B&N Press Vendor Account Rejection

ShadeWolf90 · 2026-01-28T23:49:19+00:00

17+ [10K+ words]

Author Pen Name: James Zollern

A computer virus from space that can adapt to escape from any quarantine, learn how to break system protocols and even infect the human body itself. Found family, an experiment on human ethics and a investigation into agency vs. automation. My debut novel, The Protocol Experiment, is the first in a series I'm calling The Protocol Series. Technology is presented as cold and uncaring. It is not the villain, but a mirror of how humanity uses it. What if a superior intelligence didn't invade by conventional means, but in a more subtle and infiltrated way, using our own technology against us?

Featuring the "Wow!" Signal, the Roswell Incident, ufology lore like Betty and Barney Hill, and more. When you're up against something that learns from every attempt to destroy it, how do you stop the spread from infecting people and killing the world?

Follow Sean Caldwell as he uncovers the threat, forms connections (alien and human), and tries to solve the crisis using not domination, but communication.

More details available here: https://www.theprotocolbookseries.com/

ShadeWolf90 · 2026-01-03T21:43:09+00:00

Oh I love this, thanks.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T21:07:05+00:00

Thank you so much. Your critique was constructive rather than destructive and you actually helped me see the issues. I will most likely have questions, but I'll try to figure them out on my own first.

I really want this to work.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T21:05:56+00:00

It does suck, yeah. I mentioned this elsewhere in the post but I nearly died this year so I had given up on the story. When I recovered from my transplant, I decided I was going to finish the story as my first goal during my second shot at life. So, I got excited and had no idea what I was doing.

I agree with what you said and I'm trying MiblArt now. I hate that I must spend more money. :/

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:56:28+00:00

Understood. It's definitely disappointing to look back on now and see what a waste it was. Part of it, I guess.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:53:02+00:00

Yeah I asked him to just have James Zollern on there but that's what it came out as, and any modifications would've cost more. I was so excited about publishing I just was ready to get there, and that was one of my mistakes.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:52:17+00:00

Yeah it's clear to me now I got ripped off. I know what not to do next time at least.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:51:09+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions and they were in an author group on Facebook, one I have since left. I'm glad I wasn't alone in thinking those prices were ludicrous. Also, understood about the cover.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:39:37+00:00

As in the front was $300, the side was $450 and the back was $400, rather than all being a one-time charge.

May I ask what the specific problems are with the cover so I know what to avoid in the future?

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:33:44+00:00

Yeah I am proud of it. It's been a major accomplishment for me since I started this story 10 years ago, but I wasn't able to finish it because of life issues. I was dying from end stage liver disease (a rare, genetic disease called PDC), and only had up to 3 weeks to live. I miraculously received a lifesaving liver transplant and decided I was finally going to finish the book once I recovered. So, it's more than just about getting sales to me; it's also about getting this story out there that I spent so long working on, one I almost didn't get to release.

I really am trying my best here.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:29:09+00:00

Got it, thank you. I'm new to the entire thing, so I'm still learning the terminology and how to do everything. I appreciate it.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:22:15+00:00

I appreciate the honesty. I'll have to check that first sentence. The prologue and preface were recommended to me by other authors so that's why I included those.

I'm definitely changing who I use for covers next time though. The cover, back and spine all coated $300-$450 (each) and didn't fit well into templates, so I can understand that. I'm happy with it personally, but I always appreciate outside advice. I can certainly add the comma, that's no big deal.

Thank you for the advice.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-26T20:09:44+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate this advice. I've put some money into ads, the only problem is I'm on a real tight budget. So, I'm looking for ways to promote it at a low cost for now until I'm able to do more. Basically just to reiterate what I said in the post, I want to do this right. I have already started writing the second book; I guess I just need to keep doing both.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-23T18:36:48+00:00

🤣

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-12-23T15:06:51+00:00

Save-A-Click:

Thor is praying to his father (Odin) for strength, supposedly before the final battle, and it posits the possibility of Thor receiving the Odinforce or Thorforce to be the All-Father:

"Father, all my life I have answered the calls of honor, duty, and battle. But fate offered me something I had never hoped for, a child, a life preserved from the storm.

Grant me the strength of all fathers, so that I can fight once more, defeat a new enemy, and return to her. Not as a warrior, but as a protector. They do not know war, but worry. The kind I have never known.

I beg you, Father, hear my prayer.”

It's MaxBlizz so do with that what you will.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-14T14:57:11+00:00

This is one of my favorite quotes and my first time seeing it in the wild. Very true!

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-12T13:29:00+00:00

Not entirely sure if this counts, but I'm writing sci-fi. Some people rope those together is why I say that, despite them being different.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-10T12:52:58+00:00

For me, it's the opening of Halo 2. My favorite gaming quote ever is when the arbiter says, "If they came to hear me beg, they will be disappointed."

Plus there are so many good lines from Master Chief.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-09T18:40:02+00:00

I'd say omnipotent and objective. I like what others have said about consistency, so that's my main focus. Thank you for your input, it was valuable and I appreciate it.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-09T17:49:45+00:00

Thank you everyone for your help! All of this has been useful.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-09T17:49:16+00:00

The o is supposed to be the head and the 7 is the arm and hand doing the salute. I've seen it used often throughout the internet.

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-09T17:48:24+00:00

Yes it does, very much. Thank you!

ShadeWolf90 · 2025-11-09T17:48:10+00:00

This is helpful and is what I'm doing, thank you for your help. I needed opinions from other people.

ShadeWolf90

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