Direct Distribution Experiment
Hmmmm. As I suspected would be the case, Paypal donations for "Jack Scallywag" have been substantially fewer than those for "Scruffians Stamp." There's plenty of freebie downloads of "Scruffians Stamp" going on in the meantime, but that clearly ain't converting into support. Yes, you get enough folks donating that it works as a one-off, but it's not looking terribly sustainable, I gotta say. The second story hasn't done too badly, but it's a good way from being made available to the public, so while I've got another three stories done and dusted, ready to be let loose in the world, it's not looking like this is a viable way to release them, to be honest.
Anyways, while I consider potential ways to give the whole thing a kick up the arse, those of you what have downloaded "Scruffians Stamp" without donating, those of you who's tempted by "Jack Scallywag" but hoping that others will make it reach the target so you don't have to pay, and those of you who're just a bit too used to the Age of Free Fun... well, go read Amanda Fucking Palmer on the subject of artists asking their audience to pony up. Anyways, those of you who's wavering, do bear in mind that there's no minimum donation.
As you were.
Anyways, while I consider potential ways to give the whole thing a kick up the arse, those of you what have downloaded "Scruffians Stamp" without donating, those of you who's tempted by "Jack Scallywag" but hoping that others will make it reach the target so you don't have to pay, and those of you who're just a bit too used to the Age of Free Fun... well, go read Amanda Fucking Palmer on the subject of artists asking their audience to pony up. Anyways, those of you who's wavering, do bear in mind that there's no minimum donation.
As you were.
posted by Hal Duncan | 7:07 pm
5 Comments:
I find this depressing.
However, perhaps a broader circulation of the news might help--I guess it's possible that the audience who read this blog regularly might have hit a short term limit, but I'm sure there are more people who could be drawn in...
Have you tried submitting to Tor.com? At 25 cents a word, they're just about the best paying market around. And online.
Chris: I'm not giving up on it just yet. This entry seems to have galvanised a wee growth spurt, pushing the donations up to a quite reasonable level. I'm reckoning on giving it a week or two to see what happens, with maybe another wee prod if required -- possibly with a bonus story or something similar only available to donors to see if that *ahem* "leverages" more support. (Retroactively available, of course; I'm not going to stiff those who've already donated.)
Gary: Haven't sent anything their way yet, which is -- yes -- retarded of me, but I've got a non-Scruffians story in the works that I'll probably fire off at them once it's done. With this stuff, having five-going-on-six stories now sharing the same conceit, I'm thinking this is a good opportunity to explore alternative business models. With the speed they're coming at, I'm curious to see if I can get a ball rolling, so to speak, build up a subscriber base by doing something between the one-off story releases and the serialised novels other writers have tried.
Yes, the reminder was a good thing for those of us who's been kind of living in another dimension for a few days, and managed to somehow miss the first post on the subject (ahem).
I still want to believe this is a great time for such experiments. Setting up a subscription might help, indeed, if we are numerous enough to make it worthwhile for you - I am currently taking part as a subscriber into a few projects running that way (Catherynne Valente's Omikuji one, for instance), and deeply enjoying it (oh, the thrill & surprise of finding new stories waiting in the mail!)
Hal, just a suggestion, but perhaps giving the Dickens' treatment and doing a serial novel(la)? I'm sure you've considered this. It has disadvantages, sure, but you also get "backlist" sales...
(I have to ashamedly declare I have not participated in either buy-in yet - I'm poor in our currency and the exchange rate does not work in my (or your) favour right now...sorry.)
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