Hasimir Fenrig

It was one of those rare mornings I woke up before Maraki did; like the one where he had held me in his arms for the first time. He wouldn’t jump up in panic these Cycles, but still a deep fear inhibited him: he hadn’t taken me since our first time in prison. In the beginning, my injury had prevented it, but it had healed and I was eager to feel him inside me again. Our lovemaking was wonderful as it was. Still, I wanted to know what hold him back. Though he didn’t use words, every change of pos

Thanks, comicfan, for your input. Meanwhile, I've cooled down, but at that time, I learned what burning anger really means. An interesting but disturbing experience. Getting a beta (or some of them) is definitely something I'm considering. Moreover, I decided to do the coaching with Jerry Cleaver. I'm reading his book right now and can relate very well to his ideas and concepts. And I've got someone taking a look at my work and who nudges me in the correct direction, pointing out areas to work on. I'll give feedback in the write's forum whether the course stands up to my expectations

@Cia: Thanks for pointing out that course to me. I'll take a more thorough look at in this weekend. @Mark: Good advice, but hard to follow. @james: Once I'm fully awake, I'll surely garner the wisdom of your words The commenting stuff escalated a little over the last 12 hours. She actually implied that all my reviews are fakes and that I'm "writing pure fabricated nonsense". I flagged these two comments for inspection by goodreads.com for libel and irrelevance (of course, fiction is pure fabricated nonsense, isn't it?). Additionally, I flagged the original review as containing factual errors regarding the book (the non-existing homophobia she found in the story). Perhaps, my reaction is a little over the top, but now it's up to goodreads.com to decide. My hope is that this brings some impartiality to this mess. Thanks again for your support. UPDATE: The offending comments have been removed by the original poster. She contacted me via private message. I've explained the situation to her: I didn't ask for those comments, but they originated from a story forum (not GA) where I vented my frustration. I really hope that this ends this messy situation. It unhinged me far more than it should have, and I could need a night of sleep at last.

Of course, your view on this was helpful, Billy. Thank you! As I've already said, I'll refrain from contacting the reviewer. Since the review was lacking all substance, I don't know how to inquire further and learn something from it. Of course, constructive criticism is helpful and I'm glad to listen. The amazon review I've got falls into this category. UPDATE: The reviewer is now lashing out at the people who spoke up on my behalf. The good thing is that she discredits herself even more by doing so. Additionally, she seems to hold the romantic mis-conception of German schools being havens for gay pupils. Is she aware that I'm German and visited German schools for 13 years? Okay, "some" time has passed since then, but I'm working with students coming directly from school and not too much seems to have changed.

Thanks, Cia, for sharing your experiences and putting my own plight (cliché alert!) into a little more perspective. However illogical it may sound after spilling my tears here, I agree on the effect of negative reviews. On one or two occasions, I bought a kindle book after reading a harsh critique and thinking to myself, "But that's exactly what you are looking for." I hijack my own thread for another question: Does anyone happen to know whether the Jerry Cleaver online writing coaching is any good? (http://www.writeyournovelnow.com/) I'm determined to work on my writing skills, and though I'm a devout autodidact in most areas, self-education can take you only that far. I'm not quite sure how to find a profound writing course in English in Germany. Hence, the online approach is very attractive for me. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks to both of you! I didn't intend to write anything else but a lighthearted story starting from a "classical" bully/nerd setting. That is the reason why this bothers me so much: she isn't attacking faulty writing style or major plot holes; it's the very premise. And why, for goodness sake, do you read a book that you're determined not to like? I think I'll refrain from contacting her because there will be some f* and a* and b* words if I do. I think deep down I'm just a little kindergarden boy, holding up his scrawl drawing and wanting everyone to love it. Insight is the first step towards enlightenment. Once more, I want to express how grateful I am for you to bear with my whining!

Do you have any particular strategy to deal with reviews lacking any substance? It seems that I'm too emotionally attached to my writing and would like to know if you can relate to this sentiment. What riled me up and made me ask this question was the following review on goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/330851067 She states she didn't finish the book, and I doubt she even started with it. All the points she mentions and the lighthearted style she critiques can be extracted from the blurb. Moreover, I wonder where she did find homophobia in the story. There is one scene of ACTED homophobia, though I question whether she read to this point. Ultimately, that review sparked some more interest in the book, but still I can't get it out of my system. I'm simply not a good salesman...

Update: I've got my first 4-star review on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/review/R1NHEDGKWU5MWB/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007ZFK3VE&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode= It's "only" 4-stars, but I scanned the other reviews of the poster and 4-stars seem to be almost a rave. At least, my book got a better rating than "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" from this reviewer. What do you think about the review? Please let me know!

Thank you! The promo was quite successful, I think. Over 400 downloads over the weekend! For not being Mrs. Rowling or Mrs. Meyer, I'm very content... I hope to get a review or two in all the stores. Keep your fingers crossed, please. Moreover, the review site reviewsbyjessewave.com accepted my story. On the downside, two other sites rejected it, though one of those sites encouraged me to re-submit the story in three months' time. The book is now listed on goodreads.com as well. I'm just too impatient for more things to happen! :woohoo:

I stumbled across Scrivener today and fell in love at once. I'm the no-planning type of writer with some vague plot ideas at the beginning, but the "meat" comes during the writing process itself. Scrivener "forces" a messy like me to keep track of the scenes, complete with synopses. So, I have an outline after writing, without much additional work, as a base for further editing. I hope this will work as planned.

Thanks, Cia. The sales report on amazon seems to be broken... or buying behavior is weird. It sold 8 copies on day one, and then sales stopped. Some other users on kdp report about figures not updating, so I keep my fingers crossed. I'll abuse this thread for promotional reasons: this weekend (5th / 6th May), the book is available for free in all amazon stores! Am I allowed to post a link?

The book is now available on amazon.com and all other amazon stores. Thank you again for all your input and support! If you see a typo... don't tell me!

Thank you! I'm currently polishing the existing parts (esp. getting some overused tenses out and punctuation). I hope I'll can start to seriously doing so next week.

I've bought it as an ebook and will take a look. The reviews on amazon.de were quite mixed, but I liked the sample chapter. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I've ordered "Elements of Style" as a paperback, too. It may be a little dated, but better dated than wrong.

That's actually one of the books I got. I do like the style of the Blue Book of Grammar (distinct, numbered rules - a mathematician's heaven), but it seems a little 'incomplete'. Perhaps a little more background: I got the second edit of 'Dumb'/'Perception' back yesterday evening. While waiting for it, I had removed some of the commas the editor left in. Now, I'm trying to rationalize her choices for myself, but sometimes it's just: 'Why, oh you deceitful grammar gods, WHY?' (a little less drama, actually, but that's how I feel at times).

I'm looking for an authoritative book on punctuation (esp. commas). I scanned the pinned post of book recommendations but didn't find what I'm looking for. I always thought I knew most of the rules, but I was quite wrong about this. I've bought three grammar books on amazon over the last weekend, and still I'm none the wiser regarding reliable rules for punctuation (that's an exaggeration, but you get the gist). Oh... one thing I've learned: English punctuation seems to be a religion, but not a science. For many rules, you'll find different ... let's say... exegeses. What one book deems absolutely necessary, the next one discards as wrong or unusual. As a non-native speaker (and mathematician ), it's quite disturbing; I want a punctuation algorithm! I never thought I'd ever say this, but German is a comma heaven in comparison: not a main clause -> comma. Comma...uhh...Period! No 'guessing' whether the information is essential to the sentence or not; no 'scrying' whether I'm talking about strong contrast. If you have any suggestion for a quality source on this topic, I'd be grateful. P.S.: Excuse my little ramble. I love English more than any other language (incl. cumbersome German), but no other language can drive me mad like it.

Good hints, Cia and John Doe! Thanks! Result: see below.

I've experimented with the sample photo you can download from iStockphoto. I like the result, but see for yourself.

Yeah, I'm actually considering to change it. There should be no real legal problem, because the standard stock photo license doesn't grant exclusive rights. But the possibility of confusion bothers me. There is another stock photo I like: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-18677731-gay-men-holding-hands.php?st=93fbc2c It's more subtle, but quite romantic, I think. Problem is that this image is almost square while the one I'm using now has a format similar to a sheet of letter paper. This would change the entire "composition" of the cover. The format is set by the size of the kindle screen, so changing it is not really an option. Other problem is that this photo is so general that it might be already taken as well.

The Hauser book seems to be out of print. It bothers me, but I think I'll stick to the cover. The model is an eye-catcher for marketing, but the picture also reflects the theme of perception: the man is covering his face, removing himself from perception and denying it to himself. I chose the black-and-white contrast for the titles to hint at another aspect of perception. The subtitle "A German Love Story" was also intended for marketing. It helps the book to stand out by showing the "unusual" setting (that's the theory at least :-)) I've thought about your suggestion adding the German theme graphically to the image, but I only came up with clichés or something so vague that it might be misunderstood. I know that the cover isn't a masterpiece of art (or sublety). But when I bought ebook after ebook from amazon, covers like this attracted my intention (yeah, I'm simple...VERY simple). So I worked from my own experience which is definitely wrong for most other people.

A P.O. Box is not acceptable by German law for this purpose. There are letter services for this, but the cheapest service I've found was 9.99 EUR per month plus a fee for every letter. I doubt that my book will make that amount of money per month. I've made up my mind about this: I'll put my address in the back of the book, an email address and a facebook account, but not the phone number. I'm required to offer two ways of communication and this should qualify. By putting the info at the end, a person has to at least buy the book to get my address and can't take it from the sample chapters. I'm really grateful for all the feedback from this community! Still no volunteer for the blurb and the glossary? No fact checking is required. I only want it to be free of typos and language quirks (which I tend to produce quite often talking of misusing words: why did no one tell me that "knocking up" means to "make pregnant" and not to "hit someone"... the editor was quite amused)

Thanks for the info and hints on the design, John Doe. I'll experiment a little with the cover, as you've suggested. I've bought an ebook on ebook publishing for amazon.de (I savor the irony in this ^^), which brought the imprint to my attention. The book says that I'm required to put the info into the book itself, so that anyone is able to contact me (mainly for the legal reasons you've stated). Amazon knows my full contact data, of course. They don't act as publisher but as distributor only. That's what makes it difficult regarding German laws. I took a look at some of the ebooks on amazon.de published by German authors by inspecting the sample chapters. Most of them don't have that info, at least not in the front imprint (it is possible to put more info in the back, but I don't want to buy books for that reason). Perhaps, I'm simply worrying too much, and no one will take legal interest in a book that'll sell 30 copies overall.

@jamessavik: Me too... I'm trying to find out at the moment what I've to take care of when self-publishing a book. My result so far is: as a German, I will be sued no matter what. I'm really worried about the imprint. German regulations (and I'm not even sure which one really applies) require to give at least full address of the publisher, i.e. me. If the more strict rules have to be followed, add a telephone number to this. I have to tell all the wackos out there where I live and invite them to phone me day and night?!? Not doing so may result in a fine. Even before this, I wasn't sure whether I spent more money on this endeavor than I could possibly earn. But I won't give up. May I ask another favor of the community? I've written a short glossary (~600 words) and a blurb. Any volunteers for proofreading one of those?

Thanks for your feedback so far! @Quonus: I'm glad that you share my opinion about its "eye catchiness" (is that a word?) @MJ85: I will take down the story before publishing it on amazon. But as my avid fan , I'd give you the kindle ebook for free! @sorgbarn: Tim is athletic, too. Perhaps the guy on the pic is a little too athletic and a little too old, but I think the picture still works. I've actually added the sub-title having this marketing "trick" in mind: the German setting is a little more "exotic" than the normal high-school set-up. This might attract some readers.

Hi, I'm planning to publish a polished version of my story 'Dumb' as a kindle ebook. First, I'm intending to change the title to 'Perception: A German Love Story'. My first intention was to avoid the similarity in name to the 'Dumb jock' series by Jeff Erno. Our books use the same setting, so this could become an issue. But additionally, the new title reflects the theme of the story quite well. Second, I've designed a cover. The photo is a standard license image from iStock and the used fonts are open-license. This should cover the legal stuff. I'd be glad to hear your opinions on both topics. Best regards Mario aka Hasimir