scene from a feminist perspective. I’m a decent writer, but I have no photography, graphic design, marketing, or publishing experience, and no industry connections. Where do I start?
I have a long-standing interest in the harsh distorted music, extreme fashion, dystopian military aesthetic, and apocalyptic
culture of the industrial/dark electro/EBM/powernoise underground music scene. I want to write and publish a book focusing on the people who are involved – bands, artists, fans and supporters.
There are a few books on industrial music and culture out there already, but I want to approach my project from a different angle. I envision the book as an affectionate portrait of a selected group of unusual people, focused on certain aspects of the subculture that I particularly appreciate.
Rivethead culture is commonly seen as overwhelmingly male-dominated, but I see it as much more feminist-friendly than it might appear at first glance. It’s very accepting of LGBT folks, geeks, and body types that don’t fit conventional standards, for example. It’s also one of very few places (aside from a few others like goth, riotgrrl and punk culture) where women’s anger and aggression are accepted, and even encouraged.
What I want to do is shine the feminist spotlight on rivetheads of various genders, ethnicities and sexual identities. I want bold, insightful feminist analysis. I want to feature photos of real people with a variety of body types, rather than professional fashion models. I want to highlight older people involved in the scene, to counter the mistaken idea that this is just a youthful phase that everyone outgrows. And hey…it certainly doesn’t hurt that gritty settings featuring men in eyeliner and utilikilts, or women with purple hair and spiked leather jackets, are inherently interesting to me.
Inspirations for this project include:
*
AxWound: Gender in the Horror Genre
(I found this while searching for one of my childhood heroes, Lt. Ellen Ripley in
Alien!)
* The work of
Kyle Cassidy, author of
Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes (
previously on MeFi)
* The work of UK journalist
Mick Mercer
*
The Origins of Industrial Music by Jennifer Onativia
I’ve never done anything like this before. I don't know any of the people I mentioned whose work inspires me. Though the scene is fairly small, I’m not well-connected at all – I’m not a musician, DJ, or promoter. I'm just a fan with an abiding interest (and an introverted one at that). I’m
definitely not a photographer. And although some of my writing has been published in small-press zines, I’m hardly a professional writer, editor, marketer, graphic designer or publisher. So I really have no idea where to start. And furthermore, I just finished a post-bac in accounting and am currently looking for a job, which means I’m cleverly camouflaged as a semi-normal middle-aged woman and would not be able to devote myself to this book project full-time.
In any case, I would not want this to be a fly-by-night kind of thing. I'm organized, hard-working and responsible, and I’d prefer to take a professional approach. I realize that the market for a book like this is very limited, and that it would be more a labor of love than a profitable venture. But beyond that, I'm clueless. What kind of budget would I be looking at, and would I have any realistic funding options aside from tapping my own pocketbook? Would it even be worth trying to pitch this idea to a traditional publisher? Are there any specific people I should talk to, and if so, what would be the most appropriate way to approach them about a project like this?
What else should I know that I probably haven’t considered?
Any advice would be very much appreciated, particularly from those who've successfully completed projects of similar scope. Thanks!
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posted by JJ86 at 5:56 AM on October 3 [1 favorite has favorites]