Being a novelist or a poet whose books aren’t popular is a wonderful accomplishment.
- Jonathan Galassi, president and publisher of Farrar, Strauss and Giroux

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I am very close to publishing my first novel, The Bleeding Hills. The actual writing is done, and we are currently going through the consistency test, before we pass the novel to a professional editor. In the meantime I feel compelled to share some experiences I made during the writing process.

I found the above quote in the last issue of “Poets & Writers”; it was part of the first article in this magazine that I actually read in full. It is an unfortunate fact that most writers’ magazines, and especially web sites, are filled with a mind-boggling large amount of superficial information and self-indulgence. The persona of Jonathan Galassi, however, made reading this particular article a joyful experience.

Mr. Galassi possesses a passion for writers and their works that should be an example for every agent, editor, and publisher, especially those who, as part of their business policy, strictly reject author submissions that don’t follow their submission guidelines (i.e. applying the proper font, etc.). I am thinking of those impassive people who turned down first-time authors like – just to name one extraordinary example – Stephenie Meyer and her “Twilight” novel.

In addition, Mr. Galassi, while melancholically favoring the traditional publishing system, realizes the potential of modern-day publishing technologies. All those writers’ magazines, web sites, blogs, and forums I read merely concentrate on the traditional process (Looking for an agent, finding a publisher), that will take a promising author years before his/her work reaches the potential reader. Well, this last statement is not quite correct; most writers’ magazines and web sites do promote self-publishing, but they also shamelessly provide a ton of ad space for all those sharks who will gladly take your money (Several thousands of Dollars is not an unusual amount) for a very remote chance for sales success.

Another misconception, promoted by the traditional system and their disciples, is that, once you are published, you are a member of a very exclusive club. Accomplished authors obtain the right to look down on all wannabes, and if they feel the urge for charity, they offer their advice on writers’ Online forums. One of the experiences I made during writing my first novel was to stay away from Online forums. I did my share by posting comments that – quite coincidently – included references to my blog, but I quickly learned they have no impact on “building a platform”. “Building a platform”, i.e. increasing the awareness of your persona, is widely recommended to increase your chances for publication and increase your sales numbers once you are published. The harsh reality is, considering the vast amount of forums and blogs these days, blog/forum entries have a tremendously small impact on your success as a writer.

Actually, the process is reversed. I deem the existence of an author’s blog as mandatory, but the only way to drive traffic to your blog is to write and publish a good book. I see my blog frogenyozurt.com as a supplement to my writings, right now for my first novel The Bleeding Hills, and later, of course, for everything that follows. The intention is to add value by describing the writing process, and sharing all discoveries.

When I started posting entries on a particular writers’ forum I even received a bashing from accomplished authors regarding my approach. First, there is my cocky attitude, that I refuse to waste years of waiting for approval of my novel, and thus decided to self-publish (Actually, I am a business man and I run my own micro-publishing business). This probably felt like a slap in the face of everybody who went through the process the traditional way. Secondly, and this is another lesson I learned, I should not bother publishing my novel unless I am sure it sells at least 10,000 copies. This has to do with yet another aspect of writing a novel, and it really does not apply to me: You write to become famous… well, rich and famous, but famous also means you become a member of this exclusive club…

I rather refer to Groucho Marx who once said, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to become rich just like the other guy, and I will be grateful for every copy of my novel I can sell, but my motivation is not fame or  a vast sales success. On the other hand I do not write for not being published, and I do have the means to publish, so why not use them.

My main motivation is the actual writing, and the new discoveries that come with the research of the topic. The Bleeding Hills was created, because I was curious about the events of Bloody Sunday, and, while I do not consider myself an expert on the Irish Troubles, I have learned a great deal about them. It is also fascinating to watch the development of a story. As a writer you start with a scaffold before building the walls, followed by careful, time-consuming interior design. It is fascinating to watch all the unexpected little twists and turns that your mind creates while you work on the details. Basically, writing a novel is the kind of experience I thoroughly enjoy.

In the same sense, considerations like sales success or fame do not play any role when I select the topics of my writings. My first novel, The Bleeding Hills, gained relevance due to recent terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland, but that was pure coincidence – a strike of luck if you want. My next novel – which is actually the first, since I started writing it before The Bleeding Hills – will refer to US immigration, a topic with which I have some personal experiences, but it also comes up as a political topic every so many years.

In the before-mentioned Online forums I read the entries of a vast number of primarily very young writers who try to follow the mainstream by writing vampire novels a la “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer. A similar development could be seen after the publication of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” when a great number of authors discovered the opportunity to squeeze more money out of a popular theme. I try to be a bit more original, but I am still tempted to write “The Monty Python Code”.

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