

As for gay literature in general? I look at the 2010 Lambda Literary Awards as a snapshot of the industry; there were a record number of submissions for the fiction category. I know my own book was lost in a sea of others!

TNG: What advice would you give to folks who want to start their own literary press or website?

S.M:  For someone looking to start a small press or website, my first advice would be to keep it simple, then grow organically. Define the audience you are after, discover your niche, and learn their preferred method of delivery. Put together a small group of people who are committed to the project. It is difficult to do it on your own, and too many people at the outset will only make you pull out your hair in frustration. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people already doing it and ask for advice, editors tend to be a pretty friendly lot, especially when alcohol is involved (hint, hint).

Most importantly, understand that it is a labor of love that will consume your time, energy and resources. If you are expecting to make money in this industry, good luck. But if you are looking to do a fun and rewarding project that allows you to work with interesting people and publish things that you want to read and share? Go for it.

From my own experience, I have learned more about writing by being an editor than from any writing class I have ever taken. Spend one year reading through hundreds of hopeful submissions, the bulk of which are mediocre and the incredibly bad being just as rare as the incredibly beautiful. It will help you as a writer build insight into what other editors you are submitting to experience. It is one thing to be taught that a good story requires tight writing, a powerful opening, interesting story and a satisfying conclusion, it is another thing to experience it first hand in the filed. I learned two skills as an editor: writing is primarily editing and your final draft should bear little resemblance to the original draft, and you need to put some objectivity into your editorial process to get to that point. I would highly recommend editing a fiction magazine be a required course for any writing curriculum, it has improved my own writing immensely and made me appreciate the hard work and dedication of editors.

TNG:  What was the best feedback you got VM?  How about the worst responses?

S.M: No surprise that I’ve gotten some hate mail from homophobes and assholes that are trying to either curse me with AIDS or sell me on God. The Internet offers an anonymity that gives them the same ability to rant and it does for me to publish what I want, so I can’t object. In fact, I’m surprised at how little negative responses I have received. Another sad fact of life is that I’ve had to pull stories after publication when a previous writer is looking for work in the corporate world, fearful that some gay or erotic story will turn up in a search during the vetting process. This has led to several discussions about the use of pennames. For me it is too late and I have limited my own job prospects as a result, but it is a worthwhile consideration for anyone working with adult or erotic material.

On the flipside, during my history as an editor I have always tried to provide feedback on submissions whenever possible. My theory is that the bulk of our reading audience are also writers, and there is no reason to alienate them by not responding or being rude in response. I may be slow in responding, but I try to keep up. I have solicited and attracted writers from all walks of life and backgrounds, from every continent with the exception of Antarctica, and even put together a special “under 30” issue for emerging voices, some of whom had never been published before. Although I can’t afford to pay my authors, many of the stories have been picked up for anthologies. Seeing a story I had printed previously, hearing from an author who I originally published who has blossomed into a novel, or even from readers with positive comments makes the site worth my time.

TNG: You have a book of short fiction out now, The Silent Hustler.  What are you working on now?

S.M.: The Silent Hustler is a collection of my short fiction that had been published both online and off over the last decade, and was released by Lethe Press.

in October 2009. It was incredible to finally have a physical book to market, and I’ve gone off to promote it wherever I can. The book blends fiction and erotica, just as I’ve done with VelvetMafia.com, and thus made it an underdog in both the fiction and erotica categories. I’m proud of the book and glad that Steve Berman pushed me to put it together, and owe a deep gratitude to Jameson Currier, who deserves much of the credit for it becoming a reality.

At the moment I am working on a draft of my first novel, Kingdom Falls, which has been put off for one or another shorter project. The story centers around three teens that survived a pandemic flu in America and must build their new futures in the aftermath. It’s a love story about the end of the world.

However, that project will take more of my attention and I have been looking for someone to take over the reigns of VelvetMafia.com to breathe new life into it and keep it running. I have had great volunteers working with me, but I am at the point of choosing between being an editor and a writer and I’m making the choice to focus my energy in pursing my own dreams and fulfilling my own goals now. It’s a hard choice, but so long as my creation carries on, I’ll be satisfied. You want the job? Contact me via the site. I look forward to the next emerging editor willing to learn.

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