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Well.
The Kickstarter has launched:
St. Cybi’s Well – a prequel to Communion of Dreams by Jim Downey
Prequel to the popular novel Communion of Dreams. Get an early release download or a hand-bound copy in your choice of cover material.
I was surprised a bit yesterday when one of my friends — an artist, even — asked what “Kickstarter” is. I guess I’ve been so wrapped up in paying attention to it for the last year or so that I had just assumed that it was something commonly understood. But if you’re not sure, here’s the basic description from Kickstarter:
What is Kickstarter?
Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative projects.
We believe that:
• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.
• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.
Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.
There’s a lot more there on the site. But basically, it is a way to crowd-fund a creative project. In my case, I’m trying to use it as a substitute for a traditional “advance” from a conventional publisher by generating advance sales of my next novel. But since I also have a fairly unusual set of skills as a bookbinder, I’m also able to offer something fairly unique: a limited edition of hand-bound books. This edition will be printed differently, in a manner which will allow for me to fold and then sew actual signatures rather than relying on machine ‘perfect binding’ as you typically find in paperbacks. These book will also be in hardcover, with a variety of different selection of covering material and design. The full information is there on the Kickstarter page.
This is a big deal for me. I’ve been thinking about doing this since early this year, as I watched the response to Communion of Dreams. It was clear that many people enjoyed that book, and one of the most common things which showed up in reviews and discussions was when/whether my next book would be available.
There are many challenges for me here. One is just seeing what the actual level of support for my writing is, which to some extent is expressed by how successful the Kickstarter is. Another is pushing me to actually concentrate on completing St. Cybi’s Well, and proving to myself and the world that Communion of Dreams wasn’t some kind of fluke. Doing the bookbinding won’t be a problem, but it still needs to be attended to. And there are the ongoing promotional matters which require time, energy, and the willingness to engage as something of a public person — no small feat for someone who is as much an introvert as I am.
Yesterday I said thanks for helping me get to this point. And I mean that, most sincerely. Any further help you can give by sharing news of the Kickstarter would be greatly appreciated. And likewise, anyone who wants to kick in some money on the Kickstarter will earn my personal gratitude above and beyond whatever ‘rewards’ they choose.
Now we’ll see how the game plays out.
Jim Downey
*Full explanation here. I choose this version rather than the more common one precisely because in this instance it isn’t a matter of a single roll of the dice being cast, but rather of the game being started.
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Tomorrow we’ll launch the Kickstarter for St. Cybi’s Well.
* * * * * * *
I listened to the rebroadcast of the Radiolab show “Emergence” this noon hour, as I had a nice salad. From the show description:
What happens when there is no leader? Starlings, bees, and ants manage just fine. In fact, they form staggeringly complicated societies–all without a Toscanini to conduct them into harmony. This hour of Radiolab, we ask how this happens.
What it’s investigating is the phenomenon of emergence; that is, of self-organization or spontaneous order from a chaotic or non-ordered system. A lot of people think that intelligence and consciousness are emergent properties.
* * * * * * *
Since the beginning of this year when I launched Communion of Dreams, almost 20,000 people have gotten a copy of the book. In the years before that, as I was working to try and get the book conventionally published, between 35,000 and 40,000 people downloaded the earlier version of the book.
And all along I’ve benefited from the help of many people in getting out the word about CoD. Thanks. This has quite literally been a case of being outside of my control. The wisdom of crowds, indeed.
* * * * * * *
From Communion of Dreams (first shows up in Chapter 9):
“That which emerges from darkness gives definition to the light.”
* * * * * * *
Tomorrow we’ll launch the Kickstarter for St. Cybi’s Well.
It’s been a very long slog through a range of mountains, with highs and lows. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve learned a lot. Some of it I have shared. Some of it I still need to come to understand.
And this last bit has been like climbing up a volcano, one I’m not sure is actually active, though I have seen signs of life in it. I’m almost afraid to look over the rim and down into the crater. Yet I am drawn to the heat, to the light, to the power of the thing.
Tomorrow we’ll launch the Kickstarter for St. Cybi’s Well. As part of that, Communion of Dreams will be free to download all day long. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, please do. And tell your friends to do so.
Thank you. Thanks to all of you. For helping me make it this far.
Jim Downey
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So, our Kickstarter project for St. Cybi’s Well has been approved by the Powers That Be. Which means that we can launch it whenever we’re ready; think of this as a scheduled break in the count-down and we’ve now been given clearance for starting the final count.
But like the early space launches, *everything* has to be just right before we can actually launch. The Kickstarter itself is about 95% perfect — but I want to squeeze out a couple more % before I am ready to resume the count-down.
I also want to get a couple of other things ready to coincide with the launch. Like scheduling a Kindle promotional day for Communion of Dreams.
I should be able to announce the actual launch start sometime tomorrow. It might be Sunday. It might be a day or two later.
But it’s coming soon. Be ready. I think some folks are going to really love the possible rewards.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Amazon, Failure, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Preparedness, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction, Writing stuff | Tags: Amazon, blogging, Communion of Dreams, direct publishing, hutzpah, jim downey, Kickstarter, Kindle, literature, predictions, promotion, Science Fiction, St. Cybi's Well, writing
I was chatting with another friend who is a writer, doing a bit of commiseration about the common panic that hits most writers at some point or another.
Panic?
Yeah, that nothing you say is worth saying. That you’re asking readers to spend a part of their time, perhaps part of their money, reading what you write … and the terror that they will not find the trade worthwhile. Just about every writer I have ever known has gone through some version of this. Because face it, it takes a lot of hutzpah to think that you have something worthwhile to say, in a world where it seems like everything of value has already been said better by someone else.
And as I told my friend, I have discovered a whole new level of terror related to this as I have been working to set up the Kickstarter project for St. Cybi’s Well: asking people to actually hand over money before the book has even been written. That takes nerve. And a facade of self-confidence which far exceeds almost anything I’ve ever accomplished previously.
It’s not that I don’t actually think that I can write this book. I know I can. And I know that I can do it in the time-frame I’ve outlined. Combine the experience of writing and then revising Communion of Dreams and Her Final Year, and I know about the pacing of getting a book ready for publication. I know I can also produce the necessary volume of material by the deadlines I’ve set — I’ve done it in the same time frame previously (and recently) in doing freelance articles. So the actual writing is not the problem, though of course there will be challenges as I go through it.
No, it’s the matter of thinking that the book is worth it. Worth asking people to hand over money for it in advance. Because that’s essentially what this Kickstarter will be: asking for advance sales of a book which doesn’t even entirely exist in my head yet. In this way it’s crowd-funding a traditional writer’s advance from a publisher. Except that taking an advance from a publisher meant only potentially disappointing the publisher (and their Board of Directors and share-holders, I suppose). In this instance it means potentially disappointing friends and fans … a *lot* of them. (Hopefully a lot of them, anyway.)
Yeah, that’s a whole new level of terror. And a whole new level of hutzpah for this kid.
Jim Downey
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My wife answered the phone. I could tell just from her facial expression that it was bad news.
“Oh, no!” she said. “What happened?”
* * * * * * * *
As part of putting together the Kickstarter project for St. Cybi’s Well, I need to explain *why* I want people to hand over their hard-earned money. I mean, I don’t need to buy materials or hire someone to do research for me. I don’t need operating capital for renting a studio, there’s no up-front printing costs to speak of. Why not just write St. Cybi’s Well on my own time, at my own pace, the way I wrote Communion of Dreams and co-authored Her Final Year?
Writing such an explanation — writing anything, really — is the perfect way for me to clarify my thoughts, to push past vague thinking and distill my understanding. You’ll see the finished product in a few days, but this passage from a blog post a month ago is a pretty good insight:
I recently turned 54. And I have accomplished a number of things of which I am justly proud. I have friends and family I love. I have a wonderful wife. I have written books and articles which have brought joy, knowledge, and solace to others. I have helped to preserve history in the form of books & documents. I have created art, sold art, made my little corner of the world a slightly better place. I’ve even helped expand the pool of ballistics knowledge a bit. Frankly, I’ve lived longer and accomplished more than I ever really expected to.
But I have more yet to do. Time to get on with it.
* * * * * * *
My wife answered the phone. I could tell just from her facial expression that it was bad news.
“Oh, no!” she said. “What happened?”
She listened for a moment, then got up to go into her office. I heard her talking some more. When she came back I looked at her quizzically.
“Tanna had some kind of accident. John was calling to see if I had any ’emergency contact’ info from the Directory he could pass along to the hospital.”
A couple years ago, my wife and I put together this Directory for our neighborhood association. We’d included this option for people to list if they wanted. Tanna was one of our nearby neighbors, a nice semi-retired woman who we see almost daily on our walks.
I looked at her. “Anything?”
“Yeah, I told him what we had.”
“So, what happened?”
“She evidently had a stroke while out walking her dog. Just collapsed. John and a couple of other neighbors saw her go down, went to check on her, called an ambulance.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” My wife looked at me. “She’s only a couple years older than you are.”
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Amazon, Connections, Feedback, Kindle, Marketing, Promotion, Publishing, Science Fiction | Tags: Alzheimer's, Amazon, care-giving, Communion of Dreams, direct publishing, jim downey, John Bourke, Kindle, literature, memoir, promotion, Science Fiction
Got an email from Amazon this morning. Which isn’t that unusual, since I get stuff from them for both the Kindle and Createspace publishing for both Communion of Dreams and Her Final Year, as well as any number of the typical promotional messages anyone with an account gets. But this message was different. Here’s the first bit of it:
James Downey,
Are you looking for something in our Science Fiction & Fantasy books department? If so, you might be interested in these items.
Communion of Dreams [Kindle Edition]
by James DowneyPrice: $4.95
And then three other books, as well as a link to a listing for a bunch of others.
No idea why this showed up in my inbox today. Anyone else see something like that, today or previously? So far there’s only been a slight bump in sales, so it doesn’t look like it was too widely promoted.
Curious…
Jim Downey
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As I’ve been discussing recently, work continues on setting up everything for my upcoming Kickstarter project.
If you’re not familiar with how Kickstarter works, it might be worth checking out sometime. But basically the idea is that it exists to crowd-fund creative projects, allowing for people to gauge support for a project and finance it. A Kickstarter project runs for a specific length of time, working towards a given funding goal. If the goal is achieved, then the financing goes through and everyone is committed to success. If it doesn’t, then no one is left at risk.
Part of this is establishing “rewards” for promised funding from backers. Usually this includes a copy of a book or album or artwork which is the reason for the Kickstarter project, but people also include all manner of other items which are more personal. I mentioned earlier that one of the things I was going to be offering would be hand-bound copies of my books, bringing into the mix my bookbinding skills.
The more I thought about this, the more I’ve decided to have some fun with it. Specifically, by offering some very limited special rewards. Like custom bindings in cloth, calfskin, and goatskin. Here’s one such “reward”:
Wow – Goatskin! Double Set: Get a personally handbound leather hardcover copy of *BOTH* “St. Cybi’s Well” and “Communion of Dreams”. The books will be numbered, also signed & inscribed to the recipient. Binding will be in full premium goat with a nice embossed label spine. Your choice of leather color and endpapers. Also includes download copy of both books. (For international shipping, please add $20.)
I’ve decided to get copies of the handbound books printed up in a different run than the usual paperbacks being offered through Createspace. These will be done using the exact same printing files, but will be printed on folded sheets so that they can be properly handsewn and then bound. Because if you’re going to do the thing, might as well do it right.
And after all, how many competent authors are also kick-ass book artists? I might as well play to my strengths.
Jim Downey
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As I noted yesterday, as we move through all the different components of getting a Kickstarter launched, one of the steps is setting up a website for St. Cybi’s Well.
Yesterday I posted the brief description of the book. Well, today here’s a mock-up of the website for you to take a look at:
You’ll note that not all the links are active yet, and the text is intended for the time when the Kickstarter is running.
Take a look, please let me know what you think of it in a comment here or a personal email/FB comment/Tweet.
Thanks!
Jim Downey
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That’s how the email started. Here’s part of how it continued:
Just completed Communion Of Dreams, and was delighted with the story! In fact, I sat with my Kindle, a good pipe and spent the time to read it front to back in one sitting. Its been a long time since I found a story that captivated me like this, a joy to read and keep. Thanks for the wonderful work, this is what good fiction is all about, a storyteller with a good tale and and time to enjoy the story in the telling.
It’s always good to hear from people, to get feedback. Particularly when they so obviously have such good taste and discerning judgment. 😉
Isaac has arrived. I think already today we’ve had more rain than we’ve had in the previous two months, perhaps longer. Last I checked the forecast is for another 4″ or more over the course of the weekend.
No flooding yet. Not of either the weather nor the ideas variety.
That’s OK. These things arrive when they do, like kindly reviews and comments in the email.
Jim Downey
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That’s the title of a NYT article a friend sent me. It’s long, more than a bit depressing, and probably something that every aspiring author should read. More than that, it’s probably something that every book consumer should read. Because if you’re going by book reviews listed online, well, you might be reading nothing more than “artificially embellished reviews” in the words of one former business owner who brokered such reviews for authors.
Why do people do this? Money. From the article:
In the fall of 2010, Mr. Rutherford started a Web site, GettingBookReviews.com. At first, he advertised that he would review a book for $99. But some clients wanted a chorus proclaiming their excellence. So, for $499, Mr. Rutherford would do 20 online reviews. A few people needed a whole orchestra. For $999, he would do 50.
There were immediate complaints in online forums that the service was violating the sacred arm’s-length relationship between reviewer and author. But there were also orders, a lot of them. Before he knew it, he was taking in $28,000 a month.
And why do authors seek such services? Same reason. Gaming the system to have a bunch of fake reviews posted helps to boost sales, building the dynamic which leads to a self-supporting “best seller.” People love the idea of being part of something successful. This is why marketers of all sorts seek to create “buzz” — that kind of attention is the Holy Grail of selling anything. Again, from the article:
One of Mr. Rutherford’s clients, who confidently commissioned hundreds of reviews and didn’t even require them to be favorable, subsequently became a best seller. This is proof, Mr. Rutherford said, that his notion was correct. Attention, despite being contrived, draws more attention.
So, what to do about it?
There’s no easy answer, for either a writer or a reader. Ideally, you should be able to read a review and tell whether the person actually read the book or not. But you can’t trust that. Believe me — I wrote advertising copy for several years after college and before grad school, and I got to the point where I could convince almost anyone that whatever product I was writing about was *FANTASTIC* whether or not I had ever even tried the product, let alone whether I liked it. Any competent writer could churn out ‘reviews’ for books they’ve never read by the dozens.
So, what then? Because reviews really do make a difference — having a solid body of honest reviews has helped others decide to give my books a try. That’s why I keep asking people to do them: it helps. A lot.
But what I think helps even more is word-of-mouth. Well, the internet equivalent of it, anyway. Which is people — real people — posting their thoughts/recommendations about a book on their favorite forum/blog/twitter/Facebook wall. I haven’t hit this mechanism nearly as much as I probably should since the initial launch of both Her Final Year and Communion of Dreams, but that’s because I hate bugging people.
But I’m going to swallow my pride and ask when it comes time to kick off the Kickstarter Project for St. Cybi’s Well that I keep mentioning. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee that the Kickstarter will either succeed or fail according to how much promotional support it gets from people who have read Communion of Dreams.
So if you read that book, and enjoyed it, and would like to read another component in my over-arching story — be ready to help spread the word.
Thanks. In advance. There will be more tangible expressions of my appreciation coming soon.
Jim Downey
PS: Editing (Sept. 3) to add another link addressing this problem: RJ Ellory’s secret Amazon reviews anger rivals
Communion Of Dreams 