Happy new year!

Please take a moment and consider this (if you haven’t already): Is there one person in your circle of friends and family, just one, whom you could reach out to right now and encourage to lend their support to Bane of All Things over the weekend?

It could be your spouse, a sibling, a parent, one of your children, a co-worker, a neighbour, a friend in a book club, a buddy in the beer league or a classmate. 

If each of you who has kindly supported this campaign so far with a purchase were able find one other person willing to do the same, we would be halfway to that pre-sales target by this time next week. (I don’t think I could sleep if that happened.) They would only have to purchase a single ebook.

In my last update, I talked about the media coverage provided by my local community papers. This did yield modest results over the holidays. I continue to build audience with other Inkshares users and authors. At every turn, I look for opportunities to engage with new contacts and old ones at local events and through social media.

Heck, last night at a business networking event, I even pitched the staff working the cash bar, BoAT business cards in hand.

Your good word matters more than mine

Here is a simple truth I have learned from established authors, agents and publishers – word of mouth from existing supporters remains the most effective way for an author, at any stage of their career, to sell books.

Now for the good news: BoAT clung to top spot among titles in funding on Inkshares for most of the three-week period that ended Sunday past.

And the not so good news: BoAT achieved this by averaging just one sale a day. (Yes, that does mean every title in funding on Inkshares suffered a holiday slump, which was only to be expected.)

Over the holidays, more than one supporter said to me, “But I don’t want my money back, I want my copy of the book,” when I told them how Inkshares works.

I would much rather you get a book instead of a refund, too.

So, let’s make it happen … together. It is, after all, the birth of a new year—a time for fresh optimism and second chances.

If we hit some milestones in the near future, like 300, 400 and 500 pre-sales, there just might be a contest announcement or two!

As always, your continued support is deeply appreciated. 

(And remember, you can always purchase an additional copy yourself to give as a gift :).

Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

Good day, everyone. One last note before we all enjoy our holiday time with friends and family.

Some great news – the editor of my local community newspapers (shout-out to Laurie Weir!) has picked up an article on this whole venture. You can read it online here.

Just this morning, Laurie confirmed she has found room to also run the story in the print editions of both our local papers, the Perth Courier and the Smiths Falls Record News, coming out Dec. 27. I couldn’t be happier. 

Bane of All Things has also enjoyed in recent weeks some great social media push from Startup Canada and others. Despite this excellent support, direct one-on-one outreach remains the biggest driver of pre-orders to date. We will see what kind of impact media coverage has through New Year’s. 

For those of you who are new to Inkshares, I can’t emphasize enough how important friends, family and community support is to make this work. While there are thousands of users on Inkshares who self-identify as fantasy fans (and I’m following as many as I can find), they tend to wait for a new book to prove itself with hundreds of pre-orders and followers before they start jumping on board as supporters, too.

That means I can’t do this without you. No matter the media coverage we get, or what amplification through social media, word of mouth to friends and family is profoundly important to bring the volume of pre-orders and followers we need for success.

That’s all for now. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!

Good evening. I hope this finds you well as the holidays hurtle toward us.

First, the good news. At this moment, Bane of All Things (BoAT), is the top most recommended work by readers on the Inkshares site. And that is not just against other works that are in funding mode as I am, but published novels, too.

If you haven’t lately, check out the REVIEWS section of my Inkshares page to read the wonderful things other Inkshares authors have kindly written about BoAT. You can leave your own review, too, and help BoAT keep that top spot.

Second, the great news. In my last update, I raised the alarm about how pre-sales were not moving fast enough, but I did also raise the possibility of extensions to my campaign. Well, Inkshares has added 30 days. This puts the new deadline at Feb. 11. (Incidentally, my son’s birthday – here’s hoping we have added reason to celebrate!)

Does this extension warrant a sigh of relief?

Definitely.

Does it give me reason to take my foot off the gas?

Definitely not – we still have a lot of ground to make up.

Third, the bonus good news. Startup Canada will be running a concerted social media campaign for BoAT this week. As some of you know, some years ago I served on the board of directors of this non-profit that supports entrepreneurship across Canada and beyond. CEO Victoria Lennox has graciously offered Startup Canada’s social media clout to help spread the word. This is, after all, kind of my startup venture. I’ve always said the author’s journey, and the entrepreneur’s, are more alike than different.

In the meantime, you remain an essential player on this team. Please continue to spread the word and recruit any friends and family whom you think might also dig this story.

As always, your support is deeply appreciated. 

That’s all for now. Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

Good day, everyone.

First, an important note: If you have purchased Bane of All Things but don’t recall receiving a thank you note from me (whether by email or on LinkedIn or Twitter) your purchase might be stuck in the system. It happens, and when it does, it’s not obvious to the buyer. If you suspect this, please email me at leo@leovaliquette.com.

Today’s update comes at an important stage for Bane of All Things (BoAT) – we are at the mid-point of the initial 90-day campaign. 

The good news: Sales have steadily gained since the campaign launch. Some fantastic feedback from Inkshares authors and supporters such as yourself gives me confidence that I have something good here. 

The not-so-good news: Based on our sales velocity to date, this campaign will not hit its target by the Jan. 12 deadline.

What does this mean?

There is always a Plan B. 

Funding campaigns are often extended at Inkshares’ discretion, but of course, they must have achieved sufficient momentum to warrant it. In fact, when I launched this campaign, I had the option of taking a longer funding window, but decided to test whether the default window of 90 days would spur a greater sense of urgency. 

It might yet – I have personally reached out to almost 1,000 people in my extended networks on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. That many more remain to be contacted. Many have responded favourably with an intent to buy and just haven’t yet. Sales have started to trickle in from the Inkshares community itself as readers active on the platform discover BoAT on their own.

What you can do  

You have already graciously given your support and I am deeply grateful. If are interested in doing more, here are some options:

1.    Spread the word. Please share this with any friends or family whom you think might also be interested. Some of you have mentioned talking about BoAT with your book club – how’s that going? 

 2.    Leave a review on my Inkshares page – that kind of endorsement always helps. 

3.    Buy again for someone else. You can make additional purchases. Take the ebook, for example. When BoAT publishes, you will receive your e-book copies as downloads in whatever of the main formats you prefer. That makes it easy to pass additional copies along by email as gifts. 

Remember – if you buy three or more print copies, you will be recognized as a Super Reader supporter in the back of the book. Pictured is an example from a current Inkshares title.

To date, 10 generous individuals have supported Bane of All Things as Super Readers.

4.    If you have followed but haven’t purchased BoAT, please do. If you liked what you have read and want to see more, now is the time to buy before we all get distracted by the holidays.

That’s all for now. Happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

AUTISM ONTARIO DONATION

Good day, everyone. Now that this campaign has finally crossed the century mark in pre-sales, it’s time to announce something near and dear to my heart.

For those of you who don’t know, I am Canadian and live in our nation’s most populous province, Ontario.

One dollar (in Canadian dollars) from each copy of Bane of All Things sold during this campaign will be donated to Autism Ontario (www.autismontario.com). This registered charitable organization is the leading source of information and referral on autism in the province and one of the largest collective voices representing the autism community in Canada.

Why am I doing this? Simple. His name is William. He’s 13 years old and he’s my son. And he has two cousins, Aidan and Tristan. All three are autistic. 

I will make this donation whether or not my Inkshares campaign is successful. That’s right – even if we fail to reach the target, that gift will be given, on behalf of all of you who kindly offered your support.

But, the more books sold, the larger that donation will be. 

In closing, I want to give a special thanks to all of you who came on board to support this campaign since my last update. It doesn’t matter what level of support you have provided, you matter. My deepest thanks. Please continue to spread the word if you have any friends or family whom you think will also enjoy this gritty, fantastical tale.

I do want to give a shout out to Linda Simpson. Not only did she come on board as a Super-Reader last week, she promptly recruited two other Super-Readers.

(Linda runs Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care Inc. (www.PPRC.ca), which specializes in providing personal employment counseling services to Ontario residents with physical, psychological or developmental disabilities looking to enter the workforce.)

That’s all for now, happy reading.

Cheers

Leo

Hi, all. Thanks again to each of you for your support to get this ball rolling (hopefully it will start to roll faster :). If you enjoyed the first two chapters, I have just uploaded the next two. Chapter Four is notable because it introduces the heroine of the piece, Josalind. (Chapter Three is of course notable, too, for different reasons.)