failbetter.com

… The Online Literary Boutique in a World of Walmarts

In a recent article in The Danforth Review ("Fiction Sited") the editors of eight prominent online literary magazines were asked a series of questions, the first of which was quite simply, "Who cares?" Our immediate answer: Well…About 30,000 individual readers cared enough to stop by for each failbetter.com issue last year. Now, in some eyes 30,000 may not seem a lot, but in comparison to the standard lit journal distribution, that's an impressive number. But this larger "who cares" question got us to thinking…. What role does the likes of failbetter.com really serve? Why choose to stop by our little site?

Like most things in life, yours is a matter of choice: whether you are shopping for a good read or a good gift. There are those, the vast majority in fact, that find themselves standing in awe at the new Target superstore down the road, or at the monolithic Walmart just off the highway exit, staring at endless isles of crap. You think your choices are endless. Think again. Sooner or later you'll notice that impressive stack of 20,000 throw pillows from East Timor isn't exactly a great find. And shortly thereafter, when everyone you know has one of those damn pillows in their apartment, you come to realize how limiting your whole shopping experience has been.

It's like when you walk into Blockbuster video to find a copy of your favorite heist film, The Hot Rock, only to see a sea of The Day After Tomorrow plastered on the wall.

Fear not. Even in today's mega-marketed world you can still stumble upon a more unique shopping experience. You can choose to pop you head into that old shop that peddles baseball memorabilia from the Negro League, or the bodega on the corner that specializes in vinyl, or that little neighborhood boutique that somehow always manages to find the more unique and meaningful item.

For the literary community, failbetter.com aspires to be that online boutique for the eager mind. In a world of Walmarts, wholesale warehouses and seemingly endless online discount sites, failbetter.com offers the choice for something different.

So thank you for choosing to catch up on the latest works from Pam Houston and Marry Morris. Thank you for choosing to read a short story by Chen or Rowland, Kearns or Lombardi. While you are here, why don't you take your pick of poets from Sutherland, Smith or Downing. Or perhaps, just browse this literary boutique for the bubbles of Ms. Mia Pearlman.

failbetter.com offers an acquired taste for the inquiring mind. Our thanks to the many few who made the choice. Thank you - for choosing wisely.

TD