Nessa Altura: Each place should have a story of its own
Who are you and in which way do you work with books?
I am a short story author – of criminal, erotic or humorous content. The stories are published by numerous German Publishing Houses such as List, Ullstein, Gmeiner, Insel, Grafit, whatever. If a publisher wants to launch an anthology he can ask me to contribute. I very much like going to places I haven’t yet been to – to set a story in there, such as in the moment in Kleve, a German city in the Lower Rhine Valley, near the Netherlands. Thus I - step by step - get to know almost all of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Each place, village, city, museum, sight can, no, should have a story of its own! All business is local. Readers like it when they recognize their home grounds. And yes, I do also write thematic apostilles, funny ones – , net-published, every Tuesday. I entertain a blog, www.autorenexpress.de, where I share my knowledge about the book market and writing techniques with my colleagues, no matter, if newbies or wisecracks. Sharing is the thing.
How do digital media and the Internet change your work?
They keep changing it, of course. Thank heavens, now the drawers here get cleared out – via blog and website one can publish one’s creative output, and newsletters and tweets can lead other eyes to these ideas. Attention is the net’s new gold, isn’t it? By the way, twitter: this informal office is fun – being an author is a lonely business – but also a means of distraction. I think it’s fabulous that through what we in Germany call “twittagsessen” (twitter+lunch) the Virtual goes Real World: twitterers meet spontaneously for lunch. What else? Of course, the net changes the way one frames the words. And it makes recherché so much easier. But never forget that things although not to be found in the internet do exist. Oncoming generations will find this idea strange.
What is a typical problem in your work you would like to have a solution for?
Short stories and other short formates are not much valued in Germany. This makes me angry, next to bad payment, agents’ disinterest, publishers’ neglect, lecturers’ carelessness. Small is beautiful and adequate these days – this word hasn’t come around yet. And content is king? I doubt it. What I also regret: There is still no net solution for nano-payment around. Authors and others who deal their ideas for free, could profit. I, for instance, would be willing to pay for certain content – if the originator had won my interest and trust over some time.
Where can we find you on the Internet?
www.nessaaltura.de
www.autorenexpress.de
nessaaltura@online.de
http://twitter.com/nessaaltura
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These 4 questions are answered regularly by people in the book industry. The interviews are published in this blog. This way, attention is drawn to people who work with books and to the challenges they face in the industry. If you would like to participate, please send your answers and a picture of you to Leander Wattig.
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