Max Malterer's Blog

Hey everyone!

Writing to you from our beautiful balcony in Berlin Adlershof, surrounded by flowers and trees humming in the late-summer sun. Gotta enjoy the warm days before fall rolls in… and with it, a bunch of book news (and a micro story at the end!).

October 19th marks the one-year anniversary of The Human Relief Project, and one year of me being a published writer. Woohoo! To celebrate:

I’m refreshing the cover, folding in what I’ve learned this past year and setting the stage for my future author style.

I’m releasing a hardcover edition.

I’m doing a small website overhaul alongside it.

And I’ll use this moment to make some noise about The Human Relief Project and reach new readers.

Of course, subscribers here will be the first to see the new cover. 🙂

My three-month literary-agent window closed with rejections and silence. That’s okay — I was prepared for it (maybe even a little glad, since it means I won’t have to wait years for Birthright to come out 😉).

Hybrid publishing was another option, but after speaking to a few firms and reviewing offers, I’ve decided to self-publish rather than go hybrid. Why:

I can put more of the budget into the work itself (line editing, cover and layout design, launch promotion) instead of a package fee.

I want more hands-on involvement to keep tight control over quality and build long-term partnerships: bookstore outreach, promotional work, and creator collaborations.

I’ll still work with a small team of pros: a copy editor, a cover designer, and a layout designer.

Launch is locked for Q1 2026 🚀 I’ll share the exact date once a couple of pieces click into place. This one should be a (hopefully!) big step up from the HRP launch: higher production quality, hardcover from day one, audiobook from day one, and a real push to get it into bookstores.

Time to let you in on a little secret: the new book’s working title is SAINT 😌. I’ve just finished the plot revision, and work on the manuscript will kick off next week. It’s the most challenging project I’ve attempted so far. Very near-future, research-heavy, subtle yet complex worldbuilding, messy human stakes, and characters and a story I can’t stop thinking about — I’m sooo excited for it.

If momentum holds (while juggling the HRP anniversary, Birthright prep, and, yes, the day job), I’m hoping for a first full draft toward year’s end 🤞

In August, I ran myself through writing exercises from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft. She’s one of my favorite sci-fi authors, and I highly recommend her books — start with The Dispossessed if you haven’t read one of hers. You’ll think about anarchy in ways you never have before.

Her writing exercises were just as eye-opening as her books and helped me level up my craft as a fiction writer. Over the next few newsletters I’ll share some raw practice pieces. Today it’s Exercise One, which leans into sound: rhythm, noise, breath on the page. I wrote two short pieces; here’s Part I.

Arthur brushed a pine branch away from his face, the dark-green needles gently scratching the back of his hand like the nails of an affectionate lover, and almost stumbled over Jess who was kneeling on the forest floor, staring into the clearing ahead. He was about to reprimand her for choosing such an unfortunate spot to stop, but before the lecture he’d given to countless students on research trips could leave his mouth, the tension in her body caught his attention.

Something wasn’t right.

Jess slowly turned her head and smiled at her father over her left shoulder, a childish grin running ear to ear. The silence around them was so absolute he could have heard a pine needle drop. Yet it wasn’t a needle that broke the hush but a muffled nnnghh that sounded both foreign and familiar. Jess’s wide eyes locked on him for a heartbeat, then flicked right, and his gaze followed her lead to the center of the clearing.

Arthur held his breath.

He knew there were wild ones roaming these parts of Canada now, but he’d never seen one in the wilderness — let alone a cow and her calf. The scene was so picturesque one could think the mother and her young were posing. Her head was held high, towering five meters above the ground where a steady breeze ruffled her hair; the late-morning sun bathed her entire body, every shade of brown in her deep fur vibrating in the bright light, sharply contrasted with the ebony of her massive tusks. The calf’s head barely reached the mother’s belly, and it was fully covered by her shade, as if the sun were something to be protected from. While the little one’s trunk kept moving, busily grabbing clumps of tall grass and shoveling them into its wide-open mouth, the mother stood frozen, alert to dangers lurking in the forest’s depth.

This most majestic of mammals had returned to the world with none of its former foes left. The great beast’s early memories — yes, they remember — knew no discomfort, no pain, no fear. In her rebirth grounds there had been nothing to be afraid of: food and water had been plentiful, the calves safe, the herd growing, and despite the usual skirmishes between the young bulls, it had been a time of bliss and peace. Yet one day a swarm of gray mosquitoes the size of birds, their wings flashing in the sun and their skin tougher than the hardest rock, had appeared in the herd’s paradise. After circling over them for mere seconds, they had descended and stung one tribe member after the other.

If she knew today’s world, if she spoke our language, she would tell us of the terror, of the sound of bone drills all around her that still haunted her at night. The mother, the herd’s matriarch, had been the last to be stung, and she had to watch in horror as her tribe, one after another, sank to the ground and slipped into a deep sleep. When she herself, after first swooshing one of the mosquitoes away with her tail, its impact against her skin surprisingly painful, had finally found herself melting to the ground with her lids closing, she saw a group of strange two-legged monkeys on the horizon, walking toward the herd across the far plain.

Her instincts told her these monkeys were behind the mosquitoes, and when she awoke again in the Canadian wilderness, it was this instinctual certainty that told her to steer clear of any two-legged monkeys, should they ever cross her path again.

Even without packs of Smilodons roaming, Earth was not a safe place for mammoths.

This piece was inspired by the visionary work of Colossal Biosciences.

Thanks for reading and for being here. I’m curious: what are you most excited about right now? The new HRP cover and hardcover? Birthright launching in Q1 2026? Or SAINT taking shape? And how did the little writing experiment land for you?

Hit reply and tell me.

Until next time, keep reading (or listening),
Max

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Hey everyone!

This one’s going to be a packed update. I haven’t written in a while, and a lot has been happening. So get tucked in, grab a cup of coffee, maybe put on some calming music and let’s catch up.

Let’s start with The Human Relief Project. I haven’t really done much promotion lately, but still, every month one or two people find the book and buy it. That’s been a nice little rhythm, reminding me that the story keeps finding its way. Someone recently mentioned the book in a LinkedIn conversation, and a dear former colleague gave me detailed feedback on the audiobook version. That’s going to be incredibly helpful when I start working on the audio edition of Birthright. All small things, but they give me energy.

There’s also an exciting podcast interview coming up in two weeks with Olivia Gambelin, a Responsible AI voice I admire. She’s warm, curious, and we’ve had great chats so far. I’m looking forward to diving deep with her into the HRP, our workless future, and what it actually means to write about AI and with AI.

Now to Birthright. I realized I haven’t shared this yet: I started querying agents in early June 🎉 So far, I’ve sent the book to 25 agents, gotten a few rejections, and the rest are still out there, waiting. We’ll see. If no one bites, I’m ready to self-publish again. But this time I’m exploring hybrid publishing models that offer more professional support with book creation, printing, distribution, and a bit of a push into bookstores. First conversations have been super insightful — I’m learning a lot and I’m loving it 🙂

And maybe you’ve seen it already on Instagram… I’ve finished the first draft of the plot for novel number three (!!). It’s incredible how thrilling it is to plot a book. The draft is about 40 pages long right now. Some prose already in there, some scenes loosely sketched, characters coming to life, story arcs forming. It’s still rough, of course, and I’ll definitely go through a second draft of the plot before diving into the actual writing. But I can’t wait to see the story and characters coming to life on the page. This one’s already giving me a lot of energy.

Between these three projects, I’ve also been writing a few shorter pieces here and there. Birthright won’t launch before spring 2026, so I’ll be sharing two or three flash or short fiction pieces with you in the coming months to bridge the gap a little. Stay tuned.

At the beginning of the year, I promised to give you more behind-the-scenes insights into the writing business. So here are two that have been on my mind lately.

Genre is…complicated. On the one hand, agents, publishers, readers (including people like us!) all want to categorize a book. It helps with marketing, discoverability, Amazon listings — you name it. But most books don’t fit neatly into just one genre. Mine certainly don’t.

Sure, there are sci-fi elements. But it’s not really sci-fi. It has some literary elements, but true lovers of literary fiction wouldn’t accept that either. Maybe speculative fiction fits? But that’s too broad. So we get more granular: near-future sci-fi. Or near-future speculative fiction. Or near-future dystopia. And suddenly you’re slicing things so thin that it feels like you're both zooming in and cutting off important dimensions of your work.

It’s something I’ve been struggling with since the HRP. Traditional publishing and platforms still rely heavily on a small set of genres. Selecting the three categories on Amazon was like putting my book into chains. Picking sci-fi as genre for a big newsletter promotion felt so wrong that I didn’t even promote it. But here’s where GenAI has been surprisingly helpful with Birthright. When working on positioning, book summary, or single line pitches, ChatGPT — my Swiss-army knife for all book-related work (since I try to avoid juggling multiple subscriptions and I like the friction of having to think deeply through what I want) — helps to translate my novel’s themes and ideas into genre language that agents and platforms recognize. It adds elements such as “…with coming of age elements”, “…with literary cross-over appeal” or “…blending dystopian worldbuilding with Grace’s sensory, introspective voice”. It’s making the “illegible” parts of my book more legible.

Still, genre remains a moving target, and I’m curious what the final “label” for Birthright will be.

A query is basically the pitch package you send to agents (and sometimes publishers) to get them interested in representing your book.

It usually includes:

A query letter – one page, either emailed or submitted through a form. It contains a short pitch of the book, a two-paragraph book summary, a little about you as the author, and ideally, a nod to how the book fits into the market (including comparison titles). You want to show the agent that you have a good grasp of your book’s commercial market.

A writing sample – this varies. Some agents want the first 10 pages, others ask for 30 pages or the first three chapters. If they like what they see, they’ll request the full manuscript.

A synopsis – 1–2 pages outlining the entire plot, including all twists and turns (yes, even the big surprises — no wonder agents don’t get hooked after reading a synopsis 😀).

When I queried HRP, I focused mostly on the story. No positioning, no relevant comp titles (1984 is not a relevant comp title for agents…). With Birthright, I’ve leaned much more into the commercial angle: who the book is for, what niche it fits into, which recently successful titles it sits alongside. Because as much as agents adore books, and usually do their work for the love of literature not the love of money, this is a very tough business. So, they need to see potential, both creatively and commercially. Emphasizing this more has probably been the biggest shift in my query process this time around.

Before I wrap up this long update, I want to share a tiny piece of fiction with you. A few weeks ago, I had a tough personal moment and perfectionism kicked in hard. Out of that, I wrote a small father-son dialogue that felt cathartic to get down on paper.

It’s just my raw scribbles, no editing, no polishing. It’s how my very first sketches usually look like before they turn into fully fledged scenes, dialogues, and characters with carefully crafted prose.

“Who is that man?” Jimmy asked. Ryan followed his son’s gaze across the vast meadow spreading out in front of Mount Fortune to the edge of the forest. There, on a huge tree stump turned gray by years of rain, snow, and sun battering it, sat an old man, his long white beard gently swinging in the light breeze, and ice-blue eyes intensely scanning the mountain. An intensity that signaled nothing but the mountain could capture his attention.

“Oh, that’s old Mike.”

“What does he do?”

“He was the first who came here decades ago to climb the mountain.”

“Wow. He put the cross at the top?”

“No, he has never put a foot on the mountain.”

Little Jimmy’s eyes went as wide as the wings of his dad’s plane.

“Why?”

“He hasn’t found the perfect path to the top yet.”

“Oh.”

Ryan observed as Jimmy processed what he had just said. His words seemed incomprehensible to the eight-year-old. Jimmy looked up at the mountain, then at old Mike, then settled back on his dad kneeling next to him.

“Why doesn’t he just walk the path everyone else takes?”

“Who knows if that’s the most perfect route.”

Little Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. “Grandma would say: it does the job.” And with that, the topic was resolved. He turned away from old Mike and started the climb up the mountain, his dad following Jimmy’s lead.

As always, thanks so much for reading and being part of this community! I’d love to hear your thoughts — what resonated, what you’d like to read more about, what questions you have. And if you enjoyed any part of this post, it would mean a lot if you shared it with a friend or subscribed.

Until next time, keep reading (or listening)!

Max

If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do. Not only will you get every update from me straight to your inbox, but it will also help this Substack to be discovered by more readers on Substack’s platform.

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Does the novel have a future?

It's a question that’s been occupying me lately, especially as a young author (young in the writing journey, not in life) who just published his first novel with very modest success. Is it worth honing my craft as a novelist, or should I consider a different medium for my fiction? After all, people’s attention spans are shrinking, and there is no other medium that demands more time and attention from beginning to end than the novel. Movies take two to three hours, an episode of a series half to an hour, a Youtube video or reel mere minutes.

And yet, Substacks get increasingly longer, providing lengthy essays for which not even a twenty-minute commute to work offers enough time. Podcasts often run multiple hours, with audiences happily keeping up with several episodes a week. People aren’t just skimming; they’re diving deep, when it matters.

Worldwide, we are consuming more media than ever, and still can’t keep up with all the great pieces being produced and shipped every day. With AI, the volume of content will not just increase, but literally explode in the coming decade, begging the fair question if the novel will survive. One might say that with the cost for video production in free fall, people will drop other mediums and consume video only. But then, why are audiobooks, podcasts, and Substacks on the rise, despite how easy it is to scroll through TikTok or YouTube? Not just that, the overall book market is still growing, and forecasted to continue doing so.

So what does the novel have going for it? Its depth. To start with, it leaves it up to the reader to create a world of their own. It provides a prop for imagination, but doesn’t tell the reader exactly what it looks like. In that same vein, it also allows the reader to create a personal bond with the book, where each bond is different from someone else. While viewers of a movie might also have different interpretations, they rarely differ as widely as readers’ views on a book. The novel is a medium that pushes one to go deep into character creation and world building to a level of detail that cannot be matched by visual formats. Audiobooks and podcasts can get close to this level, but they do not demand the same focus and attention from the reader, which often leads to a more shallow experience.

With AI, we might soon co-create books as we read them, just like in computer games, where the world is built and shaped by our actions. It will be interesting to see how books and games will converge in a new form where I’m both reader and player, and the AI is the writer. It will give us more control over the experience. But at the same time, the more control I have over the book’s story, the fewer surprises it holds, the less novel perspectives it will provide to me. Sometimes I want to create. Other times, I want to be taken somewhere, want to be taught, told, and entertained, without needing to act or decide anything myself. Shown a world I’d never imagine myself.

Now, a novel could be written live, with the reader involved in the creation process. But what about the magic of starting a finished piece of writing that has been reviewed many times to make the story, world, and characters as engaging as possible? Shouldn’t there always be space for books like that?

Who knows, maybe, AI will even lead to a new golden age for the novel. After all, genAI requires a strong foundation to create new content. A stellar novel could be the perfect starting point for fans to create their own fan stories with AI, engage with side characters, and explore the world in ways that no author could do within a single lifetime.

I can’t predict the future, but in the end, I believe we will still have the novel around centuries from now. AI will make it easier for anyone to write, and the novel is still one of the best forms for sharp voices to ask daring ‘what if’ questions. It’s a cultural good—a social catalyst—that has the ability to transform us like no other. As everything around us is facing rapid transformation, we need fiction to guide, inspire, and encourage us on that shift towards a better future.

I’d love to hear your thoughts: What place do you think the novel holds in our future?

Leave a comment

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Hey everyone, it's time for a little writing update!

Since my last check-in, I've dedicated pretty much all my writing time—or at least the part of my life I call my "writer's life"—to Birthright. I'm not just working through the specific feedback from my alpha readers, but I've actually used their insights to revise the entire book. No major plot or structural changes, but I've been weaving in smaller, important details that make the story flow so much better.

And, the biggest editing focus has been style. I naturally lean toward being quite descriptive—someone once said The Human Relief Project almost reads like nonfiction—so I'm putting a lot of effort into tightening things up. Not erasing my descriptive style, as I just love world building and a touch of philosophy too much, but making it more integrated into the story.

To do that, I'm working closely with my personal AI editor (yes, ChatGPT!), which I’ve put a lot of work into fine-tuning in order for it to serve as an invaluable editorial partner. At this stage of the writing process, it is a key tool in helping me evolve my writing, making scenes more immersive and really bringing out Grace's voice (Birthright’s protagonist) in a deeper, more engaging way.

I'm currently editing chapter 17 out of 27. Each chapter takes about four to five hours of careful editing, so I'm progressing at around three to four chapters per week. Some paragraphs I don’t touch at all, in others I spend half an hour purely on a single line. There are days when I absolutely love it—immersing myself in the world, fine-tuning the characters, and seeing the story really come alive. Other days, though, I struggle with the classic writer’s doubt, questioning, "Is this even good enough?"

But I genuinely believe that by the time all this editing is complete, it'll be a really great, enjoyable read. My goal is to have the manuscript in the right shape to start querying agents by the end of May, the latest.

Oh, and a small milestone: Yesterday marked exactly six months since The Human Relief Project came out. Over 225 books sold and audiobooks listened to—and counting. If you have recently finished reading your copy, let me know what you think about it 🙂

Also, it’s been over one and a half years now since I started this amazing novelist journey, and I've already learned a ton along the way. From now on, I'll be including one or two of those insights in each of these updates.

Here's the first one: the beauty of trade-offs

One major insight I've gained—from feedback on The Human Relief Project and now again with Birthright—is how much the structural choices you make at the start impact everything else in your story. Readers might not consciously notice it, but decisions like your story’s timeframe, the number of protagonists, and the depth of your world-building (especially crucial in sci-fi or near-future fiction), massively influence pacing, immersion, and how deeply you can explore character emotions.

As with everything in life, writing involves trade-offs. I mean, sure, you could write a 3,000-page epic that covers it all: exhaustive world-building, numerous deeply-developed characters, and endless moral complexities, but realistically, most readers don't want that. We read books for their edges, for their strengths and weaknesses, for the trade-offs an author has made so we can have a compelling, balanced read. It’s the author’s job to decide which trade-offs will create the kind of novel they seek to put into the world.

Realizing how crucial these structural choices are—and how they also tend to align with my own strengths and weaknesses as a writer—has been eye-opening. The ability to use them to shape the kinds of stories I want to tell, but also to understand how they arise from my author personality, is a key skill I want to develop further in my future novels.

That’s it for today from my writing studio.

Until next time, keep reading (or listening)!

Max

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my updates and being part of this community!

If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so. Not only will you get every update from me straight to your inbox, but it will also help this Substack to be discovered by more readers on Substack’s platform.

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If you are already subscribed, I’d kindly ask you to share this Substack with just one person that you think would genuinely enjoy my writing and following my journey. Who would be better than you, who knows me and my writing so well, to judge who might be interested in it 🙂

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Hey everyone,

It’s been a while! First off, a big thank you to everyone who filled in the survey. Your feedback was super helpful—seems like most of you enjoy hearing about my writing journey in shorter updates, mixed with the occasional piece of fiction or insights into the writing industry. That’s exactly what I’ll aim for going forward, but no guarantees—you never know what my inner artist will come up with 😉

Now, onto the updates:

1. The Human Relief Project Audiobook is Live!
Some of you might have already seen it—I launched the audiobook for The Human Relief Project on Spotify and a few other platforms! It’s AI-narrated with different voices, and if you’re in one of the eligible Spotify countries (US, CA, UK, ANZ, Benelux, and France) and want to check it out, just email me, and I’ll send you a free voucher code.

This audiobook was the last big milestone for The HRP. From here onwards, we will see if and how the book finds its way into more hands. For me, it’s time to step away from the commercial side of writing and let the artist take over completely again ✍🏼

2. Birthright Alpha Reader Feedback Is Rolling In
I’ve had my first feedback conversations with Birthright’s alpha readers, and it’s been both fascinating and exhilarating. Since they’re a diverse crowd and have also read The Human Relief Project, they can compare the two: where they are similar, where they diverge, and which aspects resonate most with different types of readers—plot lovers, world-building enthusiasts, theme-driven readers, and everyone in between.

I still have three more alpha readers to check in with before I start reworking the book. Then, I’ll get feedback from a professional editor on the early sections and begin querying agents. Unlike The Human Relief Project, I’d prefer to go the traditional publishing route for Birthright. Trying out self-publishing was fun, but I realized that rather than becoming an expert at design, marketing, distribution and all the aspects of running a small business, I’d rather just focus on honing my craft and write amazing books that readers can’t get enough of. And even though traditional publishing can take 3+ years to get a book out, I believe working with an experienced team of editors, designers, and marketers will give Birthright the best chance at reaching a wide audience of anglophone readers across the globe.

3. Book #3 Is Taking Shape
Since work on Birthright is paused until all the feedback is in, I’ve officially started work on my third novel! After exploring a few different ideas, I’ve settled on one and am already a third of the way into outlining the plot. It’s sooo energizing—I wish for all of you to experience this sense of aliveness when creating art—and I can’t wait to fully shift my scarce writing time onto it once Birthright is in the hands of agents. Codename: The Struggling AI Priest 😌 (And no, it’s not what you think.)

That’s it for now from my writing corner. I was going to share more about the challenges I’ve faced over the last months—picking genres, spending hours re-editing a single scene, and so on—but I’ll save that for a future post when I have a bit more time.

Keep reading (or listening)!
Max

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my updates and being part of this community!

If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so. Not only will you get every update from me straight to your inbox, but it will also help this Substack to be discovered by more readers on Substack’s platform.

Subscribe now

If you are already subscribed, I’d kindly ask you to share this Substack with just one person that you think would genuinely enjoy my writing and following my journey. Who would be better than you, who knows me and my writing so well, to judge who might be interested in it 🙂

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Hey all!

Belated happy new year! 🎉 I wanted to send out this first update of the year much sooner, but finishing the editing of Birthright kept me busy longer than expected. Priorities of a writer, you know 😌 Still, I’m optimistic it will be all worth it when some time in the future you get to read Birthright!

Birthright ?

Yes! That’s the title of my new novel (well, at least for now – who knows if it will change when we get closer to publishing) and I’m so excited to put the first news about it out into the world. When you tell people that you are writing your second book, everybody is curious and supportive, but many still wonder if you will really finish it. So, unveiling to the world that the first manuscript is finished feels like both a public declaration and a commitment to ensuring this story will make its way into bookshelves and e-readers.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. More about Birthright in a bit. First, a few thoughts on this Substack.

Over the holidays, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want my Substack to be. When I started it in spring 2024, it was just an experiment, and I had no clear idea what I’d write about. My “public writing studio” akin to a painter’s atelier is what I called it back then. Initially, it felt incredibly liberating to have this space with no purpose, a pure playground for fiction and sharing thoughts. But in the midst of launching The Human Relief Project, subconsciously, it became less of a free creative space where I share things straight from the heart, but a more polished version aimed at keeping you all engaged in my journey.

That’s neither what I want this Substack to be nor what I want it to become.

Rather, I want it to remain a space where – without too much overthinking – I can build and have a community of like-minded people who are interested in my near-future fiction and curious about the journey of becoming and being a writer. A community where – even though it is digital and asynchronous – we can build deeper connections. A community with whom one day – maybe decades from now – I can look back at a life lived to the fullest, one novel at a time.

What does that mean practically?

To be honest, I don’t know fully yet (besides more emojis). But I’m certain that purely the intention of building a community with this Substack, and sharing straight from the heart as if we were all sitting together, having a conversation in my writing studio (our home office needs some more upgrades to deserve this label 😄), will change what and how I share. That, and your preferences shared in the poll at the end of this mailer.

So, with this out of the way, time to move on to fulfilling a promise I made to you all in December: A little sneak peek at Birthright 📖

PROLOGUE

They headed to the bar for a refreshment, their minds turning over the final words of the couple that had just finished speaking on stage.

“Can you imagine how the child must feel?” she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

“I can’t,” he replied with a calm voice. “It is not good for any kid to rely solely on the limited wisdom of just two people.”

“Not just limited wisdom,” she said, her voice rising with outrage. “These two haven’t even been professionally trained in child-rearing. No AI support at all! Imagine that.”

He gave a small nod. “Yes, my dear, and that’s exactly why it has become so rare for children to be born and raised this way.”

“It shouldn’t just be rare,” she shot back. “It should be forbidden.”

She kept shaking her head, but then something shifted in her expression and a flicker of calm washed over her. Her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a breath as she scanned the room. “Look at society. It’s obvious that the new ways are clearly superior.”

“Don’t worry, my love,” he assured her, handing her a glass of water from the counter. “Time will take care of this. A decade, maybe two, and no one in their right mind will voluntarily give birth to a child, let alone raise it themselves.”

“Let’s hope you are right.” She glanced back at the stage, her gaze sharpening. “May these two soon be considered fossils from another age.”

What does the prologue spark in you? Share your thoughts with me (comment below, email me, or DM on Instagram), I’m so curious to hear more 🙂

The initial Birthright manuscript is currently with the Alpha readers who will provide me with the first round of feedback, which I’ll then work into the second iteration of the manuscript in April. With that, I plan to approach agents and publishers. I’m still in the decision-making process here, so, expect a revival of my previous “self-publishing vs. traditional publishing” article 😄

While Birthright is being read by the Alpha readers, I’ll spend some time on trying out different ways to get The Human Relief Project into more hands, including: getting the e-book onto Apple Books, Kobo, Tolino etc.; testing an AI-narrated Audiobook; and translating it into German version. I have to admit, this entire book promotion game is even harder than I anticipated. Since marketing and sales are not my forte, it’s a steep growth journey. Any ideas you have to get the book into more hands are more than welcome! 📣

Last but not least, I have a little ask for you: I’d like to understand better what and how you’d be most interested in hearing from me. Community-building is a two-way-street, and by answering this short poll with only two questions, you will help me to focus more on what is relevant to you 🙏🏼

Answer Poll

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my updates and being part of this community!

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Hey all,

It’s been a while since my last update. After the rollercoaster ride of launching The Human Relief Project, I needed a breather, and I’ve spent the past weeks focusing on a creative project and catching up on some reading (because what’s a writer without books?). The launch was exciting and rewarding but also drained a lot of energy, so this reset felt necessary.

Feeling recharged and ready to move forward, I wanted to take a moment before 2024 ends to wrap up the year with a reflection on the past two months, a glimpse into what’s ahead, and — most importantly — a heartfelt thank you.

Since the initial launch promotion, I’ve been experimenting with different ways to promote the book. One unexpected highlight which came out of a LinkedIn connection was an invite to speak to a group of PhD students about a future without work, inspired by The Human Relief Project. It was a lot of fun to talk about and read from the novel, and I felt inspired by the thoughtful discussions the book sparked. May 2025 bring more opportunities like these!

I also received some sharp-eyed feedback from readers who spotted a few typos and formatting errors, despite all the proofreading rounds! Those have now been fixed, and both the ebook and paperback are updated. If you find any more, I’ll be hiding under the covers, but thankfully, no new messages about errors have come my way.

Lastly, I ran a cover design contest to see if experienced designers might come up with something that would feel like a step up compared to my original cover. They did not — I might just be too attached to the current design — but nevertheless the process gave me inspiration for some small tweaks. A refreshed version of the cover launched in late November, so if you bought the book before then, you can already call yourself a proud collector of the first edition 😎

The second half of November was all about editing the manuscript for my second novel. I’m now the owner of over 2,500 remarks ranging from small word changes to larger character refinements, and while 2,500 may sound overwhelming, it actually feels amazing to see how much my writing has improved since I started with The Human Relief Project in the fall of 2023. Reading my own work after a long break was both humbling, since I still have so much to learn, but also energizing to get back into creation mode.

With my creative batteries fully recharged, I’m excited to dive into incorporating those remarks over the Christmas break. It’s a lot of work, but my goal is to have a polished version ready for test readers in early Q1, and also share a little sneak peak with you soon!

As the year is coming to an end, I’m reflecting on challenging yet rewarding 12 months full of learning, new connections, and countless deep conversations fuelled by my writing. Launching my debut novel wasn’t without its moments of doubt and disappointment, but the support I’ve received — from your kind words to reviews and shares — has made it all worth it. This year has left me eager to continue developing my craft as a novelist, and to put entertaining and equally thought-provoking novels into the world that make a difference.

To everyone reading this: thank you for being part of my journey. Whether you’ve encouraged me, shared the book, left a review, or simply read my posts — it all means more to me than I can put into words. Writing isn’t always an easy path, but this little Substack has become a sanctuary where I can connect with you and reflect on what it means to be a writer.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic start to 2025! I’ll see you in the new year with a sneak peek into my next novel.

PS: Still looking for a great read for the holidays? I highly recommend Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It’s a beautiful reminder of all the little elements of civilization that we take for granted in our hectic daily lives, wrapped in a compelling journey through a post-pandemic world.

PSS: Or, if you’re hunting for a meaningful gift, The Human Relief Project (now with its refreshed cover!) might be the perfect choice for anyone looking for a thought-provoking read as the year turns.

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Hey everyone,

It’s officially been one week since The Human Relief Project launched! Thought I’d share a bit about this wild ride of a launch week, with its ups, downs, and everything in between.

First things first, a quick favor: if you’ve already started reading, please consider leaving a rating and review on Amazon. Even an early review helps immensely at this stage, and you can always update it after you’ve finished reading. Early ratings and reviews are Amazon’s “love language,” and they help get the book out there.

Now, into the highlights:

Honestly, the support from you all has been incredible! Seeing friends, family, and even people I’d lost touch with diving into The HRP, sharing it, and posting about it has been surreal. There’s nothing like seeing your book in someone else’s hands and reading their reactions to this world and the characters you created. And whereas I used to post rarely on social media, my Instagram has basically turned into a mini-press tour, with lots of snapshots saved under “HRP Highlights” for anyone curious.

This also includes some impressions from the HRP Launch Drinks last Saturday. We had an awesome event to celebrate this big personal milestone. Over tasty finger food and plenty of drinks, I had the opportunity to talk the entire night about how cool it is to be a novelist 🙈 Despite initial hesitations, I stepped out of my comfort zone and held a little welcome speech, did a reading from my book, and even signed HRP cards for the guests. An evening, that will forever remain a wonderful memory I’ll go back to when I need a boost of joy and positivity.

I also had a LinkedIn moment that felt like a mini-milestone — someone I didn’t even know posted about the book, saying it sparked some big questions for her. It’s the kind of reaction every author dreams of, and yes, I may have done a happy dance (I’ll spare you the video evidence 😄)

On the ranking front, The HRP held the #1 spot in Hot New Releases for High-Tech Science Fiction on Amazon DE the entire week, and stayed in the top 5 for Political Fiction. These little wins have kept my energy going strong.

Of course, it hasn’t all been five-star reviews and “I’ve made it!” moments. The Amazon algorithm has been slow to take off, so despite strong initial orders, the book hasn’t yet reached many readers outside my own network. Reviews, especially verified ones, have been trickling in slowly too, partly because Amazon approves them across marketplaces. It’s one of those new-author challenges I’m learning to work with!

A new arbitrary boss: the Amazon algorithm is clearly my new overlord, and I’m still figuring out how to get it on my side! 😅 Amazon mostly promotes based on marketplace-specific sales and reviews (like just Germany), which is tough when friends and readers are spread across the globe. I love that my network spans the world, but Amazon apparently isn’t a fan. It only really cares about the reviews and sales within specific marketplaces, like Germany, which makes things…interesting 😉

Secret author dreams: I knew going in that debut books don’t often take off overnight, but there’s always that hopeful part of an author that dreams of a breakout moment. So when orders slowed after the first few days, it was a bit of a downer. (I may have had a 20-minute “is this it?” moment, but hey, what’s a launch without a few existential crises?) I’m back on track and more motivated than ever to get the word out there. I’m here for the long ride, and The HRP is just the first of many thought-provoking novels I want to put out into the world.

On the bright side: I’ve started experimenting with LinkedIn as a way to reach new readers, and the response has been fantastic. For me, fiction can be just as inspiring for our work and lives as non-fiction — and entertaining on top! — and it’s been rewarding to see that idea resonate.

Lastly, a big shoutout to my friend Rosalee, who created these beautiful HRP bookmarks. They’ve already been making their way onto Instagram and into WhatsApp messages, which is surreal. If you’re in Berlin and want one (or a few to spare the word), just let me know!

That’s a quick rundown of week one. Now, back to promoting my “first baby” — for the first time, I feel genuinely excited to reach out and talk to people about my “product.”

Thank you again for all your support and encouragement! Here’s to keeping the energy high and spreading the word about The HRP far and wide!

PS: I’d love to hear about your thoughts about the book or the launch week! Just reply to this email to share your impressions directly with me 🙃

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Hey everyone,

Launch day started with a brief moment of panic when the ebook went live shortly after midnight, but the paperback was nowhere to be found on Amazon. The adrenaline was rushing. Relief came when we finally learned that ebooks launch at midnight local time (though still no reliable source on whether this means EST or PST in the US), while paperbacks launch at 12:00 AM GMT worldwide 😅.

Nevertheless, it was hard to sleep with all the excitement rushing through me. So I got up early, checked my phone, and celebrated that the paperback was now live too. How happy it can make you to see the two different prices on the Amazon product page next to each other 😄.

With a fresh cup of coffee, I started into the day. First thing was to do final category adjustments that I had been blocked from doing in the past days by Amazon. Then I went on to do my launch posts on Instagram and LinkedIn, while clarifying small things (and learning about them in the process) for the launch team and advanced readers. You think you have prepared every detail, but there are always surprises!

Now with the posts out, I'm diving headfirst into everything else: sending messages to family and friends, checking early reviews from my ARC readers on Amazon, reaching out to potential readers on LinkedIn, and getting ready to host a small crowd at my place to celebrate.

I’m definitely riding a wave of emotions. It’s a mix of being the most excited I've been since launching my Oktoberfest business at 20, to those rare seconds of panic wondering if anyone will care about the book. But mostly, it's just positive feelings of joy and fulfillment. It’s amazing to be sharing this piece of writing I’ve created over the past year, and I can’t wait to see where it takes people — including you. Please share your thoughts once you’ve read it! 🙏🏼

If you've been waiting to get your hands on it, here’s the link to download the ebook or order a paperback:

Order It Now

The book is really not your cup of tea? No worries! Remember, you can still help me out in a few small but meaningful ways:

Share my posts on Instagram or LinkedIn, or post your own review with #TheHumanReliefProject or #TheHRP. Don’t forget to tag me so I can share your posts!

Order a copy for someone who’s into AI, the future of work, or big “what-if” scenarios — and then tell the world you did! Those first few sales are crucial for building momentum. 🙂

Leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads once you've read it (or even after a few chapters). Reviews in these early days make all the difference. Share what resonated with you and help others find the book.

Recommend it to someone who might love it — your personal recommendation could help it reach so many more readers.

That’s all for today! I’m back to the rollercoaster of promoting the book, celebrating the launch, and hoping to make some readers very happy. I’ll catch you all on the other side with a full debrief once the craziness dies down.

Can’t wait to hear what you think of the book!

Authorly yours,
Max

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Hey dear readers,

The last few weeks have been an energizing whirlwind—finalizing the book details, putting a lot of things live, and working late into the nights to make this dream a reality. But after all the hard work, the finish line is finally in sight! And don’t misunderstand me: I’ve deeply enjoyed working on (almost 😉) every element of this self-publishing journey; it’s been some of the most rewarding work I’ve done in my life.

Since my last update, a looot has happened:

After trying eight different designs, my website is finally live. Honestly, given how websites play only a minor role in book promotion, you might ask, "Was it worth it?" But I couldn’t let go until it spoke 100% to me — the artist in me had the final say, and I can now sleep peacefully with the final outcome.

I set up my Linktree, which connects all my digital spaces in one hub, making it easy for anyone to explore more about my work. It’s a tool commonly used by creators to highlight key calls to action, and I’m already finding it super useful.

My Goodreads author page and The Human Relief Project page are live! I’ve been over the moon reading the early ratings and reviews from advanced readers. I can’t express how rewarding (and scary!) it is to see what people think about my story, my characters, and the world of The Human Relief Project. 

The paperback proof arrived — holding it in my hands was a moment I won’t forget. After some final tweaks, I submitted it to Amazon for review, and I’m thrilled to share that it got approved and the paperback will be available to order on October 19th.

Practically, everything is ready, and I joked to my wife that if I dropped dead today, she could still publish the book 😅. But I’m not planning on that! Instead, I’m using all the energy I’m getting from this creative and entrepreneurial journey to gear up for the final sprint — getting the word out, reaching potential readers, and making sure the book finds its way into as many hands as possible.

The Human Relief Project isn’t a book for everyone. No book is. We all have different tastes and interests. But I want to give as many potential readers as possible the chance to decide for themselves if they are curious about the book. For that, they need to hear about it first.

This is the part where you can help me make a difference. As a self-published author, I don’t have the marketing resources that come with traditional publishing. But I have something far better — an amazing community of friends, family, and readers like you who can help amplify this launch.

Here’s how you can help:

Share my posts on Instagram or LinkedIn, and feel free to post your own reviews using #TheHumanReliefProject or #TheHRP. Make sure to tag me, so I can share your posts! 🙏🏼

(Pre-)Order the e-book now or grab a copy of the paperback when it launches on October 19th — and share that you’ve bought it! Those first few days are crucial for building momentum. But please do so only if you are genuinely interested in The Human Relief Project 🙂

Leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads as soon as you’ve read it (or the first chapters at least). Reviews make all the difference, especially in those early days. Share what stood out to you, what you loved, and help others discover the book.

If the book isn’t for you, recommend it to someone or a group who might enjoy it! Your personal recommendations could help it reach more readers. Some inspiration for sharing can be found in the family & friends support one pager.

Finally, if you know an influencer, podcaster, are anyone with an audience who is into AI and the future of work, let me know or connect us directly.

Your support — no matter how small it might seem — can make a huge impact on the book’s success. I’m beyond grateful for any help you’re able to give 🙏🏼

I can’t wait to share the book with you all, and I truly appreciate your support during this exciting time. I’ll send out a short update on Launch Day and circle back with a debrief afterward. Then, it’s on to editing my second novel — so much more to come!

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Your encouragement, feedback, and support mean the world.

Upwards and onwards,
Max

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