July 1st has a lot of power. Not as much as January 1st, but close. It’s a great time to start something new.
Actually, for me, I’m going to continue something old. Well, sort of. But this time, I’m going to take a challenge a little farther, using the new world of publishing even more. Some will call this insane, granted, but fun.
Let me explain
I had thought about just starting the old challenge (a challenge I now call Challenge One) again after the last day when I wrote the last challenge story last September. I figured that finishing up the 100 short stories from there before the end of the year would be fun. I had done 32 up to that point, so what was another 68 stories in 3.5 months? A challenge, right?
But honestly, I’m looking at getting back to writing now. Not really at any great speed for me, but I want to start before the middle of September.
And I have cleared all traditional novel deadlines for the moment. So here comes July 1st, a great starting point.
New Short Story Challenge
I’m calling this one Challenge Two.
Here are the basics:
Challenge One was to do 100 short stories from titles in one year. I started it on January 1, 2011 and it got put on hold by my friend’s death in August of 2011. I tried to continue it in September, but alas the estate and probate problems took my full attention. So Challenge One ended after only thirty-two stories.
Challenge Two is starting on July 1st, 2012 and will run through June 30th, 2013.
The challenge for Challenge Two has three parts.
First, it is to write and publish over 100 short stories in one year.
Point 1: And all stories will start only from a title.
Point 2: I will do a post about the writing of each story, how it started, where I got the title, what problems I had in the writing, and so on. (You can get the links to the writing of the first 32 stories under the tab Challenge above. I will link all the new posts on the writing of the stories on that page as well as I write them.)
Point 3: I will post each story for free on this web site. The story will remain here until the next story is published.
Note: As in Challenge One, if I write a story and Kris tells me to send it to a major magazine, it will not count in this new challenge.
Part Two of Challenge Two:
Each book on Challenge Two will be put into an electronic edition and a stand-alone 5 x 8 inch trade paper.
Point #1: I will have each story for sale electronically (sometimes doubled up on the shorter stories) for $2.99.
Point #2: I will have the paper editions of each story, with each article about the writing of the story, in paper for $4.99. Granted, these will be thin books, but will look like any other trade paper.
Point #3: Each paper book will be numbered with the story number of the challenge. So they will form a set.
Each paper book will also have a free code inside that will allow you to get the electronic version of the short story for free.
Crazy, yes, but I’m not done.
Part Three of Challenge Two:
Subscription to the Challenge
Part One: I will have a subscription set up for anyone to get AT LEAST 6 stories (each in paper) mailed to you per month. Paper copies will all be signed by me, for a subscription price of $25.00 per month.
Electronic subscription for only electronic editions will be $10.00. They will be sent at the same time as the paper in an e-mail with Smashwords gift codes to get any form of the book free on Smashwords.
Math…$25 divided by 6 is $4.17 per book. I pay postage. If I do 9 stories in one month, the math is $25.00 divided by 9 is $2.77 per book for both the paper and a free code for the electronic story.
For electronic, if I do nine stories, you get each for about $1.11 each.
Math… I need to do 100 stories in 12 months which means I need to average over 8 stories per month. So some months will be only six books, some months will be ten books. Same subscription price.
Part Two: If for some reason some month I do not finish six stories, I will include with your subscription a free signed collection of one or more of my novels or collections signed to make up the difference. There will always be at least six paper books or more mailed each month to each person who subscribes. And six electronic books to those who subscribe through the electronic method. Plus the codes inside of each paper book to get a free copy of the electronic editions of all the paper books.
Part Three: If you subscribe for the entire year, you will end up with all 100 challenge stories, numbered 1-100, signed, in paper. Plus some extra signed books along the way. A nifty set.
Part Four: You can cancel your subscription at any time.
Summary
Challenge Two is that I will write 100 short stories in the next year and indie publish all of them. Each will also be for sale electronically and in a thin trade paper book. Each paper book will have a code for a free electronic copy of the same story.
Understand these paper books will range from 30 pages to 100 pages in length.
I will start each story from a title and will write about the writing of each story and post each story here for free until the next story is finished. Each article about the writing of the story will remain up here and will be included in the paper edition.
For the $25 subscription price per month, you can get at least six and maybe a lot more paper books per month. All will be signed and mailed in one package each month. Each package will be mailed to subscribers around the tenth of every month for the books from the previous month. (Overseas and Canada subscribers to the paper edition use the $40.00 button.)
For the $10.00 electronic subscription price per month, you can get at least six and maybe a lot more electronic books per month. All will be sent in Smashwords gift codes and in the same e-mail letter around the tenth of every month for the books from the previous month
You can cancel your subscription at any time, or jump in at any time. A subscription any time during the month will get you all of that month’s books. I will have the subscription buttons with each story.
I will also do all the stories in collections in both electronic and paper editions. And subscribers will also be given free electronic editions of those as well as the year goes on.
So stay tuned and follow the challenge this year. Read the articles about writing each story. Watch the ups and down.
It’s going to be great fun for me, that’s for sure. I am so excited about getting back to really writing again. And this year I have no novel deadlines yet, so this could really get interesting. I might just go right on past 100 stories, and subscribers will just keep getting the books as I go.
Paper Subscription: $25.00
Electronic Only Subscription: $10.00
Paper Subscription With Out-of-country shipping: $40.00
Subscriptions will start for the stories written in July 2012. Subscriptions will be for twelve months and can be cancelled at any time. The subscription amount will be withdrawn from your account once each month. Both electronic and paper subscription copies will be sent on the 10th of the following month. All electronic subscriptions will be sent in Smashwords gift codes so the books can be downloaded in any form.
Hi Dean,
Sounds like a great plan. I’ve decided to do a similar challenge, except that I am planning to write 52 new short stories before January 1st.
I basically got fed up on kindle boards… too many people saying it wasn’t possible to write 52 short stories in a year, so I’ve decided to draw a line in the sand on that theory and do that number in half a year
Hey, Thomas E., have fun with it. Report back ever ten or so stories on how it’s going.
And I’m planning on being at that number or beyond by the first of the year myself.
Happy writing…
Hi Dean,
Yeah, I am looking forward to it to be honest. I really enjoy writing short fiction.
I hope you have a lot of fun too.
I’ll do what you suggest, report back every 10 or so stories.
First thought: “Yep, that will keep Dean out of trouble.” Good luck!
If we subscribe, can we get books signed?
Michael, all the subscription books will be signed to me. And if a subscriber wants them personalized, I’ll be glad to do that as well every month. No problem at all. But all subscription copies (and bonus books) will be signed by me as a matter of course. That’s part of the added value. So by the end of a year you’ll have a fully signed set with a bunch of signed bonus books.
Wow. That’s really ambitious. I wish you success (not in terms of sales but reaching your goals).
By the way, I love the “get a free digital copy with purchase of print edition” idea. I think I’m going to steal it.
Wow, Dean, what a hell of a challenge. Personally, I’m thrilled you’re taking it up again. I miss following your writing adventures. It was fun, insightful, and inspiring.
Question: Will the print versions have two stories (main story plus bonus story) in each as well, like the ebook?
Jeff, nope. Some of the paper books might have extra material or an extra story, and all of them will have the “How I wrote this…” article. But mostly they will just be the short story. The electronics will have the extra bonus story.
Hi Dean,
I love the idea of setting yourself a formal challenge like this, but I have a couple of questions for you as you do it.
First, when you chose 100, what was your metric for deciding on the volume? It seems to me you were a bit behind schedule last year on the 100, and you’re adding to the challenge this year, so is 100 really feasible? I recognize the value of stretch goals, but there are stretch goals and then there are insanely unlikely to accomplish drive yourself nuts stretch goals.
Just wondering your thinking in there, as I’m huge on goal-setting and love to see other people’s thinking when they’re really ambitious.
Second, the “code” that you are going to put in each book. How are you doing that? Is it a generic code that anyone can use or somehow tailored to each book? It seems to me if you do it on Createspace or somewhere, you have to have it be generic…which of course means anyone could theoretically use it. Or, you could do “unique” codes but then you have to ship the books yourself and just put a sticker in it? I would love to do the same, but couldn’t figure out a way to do it without using a single generic code if others were doing the shipping.
Last but not least, any update on the “book brochures” you were doing with gift cards in them? Are you still doing that or have you found something that works better?
Thanks, and good luck with the challenge!
PolyWogg
Paul (Pollywogg), the hundred is a nice round number and actually last year I also wrote two novels and did a bunch of stuff, including the gift cards, while writing those first thirty. My thinking last year was that I had the fall clear and I would power during the fall, so I was very happy with my total going into August. I just didn’t expect one of my best friends to die and leave me with a mess of a probate, two places stuffed with valuable art, books, and pulps, and no money to help fix it all. So my mind went away from writing to the life issues. In fact, it’s just coming back over the last few months to writing again, which is why this now. I’m back again after a nasty life event. Happens to everyone.
As for 100 stories, figure 5,000 words average. That’s a half million words of short fiction in one year. I tend to write just over 1.2 million words per year average, so that even leaves me some room for novels if something comes up. Or I might do 200 stories. No way of knowing, but 100 short stories for me in one year is something I can do and have wanted to do for a long time. Challenge One just got derailed by events out of my control. If that happens in this challenge, I cancel all subscriptions and make sure everyone gets a ton of extra books and such for their belief. But (knock on wood) no major life even this year (except maybe December 21 when the world ends. (grin))
The code comes free from Smashwords.com. Any story or book you have up there you can put a code on to give away for free to customers with the code. I have no fear of needing a unique code. I won’t mind that a few friends of the subscribers use the code as well. Makes no difference to me at all. More readers the happier I am.
Will I ship the books to the subscribers myself? Yup, around the 10th of every month starting in August. And by following Challenge Two here, the subscribers will know what they are getting (they won’t know the bonus books each month. (grin)) If the number of subscribers gets too high, I have help from the fine folks at WMG Publishing and I will be doing that out of my office up there. (More room.) But I want to do these myself. Part of making the challenge seem real to me and have value.
Thanks Dean, (I had bookmarked this and only now coming back to it). I’ve been suffering of late from NBISS — no butt in seat syndrome.
No major life events, just regular life and my still-paying-the-bills day job getting in the way.
Interesting way of calculating your output…I don’t think I would have thought of it in terms of words, but makes perfect sense. For my current work-in-progress, I’m hoping to get a bit farther ahead so that I can be writing some sections, editing some others, and polishing a third group … different energies for me at different times of the day (I tend to be “better” i.e. more productive at polishing first thing in the morning, writing new stuff mid-morning and early afternoon, and, editing late afternoon and evening). I stretch those either direction regularly, but my productivity isn’t as high then. I saw a ref to a romance author the other day (Danielle Steele maybe?) who said she worked on five novels at once — one researching, one writing, two editing, and one promoting.
Good luck with the goal!
PolyWogg
This sounds awesome. I look forward to watching you implement all this! Someday I’ll be able to manage massive projects like this without losing my head, but for now, I’ll just enjoy watching you do it.
Nicki, the key for me is not looking at the entire project, which I call an elephant. The old question is how do you eat an entire elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. So my entire focus is the publication schedule and getting the next story done and into print. One bite. Let the numbers mount up without ever looking at the total project for very long. (Just glances, otherwise anyone would freeze down on this.) (grin)
Glad to hear that you’re giving it another shot. It sounds like you’ve got some great motivators in place to encourage you. Good luck!
Have you considered packaging the “about the writing of this story” posts in your ebook or paper editions?
In the meantime I am getting so jazzed about the twice weekly deadlines on my serial that I want to keep it up forever. It’s kind of like your subscription idea — it isn’t just that you’ve set yourself a schedule or a challenge goal. You’ve made a commitment to a publication schedule.
Camille, that’s what I said I’m doing. Each “about the writing of the story” post will be in the paperback. It won’t be in the electronic, but will be in the paperback. And yes, as Kris and I have talked about a great deal, self-set goals never work long for me. Publication schedules with people waiting for my writing I have always hit. Always. That’s why even with a few subscribers I will hit these deadlines because it is a publication schedule.
Remember, I’m thirty-plus years in traditional publishing, working to hit deadline after deadline. It’s in my blood and I honestly love it.
Ah, somehow I missed that bit. (Or misread it.)
As for the publication deadlines — man, I’m learning how magical that is. It’s like a bugle call.
I subscribed, not only because I want to support the challenge (and I’m interested in your stories/process as I tend to write to titles as well), but also because I think it will be very motivating to get those books every month. Sort of a monthly lesson on a few different levels.
Good luck! I’ll look forward to reading!
Jamie. Thanks for subscribing. I will make it worth your while, I promise. As for lessons, I have a hunch it might be educational for both of us as this goes along all the way from layout to covers and so much more. (grin) Nothing like a real push to get my old blood moving. I woke up this morning after pulling the trigger on this really, really excited about getting back to writing again at full speed. My goal is to go a ways past 100 stories this year. And there is no cap on the books to subscribers, so if I do more, you’ll get them all plus all the bonus stuff. So thanks. And any questions after you see the books each month, feel free to shout.
What a wonderful idea! I’m going to have to sleep on it (my decisions seem to work out better that way), but I’m going to challenge myself to do 50 short stories in the next year. One a week, I can do that.
Love your blog!
Dean,
OK, wow. My mind is doing all kinds of crazy dances. I never thought of making print versions of single short stories. Wow! I am very curious to see how this turns out, and I just subscribed so I can have a ring-side seat.
A few questions:
1. I went over to CreateSpace and noticed that for up to 100 pages the cost to the publisher is the same. In other words if a story is 40 pages long, you can get up to 60 more pages for no more money. This unused space could be good for excerpts of other works. Are you going to do something with that unused space?
2. I looked at the royalty amounts for a 4.99 short book at CreateSapce. Extended distribution comes in a -0.16 (a loss). So I guess this means this books won’t be going into extended distribution. How does this play into your plan? And if you keep the books out of extended distribution you save the $25 fee per book, which is going to add up with 100 of them.
3. Are you going to have ISBNs for each of these books? If they are your own ISBN’s that cost is gonna kind of add up isn’t it?
Looking forward to watching this challenge!
Thanks, Robert. It’s going to be a fun ride and I will make the subscription worth the price I promise.
As for the questions, I might, on some, do some added content. Maybe another story and, of course, each will have the article about the writing of the story. But most won’t have much but the article and the story.
You are correct, on these short story paper books, I’m not doing the extended distribution. I just don’t see selling a ton of them at $4.99 for a short story. However, the collections with the stories in them (which subscribers will get as well, plus other bonus stuff) will be extended distribution. I just couldn’t justify the $25 per story price. Also, I can keep the price down to $4.99. As I talked about in the last post, the paper will be $4.99 and the electronic $2.99 which will make the price of the electronic look better. (And the stories that are under 7,000 words will be doubled up with a bonus story in the electronic.) The added value for the paper coming through WMG Publishing and the subscriptions is the fact that it will be a set and all will be signed. And the bonus material with the set.
The paper books cost through the subscription should average about the same price as the electronic copies when all is said and done.
Yes, each will have ISBNs, but I will use the free CreateSpace ones. There is ZERO extra costs for me doing the paper besides my time, and once I have the template set up, I can lay out and launch a paper edition of a short story in about a half hour. (Cover is already done for the electronic version.) So very little extra costs to have a fun set of books on my shelf.
I think your readers will enjoy the WRITING OF part. I’ve been doing it on my e-duos and the comments have been positive. Writers are not the only ones interested in how we do what we do!
You’ve gone insane. It sounds brilliant.
SO FUN.
Wow, very ambitious. I’ve been waiting for you to restart your challenge, but I really like how you’ve taken that old challenge, modified it, and are now launching it at the second half of the year.
I’m now mulling over the short story paper edition. Interesting concept. Probably not thick enough to put wording on the spine, but that isn’t a big problem. I’m curious about the subscription service. Will that be organizing through the WMG publishing website?
Looking forward to the upcoming short stories! It’s great to see you in writing-action again.
J.A., the subscription is through PayPal through WMG Publishing. But it’s a simple PayPal button that took me all of five minutes to set up in the WMG Publishing account. The paper short story copies will not have wording on the spine. Even if I write a really long one. I’m going to rotate through the same five colors on the spines so they will look cool on the shelf.
I think the subscription is a particularly cool idea! For every 100 subscribers that go the year, that’s 30000. 1000 subscribers is 300,000! Minus expenses and labor, of course!
Oh, trust me, flutterby, I had and have no thought of having 100 subscribers. Even a few will keep me really motivated and the subscribers will get a bunch of extra books every month. Lots of surprises in store.
This is wicked cool. I had to do a double-take when I read it. What a great idea!
So yeah, I’m subscribed (under my real name). Looking forward to reading all those great stories.
Thanks, Michael. Very much appreciated. Trust me, I will make it worth the subscription price every month. Not only the short story signed books, but some nifty signed extra stuff every month. So thanks.
Congratulations, Dean! I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes for you. (It’s ambitious–I like it.
)
I’ve been considering various ways to package free ebooks with their respective print versions for over a year now, and I have yet to figure out how to make them available for customers without distributing *everywhere* via Smashwords (other than selling via my own site). I code my own ebook files and upload them straight to Amazon/BN–I only use Smashwords for places I can’t get into directly at the moment.
I’m torn. On the one hand, I’d like to sell both together. On the other hand, I don’t want to be locked into using the Meatgrinder to design all of my ebooks. Is there an option C yet?
E.R., okay got me confused with that question. WMG uploads all our books direct to Kindle and Pubit as well, and also Smashwords. (On Smashwords, under the distribution channels, we just click off those so Smashwords doesn’t send them there also.) But Smashwords does produce all files for every type of device that a reader can download, and they give away the coupon codes that allows any reader with any device to download the file they want. So as long as Smashwords does this service (smart on their part, drives extra people to their site who would normally never go there), then I see no reason to do otherwise.
However, it is very simple to use a program to create your own Mobi, ePub, PDF, and so on files and put them on a private page on your own web site and just give out the link. Takes a little work. Smashwords is a ton easier.
Did I understand that question right or did I miss?
If you want to issue coupons and don’t want to go via Smashwords, XinXii also offers the option to create coupons to be redeemed directly at their site. And unlike Smashwords, XinXii lets you upload mobi, epub and pdf files directly.
Cora, thanks. But unless I’m mistake, Smashwords lets you upload those files directly as well. And a bunch others. Do you mean that XinXii lets a Kindle or a Nook log in and upload a Kindle or Nook file directly to a Kindle or a Nook? Can’t imagine that, but if that’s how it works, let me know. Thanks.
No, Smashwords just lets you (the publisher) upload the DOC file, which they then convert to the other formats with their MeatGrinder, for the reader to buy.
With XinXii, they don’t convert your file for you—you have to provide them the file formats you want to sell.
Oh, I see, Carradee, what you are talking about. Yes, you have to let Smashwords do all the conversions. But you are assuming your conversion program is better than their program because if you write it in Word, you have to convert it with a program as well. I just have puzzlement as to why everyone seems to hate Smashwords conversion program and then turn around and use some free software to do the same exact thing. I’ve found more mistakes in the ones I tried to convert than the ones Smashwords did.
See why I was confused. (grin)
Oh, I agree with you Dean. I was confused at first, too, though I’ve come to realize that Smashwords conversions work a ton better when you don’t use paragraph styling. (At least, they work better with Word for Mac.)
Honestly, I’m still a bit confused by the major convert-to-HTML guide out there for self-publishers, because there’s one technically wrong thing it says to do, and it’s to “fix” something that could be easily fixed with a few lines of CSS at the head of the document. (I know because I did it, until I realized that it’s easier to just use Word and tweak the results if necessary.)
I’m really looking forward to seeing the results of this challenge, Dean. I am planning on focusing on short stories for the last three months of the year, writing one a week (assuming I finish the current novel August-September time frame.) I may be “borrowing” aspects of this. And thank you for letting me subscribe! That way when I get busy, it’ll be easier for me to catch up. Plus, I hate reading things online. Printed is the way to go.
One of my concerns, and I’m curious to see how you handle it at WMG, is organizing so many titles to make it easy for readers to find them. I don’t have anywhere near your volume at this time (33 electronic, plus 6 PoD.) I am not convinced the catalog on my web page is adequate. (http://www.knottedroadpress.com/catalogue-all-fiction/) I want to give readers more options for filtering (just SF, or just Fantasy, for example.) I’d like a better catalog widget, actually, and include more info with each title.
I’m also very excited that you’re writing again. I think that’s cool. I wish you smooth sailing and no more life rolls!
Leah
Thanks, Leah, much appreciated.
As for handling the catalog on our web site, well, so far, we are not doing that. We will slowly over time break it out by genre and then by author name, and have featured books and lists of backlists. But so far we haven’t found a bookstore app that seems stable enough for us to key in all the information for 250 plus titles and then not have it all go down with every upgrade. So we are waiting on this. So I do not have a solution for the large number of titles in lists. As the year goes on I imagine we will figure out how to do that on WMG sites and author sites as well.
Wow. What a challenge. I could probably do it, but by the time I came out the other end, I’d have forgotten the names of my kids. Good luck to you.
My challenge is smaller; between tending the sheep and three young children and writing a genealogy column a week, by August 31st, I plan to have one 30,000-word novel written (500 words a day, started July 1st), two short stories completed and the first edit to my 150,000-word fantasy novel done. Add to this, five blog posts a week (3 for writing blog and 2 each for genealogy and McGyver blogs).
By the way, I’ve been reading your blog for some time now, and I’ve never seen mention of the percentage download you allow for free through Smashwords. I believe the average is 20%, but someone told me they allow 50%. What are your thoughts on this? Is more better?
As always, thanks for the interesting posts.
Diane, sounds like you have more than enough on your plate. (grin) As for percentage of download on Smashwords, 20% is a good amount and what we do.
First off, this is a really cool idea. =)
That said, I have to wonder… You’ve talked a ton about not underpricing your work. About ensuring you make a good profit from it. But Createspace charges a min of $2.15 per book, even for tiny volumes. On top of that, you need to pay to have them shipped to you to sign, and then pay to ship them back out again.
At eight per month average, you make $3.12 per book. Out if that comes $2.15 for printing, leaving you 97 cents left to cover shipping to you, shipping back out, and make any profit. Seems possible you might even take a small loss on each story.
So I am guessing the subscription thing is more about doing something fun for motivation? Rather than for profit? Just curious if I missed something, because of course “for fun and motivation” is a great reason on it’s own!
Kevin, not worrying about making anything on the subscriptions to be honest.
But let’s do the math. Say I order ten copies of each book. More than likely I’ll wait until I can order three books at once, to cut the shipping down to about 30 cents per copy. That brings my cost to $2.45 per title.
So if I do 8 books per month, my total costs to get the eight books to sign and ship is $19.60. So that leaves me about $5.40 of the $25.00 subscription price to ship the box to the subscriber. So yup, no profit at all on the subscriptions as I figured.
As you guessed, doing the subscription part for motivation, not profit. I will make my money on the sales of the electronic books at $2.99 and on the collections at $5.99 or $6.99 and on the occasional (not often) sale of a paper book through Amazon. That’s where the profit comes in. Not the subscriptions. I flat didn’t want to make any money on the subscriptions. But I did want the motivation to do a lot of books and try this new look of short stories standing alone in paper.
In other words, I want the cool set, which will be only one of a very few sets (all subscribers who stick through the entire year will have the full set as well) that exists. All signed.
And I want the inventory. And I love short fiction. And all this sounds to me like far too much fun. And the more people who subscribe, the more pressure on the deadlines for me, which is how I have worked now for 30 years. So making money on the subscriptions was never a thought.
I just arrived in Arizona, and so I’m a little jet-lagged and maybe not thinking clearly. Still, I’m worried about the subscription price with regard to overseas subscribers. They could end up costing you serious money. Have you checked to see what kind of a deal you can get for overseas airmail postage? Otherwise maybe you need to consider a higher subscription price for your overseas subscribers.
Ahh, good point, Mary Jo. Thanks. Didn’t give that an ounce of thought to be honest. Got it fixed now on both the post and the Challenge Page.
What a cool idea. I read it and jealousy hit… HARD! I love things like that and while I’m hoping I can transition to writing fiction to pay the bills, right now I’m a programmer.
But I may take your challenge and twist it for my own use — 52 iPhone/iPad games/apps in the next year. And each will include a tutorial on how I made it. So I can sell the games in the App Store and also sell the apps+tutorials to wanna-be developers. And I can even do the “monthly subscription” thing. Hmmm… I’m going to have to ponder this tonight…
In any case, I’m looking forward to watching your challenge!
Jay
I have just three words for you, Dean: GO FOR IT!
Ah, sorry, Dean. I was about as clear as mud. (And I forgot that mobi files are available from Smashwords even if you aren’t distributing to Amazon.)
What I was trying to ask is if there is any way to bundle both an ebook and its accompanying print version *together* without having to use Smashwords for the ebook files or go through your own website.
For example, a reader buys a trade paperback from Amazon and then gets the ebook free from Amazon. Not the Smashwords mobi file, but the Amazon mobi. Or, they purchase the book from B&N and get the B&N epub file.
I think, however, I may have answered my own question. It doesn’t look like the platform to handle that is quite in place yet.
E.R., nope, not yet on that platform. Not yet at least. And not for us smaller publishers.
This is cool on so many levels. It hits all my buttons — writer and collector and serial challenge participator. *g* External deadlines are the bomb. Good luck, and have fun!
Hi Dean. Anyway I can subscribe and just get the ebook versions? I’ll happily pay $25 a month but don’t really keep paper books any longer.
Oh, heaven’s Larry. You sure can do just a subscription to the ebooks only. Hmmm, just hadn’t thought of that, so give me a day or so to figure out a price and talk with Allyson and others at WMG and I’ll add it to the challenge page and such. (A PayPal challenge to set up, but I think I can do it. (grin)) Thanks. Amazing how I would miss something that cool and simple, isn’t it? Thanks.
E-Book subscription all set up on the post and on the Challenge Page. $10.00 per month for the e-books, minimum of 6, and $25.00 for signed paper editions, minimum of 6 per month.
This would be perfect for me too.
Great option for me too. Thanks for adding it.
I’m really glad you wrote this blog post, Dean. You (and your wife) always provoke me to rethink or think about what I’m doing. I’ve published a couple of short stories as ebooks and I dismissed the thought of formatting for print because I thought it wasn’t worth the effort (or expense). I’ll have to revisit that thought now.
Josh, not sure it is to be honest. We shall see. Remember, I am not doing the extended program on the paper editions (to save the $25.00) and they will not be long enough to have a spine with words on it. I’m not so sure, without the signature and the numbering in a set, if any of these would sell as stand alone. Tough to ask a customer to pay $4.99 plus postage for a 5,000 word short story. But in these the signature, the set aspect, and the added article about how the story was written add value and then the subscription part brings the price down per book to just a tad more than the electronic edition.
So caution on this. I think the better way for most writers to go is to do collections of five or more short stories of similar content. But we shall see over the next six months to a year how it goes. (grin)
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the links for the $10 and $40 options don’t seem to be working.
Thanks, Morgan. Got them all reset. Guess you have to do that every-so-often. Thanks.
Dean, any chance of doing retroactive subscriptions? Like, can I still buy the July and August stories for $10 per month? Or if I sign up today will I just start in September? Thanks for everything!
John, I sure don’t see why not. In October the paper copies of everything signed will be going up for sale on my site and WMG, but I sure don’t see why the electronic subscriptions can’t go back to the start. There were six books the first month plus a bonus and eight books the second month. This month looks like another six or more, plus a bonus. Then in October the pace picks up and I really push forward with the new stories part of this. Some months there may be as much as fifteen or more.
If you want to go back, just sign up for the $10.00 subscription and then toss the other $20 on one of the donate buttons and let me know what it is.