I would just like to say hi to everyone. I have just written my first book, and I have been advised to seek publication in the U.S. rather than my own country (I'm from London). The reason for this is the extremely draconian libel laws in the U.K. I therefore had to decide whether to change names to X, Y and Z (boring) or seek publication in the U.S.
So... God Bless America!
I have been lurking for a few days now and am extremely impressed by the comradeship and helpfulness of the absolutewrite community.
The book is about Belgian child murderer Marc Dutroux and the provisional title is
"Dutroux and The Untouchables"
The word "Untouchables" refes to the highly placed individuals who are effectively untouchable because of their power and influence in Belgium. They are beyond the reach of the law. Because of this, they were never inconvenienced by the Belgian authorities, even though the investigation led directly to their doors.
As you may have guessed, I name these untouchables (although I will not do so in this forum), and this is were the libel considerations come in.
I hope that the book will be of interest to publishers because
(i) no other book on Marc Dutroux exists in the English language, even though he is unquestionably one of Europe's most notorious serial killers.
(ii) I have benefitted from full access to the 450,000 page case file, which was leaked to Belgian journalists shortly before the trial began. I am therefore able to back up every claim that I make.
I wrote the book for several reasons. Firstly, a Belgian investigative journalist, who worked on the story, is a close friend of mine. Secondly, the way leads to prominent people were not followed up, really shocked me. Thirdly, I have always wanted to write a book, so this seemed like a good opportunity.
John
So... God Bless America!
I have been lurking for a few days now and am extremely impressed by the comradeship and helpfulness of the absolutewrite community.
The book is about Belgian child murderer Marc Dutroux and the provisional title is
"Dutroux and The Untouchables"
The word "Untouchables" refes to the highly placed individuals who are effectively untouchable because of their power and influence in Belgium. They are beyond the reach of the law. Because of this, they were never inconvenienced by the Belgian authorities, even though the investigation led directly to their doors.
As you may have guessed, I name these untouchables (although I will not do so in this forum), and this is were the libel considerations come in.
I hope that the book will be of interest to publishers because
(i) no other book on Marc Dutroux exists in the English language, even though he is unquestionably one of Europe's most notorious serial killers.
(ii) I have benefitted from full access to the 450,000 page case file, which was leaked to Belgian journalists shortly before the trial began. I am therefore able to back up every claim that I make.
I wrote the book for several reasons. Firstly, a Belgian investigative journalist, who worked on the story, is a close friend of mine. Secondly, the way leads to prominent people were not followed up, really shocked me. Thirdly, I have always wanted to write a book, so this seemed like a good opportunity.
John
John!
