A Dose of Realism for Aspiring Authors The launch of Penguin Books Book Country back in April was inevitable,

as is the slew of new self-publishing websites that have sprung up and that will, no doubt , continue to spring. Under the guise of a talent search, a la American Idol, majo r publishers and start ups alike lure in aspiring writers with the possibility o f literary fame and fortune. It is important for writers to remember, of course, t hat the goal of the sponsors is, as always, to make a profit. In general terms, here is the way it works on sites like Book Country. Authors w ith hopes and dreams of becoming known genre writing brands post their work in t he various genres and sub-genres in the fields of romance, detective, fantasy, s cience fiction, vampires, zombies and on and on into numerous subcategories with in subcategories. In addition to complete works, individual chapters and short stories, the author s can also post ideas, outlines and whatever else their creative writing urges d ictate. Readers can interact, provide comments, suggestions and conversation, cr itique characters, plots and other aspects of particular interest in whatever ge nre fits their fancy. One of the obvious hurdles to this potpourri are the copyright challenges and th e risk of what one can best describe as stolen ideas, a vague definition that will raise hackles on those who believe that their ideas spring from original inspir ation. In my long career as a novelist, I have discovered that many people, who believe in their imaginative uniqueness, will quickly learn that numerous minds in many lands have concocted similar ideas, plots and characters that tend to be mirror images of each other. Intellectual property lawyers could have a field d ay. What the publishers and website sponsors hope is that there might be one or two breakout books that they might scoop up for commercial exploitation, while minin g money through fees and advertising based upon what the sponsor hopes will be a vast audience of readers and wannabe genre fiction writers. This critique in no way is meant to denigrate the individual writers who will st ep up and accept the challenge. I believe strongly in the creative impulse that motivates authors who write creative fiction, even those who work with the tight restraints of the genre palette. Indeed, getting their work out to be read and commented on by others can garner many personal psychic rewards, especially if some readers register approval of t heir work. Unfortunately, they will have to bear the brunt of a compendium of ne gative comments, a kind of multiple rejection process that could be difficult fo r those who cannot face negativity with a well-armored constitution. Internet co mments are rife with such postings, especially if they are anonymous. There is no question that wannabe professional genre writers will flock to the P enguin site and others in operation or about to be. Many will have been badly br uised by an endless search for agents and traditional publishers. Most will beli eve that their work deserves a broad audience and will yearn for the time when t hey can quit their day job and earn enough money to support themselves with thei r writing. Such fantasies equate with dreams of winning the lottery. Rising above the chatt er of millions of books available on the Net will be the authors challenge, wheth er they are aspiring or established. Unlike the brief performance segments on Ame rican Idol or the song business in general, reading or listening to a book takes considerable time and mental concentration. Reading is not a casual enterprise. Consider this then a cautionary tale of what writers who post on Penguin and oth er burgeoning sites will have to face. The odds of finding a traditional publish er or agent in this uncertain environment will be beyond formidable. Even if one

were lucky enough to acquire them through this process, the cash advance is lik ely to run from small to none. Nevertheless, expect to hear success stories, pro motional ploys designed to keep the pump primed for the sponsors and continue to attract more and more postings. Caveat Emptor! In general, the creation of such material is a remarkable achievement for anyone . It is extremely difficult to write a long form genre novel, an awesome challen ge to the imagination and ones self-discipline. There is a lot to say for such an achievement. However, as for expectations of achieving popularity, fame, fortun e, praise or discovery, authors should temper their hopes with realism.