All publishers try to make every book they publish the "talk of the town". The starting idea is always that the books should be "pushed" to begin with, giving them a boost with posters, TV spots and through digital channels.
After that, books take on a life of their own. Further sales depend on personal recommendations, i.e. word of mouth. For some books, even the biggest investment in marketing is wasted because people just don't like them.
But one writer from Pancevo managed to stir up the entire literary scene, but also to demystify, and some would say to expose publishers and trends in publishing. The word is i Miloš K. Ilić who at first published books under his own name. Then he created a pseudonym and offered his works under the name Ana Miloš. The point is that the publishers did not know that the author was male. But the only important thing is that there are no "male and female literature". Literature can be either good or bad. End.
Ana Miloš is a created name, based on the model Elena Ferrante, with the addition that Ana Miloš was played by the author's friend who appeared on various televisions and talked about the book, which gives this act the meaning of a performance. The media described this move as an "affair" and a "fraud", but no one was deceived here. The text exists and there are no interventions on it, so the readers are not deceived. That's the only thing that matters.
After the announcement that Ana Miloš is actually Miloš K. Ilić, he published the book "Po zanimanju Ana Miloš" by Plato, in which he describes in detail how and why he decided to take that step, how communication went with publishers, which festivals the fictitious Ana Miloš was invited to festivals and how awards were announced for the published book.
He didn't pull the trick. He played with stereotypes, he broke the system, he turned the game around.
What all writers and readers must be grateful to Miloš K. Ilić for is the fact that from the publication of his book onwards, every publisher will pay close attention to the texts they publish, they will carefully read every word, they will devote themselves to writers and will not rush to publish every the price.
Certainly, Miloš K. Ilić made a show, in fact he stole the show from big publishers who give huge money for campaigns and promoting books, and he is in the center of events and has the attention of all media solely thanks to his wit, but also his talent and courage!
Publishing has been in crisis for a long time, primarily because of the "Kindle" effect and because people are reading less printed books due to a lack of attention and digitization. But just as the death of radio was heralded when television appeared, the death of printed books was also heralded when the Kindle appeared. But the books will survive as he survived and worked.
What Miloš K. Ilić did is not a fraud, it is an experiment that shows the state of society, publishing, and above all shows the resourcefulness of a bold writer. There are, of course, many people who are appalled by his act, who perceive his act as a provocation, but it is also a legitimate tool in literature. Miloš K. Ilić did not jump out of the scope of literature with his act, he expanded the field of activity of literature, for that he should be congratulated.
Miloš K. Ilić wrote the book "Ana Miloš by profession" and proved that he is a writer by profession, a good one, bold and provocative. That's the only thing that matters.
Bonus video:
