I have just finished a document that describes my view on the current writing and publishing industry (see bottom of this page for the download button). This document contains a series of entries from my blog at FrogenYozurt.com plus a few new ones. Please excuse that my comments sound a bit sarcastic at times, but I have been through the tiresome and frustrating process of writing, publishing, and promoting my first novel. I have learned the hard way that promoting a novel is one of the most difficult tasks in the business world. Add to this a great number of dubious businesses preying on the unsuspecting, aspiring writer.

Let me quote author TK Kenyon: “Writing, especially fiction writing, is a tough business to get into and a tougher one to stay in. Generally, neither authors nor publishers make a significant profit until an author’s fifth novel is published. Over 195,000 novels are published by traditional publishers in the U.S. every year. Of those, 70% sell fewer than 500 copies.”

Today’s writing and publishing world is shrugging off the old “exclusive-club” mentality, but it is, by any means, not a friendly place for an aspiring writer. As a matter of fact, the industry has turned into a shark tank. When I refer to “the industry” I mean, among other businesses, the traditional publishers, most of who are struggling these days, but they are not the actual problem. The “shark tank” is dominated by new startups in the industry, mostly vanity publishers, who produce significant profit without delivering the results they promise. It seems that scammers possess a much keener business sense than the traditional publishing businesses, and they are taking the better part of a multi-million Dollar business.

Unfortunately, too many writing sites and especially writers’ magazines (I exclude Poets & Writers specifically from this statement) are too busy spouting wonderful stories about the industry. They live from advertisement and a readership that is represented mostly by unsuccessful writers, the number one target for scammers. These days the best paying advertisers are primarily the previously mentioned vanity publishers, because – Duh! – they do have the means to purchase full page ad space.

In turn – to keep their advertisers happy – the magazines’ task is in motivating their readers to “hang on, because we are confident you will find success eventually.” They continue presenting the good in everything and everybody, and they give you the inspirational tour on a regular basis. My advice to everybody who believes in this motivational nonsense would be to start your own religious sect and call it… Writology. Go and worship yourselves. You’re good at that!

Yes, it is true; perseverance is imperative for the aspiring writer, but I question the reason to provide motivation. Their mission is not about helping writers, otherwise they would post warnings, which they – believe me – do not. It’s all about making profit. There is nothing wrong about making profit as long as you do it with professionalism and dignity, but today’s management is only about profit, profit, and profit without an iota of passion for their readership.

Everything you find in this document is based on my own experience with the writing and publishing world, and any statements made are based on my very personal opinion. I would like to emphasize that my writing is not based on anger, but keen observation of the industry. My narrow view is without a doubt not representative for the entire world of writing and publishing, but I am sure that many new writers had similar experiences.

Click the button to download the PDF file (Will open a new window).

Most of us aspiring writers sign up for Online forums, either to pitch new ideas and wait for feedback, or to ask for advice, but foremost to “build a platform.” “Building a platform” is based on a very basic principle: If nobody knows you, nobody will buy your books.

I always put the term “building a platform” in quotation marks, because, in my very personal opinion, there is a lot of nonsense connected with the idea, especially when it comes to forums. Yes, it is imperative for each new – and even the established – author to maintain a web site and create some attention for his/her work. But forums, with very few exceptions, have close to Absolute Null impact on a writer’s career. Nobody else but other aspiring writers will read your entries. After months of playing with various forums I have decided to cancel all but one of my accounts – I’ll keep the one at AuthorNation.com, because it’s actually fun being there (unless their server breaks down, which it does frequently).

But even on AuthorNation.com you will be pestered by what I call the “forum sharks.” Forum sharks “attack” each single new member and ask to be their Online friend, forcing them to read their – usually useless – blabbering about their books and other writings, may it be about infertility treatment, attracting money with your mind, new paths to riches, or even poems that don’t rhyme (Sorry, maybe I am just plain old-fashioned, but, in my world, good poetry rhymes).

You recognize the sharks by the vast number of “friends” they have, a number close to the total number of members on the forum. Their initial message is usually like “Welcome to the forum, and, by the way, please buy my newest novel…” They literally spend several hours a day to send their “friend requests” (without results that would justify the efforts, I may add – I checked them out).

Forum sharks usually do not participate in member communications, meaning they don’t read other members’ inquiries or offer advice, unless the forum is based solely on member communication. In the latter case, each newcomer will be greeted by a great number of members wishing you well in your efforts to become the next Hemingway, and while some of these greetings may be from the heart, most are designed not only to create readership, but foremost to place yet another hyperlink to their web site.

Again, we’re “building our platform,” and search engines love hyperlinks, and an increased number of hyperlinks will help increase awareness of your web site in the Internet community. Well…wrong! Any SEO (search engine optimization) expert will tell you that the mere number of hyperlinks doesn’t count when it comes from the same source, the same web site. Secondly, depending on how the forum is set up, search engines might not even be able to access member communications and thus not see the hyperlinks.

In another forum, that I signed up for and abandoned after a while, you could only insert hyperlinks into your posts after writing at least twenty-five entries. Ergo, some users invented the “word game.” I write an entry containing a single word, you respond with another, related word, I response with yet another, related word, and so on, and so on. Needless to say, but games like this one do not help to increase the quality of the Online forum, but the original purpose of the forum is not important to forum sharks.

Another forum categorizes you by the number of entries, starting at “New Member” (less than fifty entries) up to “Premium Member” (more than 500 entries). So, let’s get our hands at that computer keyboard and write something to improve our rank.

Then there are the semi-gods, members who either have participated for several years (and at the same time wasted their time writing literally thousands of entries), or they are real, accomplished authors. Some forums are sponsored by one of the sharks in the publishing industry, and some of them hire accomplished authors to “mentor” the newcomers. The advice they offer is, naturally, in line with their sponsor.

In my very personal opinion, the worst writers’ forum in the business is the one sponsored by Writer’s Digest, my favorite, most useless magazine. Writer’s Digest is specifically in the business of maintaining a dream world for aspiring, yet (hopefully) unsuccessful writers. Their Online forum, at the time when I signed up, was dominated by two elderly semi-gods, both with a reputation of a long writing career. At the same time, both were incredibly Internet-illiterate and, consequently, were opposed to radical ideas such as self-publishing. They wouldn’t offer any advice in that direction other than not to self-publish. I once dared to challenge their views, and their tone became increasingly aggressive, even insulting. In one post, one of these semi-gods stated that 99.9% of all aspiring writers – including myself – have no talent at all, which I thought was the wrong message to be sent to the forum’s members.

At another occasion (at another forum) I inquired regarding the effectiveness of paid review services for an author’s career, and one of the semi-gods blasted me for even posting such a ridiculous question. The last line in his entry was “Cut the crap!” His claim to fame was the publication of a Karate-Kid-replica novel that sold decently well on Amazon.com.

On a personal note, I was shocked by the lack of writing skills that far too many forum members, even the published authors among them, demonstrate in public, not necessarily in regards to style, but especially when it comes to the basics such as proper grammar and spelling. I don’t consider my own writing as perfect, but my excuse is that English is my second language.

My advice to the novice writer: First, browse the Internet for information, but avoid forums. Secondly, don’t buy books on writing; they’re just plain useless. Most importantly, read, read, read, and… read. Read Online newspapers, read Hemingway, or even Sarah Palin (Yikes!), everything works. This will be time well spent, and, if managed properly, will cost very little money.

Then, after all, write, write, write, and… write. Write about everything that comes to mind, especially topics you are passionate about. Put these writings on a blog. Continuous reading and writing will improve your writing style.

If you are talented and persevere, you will find success eventually. As a logical consequence, if you are not talented (nothing wrong with that), you will not find success. Online forums play no part in either scenario.

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AMERICAN MALE PROSTITUTE
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss 

How I (Almost) Got A Book Deal Through Sex, Lies, And Deceit

Today’s publishing world is divided into two principle sections. First, there is the exclusive pool of traditional publishers, and, second, the help-yourself shark tank represented by the so-called vanity publishers.

Vanity publishers have a significant edge over traditional publishers in regards to brutality, business sense, and profitability. They ruthlessly pursue the infinite supply of aspiring writers who, in turn, are rejected by traditional publishers or literary agents. Ironically, in the world of traditional publishing, authors are rejected not necessarily due to lack of talent. Vanity publishers accept everybody and everything. No questions asked. Just pay your bill, but don’t come crying to them when you can’t sell a copy of your book.

The question remains, what does it take these days to get a book deal with a traditional publisher? What do you do when, hypothetically, you are running out of time and mere talent is not the be-all and end-all?

Stuart Martin Berry has found the answer: If you can’t impress them with your talent, baffle them with your bull-shit. [Read more, including an excerpt]

I just received the latest issue of my favorite most useless magazine, Writer’s Digest. Why I still receive it, I don’t know; I don’t keep track when my subscription ends, and it will hopefully end some time soon. It took me an annoying five minutes to page through the magazine to find there was nothing in there that would even remotely interest me. The only purpose I found in this publication was to investigate the fascinating, yet odd world of writing and publishing.

This last issue of Writer’s Digest, however, made me smile. It is a new year, and, accordingly, Writer’s Digest is taking the opportunity to initiate yet another motivational campaign for all those who are trying – unsuccessfully, I may add – to have their book published. Writer’s Digest’s motivational effort, however, is not a samaritan approach to help aspiring authors getting a book deal. Their business model is based on the assumption that there is a mind-staggering number of untalented writers out there – these times, more than ever – who are buying their magazine.

The equation is easy: No talent, no book deal. Ergo: If you give up, you won’t buy our magazine anymore. So, let’s step up the motivational efforts.

Accordingly, the articles in the February 2010 issue are titled Why Inspiration Matters, Essential of the Writing Life, Wake Up That Subconscious, and more of the same utter nonsense. Let me just add that I get inspiration and motivation every time I go to church, and I’d rather listen to our priest.

One article in particular, Why Inspiration Matters by Fred White, caught my attention, yet I have to admit I didn’t read it. However, the article’s seven reasons why inspiration matters caught my attention. They are:

1. Inspiration transforms us from creative readers to creative writers.

2. Inspiration heightens our senses.

3. Inspiration develops our understanding of human nature.

4. Inspiration improves our capacity for appreciating nature.

5. Inspiration helps us achieve mental discipline.

6. Inspiration intensifies our spiritual connection to our craft.

7. Inspiration reinforces our commitment to writing.

Wow! While I do not challenge Fred White’s conclusions, I am flabbergasted by the author’s intensity used to describe a simple matter like writing. In my child-like thinking, if you don’t feel inspired, if you are lacking mental discipline, or if you lack the commitment to writing, maybe writing isn’t your forte.

Maybe it’s just that I am the simple-minded guy. I go with James M. Berrie, who once said, “Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.” If writing is work, and you need to read this inspirational nonsense to write your next novel or poem, maybe you shouldn’t be writing.

My advice to Writer’s Digest, and everybody who believes in this motivational nonsense, would be to start your own religious sect and call it… Writology. Go and worship yourselves. You’re good at that!

Please excuse my sarcasm, but I don’t believe in the nonsense that this magazine publishes on a regular basis. As I said, I am simple-minded. I just sit and write.

American Male Prostitute - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

It is safe to assume you came to read this entry due to its title, Chocolate Jesus. Some of you may find it intriguing, or provocative, or challenging, or bizarre, or… Whatever you call it, it got your attention, and that is my point.

Just today I found an entry in the Online forum at AuthorNation.com (in my personal opinion the most civilized forum for writers). A fellow author complained about a book that apparently sells very well in the United States, but whose title he found somewhat annoying.

The book in question is I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max. Let me quote from the product description section at Amazon.com: “My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead. But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way: I share my adventures with the world.”

First, as we all have noticed, the title is catchy, and, in my very personal opinion, there is nothing wrong with that. I am reminded of Al Franken’s “Rush Limbaugh is a big fat liar.” I have to admit I haven’t read it, but the title sticks, and what I heard about the book, it is not about Rush Limbaugh.

Secondly, the author is very provocative and, as it appears, very successful. Whether we agree with his style or not is of no consequence. Tucker Max is not only a writer, good or not doesn’t matter, but he is definitely an outstanding marketer for his book.

I, for my part, have learned a good lesson on the importance of title design and how to get the attention of potential readers. That lesson, however, came after I started writing my newest novel American Male Prostitute. My intention was to be provocative but, unlike Tucker Max, my book has a real storyline.

And, by the way, Chocolate Jesus is a song by Tom Waits on his CD Mule Variations. I remember the day when I checked his large collection of CDs in a local music store. Just reading the titles of his songs was pure fun. The actual performances, however, did not appeal to me. There are some good ones, but mostly it is not my (very personal) taste. Nevertheless, since that time I can always point to Tom Waits’s music when it comes to recommend potential book titles.

Here are just a few more examples (Haven’t checked if they already exist as a book title, though):

• Cemetery Polka
• Tango Till They’re Sore
• Lie To Me
• Little Drop Of Poison
• Fish In The Jailhouse
• What Keeps Mankind Alive
• The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
• Pasties And A G-String (At The Two O’Clock Club)
• Bad Liver And A Broken Heart
• Better Off Without A Wife
• Warm Beer And Cold Women
• Drunk On The Moon
• Just Another Sucker On The Vine
• Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?
• You Can’t Unring A Bell
• I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You
• Grapefruit Moon
• Little Trip To Heaven

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

1. You need a Blog!

Don’t even bother designing your own web site (you should be spending time writing your next novel) or even paying to have it designed. What you need is a blog! A blog allows you write whatever you want and add pages to your web site without major hassles. And, after all, a blog is free!

There are a number of services proving free blogs, including Google. All you need is an internet connection and a browser. My personal recommendation is WordPress.com. Their web site templates are nothing short of amazing and you can select the one that fits your purposes best. You receive a lot more attention through their blog service than through your own web site, just due to the mere size of their web site.

Use the blog to shamelessly promote yourself and your work. Make sure you add pages on a regular basis to increase the size of your site. I cannot stress enough the importance of a web site with good content and a good (meaning: large) size. If you keep up extending your web site, the search engines will find you for sure.

2. Create an “Awareness Platform”

I put the term into quotation marks, because this is the term used in magazines and web sites that support the current antiquated publishing process. Their recommendations include, for instance, signing up at writers’ forums. Don’t be fooled! Forums do NOT help in any shape or form to increase your chance for a book deal. Don’t waste your time there! Forum entries do NOT create more traffic to your web site or blog.

The first step towards promoting your awareness platform is to create your own blog (as explained above). The blog will not increase your chances to get your book published, but it will help to promote your book.

If you are looking for credits, sign up for blogs that pay for content (e.g. today.com) or services looking for writers. There are more, similar service available on the Internet, and I personally haven’t made a lot of experiences with them, but I believe they help building your reputation as a writer.

3. Send press releases

There is a great number of press release services available through the Internet, some of them free-of-charge, some of them not. Here is a short list of services. Feel free to check them out, and search for more on the Internet.

http://www.prlog.com
http://www.openpr.com
http://www.free-press-release.com
http://www.prweb.com

4. Use Social Networks

Personally, I am not into the friend creating frenzy, but I did open a so-called “celebrity” account on facebook.com. This account also allows you to place advertisement on facebook.com. It works very similar to Google, meaning you pay per click, and you can determine your own budget. In addition, you can add facebook features to your web site/blog by adding a “fan box”, i.e. people can sign up as a fan. The vast advantage of facebook ads over Google ads is that you can select specific facebook user profiles, e.g. all users interested in historical fiction.

If you are using WordPress as you blog service, you can also add facebook features such as a “Share on Facebook” link.

In case you already have a facebook (or similar) account, use it shamelessly to promote your work.

5. Promote your blog/web site

There are other web sites where you can enter the web address and nature of your web site/blog. It does help to create more hyperlinks to your web site. Here is a short list, but feel free to search for more on the Internet.

http://www.contentpromote.com
http://www.digg.com
http://www.reddit.com

6. Do NOT use Google AdSense

It may sound strange, especially when you read what Google has to say about its advertisement offers, but you can spend a great amount of money on something that doesn’t pay off. I have been using AdSense for years, and it did increase the awareness of my web sites and products, but in the end I spent more money than I made through Google AdSense. There are several problems for the self-publisher. First, be aware that your ads may appear on thousands of web sites, but that some corrupt web site owners hire people from all over the world to click on the ads just to create revenue for the web site owner. Google has been increasing their activities to prevent this kind of scam, but I seriously doubt they got a good grip on it. I know of a business owner who spent roughly $1,500 per month on Google, but after two years decided to cancel them. There was no noticeable impact on his business, also due the fact that he used the money he saved to spruce up the web site. A good and extensive web site will always post you on the first page of Google search pages. The other problem is that you have to compete against the big names in the business. Always ask yourself the question how you can compete against Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. The strength of the big guys is their extensive offer on almost every topic you can think of, but your strength is that you can elaborate on the same topic over pages and pages, meaning you provide more informational value.

7. The BIGGEST item of all: An Amazon.com listing

Maybe I should have placed this item on top, but I am continuously adding thoughts and ideas as they come to mind. I will not get into the topic of how to get your book listed on Amazon.com; I will address this in another article. For now let’s just say that you should check out the Amazon web site; look for setting up a seller account.

The importance of of an Amazon listing can not be emphasized enough! A listing on Amazon makes it impossible NOT to sell a book. There is a good reason why I personally promote Amazon over others like, for instance, Barnes & Noble. Amazon makes it very easy for the self-publisher to create a listing. You set up a seller account and as long as your book has an ISBN you can list it immediately. Barnes & Noble, for instance, just doesn’t get it. You can set up an account with them as well, but their application process is very cumbersome (e.g. you need to send them a hardcopy of the book so that they can approve it). Amazon also provides you a writer’s account that allows you to run a blog on the Amazon web site. The blog is directly attached to your book, meaning it will be attached to the listing.

More tips to follow…

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Last week, just out of curiosity, I signed up at a writers’ Online forum and like everybody who is new to the forum I posted an entry in the “Welcome” section. I briefly explained my current writing project, The Bleeding Hills, and received numerous responses wishing me well. All responses included links to the respondents’ individual web sites, since they all are working to extend their “awareness platform” (I still fail to understand where writing about writing improves your chances for a book deal). One entry, while written in the best of intentions, rubbed me the wrong way.

The person, who apparently won several first prizes in short story contests, wrote “Writing a novel is hard work.” I couldn’t help to – respectfully – object to this view, but was promptly corrected by another forum member. The same happened when I posted another entry in the “Tips & Advice” section, which seems to be the domain of two elderly accomplished authors – Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong about age; what I can’t stand are old ideas and those two “mentors” were full of them. Well, I received my bashing for intruding on their turf and decided I didn’t belong here. I just feel sorry for the thousands of lost souls who dream of having their novel published, but will never make it, because they get advice from people who went through the same process too many years ago. A great deal has changed in the publishing world, but today’s added resources for being published are not welcome on this particular forum.

Anyways, let me come back to “Writing a novel is hard work.” First of all, the socialist portion of my soul tells me there is much to say about hard work, and writing a novel doesn’t come to mind. I think of the many people in this world who work hard for a living, not out of choice, but the mere instinct for survival. Writing a novel is nothing else but a privilege. Writing a novel can be time consuming, but that should not be taken as hard work. James M. Barrie’s quote really gets it down the point. If you consider writing a novel as hard work, maybe you shouldn’t be writing. It is never hard work when you love what you’re doing.

I am still working chapter 4 of my novel and this chapter has been particularly difficult, since it involves the events of Bloody Sunday on January 30, 1972. Even though this is the most difficult chapter of all, I never considered writing it as hard work. The emotions during writing can be intense and I believe, I received some concerned looks the last time I sat at my table at Panera Bread – The consumption of three large cappuccinos somehow did not help to calm me down. Every time I stop writing and drive home – merely because a wife and kid are waiting for me – I feel … elevated (Sorry, there is no better word for that feeling). Writing a novel transports you into another dimension, another time, another place, while the world around you doesn’t matter anymore. That is why writing is exciting and far away from hard work.