What if Writers and Readers Worked Together?

>> Thursday, 29 July 2010 – publication, twitter power, Word Nerd Army, Word Nerds

Q/ Is is possible to be an authorpreneur if you are not wealthy?
Q/ Do readers love books enough to fund writers without receiving anything in return?

A/ Check this out. The contributors have been clear that they also intend to buy the book.

This is the smiley face of modern publication.

A couple of weeks ago

About a week ago

Today

There is still a little way to go. If you want to join in, there is a donation button under the vid. THANK YOU.

A little vid for the Word Nerd Army - my supporters and friends who prove
time and time again that...

The pen is mightier than the pin-up

Timberwolf – (4 August 2010 at 13:04): Hi Rebecca

What an amazing concept. I've been thinking up ideas for self-publishing for a few years now. Have had a few letters back from publishers saying my work is good, however its not in a niche they're looking for at the moment. Yada yada yada.

I think the idea of readers and writers working together is amazing. Keep those thought wheels turning.

Timberwolf
Timberwolf HQ
Rebecca Woodhead – (8 August 2010 at 00:23): Thanks Timberwolf.

It's a tricky strategy if you want to give a deadline. For instance, I want to say the book will be out by the end of September, but to do that I need to reach my goal by next week. While last week was brilliant, this week has been useless for donations. I've had one donation all week!

I think it works if the community realises the reality of the situation for the writer, and is willing to wait about until funds materialise (or, preferably, support writers so books come into being). Long term, a funding strategy wouldn't be needed - it would be self-funding. This is the equivalent of early stage funding for a start up company. It's hard to do something that costs money, if you have no money.

I like the idea that an author's 'big break' can come from their readers rather than a publisher. JK Rowling's story is magnificent, but it would have been even more magnificent if her readers had been involved before Harry was even a published entity. Imagine if you'd been one of the people who'd helped to bring Harry to life. Pretty special.

I'm sticking with it. I have faith. :)
Rebecca Woodhead – (8 August 2010 at 17:38): Funds coming in again. Hurrah! I love word nerds so much. :)
TFATDHQ – (8 August 2010 at 18:29): Hi Rebecca

I love what you are doing with the funding model - have you ever considered PDF for the first chapter and asking people to pay what they want for it?

Good luck - like I say I really admire your ideas on all this, superb.
Rebecca Woodhead – (10 August 2010 at 13:53): By the way, this is one of the many reasons I am doing this, rather than accepting an offer of publication from a traditional publishing house. http://bit.ly/aJjnw2 This way is really tough when you're financially scuppered, but I'm sticking with it. The long term picture is SO much better. :)

THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE who helps.
Rebecca Woodhead – (10 August 2010 at 14:29): Hi Matt,

Thanks for commenting. I did consider that early on, but it turns out there are a few legal issues with it. With this funding model, it's purely donations. There's no sales model involved, so it's less tricky from both a legal and copyright perspective. I was pretty ambitious with it and - although I'm still not quite there - I'm amazed at how kind and supportive people have been.

If I still run short, I may have another idea up my sleeve. Two things are certain:

1/ I won't give up.
2/ I won't have publishing done to me in the current market. No way. Nope. Not at all.

Thanks so much again for your comment. I love it when people join in :)

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