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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.
And How Corporate America Makes It A Billion Dollar Business
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).
In another entry on this blog I couldn’t find anything good about literary agents and their apparent lack of business sense. At the same time I was very impressed by the business model and the professional attitude of the Writers Literary Agency. Rather than dealing with a single, overworked and unorganized literary agent (agents always complain about the number of queries they receive), I found it refreshing to deal with a team of professionals where each member took on a certain aspect in the process of finding a publisher. However, with what I learned today, I am happy I didn’t sign the contract they had sent me. As it turns out the whole thing is a scam.
It is somewhat amazing how I still learn more and more about the bizarre world of writers and publishers, also known as the “shark tank.” And here we go again… yet another experience I would like to share.
In another entry on this blog I couldn’t find anything good about literary agents and their apparent lack of business sense. At the same time I was very impressed by the business model and the professional attitude of the Writers Literary Agency. Rather than dealing with a single, overworked and unorganized literary agent (agents always complain about the number of queries they receive), I found it refreshing to deal with a team of professionals where each member took on a certain aspect in the process of finding a publisher. However, with what I learned today, I am happy I didn’t sign the contract they had sent me. As it turns out the whole thing is a scam. Let me quote from another web site:
“Literary Agency has no verifiable record of book sales under any of its names. For this reason (among others) they’re on Writer Beware’s Thumbs Down Agents list.
There is currently an active investigation into their business in the state of Florida (the 275 Madison Avenue address is a mail-forwarding service). If you live in Florida and have had any interaction with any of these “agencies,” please contact the Florida attorney general.
The way their operation works:
They accept any and every manuscript that is sent to them. They require that the manuscript be given an “independent critique,” which they are willing to sell to you for $90, from another company that they secretly own. Based on this “critique” they will offer to represent you, but will request that you have the manuscript “professionally edited,” again by a company that they secretly own. After you pay whatever amount you’re willing to pay for the “edit,” you’ll be told that you need a web page to advertise your book to publishers, for which they’ll charge you $150. After that, they’ll offer you their “aggressive agent” program, for $90, to submit the work to publishers. Children’s book authors may be asked to pay for illustrations. Screenwriters may be asked to pay for “coverage.”
As I mentioned, they have no apparent record of sales to commercial publishers, despite having been in business for the better part of a decade (under one name or another).” – WritersNet.com
The scary thing is that the requests for critique and editing make sense. Getting a critique of your work is helpful. Having your work edited is absolutely mandatory for a new, and even the established writer. Again, all this makes sense, and for that reason it is so easy to fall for the scam.
Let me also fortify my statement on their professional approach. The Writers Literary Agency explained the whole process between accepting a manuscript and finding a publisher in minute detail. The information they provided was extremely helpful for me to understand the process, and I wish regular, honest literary agents would go through the same effort of attracting new clients. The entire interaction between a new client and the Writers Literary Agency took place per e-mail which I personally deem highly effective, and I still believe that regular literary agents could learn a lesson or two from them. In fact, a great number of literary agents have just started to discover the possibilities that are provided by the Internet.
Yes, the downside is that a fast Internet connection combined with a word-processor encouraged a vast number of people believing they can write, may it be poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The harsh truth is that the vast majority of these writers will never publish a book, unless they spend thousands of Dollars through a vanity publisher. Nevertheless, it is time that literary agents discover the power of the Internet. The Writers Literary Agency actually demonstrated how it can work, if only they would actually look for a publisher…
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 more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.
- Sir Francis Burton
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.
My version of writer’s block comes in form of not having worked on my second novel for several weeks. I spent some useless time on writers’ forums, and even tried to make some money through my blog. To put the result up-front, forums are a terrible waste of time, and I made $15 in two weeks by writing one lousy article on my blog. On the other hand, my novel American Male Prostitute is about making a career as a writer, and I will take the liberty of adding my experiences to the story of the main character, Stuart Berry.
If writers stopped writing about what happened to them, then there would be a lot of empty pages.
- Elaine Liner
I published my first novel, The Bleeding Hills in September of 2009, and currently I am working on my next book, American Male Prostitute. In fact, I have started two further novels at the same time, and they are on the back burner. I don’t lack ideas for books, and writer’s block, in the common sense, doesn’t exist in my world.
My version of writer’s block comes in form of not having worked on my second novel for several weeks. I spent some useless time on writers’ forums, and even tried to make some money through my blog. To put the result up-front, forums are a terrible waste of time, and I made $15 in two weeks by writing one lousy article on my blog. On the other hand, my novel American Male Prostitute is about making a career as a writer, and I will take the liberty of adding my experiences to the story of the main character, Stuart Berry.
Also, what I learned out of these few weeks is to stay put and concentrate merely on my own writing.
The Dream World Of Writers’ Forums
Many 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.
But even on AuthorNation.com you will be contacted 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 infertility treatment, 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.”
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 even accomplished to have their books listed on Amazon.com. Those members usually assume an elevated state of mind, thus assuming they have received the God-given right to lecture the newcomers. I once dared to challenge the effectiveness of reviews 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. Sorry, but I didn’t come here to be insulted by somebody who can’t handle a slightly provocative inquiry.
My advice to the novice writer: First, browse the Internet for information. 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, 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, you will not find success. Online forums play no part in either scenario.
Creating Income Through Your Blog
Yes, you can create income through your blog or web site. Is it a path to riches? In 99.99% of the cases, most certainly not. The exception may occur when you handle this as a business venue with a hot-shot web designer, a team of professional blog writers, and an abundance of financial freedom at hand.
In my best times, when I still wrote technical literature, I made in average $80 per month through Google ads placed on various of my web sites. As you can see on this very blog (frogenyozurt.com) I am now using the Amazon.com Affiliate Program, which pays more per click than Google, but you only earn money when the user actually buys something from Amazon. I will not go into more details on affiliate programs such Google AdSense, and the Amazon Affiliate Program and how to incorporate them into your blog. Just check out their respective web sites, or google/bing/yahoo them.
There are certain parameters to make a living from a blog, and I, personally, don’t have the means (i.e. the time) to establish these parameters. First, you need to have content, content, content. You need to be specific, and you need to create hundreds of pages to attract sufficient attention, meaning, if you do this on your own, you should spend several hours a day writing on your blog. You also need to spend several hours per day promoting your blog. All this is not impossible, only very time-consuming, and, still, the financial success may kick in only after several years of maintaining the blog this way. Again, all the information you need (i.e. how to create and promote your blog) is freely available on the Internet.
One lane that I tried just recently was writing paid articles on my blog. I applied at three Online services that pay for articles on your blog, and – not surprisingly – I was approved in all three cases. I write “not surprisingly,” because they are desperate, and I will elaborate a little later on this. First, let me explain the principle.
The business model for these Online services is to provide hyperlinks to their clients’ web sites. To explain it in a nut-shell, search engines love hyperlinks, and the ranking of your web site will improve with the number of hyperlinks pointing to your site. Any expert will explain to you that it is not that simple. Search engines’ algorithms have been developed over many years, and they are very complex. It’s not all about hyperlinks, but also quality of the hyperlinks, and, after all, content, content, content. Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a science.
Anyways, as I wrote, there are Online services that hire blog writers, either to create content on their web site (so-called content mills – you write about repairing a dish-washer and similar topics), or to post on the writer’s own blog. They pay roughly between $5 and $25 per post, and, theoretically you can make a living from that when you work 25 hours a day (you accomplish that by skipping your lunch hour). The harsh reality is that you will make less than minimum hourly wages. Add to this that there is no big market for these services. Most of them are probably one-man businesses, who maintain professional looking web sites, but are desperate to make a living themselves.
As I wrote before I applied at three services, was approved three times, and I made $15 in two weeks. The idea was to create more content for my blog, and even get paid for it, maybe just enough to cover the grocery bill.
I made the $15 writing about Online casinos, not something I would like to promote, but I kept a professional attitude about it and wrote about Online gambling while sticking to the facts. I received my payment promptly the day after I submitted the post to my blog, and I went to restaurant.com to buy a $25 gift certificate for $15. My wife, my son, and I had a good time at the “Greenfield Grille.” So far there were no further assignments, but I kept my account with this service, since they treated me well and professionally.
I received yet another topic from another service. Payment would have been $10. The assignment was just down my lane; it was about a business involved with environmental protection, promising to reduce your junk mail and plant a tree in your name. I was proud to have written a very nice two-paragraph article as requested and provided the hyperlinks exactly as requested. The article was promptly rejected, because I hadn’t placed keywords as requested – actually, I did, but only as a tag inside the HTML code, still visible to search engines. The request was to insert the name of the business owner and the business itself into the post, all in small letters, not separated by commas or any other formatting that would actually make sense.
Well, one of my short-comings is that I refuse to deal with idiocy, and I really didn’t care for the tone they used. I have written many articles in my life and most of them underwent some necessary changes, but all this was managed on a professional level. I was willing to play nice for a small payment, but don’t like to deal with such an unprofessional attitude. I promptly canceled my account with them.
The third service works on the premise of bids, meaning you as the author have a look at “blog opportunities” and you place a bid. The payment level was as lousy as the rest, but, again, if it helps to get more content for my blog, then why not? There were three “opportunities,” and I placed a bid on all of them. After waiting for two weeks without any response whatsoever, I changed my e-mail reference to cancel@myaccount.com. They didn’t have an option to cancel your account with them.
Please excuse that I don’t offer any names or web sites – I wouldn’t want to promote these services. I found them all through googling.
As I said, I learned my lesson, and I will stay put and concentrate merely on my writing.
I felt, I should be writing an update on my novel American Male Prostitute. I am still in Germany (see also my blog entry The Lonely Cold Hotel Room), and traveling here, plus the preparation, took all my attention away from writing. I am finally in the right mind set, and whenever I have time to write I make good progress, usually between 2,000 to 3,000 words per writing session.
Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn’t seem to be working.
- Anonymous
American Male Prostitute - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss
I felt, I should be writing an update on my novel American Male Prostitute. I am still in Germany (see also my blog entry The Lonely Cold Hotel Room), and traveling here, plus the preparation, took all my attention away from writing. I am finally in the right mind set, and whenever I have time to write I make good progress, usually between 2,000 to 3,000 words per writing session.
As a general rule-of-thumb, a good-sized novel should have at least 60,000 words, and the 60,000 word mark is my ultimate goal. In all consequence, I could write a novel in less than thirty days, if only I had the time. Add to this two months of fleshing-out, proof-reading, and editing, and, theoretically, I could publish four books a year…if only I had the time.
The current word count is a little over 16,000, and the first draft will be in the neighborhood of 40,000. Adding another 20,000 is not difficult. The scaffold is up, and filling the interior with more details is as intriguing as writing the first draft. It is always a thrill to watch the story line take turns that you hadn’t expected, even while you’re writing it.
That being said, I will now add a few more thousands of words.
For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.
- Lord Byron
Okay, things are getting a little weird. I am putting in a lot of work to promote my novels and, consequently, my web site, but I did not expect the e-mail inquiry I received today from Bruce in New York in regards to my new novel [...]
For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.
- Lord Byron
American Male Prostitute - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss
Okay, things are getting a little weird. I am putting in a lot of work to promote my novels and, consequently, my web site, but I did not expect the e-mail inquiry I received today from Bruce in New York in regards to my new novel American Male Prostitute.
It reads: “I am very big in this business… shall we say. And I’m very curious about the research you’ve done on your novel. (AMP). We should talk. Bruce”.
Okay, here I think this Bruce guy may be in the publishing business, and maybe he was provoked by my not-so-nice comments about the industry. I was nevertheless cautious and I wrote back:
“Hi Bruce, I am always open for discussion about my work, but before we do that you should identify yourself. Apparently, you know who I am…;-)”
The answer came quickly: “I have BEEN an “American Male Prostitute”… off and on…mostly on… my entire adult life… I have loads of experiences… and am still in “the business”, as we call it. I’d love to hear more about your novel… etc. Feel free to call me, if you’d like to.” He added his phone number (Note: The little “…”s were his, not mine).
Well… Okay… Dear Bruce, if you want to learn about my novel, please feel free to actually read this blog. The title of my novel is meant in an ironic way; it has nothing to do with prostitution in the common sense. The main character in American Male Prostitute uses, among other things, sex to promote his first novel. That’s all, and I’ll leave it at that.
As a business man I am appalled by the lack of business sense literary agents display to the public, especially when it comes to rejecting writers not because they’re not talented but due to primitive reason such as violation of the submission guidelines.
The best defence against misguided arrogance is a keen sense of humor.
- Kathryn L. Nelson, Pemberley Manor, 2006
American Male Prostitute - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss
You think the title is a little strong? Well, maybe, but there is a truth behind it.
I am sure there are some good ones out there, but I stay with my statement when it comes to the majority of literary agents. As a business man I am appalled by the lack of business sense these people display to the public, especially when it comes to rejecting writers not because they’re not talented but due to primitive reason such as violation of the submission guidelines.
As a background information, I started writing technical literature in 2005 and I never even considered going through an application process; I jumped immediately into self-publishing and my business, Copperhill Media, is now officially a micro-publisher with distribution through Ingram. I have just published my first novel, The Bleeding Hills. I self-publish simply because I just don’t have the patience to look for the right agent and find the right publisher, a process that usually takes years before your work is published. The whole process is extremely ineffective and it does not fit with my sense for business.
I developed my case against literary agents after reading my most-favorite useless magazine, Writer’s Digest. Well, maybe not so useless, since the content convinced me that their preference for established publishing did not agree with me.
Okay, back to the agents… The September 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest includes an article Real Queries That Worked, sub-titled Agents share queries that hooked them – and insights on what made them effective. A remark for the novice: In order to find an agent - Writer’s Digest will gladly sell you a list – you need to submit not only your manuscript – or an excerpt thereof – but also a synopsis, which all makes sense. Through the query – in layman’s terms a cover letter – you need to convince the agent that your novel is the best thing since, let’s say, The Da Vinci Code. There are services - Writer’s Digest will gladly sell you a list – that will write you such a letter, and, naturally, they would like to be paid for it.
Wait a minute, you might say. Isn’t that like writing a cover letter that you include with your resume? The answer is, yes, the process is very similar. I know out of experience that many HR professionals, sitting in front of a pile of resumes submitted by hundreds of people applying for the same job, start their selection process by merely scanning over the cover letter. If they don’t like it, it’s out. After that they look at the remaining resumes and actually check for job qualification. Apparently, literary agents work very similar.
In all consequence, writing a professional looking author query is important, and it makes sense to hire a professional service to help increase your chances.
So, what’s wrong about this process? Okay, first of all, submitting a cover letter with your resume or submitting an author’s query with a manuscript are two very different things. An HR professional looks for one – the best – person to fill a particular job, and, naturally, competition is tough.
A literary agent may end up with the same number of queries on his/her desk, but in the end each of these applications could bring them the next John Grisham, Stephen King, or Dan Brown. Add to this that each query is submitted by a potential customer who, with the sale of the first book, shares his/her income with the agent. This being said, wouldn’t it make sense to read the query regardless of appearance or if it complies with submission guidelines?
As a business man I would concentrate on the synopsis and make the educated decision whether or not the submission has enough potential for another bestseller. I believe in looking at the actual result of the artist’s work.
The Writer’s Digest article mentions the example of an actual query praised by a real agent, saying “…I was hooked and knew I wanted to read…” the author’s work.
Let me quote from the letter: “I believe this book to be of broad public appeal in that it combines the scintillating fervor of scandal with the true-to-life detachment of history.” It goes on like this – in best lawyer’s English – and, honestly, if his work is written in the same style I personally wouldn’t want to read it – it doesn’t read like, let’s say, Dan Brown. It did, however, convince the agent, and, apparently it doesn’t matter if the letter reflects the writer’s style or not.
Well, maybe I still got it wrong and agents just prefer to receive a clear and precise synopsis, but will nevertheless have a look at the manuscript.
It also seems that agents are increasingly using “modern” technologies such as … e-mail! Some of them ask only for information without the actual manuscript. Many agents need to be convinced first that the writer can prove a writing experience, can provide a marketing plan, has won several prizes in writing contest, etc.
Personally, I have not won any prizes – didn’t even attend any contest – but, yes, I do have a precise marketing plan. With a good marketing plan in place, why go through an agent and publisher? If you need to provide the expertise, why not publish yourself? And, by the way, does my novel have anything to do with this process?
Let me add to my case by quoting some agents’ comments as listed in the September 2009 issue of Writer’s Digest:
- We prefer a (e-mail) query before you send us your ms (Manuscript)…Queries sent with attachments will be deleted unread.
- Only (written) queries with SASEs will receive responses. I generally respond to all queries within four weeks. I now accept e-mail submissions, please include my name in the subject line. (Meaning that person is new to Internet technologies and receives e-mail through another source.)
- Allow 60 days for a reply.
- All submissions should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. (Duh!)
- Due to overwhelming number of submissions we cannot respond to all submissions, we cannot respond to all queries, but we do read them and will contact you if interested. (If not, they don’t bother to respond.)
- If she’s interested in your work, she will respond within four weeks. Snail mail submissions will not be reviewed.
- If you haven’t heard from her within eight weeks, please assume she is passing on your project. (Now, that reflects an attitude I wouldn’t want to deal with as a writer.)
- I always welcome submissions from new authors. Follow the submission guidelines on the agency website. (Oops! That’s a good one! This is how it should be!)
- Agent responds in six to eight weeks.
It goes on like this.
Anyways, here are some tips on selecting an agent:
- Check out the agent’s web site. Doesn’t have one? Don’t even bother dealing with him/her.
- Check the web site for submission guidelines and see if you like it.
- Is there a procedure in place? You would not only like to know what is important to them, but also what they will do for you. After all, you are the customer.
As usual, if you feel the urge leave a comment, whether you agree with me or not. I’d like to hear from you.
The winner is clearly American Male Prostitute. First, the title itself is the best marketing tool, because it is provocative, and I have already written more than 7,500 words. Writing American Male Prostitute is fun, and I am not saying that writing The Fellow Utopian isn’t.
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
– Jimmy Buffett
American Male Prostitute - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss
As an author these times you spend a tremendous time with building your platform and marketing of your novel. Marketing a novel effectively, as I have learned in the past year or so, is 1000+ times harder than promoting a non-fiction work.
Part of “building my platform” includes writing entries on various Online forums. I have tried some of them and gave up on most of them, fairly disgusted. The only one I currently maintain is AuthorNation.com, where I get the feeling that I am amongst people who are like me, aspiring and looking for success. Here, we do thrive from each other’s input.
In one of the posts I mentioned that I had ideas for at least another three novels, and that number is actually a conservatively low estimate. For the longest time, since the publication of my first novel The Bleeding Hills, I was thrown back and forth between two of the contenders, The Fellow Utopian and American Male Prostitute.
I have to admit, The Fellow Utopian was my first idea for a novel, and I am desperate to finish it. It does, however, require a tremendous amount of research. American Male Prostitute, however, is a relatively easy writing, since I am familiar with the odds and ends of the publishing industry. I had started writing both novels simultaneously, but it was amazing how fast I finished the first few thousand words on American Male Prostitute.
Since the release of The Bleeding Hills, I also learned that the presence of a second novel might have a greater impact on my first work than the actual first novel itself. So, I was pressed to make a decision between these two.
The winner is clearly American Male Prostitute. First, the title itself is the best marketing tool, because it is provocative, and I have already written more than 7,500 words. Writing American Male Prostitute is fun, and I am not saying that writing The Fellow Utopian isn’t. Well, in all honesty American Male Prostitute is more fun, and that is the reason that writing it will result in better progress.
Let it hereby known that Wilfried F. Voss’ next novel will be titled American Male Prostitute.
The most important advice for any author and publisher at this time is to check the Scribd.com web site. Search for names and titles. Chances are your work is not listed, but if it is write an e-mail to copyright@scribd.com with the following content.
The most important advice for any author and publisher at this time is to check the Scribd.com web site. Search for names and titles. Chances are your work is not listed, but if it is write an e-mail to copyright@scribd.com with the following content:
Attn: Jason Bentley, Scribd, Inc.
Pursuant to 17 USC 512(c)(3)(A), this communication serves as a statement that:
- I am [the exclusive rights holder | the duly authorized representative of the exclusive rights holder] for [title of copyrighted material being infringed upon, along with any identifying material such as ISBNs, publication dates, etc -- or, if the material is a web page, the URL];
- These exclusive rights are being violated by material available upon your site at the following URL(s): [URLs of infringing material];
- I have a good faith belief that the use of this material in such a fashion is not authorized by the copyright holder, the copyright holder’s agent, or the law;
- Under penalty of perjury in a United States court of law, I state that the information contained in this notification is accurate, and that I am authorized to act on the behalf of the exclusive rights holder for the material in question;
- I may be contacted by the following methods (include all): [physical address, telephone number, and email address];
I hereby request that you remove or disable access to this material as it appears on your service in as expedient a fashion as possible. Thank you.
Regards,
[your full legal name]
You will receive an automated message from Scribd, also inviting comments. I would recommend you speak your mind!
Depending on workload they will remove your work within a few days (during which time it is still available for view, print and/or download).
The Absurd Part: Protecting your work on Scribd
According to scribd.com:
- Automated past protection: Each time Scribd receives a DMCA-compliant takedown request from a copyright holder, we quickly remove the unauthorized document and add a unique reference file corresponding to that document to our copyright database, deleting previously-uploaded copies of the same work identified by the system.
- Automated future protection: We also urge authors and publishers to proactively add the text of their work to the Scribd CMS.
Note: CMS = Copyright Management System
What they’re asking you is to sign up to their web site, thus gaining yet another user, and upload your work so that it can be “protected”, meaning you provide them the means to verify and prevent unlawful uploads. It works the same way when you have the document “removed.” In all consequence, your document remains in Scribd database, no matter what.
As a Scribd user they also provide you a feature to “Manage Keyword Alerts”, meaning you will receive an e-mail alert as soon as somebody attempts to upload a document that matches your keywords.
It is like an e-mail from your friendly car thief: “Hi, I just stole your car. I am so sorry! Can I sell it now, please? If you do not agree, please fill out the attached form. In case our verification process finds your claim to be legally valid, I will return your car to you. However, please be aware that it is already damaged.”
The following is a – growing – list of activities on my part to raise the awareness of the scribd.com copyright infringement issue.
The following is a – growing – list of activities on my part to raise the awareness of the scribd.com copyright infringement issue.
- Contacted author Steve Berry through his web site, asking him, if he was aware that his novel “A Templar Legacy” was posted in full on scribd.com (View & Print only, no View).
- Contact Ballantine Books through their web site to inform them about scribd.com. There is a great list of their books on scribd.com, but I have the suspicion that this may be part of their marketing policy, even though that would be a strange and very risky policy.
- Contacted Michiko Kakutani, who writes book reviews for the New York Times. I briefly explained the scribd.com situation and asked to have a look at the issue.
- Sent an e-mail to John Mutter, editor-in-chief at ShelfAwareness.com.
- Sent an e-mail to Diane Broncaccio, a reporter for the local Greenfield newspaper “The Recorder.”
- Sent an e-mail to the Writer’s Digest editorial offices.
- Sent an e-mail to the editors at Poets & Writers.
Response from Writers Digest:
On November 13, 2009 I received an answer from my favorite most useless magazine, Writers Digest:
“Hi Wilfried,
Thanks for letting us know! You’ll want to take those concerns directly to
those sites to resolve the problem. Refer directly to each site’s terms of
use policy to help make your case.
Best wishes,
Melissa
WD”
The links at the bottom of the e-mail pointed to their Online community and a sign-up for their VIP program ($47 a year). Sorry, been to their Online forum and found it to be one of the most uncivilized in the business.
The answer also reflects the magazine’s attitude: You, the writer, are only important when you pay them.
