The Fourth Reich - the journey…

[Gary Compton]

Okay, I’ve talked a good game for a long time. Now it’s time to deliver.

This thread is about getting my book published. I am going to document every twist and turn of my journey, warts and all. I will reveal everything from costs to revenues.

So what’s your strategy Gary I hear you ask? Well it’s simple. I have spent 6 years learning to write, developing my story and characters and I feel I’m close to having a good engaging story that’s an enjoyable to read.

My intention is to submit to agents like most writers, but because I have no control over this I am operating a “Plan B.” scenario as well.

So, whatever happens I will still need a website, a forum and a blog (coming soon). Please click on the links and save them to your favourites.

So my book is going through the process of editing at the moment. I’ve been in business long enough to realise that I have to make the most of my very small talent. so I will put the story through several refining processes now that its finished.

Beta readers (please PM me if you want to be one)
Editing by an accomplished editor.
Copy editing of grammar etc.
Two versions – English and American.
Setting up the publishing company.
Book cover design.
The blurb.
The synopsis.
Advertising.
Marketing.
Social Networking.

So I have been working on all of the above. I am going to start this thread with the cover. If I get picked up by a publisher, they may well do their own but my own publishing company will need one.

I have an idea of what I want so I’ve knocked up a mockup (See below) which on a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 2. Hopefully the artist will take it to 10.

I couldnt find a full version of the SS officer that matched what is in my head so you'll have to imagine his legs.

Any comments, as always, are welcome before I send it to artists.

 

[alchemist]

Good luck in your mission, Gary. I don't know if you want general comments, rather than just on the artwork, but I have a couple of small ones on the website. It looks pretty impressive. Worryingly so, in fact. If I was an intellectually subnormal neo-Nazi and stumbled across it, I'd probably faint in ecstacy

You may mean "ferocity" instead of "veracity."

The line

Unfortunately, a stray bullet kills Hitler.

is genius in its...er...I can't think of the word. But it stands out.

 

[A. S. Behsam]

Hi Gary
First of all, CONGRATS! I envy yooou!
Wishing you the best!

Now, about the cover. The idea is nice, but like you said, it's just a basic image and needs to be worked on.

I can suggest a few artists on DeviantART that might be able to do a nice cover for you.
Personally, I can see a nice cover in black and white with only the title, your name, and that SS colored red; serious and nice look
But that's just my opinion

Now as for the artists, I can suggest a few people on Deviant, depending on what exactly you want. Traditional drawing? Digital drawing?

I do traditional drawing myself, but I'm not sure you'd like my style; you can find people who are so much better. Just tell me what style you want.

~Aty

 

[Gary Compton]

What spelling mistake? Haha its a good job I am a web designer as well as many other wonderful things.

Thanks for looking and just for the record I hate everything they stood for.

The stories my grandparents told about the war, fascinated me. One of my granfathers worked on the bouncing bomb - he didnt know it at the time. The other was a Japenese POW and would never discuss it - bless him

The story is about how Hitlers bloodline are trying to destabilise the world but this time from within. Their influence extends as far as Brussels and the US.

The economic crash - was it really the fault of the bankers?

I don't think the story shows them in a good light. quite the opposite, and the Protagonist hates their arogance also so he will not rest till they are stopped.

I do take your point though the website is quite shocking. Is that a good thing or bad?

 

[Gary Compton]

Hi Gary
First of all, CONGRATS! I envy yooou!
Wishing you the best!

Now, about the cover. The idea is nice, but like you said, it's just a basic image and needs to be worked on.

I can suggest a few artists on DeviantART that might be able to do a nice cover for you.
Personally, I can see a nice cover in black and white with only the title, your name, and that SS colored red; serious and nice look
But that's just my opinion

Now as for the artists, I can suggest a few people on Deviant, depending on what exactly you want. Traditional drawing? Digital drawing?

I do traditional drawing myself, but I'm not sure you'd like my style; you can find people who are so much better. Just tell me what style you want.

~Aty

Cheers Aty

And at this point I should mention Aty lives in Iran, I'm her British adopted father. I have a chapter in the book the has a couple of sentences in Farsi.

Off course, I have used Google translate to check it but you can't beat a woman on the ground, so Aty has agreed to translate it for me.

Many Thanks

 

[alchemist]

What spelling mistake? Haha its a good job I am a web designer as well as many other wonderful things.

Thanks for looking and just for the record I hate everything they stood for.

The stories my grandparents told about the war, fascinated me. One of my granfathers worked on the bouncing bomb - he didnt know it at the time. The other was a Japenese POW and would never discuss it - bless him

The story is about how Hitlers bloodline are trying to destabilise the world but this time from within. Their influence extends as far as Brussels and the US.

The economic crash - was it really the fault of the bankers?

I don't think the story shows them in a good light. quite the opposite, and the Protagonist hates their arogance also so he will not rest till they are stopped.

I do take your point though the website is quite shocking. Is that a good thing or bad?

Nah, I had no worries about your sympathies here. In truth, anyone with half a brain will read it and see that it's about a work of fiction. Even quarter brains will see that. My main thought about the look is that it's very professional, although the flaming letters may be a bit much - they make it look less like a scholarly website, but do add to the drama.

Shadowy organisations extending through the decades is always a good basis for a story. Very Ludlum-esque.

 

[Pyan]

Shadowy organisations extending through the decades is always a good basis for a story. Very Ludlum-esque.

Hmm - I was thinking more Ira Levin - The Boys from Brazil...

 

[Gary Compton]

Cheers Pyan.

I'll take that as a compliment. Makes note, free paperback and a pint for Pyan

 

[Vertigo]

A couple of comments on the website Gary.

I too noticed the same spelling mistake 'feracity'. Also in the preceding sentence their is a missing comma (I think) that sort of affects the meaning.

Hitler's bodyguard, the Schutzstaffell, defend the Fuhrer.

Without it the 'Hitler's bodyguard' is left dangling rather.

Finally in the Section entitled Hitler's suicide no mention is actually made of his suicide (or even faked suicide); all the page talks about is his plastic surgery. Interesting though that is (I didn't know any of that), it is not actually about the subject specified by the title.

Incidentally I quite like that flaming letters as, to me, they somehow separate it from being a real new-nazi website by adding drama and so suggesting what it actually is, a site about a work of fiction.

 

[A. S. Behsam]

Cheers Aty

And at this point I should mention Aty lives in Iran, I'm her British adopted father. I have a chapter in the book the has a couple of sentences in Farsi.

Off course, I have used Google translate to check it but you can't beat a woman on the ground, so Aty has agreed to translate it for me.

Many Thanks

You're so welcome Gary ^_^
Tell me when you decide on what kind of style you want for the cover so I can make some suggestions

 

[Gary Compton]

Thanks Vertigo, comma fixed and the reason I didnt discuss the suicide on this page is becuse I was trying to speculate on him possibly having escaped the Fuhrerbunker.

Thanks Aty. I will be in touch

I've been in discussion my editor today who has come up with something very interesting. He said:

"Whose story is this?" is a question you will need to answer, when sending query letters, pitches and synopses, and the answer is 'Freddy's'. Freddy is going to uncover the dastardly plot, and save the world (well, Britain and Europe, anyway) and show what happened along the way.

He'll probably disbelieve the fact that Hitler escaped, but when he finds it was actually true, both he and the audience will be surprised. By having a prologue that shows (well done, btw, hardly any 'telling' in it!) Hitler escaping, we know exactly what's happened, and the modern bunker bit holds very little surprise, because we instantly know it's a consequence of his escape.

I believe you're running a real risk of missing out on a wider readership, because everything is telling us it's a story of the Fourth Reich, and Hitler.

The cover (okay, it's the first one, and can be changed easily) tells me it's a story about Nazis and Hitler. If I'm not interested in them I won't even pick the book up. The Fourth Reich is secondary to the story - it's what Freddie has to uncover, and how he does it that's relevant.

Dan Brown's readers wouldn't give the Fourth Reich a glance, and if you pitch it as a fantastic investigative fiction with a likeable hero, who has a psychic ability which helps him uncover a plot to take over the world, and he triumphs in the end, then the title and the emphasis you're putting on it will not come over.

As I said at the beginning, you're in danger of falling between two stools.

The comment did hit come and I did worry that people would think this is totally about Nazis. Yes they are in it but they have re-invented themselves and are slick, well groomed, intelligent individuals (That's what they think)

The fact is the story is a spy thriller which involves most county's security services and the corruption of power goes right to the heart of the US, the UK and the EU.

So a re-jig is necessary, all the elements are their. They just need tweaking. I will need to have a re-think on the cover and while the series will remain to be called, "the Fourth Reich." The books names will change.

I was thinking of "the Fourth Reich - Head of the Snake." as the title of the first. What do you think?

I will continue to work on my strategy and I will have an announcement tomorrow.

 

[ctg]

I would suggest you to take JJ's hint Uncle Compton, and alter the name, so that it doesn't have fourth reicht in it. It might have been a work title and when the readers go shopping, they might follow certain patterns that makes to stay away from these sort of titles. So please figure out something better and Uncle Compton, if you don't find any other beta's, I'll try to give it a go.

 

[Ursa major]

if you don't find any other beta's, I'll try to give it a go.

Bear in mind, Gary, that ctg is a forthright critiquer...





...which is what all those who write should want in those who review their work.

.

 

[ctg]

Mister Bear, I'll do yours as well if that is what you want.

 

[Ursa major]

As it happens, ctg, you'll have a chance to use your scalpel on some of my unstructured ramblings in about 23 days, give or take (or in 130 counted posts, to be precise). If I haven't deleted it in the meantime, that is.

 

[Gary Compton]

Cheers CTG, it's not JJ who is doing this edit by the way.

I would love you having a look along with all the other who've put themselves forward

I think I might only send 30,000 words at a time. I'll then deal with the feedback and then send the second lot out. 120,000 in total.

I'm doing a re-write taking into account the aforementioned comment which will take a week. I'll then send it out.

Thanks to everyone getting involved

 

[Brian G Turner]

I think the main challenge is to get the manuscript polished, and not be afraid to make sensical changes. If it's good, then it's a matter of time.

Either way, I think the story idea is potentially clever - because there is stilla huge amount of modern interest in the Nazi's and Third Reich in general. In which case, to keep this people on board to read your book, it's going to have to be as historically faithful as possible up to 1945.

The collaboration between UK and Israeli intelligence raised an eyebrow for me, because prior to the UN declaration for the formation of Israel, those for a Jewish state tended to be violently aggreived at their British "colonial rulers". Also, was Mossad in existence so early? Either way, a general pointer - it's up to the story to answer such concerns.

Either way, best of luck with it and hope it goes well - but take no short cuts.

 

[Gary Compton]

Hi Brian,

You must have read the blurb on the website. The Mossad mission in my book was 1953. According to Eichmans wiki Mossad was formed in 1949 so I think I'm okay

Thanks for your comments and I won't cut corners - its too important to me!

I'll check the collaboration thing, off course what a country says in public is nearly always different behind closed doors.

 

[Hex]

Gosh. That's good, detailed feedback. How helpful.

With my web accessibility boots on, Gary, I'd worry that the contrast between the foreground and background might be difficult to read -- especially people with ageing eyes like me

 

[Gary Compton]

Cheers Hex. I'm commited to that design and colours now so thanks for looking though. I'll send you my reading glasses instead.

My blog, (coming soon) will be alot easier on the eye.

Okay, so one of the things I wanted to do is bring people who may be interested in my site by other means.

So I'm proud to announce the History Bunker is going to work with us. They sell WW11 memorabilia to re-enactors across the world. I'll be adding their products to the Fourth Reich shop and hopefully when customers are buying these products they may buy my book as well.

I'll also be selling some books on there and Fourth Reich related products. So get in touch if you want to promote yours.