1 Likes, 0 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "My friend @valeriebaber interviewed me for her Sex & Society podcast. We talked #Playboy,..."
My friend Valerie Baber interviewed me for her “Sex & Society” podcast. We talked about Playboy, empowerment, and porn. You can listen to the first episode here.
[Image via my Instagram feed]
Buy my short story: “The Tumor.” It’s been called “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
I wrote an appreciation of Charles Forsman’s Slasher for the Seriocomic series on HILOBROW. I highly recommend the Slasher series. It’s wild and outrageous and like no other comic I’ve ever read.
“Narratively, bad things happen, oftentimes at Christine’s hand: people die, people are brutalized, people are terribly lonely. But for Christine, murder is self-affirming. ‘I’ve never felt so relaxed,’ Christine texts Joshua after a fresh kill. ‘Like I’ve been holding my piss for 25 years. I know who I am now.’”
Read the rest here.
Buy a copy of my latest digital story: “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
I wrote an essay about cancer, sex, and what happens when you can’t get away from you for Roxane Gay’s Gay Magazine on Medium: “Topping from the Bottom.”
“Maybe you’re getting too old for this shit. Maybe you’re not drunk enough. Maybe no matter what you do, no matter how many guys you fuck or how many times they leave you bruised, you still can’t escape yourself.”
Read the rest here.
[Image via my Instagram feed]
Buy a copy of my latest digital story: “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Photo credit: Sasha Samsonova for Playboy
I wrote a post on my Forbes blog about Kylie Jenner posing for Playboy. It’s about the images, the interview, and the real question people are asking when they’re asking whether or not posing for Playboy is empowering.
So why are we still questioning whether or not it’s empowering for a woman to chose to pose nude? The body is hers, and the choice of what to do with it belongs to her alone. The same is true whether you’re #2 on “The Celebrity 100” and have a real-time net worth of $1 billion, whether you’re the 50-year-old star of a movie about strippers, or whether you’re a sex worker fighting for her right to do business without fear of being killed while doing so.
Get a copy of my latest digital story: “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
If you’re interested in hearing my views on Kylie Jenner posing naked for Playboy, listen to a recent episode of “The Quicky”: “Why Would Billionaire Kylie Jenner Pose for Playboy?” At one point, the host asks me if doing so is empowering. It’s 2019. Are we still really questioning a woman’s right to use her assets as she sees fit?
Get a copy of my latest digital short, “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Porn Set, 2014
I took this image on a porn set in 2014. It was somewhere in the Valley. Maybe it was Van Nuys, or maybe it was Chatsworth, or maybe it was Northridge. I don’t remember the girl’s name. There was a wheel of fortune at one end of the room with different sex acts on it. The whole thing was streamed live. There were other people in the room, including a guy who’d done security for Jenna Jameson. The male porn star had a tattoo on his right forearm that read: It’s not only who you are underneath. It’s also what you do that defines you. Eventually, I went home.
Get a copy of my latest digital short, “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
13m Likes, 134.8k Comments - Kylie ✨ (@kyliejenner) on Instagram: "When Houston meets LA .. 💛 @playboy #ComingSoon"
Tomorrow I’ll be on “The Quicky” on the Mamamia podcast network, where I’ll be talking about Kylie Jenner’s upcoming Playboy spread. She’s on the cover with boyfriend Travis Scott, and she’s not wearing much, it seems. The images were shot and / or creative designed by Scott. I’ve written about Playboy previously, and I was a regular on Playboy TV’s “Sexcetera” for five years. I still love the brand.
Get a copy of my latest short story, “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. The film was inspired by the article published by New York Magazine entitled "The Hustlers at Scores" written by Jessica Pressler.
Not long ago, I got an email from someone with a company that was trying to hire me to deliver a presentation. But I wasn’t sure what the company was or what the presentation would be about. We went back and forth in email for a bit, and I remained confused. So, she told me to call her. Then she explained that she works for a company that owns all the strip clubs in a major city. After a bit of back and forth, I realized that she thought I was a former dancer, and she wanted me to come in and coach the girls. “Like on etiquette and stuff,” she said. In any case, since I’ve never been a dancer, but only written about dancers and clubs, I emailed her a few names of women who are and/or were dancers and do that sort of coaching. I was never a dancer. I lacked the guts. Much respect to the girls that do.
Get a copy of my latest short story, “The Tumor” —“a masterpiece of short fiction.”
A shot of Burbank today, from my Instagram feed.
Get a copy of my latest short story, “The Tumor” … “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Image via MoMA
I learned today that a new essay of mine will appear in Gay Magazine, Roxane Gay’s new publication on Medium. The issue’s theme is Pain, so this one’s a bit of a doozy. I’ll post a link to here when it’s online.
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Over at Forbes Vices, which I edit, I’ve really been enjoying working with a new contributor, Franki Cookney, who’s covering the sex beat. In a recent post, she profiled some of the best offerings in audio porn. You can read her full post and get her recommendations here: “Audio Porn Is a Booming Business, and Here Are 5 of the Best.” Are you a journalist with an expertise in vices? I’m always on the lookout for strong contributors who have a singular focus in one of our vices categories, which includes everything from gambling to guns. If you’re interested, shoot me an email at susannahbreslin @ gmail.com.
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Image via Medium
On Madd Fictional, Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys reveals why you shouldn’t question a writer’s motives:
“[T]he writing process has it’s own way of weeding out the fly-by-night scribblers, posers and pretenders with the obstacles it scatters on the long and winding path to a completed project. Whether your driving force is money, fame. to impress a person/people, burning need, or love of the artform, you will still experience your fair share of procrastination, anxiety, writers block, time crunches, lack of motivation, fear of rejection, judgment of peers, and impatience of selling a piece.
If you can repeatedly bash your head into these walls, get up, dust yourself off and continue to write, who am I to question your motives?”
Read the rest here.
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
I love Burbank. That place where movies are made and late-night TV happens. A small town inside of a very big town. Long, Magnolia-lined streets. A hodgepodge of people. The best little town that you flew through and left. I’m back.
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
A fake cloud from my Instagram feed.
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
FINALLY CONTENT MADE FOR ME (via @claytoncubitt) #tallgirl https://t.co/joQBB0qFOP
— Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) September 1, 2019
Finally, a TV series that speaks to me. It’s a Neflix show about a woman who’s 73-inches tall: “Tall Girl.” As a woman who is 73-inches tall, it’s rare for me to see myself reflected in pop culture. Thank you for mirroring my experience. Sure, I can reach tall shelves, but do you know how hard it is to find someone suitable to date at this height?
Get a copy of my latest digital story, “The Tumor.” It’s “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
About two years ago, I wrote a short story called “Spike.” It’s about a male porn star named Tripp Towers who has an erection that won’t go away. I’ve read it at multiple literary readings, and it always goes over very well. Yet, I have been unable to publish it. Here are a sampling of some of those rejections.
Dear Susannah,
Thank you for sending us "Spikes” [sic]. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, this one isn't a match for us. That said, it is strong, interesting piece and I both wish you luck with it and encourage you to submit again.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
[redacted]Hi Susannah,
Thanks so much for submitting to [redacted], we really appreciate your taking the time to send us your work. Unfortunately this piece isn't quite right for us, but I hope you'll consider sending us more work in the future, if you'd like to.
Take care,
[redacted]
Dear Susannah,
Thank you for your submission. We are honored that you considered our journal as a potential home for your writing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite fit for us. Best of luck placing this elsewhere. We hope you will continue to support our journal in the future.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Dear Susannah Breslin
Thank you for sending Spike our way. This one didn’t quite feel like a match for us, so we’re going to pass this time, but we enjoyed the read. I do hope Tripp’s ok!
Best of luck with this
[redacted]Dear Susannah,
Thank you for sharing "Spike" with me. I enjoyed reading your work. Unfortunately, it is not right for [redacted].
I'd be happy to read more of your writing in the future—even though "Spike" won't work for [redacted], it's still well done.
Best of luck with your writing,
[redacted]Dear Susannah Breslin:
Thank you for submitting your text. Unfortunately we will not be able to publish your submission in the [redacted] issue of [redacted] at this time. Nevertheless we encourage you to submit texts for future issues of [redacted] and are grateful for your support.
Thank you again for your submission.
Yours,
[redacted]Dear Susannah Breslin,
Thank you for sending us "Spike" and I apologize for the unconscionably long time spent in responding to a piece you so generously sent our way. Unfortunately it is not a fit for us at this time, but we appreciate you sending it our way.
Thanks again for sharing your work. Best of luck with this.
Sincerely,
[redacted]Dear Susannah Breslin,
Thank you for sending us your flash fiction story, "Spike". We appreciate the chance to consider it. Unfortunately, we're overwhelmed with submissions at the moment, and we've held onto this one longer than we should have, so we're regretfully declining it to give you a chance to try it elsewhere.
Apologies for the length of time we've held onto this story — this is our loss for not getting to your story more quickly. Best of luck placing your story elsewhere.
Sincerely,
[redacted]Dear Susannah,
Thank you for sending us "Spike." While we appreciate the chance to read your story, I'm afraid it isn't a good fit for [redacted] this time. Thanks again for trusting us with your work. As writers ourselves, we know it's no small thing.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Dear Susannah,
Thank you so much for sending "Spike" and letting me read it. Unfortunately, it's not quite right for us, but I would be glad to see more work from you in the future. In the meantime, best of luck in placing "Spike" elsewhere.
Sincerely,
[redacted]Dear Susannah Breslin,
Thank you for sending us "Spike" for consideration in [redacted]. While we enjoyed reading your work, I’m sorry to say it isn’t a good fit for us at this time. It is clear you are a talented writer, and your story stood out from the group. However, we receive so many submissions that, in the end, we have to reject a lot of excellent pieces.
As writers ourselves, our editors know that the process of sending out work can be a long one. We are grateful that you chose to share your writing with us; your piece was read with great admiration and care. We wish you the best of luck with it, and we hope that you will keep us in mind for future submissions. Please do consider sending us more.
Sincerely,
Editors,
[redacted]Dear Susannah,
Thank you for your submission of "Spike" to [redacted]. We gave the story careful consideration, and though we are not accepting it for publication, we hope you find a better fit for it elsewhere.
Thanks again for trusting us with your work, and thank you for reading [redacted].
All the best,
Editors
[redacted]Dear Susannah,
We appreciate the chance to consider "Spike" but regret we were unable to find a place for it in the magazine.
With thanks and best wishes,
[redacted]
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor” … “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
Adore this Lizzo performance at the VMAs. The set is amazing and brilliantly reappropriates the oversized butt concept from Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”
Get a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor” … “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
If you’re a freelance writer, there are three factors to weigh when you’re conceiving or contracting a piece. Typically, whether or not you write a freelance article will depend on three reasons: money, subject, and byline. Ideally, you’ll get two out of those three. If you’re only getting one, you may need to restrategize.
1. MONEY
Sometimes you’ll write an article for one reason: cash. I’ve written articles for glossy magazines that paid $2 a word. Oftentimes, the subject matter of those stories was somewhat less interesting to me, or an editor hacked my prose to death prior to publication. For $1 or $2 a word, sometimes we make concessions.
2. SUBJECT
Sometimes, you’ll write an article because you love / are fascinated by / want to explore a certain subject. This is a perfectly reasonable reason to write an article. In fact, if you love the subject enough, you may be willing to write the piece for a pittance. Let’s say, for example, $150 for 750 words. You’ll get a great clip out of it.
3. BYLINE
One of the ways to get other editors to give you freelance assignments down the line is to list all the outlets that you’ve written for before when you send them your pitch. The better those outlets are, the more impressed the editor you’re pitching may be. So, if you’ve only written for small websites, but you write something for, say, Slate, that’ll give you leverage.
Buy a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor” … “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
#SuccessionHBO pic.twitter.com/ndZ0mItT35
— Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) August 26, 2019
Buy a copy of my acclaimed story, “The Tumor” … “a masterpiece of short fiction.”
