Overview
- Sebastian Fitzek said he sent his 2006 debut novel to the same 15 German publishers who first saw it, using the pseudonym Milan Tarin and the title "Die Lüge des Delphins."
- Twelve of the 15 publishers did not respond and three replied, with two large consumer publishers declining to take the book.
- Fitzek reported that his own publisher was the third respondent and answered with a jokey message saying, "Sebastian, danke für den Joke."
- He presented the action as a deliberate experiment on the NDR-Talkshow to highlight how unsolicited submissions are handled and how an author’s name affects interest.
- The test underlines a common industry reality: manuscripts often depend on author branding, which can shape what editors read and acquire even for works that were previously bestsellers and later adapted for TV.