Echelon Now Available In Paperback Form!

You can now get a copy of Echelon in paperback physical copy! Simply click on the title of this post or the link in the upper right of this page to go to my Lulu site to buy the book. For those of you with eReaders, you can also get a copy of the eBook for $5 if you wish to show your support. That said, you're of course always welcome to simply download it from the DocStoc link for free.

Thanks and happy reading!!!!

Experiment Tim! (Part 2)

Okay, since I'm not the best in the world when it comes to planning out a business model and all the costs and expenditures that must be factored in, I thought I'd throw this out to the gallery and see what comes back. Basically, I'm likely going to be trying the Kickstarter route for crowdfunding my novel release for "Midwasteland", using the mechanics in the previous posts for a tiered payment/funding model. I am planning on setting a goal for $10,000 in funding for the project. Sounds like a lot, I know, but when you consider all of the bonuses and/or benefits in the tiers in the previous post, I think it's a number that makes some sense. But feel free to provide feedback if you think I'm crazy.

But, more importantly, I took the step today to analyze and research what it will cost me in physical hard costs to do this project. I went to www.bookprintingrevolution.com to get an idea of the costs associated with printing hard copy paperback versions of the books and having them shipped to me. I also tried to factor in an estimated cost to send them out to my readers who funded me (after signing them of course). It seems to me that these two costs represent what I would need from the physical book costs portion of my plan. Anyway, here's what I came up with:

1. Setup fee through www.bookprintingrevolution.com -- $99.99
2. Cost for 200 printed paperback books -- $986.00
3. My estimate of shipping the books to my home -- $200.00
4. My estimate of shipping the books to individual readers -- $400.00
Total book printing/shipping costs -- $1685.99

So...what am I missing? Anything? The rest of the costs associated with the tiers in my past post (free eBook copy, signed paperbacks, custom written short stories, reviews/edits of others' work) don't have much if any monetary cost. The additional addons I've had since (a burned DVD w/commentary video from locations where the book is set, free PDF chapters from my work in progress, acknowledgement in the paperback, naming characters within my next work after the donator) also have little cost (namely the DVD-RWs and DVD sticker labels).

So tell me, what am I missing?

Because if the answer is nothing, then this seems clear. Adding an additional $500 for buffer and unexpected costs, that gets me to 2185.99 in total costs for this project, assuming it isn't popular enough that I have to buy more physical books (which I hope it is!). So, setting aside costs for marketing for the moment, that means that if I get 100 people to donate to my project, they would have to spend an average of $21.86 for me to break even. And that would be if I only sold half the books! To me, that is totally workable, but you're the customer. Tell me if/why I'm wrong....

Experiment Time!

IT'S TIME TO EXPERIMENT!

As some of you may know, I've been doing some studying of alternative business models for fiction authors. One of things I hear and read all the time on author resources sites is how hard it is to break into a publishing deal. So, here's what I'm going to do for a new book I'm putting the finishing touches on.

1. I am going to release an original work, entitled "Midwasteland", in the Scribd marketplace. It will be released chapter by chapter, starting obviously with the first.

2. Each chapter is going to have a monetary goal to reach. For instance, I plan on starting low with the first chapter, something around $100 for a goal (the chapters will probably sell for either $.50 or $.99). As soon as each chapter reaches its goal, I will release the next chapter (I've scheduled this out so to make sure that, barring injury or death, I can do this immediately to properly serve my customers/readers). This way, I can both monetize my work (assuming people like it enough to tell others it's worth the purchase!) as well as gauge the interest level and saleability of a hardcover version that will be released at the conclusion of this experiment.

3. Without going into too much detail, I will be adding value to those people/Scribd accounts that buy all the chapters (I promise that there won't be more than 20 chapters and likely a few less). I am looking for help with ideas for extras, but I've listed a few below:

a. Signed copies of the hardcover book when it is released
b. Reduced price of the hardcover book when it is released
c. Review of your writing and/or synopsis for other writers
d. 1 Custom short story for anyone that buys all the chapters (Great as a unique gift!)

Now, as this is the first such experiment I'll be trying, I'm eagerly looking for feedback. Tell me what you think will work, what you think I'm doing wrong, why I'm an idiot, who else has done this better, why I'll fail, why I'll succeed, how good looking I am, how you want to name your children after me, and anything else that enters your brain upon hearing about this.

This is a big deal. Anyone who bothers to read my work is extremely important to me. I'm telling you upfront that I want to make money off of my writing, not because I want you to feel bad or feel guilty if you read my work elsewhere, but because I WANT TO WRITE MORE FICTION FOR YOU! You're my customer, my muse, my greatest asset.

So tell me what you think!

Coming Soon....Again!

More new chapters from a new work coming soon! This one is called "dLife". It's about a company in California that created the first true digital consciousness for the military. When they lose control over this being and she takes over their facility, they call in a team of academics designed to reason with her and "put her on the couch".

How To Piss Off A Customer...

Yet another example of how a company trying to protect itself from its own interested customers just ends up pissing people off. In this case, we have Comcast Sports Net, the cable channel on which many Cubs/Blackhawks/White Sox/Bulls games appear. I wanted to watch the game on my deck yesterday, since it was so nice out and since the game was such an important one (This one game decided whether or not the Bulls made the playoffs).

So I went to CSN's website, where you had to register to get access to the live stream of the game. It asked you many questions: name, email address, mailing address, etc. One of the questions it asked was who your cable TV provider was, since you had to have an active cable subscription to get the stream. Leaving aside for a moment why that is business stupid, I then got the following email from CSN's customer support:

"Dear Customer,

Your recent registration for the Chicago Bulls local internet streaming package was, under the terms of the offer, contingent on your having an up-to-date subscription to a television provider that distributes Comcast SportsNet Chicago and that has authorized Comcast SportsNet Chicago to enable you to watch Bulls games streamed to your computer.

This is to inform you that RCN, the television provider you selected, is unable to confirm that you are its customer in good standing. Accordingly, and as noted in the Purchase Policy http://csnchicagolive.rayv.com/Pages/TermsandConditions.aspx governing your order, we are hereby terminating your access to live streams of Bulls games through http://csnchicagolive.rayv.com

If you believe this conclusion has been reached in error we encourage you to contact your local television provider. If it turns out that an error has been made, your access will be re-instated forthwith. You may also contact us via Live Chat Support (found at http://csnchicagolive.rayv.com/Pages/ContactUs.aspx)


Sincerely,
The RayV Team and Comcast SportsNet

You guessed it. They tried to match my name to our cable subscription instead of our address. Awesome, except that our cable bill is in my girlfriend's name, not mine (she's lived there longer than I have). So now, despite the fact that I have RCN cable in our condo, my ability to stream the game is cut off. Now, I could go through the always pleasent process of sitting on hold with RCN and then CSN's customer support....but no thanks. I just won't watch next time I want to sit on the deck on a nice day.

Great way to boost ad revenue, hotshots!

Beware The Political Centrists...

There are words tossed around in politics today that are sacrosanct: moderate, middle ground, centrist. Usually those words are used to positively describe a politician that is reaching across the aisle, working with his more leaning compatriots. But you need to be careful with centrists, too. Often they can be an indication of someone with either no vested opinion of their own, or one that is willing to set their opinions aside. For what, you might ask? Why, money and privelage of course.

Take the new internet law passed in the UK, the Digital Economy Bill. Here you have an example of the much heard of Three Strikes policy. If you are accused of copyright infringement via illegal downloads over the internet three times, your internet connection is severed. Read that again. ACCUSED. Not convicted. Not tried. Not even arrested. Just accused. That means no form of due process.

Who could be responsible for passing such a law?

Well, the much maligned Lord Peter Mandelson, President of the Lords Council, is the one that crafted the law immediately after taking a short vacation with some entertainment industry executives (no, I'm not making this up). But he couldn't have passed the law without help. So who else was in on it?

The notoriously centrist Labour Party, fairly well known for not being far on either side of the political spectrum on any major issue. From the DailyTech article, written by Jason Mick:

"The bill was hurriedly passed before the upcoming election, which is expected to hurt the current dominant party, the centrist Labour Party. Opponents from the left and the right both derided the bill and are trying to seize a portion of control of the island nation from the Labour Party."

Think about that for a moment. In Britain they have many parties. In America, we basically have two, Democrat and Republican. Can any of us Americans even FATHOM a scenario in which a bill passed through Congress when it was opposed by BOTH the far right and far left? How could that even happen? Think about the major issues that get reported on: Healthcare, Education, Abortion, War Funding. Which of them could you imagine the far left and far right AGREEING on, and then legislation goes the opposite way against both of them?

So what is the only possible motivation for a centrist party to go against what both sides of the political spectrum want? Again, from Jason Mick:

"[The Bill] enjoyed the hearty support, though, of the music and film industries which lobbied heavy for the bill pouring millions of pounds in support to help override the voice of the citizens."

Yup. Money. These politicians sold out to lobbiests. Now, granted, unless I'm mistaken, the House of Lords members are appointed, not elected, so theoretically they have no constituency to represent (even though they are supposed to). But, if that's the case, what the hell do they need that much lobbying money for? They aren't campaigning, are they?

Read/Download Echelon!!!

Echelon