Wow. Quite a bit of hate on here.
Ok, so I found this thread by googling my name and have been absolutely fascinated by the responses. I figured I may as well address some of the more common complaints:
Q. WTF Man? Why aren't you linking your books?
A. Why would I? I put down in precise detail how to link all your books together to increase sales. This method isn't exactly rocket science. I wrote about thumbnail visibility, clear titles, simple, easy-to-understand covers and vivid descriptions. How does seeing one of my books change anything I've said? Either it's clear or it isn't.
Q. How can you live with yourself, writing such utter dreck?
A. Because it's pretty good dreck. My wife and I joke that we're the Michael Bay of writing. Sure, it's a lot of crashing and thrashing, but it's still entertaining.
Q. Why are you staying anonymous?
A. Many reasons. Not really interested in having people tear apart my work, give me shit reviews or rail me because I'm doing well at it.
Q. So you're basically a whore?
A. Essentially, yes. I write what sells. I've put out things that were incredibly personal and watched the sales hover around 300 copies a month, then see a quick and dirty story I threw together in an afternoon sell over a thousand copies. Just because I think something is important doesn't mean anyone else will. It's a hard truth, but it is what it is. There's no correlation between the amount of work I put in and how well it sells.
Q. I don't think you're really a writer.
A. That's not a question, but I see what you mean. You think a writer is a tortured soul, pouring his soul into his work, creating beauty and crafting brilliance. Meh. I'd say it's someone who can effectively communicate through the written word. I have plenty of things sitting on my hard drive that I think are full of deathless prose but I know they won't sell. As Steve Jobs said, "Real artists ship". I've had a couple books put out by "real" publishers and I make more money doing this.
Q. So how did you put out so much, so quickly?
A. I already know the story before I start the first word. I know King says he just starts writing and he never knows where he's going to end up, but I already have the whole thing planned out in my head, down to the quirks of the characters, their leitmotifs, the way they look, and how their relationships with other characters are going to develop. I type very very quickly, so imagine how much you'd be able to generate if you were just writing what someone else was saying? That's sort of how my brain works. Oh, I smith it as I go, ruthlessly edit out parts that don't advance the story, and I try to keep people guessing. Every single story I write has a twist at the end. They're all light-hearted, upbeat, fun and easy to read.
Look, the economy is shit. No one wants to read an introspective analysis of a young boy coming-of-age and discovering his homosexuality in 19th century Ireland. Ok, some may, but most people want to be distracted from the endless bills, their condescending boss, their loveless marriage and their lazy kids.
That's what I write. I want to entertain, not educate. I tried the first and it didn't sell.
Q. Why are you bothering to reply here?
A. Well, I thought that you guys deserved a response, even the people crying bullshit.
Q. I call bullshit.
A. Still not a question, but you're free to disbelieve. Your incredulity won't change the amount of money deposited in my bank account.
Q. How long are you going to do this?
A. As long as it sells. My goal is to become ridiculously wealthy and have smooth-skinned native girls serve me frosty drinks while I sit on the beach and wait for the checks to arrive.
Q. I think you suck. I've been working for three years on my novel and it's brilliant. People like you dilute the pool and flood the market with shit. If I knew who you were I'd come to your house and pummel you with a mallet crafted from your own arrogance.
A. And you wonder why I remain anonymous...
Q. So wait, you're actually PROUD of the shit you write?
A. I never said it was shit. I said that content was the least important element to sell a book. However, if everything you write is shit, no one will buy the second, third, and fourth books. The thing is, you have to get them to buy the FIRST one and I already told you how to do that.
And there you have it. I think I've addressed most of the points in this thread. Have a great evening -- I have to shit out another story.
Wait.
I said everything has a twist at the end...
Rosebud was the sleigh, Keyser Soze was Kevin Spacey, and Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.