Egos and Money at Stake as Writers Compete for Patrons Online

RICHMOND HILL, ON, August 25, 2010 (Press-News.org) What does a starving writer have to do these days to make money and attract readers in a dwindling market of mainstream publishers and booksellers? One website, http://www.PatronQuo.com, has recently launched with the idea to go back to basics, to help aspiring authors earn financial support the old-fashioned way - by finding patrons.

This being the Internet, it's an old idea with a newfangled Darwinian twist. Fiction writers of all genres are invited to submit their tales in the hopes of getting readers, accolades, and perhaps money. Though it's free to submit, the price some participants pay may come in the form of crushed egos, as each submitted tale is randomly assigned for literary death matches with all other tales on the website.

Visitors to the website submit the votes, and the results for each match are generated in a Match Bout Record chart that appends the foot of each tale on the site. In the opinion of J Leland Kupferberg, a founder and literary participant in PatronQuo, the best way to attract readers in a highly competitive market is to inject the proceedings with the thrill of competition and rankings.

"We live in an age of stats and rankings," explains Mr. Kupferberg, "where the need to know the box office take of the movie you just saw outranks your need to know its plot; where your need to know the medal standings of your country's athletes outranks your need to know their names. So wouldn't it be great to see your favorite stories come with their own searchable sports stats?"

So where do the patrons come in? The idea is that some readers will become so invested in the standings of their favored authors that some will step up and offer patronage in support. In turn, those patrons will receive prominent placements on the pages of the tales they've patronized, and will earn their own rankings on the site as patrons. At the same time, the tales they patronize will move up the money ranking charts.

According to Mr. Kupferberg, the opportunity to view the money rankings of a story provides an added incentive for readers to become engaged and - Mr. Kupferberg hopes - repeatedly coming back for more to check on the progress of their favorite authors and tales.

Already, so soon after its launch, one of the participating authors, Cori Jones, earned $310 this month in patronage for her posted novel excerpt "Hanging Wasp." Concerned and a bit embarrassed about this sudden surge of patronage support, Ms. Jones decided to give back to her fellow writers, using a large portion of her earnings to patronize the tales she thought would be worthy of her support.

But even with that noble gesture of altruism, Ms. Jones could not escape PatronQuo's penchant for competition: the gesture moved her straight up to the top of the patron rankings.

PatronQuo.com provides fiction fans and writers of all genres a unique experience in reading and submitting book excerpts and short stories online. For further information and inquiries, please visit http://www.PatronQuo.com or write to admin@PatronQuo.com.