Hey friends,

Today is the first Inkshares Review-a-Thon! The heck is that you ask? It’s a day where Inkshares and we authors encourage everyone to leave reviews of books funding on Inkshares! How do we do that you may ask? Well, by giving away stuff obviously.

So what do you have to do to participate? Simply go to Inkshares and browse books that are currently funding and leave reviews. You’ll be entered into a draw for cool prizes! It’s that simple!

Prizes? Prizes!:

• Sword & Laser Contest Winners Package - print copies of the six winning books from the Sword & Laser Inkshares contest for one winner!

• Nerdist Contest Winners Package - print copies of the five winning books from the Nerdist Inkshares contest for one winner!

• An immediate pre-order of the book of their choice for five winners!

• $30 in Inkshares credits for five winners!

• Leave a review of either The Life Engineered or A God in the Shed and you stand a chance to win a set of signed prints that I made for The Life Engineered mailed right to your door.  

But wait, there’s more! Starting at 6pm EST, Ageless author Paul Inman and I will be hanging out on YouTube interviewing people from Inkshares, talking to authors and needing out about books.

I really should have posted more about this but it’s been a busy week.

Wait… are you still here? Go review some books!

JF

Hi everyone,

I’ve been trying to write this short update for a few days now, but I keep being interrupted with more things to add in.

Friday night, I was having diner with family and my phone as vibrating like it was trying to make a break for it. I usually don’t look at my messages at the diner table but the whole point of having a mobile device is to be available in case of emergencies and, considering I rarely get any messages, I was wondering what was up. Turns out, I had sold a handful of copies of The Life Engineered in a very short amount of time. “Cool.” I thought, making a note to track down what as up later that night.

The thing is, I’m a marketing guy. My instinct when seeing sales is rarely about the money or about the visibility, it’s almost always about ‘where are these coming from?’. So as soon as it was polite to do so, I went to social media to see what had happened. Turns out, The Life Engineered, along with Sword & Laser, were the focus of a short article on io9.com.

I read io9.com daily.

Already that's pretty awesome and I wanted to put up an update about it. Then I got confirmation of this article by Alicia Smock being posted on examiner.com. It’s a great article and was fun to participate in. So I was going to include that in my update.

Then The Life Engineered gets mentioned on Geek & Sundry and I lose my God damned mind. I can only keep a rational, marketing oriented line of thought for so long before I become an irrational mess. This isn’t a client’s product being mentioned in the media according to plan. This is my book.

Finally, another article, this time on Inkshares very own newsletter pops up.

So there you have it my friends. The surreal events of the first few steps of promotion of The Life Engineered. If you’ve ever doubted that this little crowdfunding venture takes care of their authors, I think I can testify that we are handled with much love and care. And that’s just the stuff I feel comfortable putting on a public forum!

But wait! That's not all. Remember when I gave away a model of the character Koalemos to someone at Nerdtacular last summer? Well, I'm making more of these models (7 more for reasons obvious in the book). A couple of them are earmarked for people that need to be thanked for their help, but one is going to be raffled off to the people who pre-ordered during the funding campaign. I know more about building and shipping these things now. It's going to be cool. Check out who got the first model.

As always, you have my gratitude. It’s an incredible ride so far and none of this is happening without your support. Thank you.

JF

Hello dear readers,

It’s been a little while. I try not to be too much of a bother and besides, we’ve just come through another NaNoWriMo and I’m glad to say that I’ve pulled through and met my word count.

This NaNoWriMo was different

Indeed, this time around I didn’t just set out to write a 50, 000 word novel in thirty days. Instead, I’ve embarked on a lifestyle. NaNoWriMo isn’t just a one month each year event any longer. Rather, it’s an every day thing. Without fail, I will write 1666 words each day unless I’m actively editing a book at the time. But this is boring to you. I’m boring. Let me talk about exciting things.

The Life Engineered is drawing close

We are less than three months away from the release of The Life Engineered and we’re starting the first few steps of the marketing campaign. Obviously, a lot of what’s going on is rather hush-hush, but I’m excited to say that the work Inkshares is doing on that front is incredible. It kills me that I can’t share more details with you but consider yourself teased.

The Sword & Laser Collection Contest : The Sequel

Very excited to announce that Sword & Laser is running another contest for their Collection. You might remember that collection where The Life Engineered makes its home. I am not participating in this contest. I have significantly too much on my plate right now that I can’t see myself pushing a book on top of everything. I highly encourage you to go check out the contestants though. Already a few of the new books participating look very promising and the selection promises to get better with every week.

My friend Andre is participating with his book Lies and Deception. Check it out and if you have spare credits toss them his way.

While I’m not in the contest I am still trying to get A God in the Shed funded to the 750 pre-order level. I’ll be powering up the promotion engines to push that project forward in the next few weeks but in the meantime, if you know anyone who’d be interested in a cool Fantasy/Horror book and helping an aspiring author, send them this link and tell them to pre-order A God in the Shed today.

As always, thank you for your support. It’s changing my life in ways I can’t begin to describe yet.

Cheers,

JF

Good friends,

There is nothing I love more than to tell stories. Writing books has been such a source of enjoyment in my life for the past few years that I keep hunting for new ways to make novels and get them in front of people. Between improving my craft and learning how this complex and evolving industry, I try to find as many opportunities to create as possible. But sometimes, it’s the opportunity that finds you.

This is a bit of news I’ve been holding on for a few months now and I’m elated to finally be able to talk about it to some degree. It’s my pleasure to announce that apart from The Life Engineered and (hopefully) A God in the Shed, I will be publishing at least two more books in the next few years.

The two books will be written for The Ed Greenwood Group; an ambitious enterprise set up by none other than Ed Greenwood himself, involving dozens of writers and other creatives, spanning over fifteen different settings and reaching far into the next few years. I was recruited by my friend Eric Belisle who did the cover for The Life Engineered and has been working with Mr. Greenwood on this project.

The first book and setting for this undertaking were announced on Halloween. Your World is Doomed is the first book of the Hellmaw setting and you can already order and read it.

The books I will be working on are Still Waters of Tarkania, which is set in the For Wolf & Empire setting, a swashbuckling, steampunk historical fiction with werewolves. Because everything is more fun with werewolves. Still Waters of Tarkania will be released in June of 2017.

The second book is Alsecia’s Sun, set in the Under Deadly Stars setting, a far-future hard sci-fi world where stars are being destroyed by an unknown force. This one will see release in June of 2020.

My plans

While I am loathe to over-commit, these two books are now part of my ongoing calendar of works I hope to create in the coming years. Assuming I can find publication for all or most of these, I will be able to keep telling the stories I want to tell.

It’s ambitious to think I can write and publish two books a year while holding onto a full time job, but I’ve always known that if I wanted to be a writer it meant essentially having a second job. My hopes are to be able to write three or four books a year for as long as I have ideas for stories to tell. Obviously that dream depends on being able to write as my only occupation.

While the books published with The Ed Greenwood Group are not going to be funded on Inkshares or under their imprint, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep a close relationship with Inkshares. I plan on funding the sequels to The Life Engineered along with the other two books in the God in the Shed trilogy on this platform, along with other ideas that are bubbling inside my brain. In fact, I’m so involved in this platform that I record a weekly podcast with fellow Inkshares writer Paul Inman on the subject of writing and crowdfunded publishing. You can check out the WriteBrain podcast on iTunes or on this website.

Thank you so much for your support, friends. Consider pointing others to both The Life Engineered and A God in the Shed. The bigger these two first steps are, the faster I can get underway on this journey of story telling.

 JF

Hello sentients,

A quick note to remind you that today at 3pm EST (noon PST), the pricing and goal structure of my project currently funding on Inkshares will change. While my goal will go down from 1000 pre-orders, the price will go from 9,99$ per copy to 20,00$ per copy. Each is a gorgeous physical copy with free domestic shipping and will be signed. Today is the last day where the prices of the old model overlap the benefits of the new one. So I urge you; go pre-order ‘A God in the Shed’ on Inkshares.

Also, if you want to hang out at Can*Con this weekend, I should be wandering from one panel to the next. I’m on a panel on crowdfunding Sunday at 2h30 pm in Salon D. I’ll also be meeting with people at the Three Brewers in downtown Ottawa (240 Sparks Street) and you’re welcome to join us for a beer and some nerding out.

That’s it! I won’t bother you with anything more today but wish you a great weekend!

JF

Hi guys and gals, 

I will dispense with the pleasantries for we have a lot of ground to cover in one piece of communications and it’s all kind of important. Bear with me friends, it’s all relatively good news. 

Signed copies

Once ‘A God in the Shed’ reaches its pre-order goal of 750, it will get published in both digital and physical, paperback formats. Everyone who pre-ordered will receive a signed paperback copy of the book. Unfortunately, to accommodate this bonus along with the lower pre-order goal, the price of pre-orders will jump to 20$ per copy starting October 30th at 3pm (EST). This means that if you’ve already pre-ordered or pre-order before that date, you will get the signed copy but only pay the current price of 9.99$. If you have credits lying around or are still hesitating to pre-order ‘A God in the Shed’, now’s the time to get in on this. Spread the word; new Inkshares members still get 5$ credit on their first pre-order.

Can*Con

If you are in or around the Ottawa area this coming weekend, I will be participating in a panel on Crowdfunded publishing Sunday afternoon at 2pm. You can come see me there or, if you don’t plan on attending Can*Con but would still like to hang out, we’ll be having a meet up at the Three Brewers in downtown Ottawa at 5pm on Saturday. Look for my goofy looking face or the table with a poster of ‘The Life Engineered’ next to it. I’ll have some signed robot prints to give out. 

Shipping costs

Inkshares is adding a 15$ shipping cost for each copies of books pre-ordered. This only applies to international orders (including Canada). This doesn’t apply to those who have already pre-ordered. As far as I know and if I read the update correctly, it will not apply to books ordered before October 30th at 3pm (EST). It’s a steep increase and has caused much gnashing of teeth, but considering how much The Man loves to gouge people on international shipping, I’m not exactly surprised. I know a lot of people who pre-order these books are doing it to support up and coming authors and tossing in a few extra dollars isn’t the end of the world, but it’s a steep price and I want potential future supporters to be aware of it.

Thanks for your support friends and remember; the best way to see this book published is to help share it with others.

JF Dubeau

Greetings sentients!

I come to you with some interesting news: I’m going to be participating on a panel about crowdfunded publishing and talking about my experience with Inkshares. I’m super excited about this and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’m eager to see what my fellow panelist (Hayden Trenholm and Ira Nayman) will bring to the table also. The panel will be moderated by Caroline Frechette. 

The panel will be held at Can*Con on November 1st at 2pm. If you’re in the area and attending the convention, come and see me. Or if you’re not attending but would still like to hang out, I’ll be hanging out with friends and fans at the Ottawa downtown Three Brewers restaurant/bar starting at 5h30pm on October 31st. Come say ‘hi’ and get a free signed print of something.

Final obligatory cross-promotion plug: Don’t forget to check out my other book that’s currently funding on Inkshares, ‘A God in the Shed’. Trust me, it’s worth your time.

Thanks again for your support friends. It truly is appreciated.

Cheers,

JF

Oh what a situation I’ve created for myself.

On the one hand, I have ‘The Life Engineered’ being released early next year. It’s a extremely exciting project and the validation of over five years of work. Learning to write, authoring a few books to get somewhat good at it, typing draft after draft of the manuscript until it became something somewhat enjoyable, all so I could have this one book in production.

On the other hand, I’m hungry for ‘A God in the Shed’ to reach it’s funding goal. It’s a facinating story that I can’t wait to delve back into and bring to life for readers to enjoy. I love the characters and setting and every part of that book calls to me to revisit.

So here we are; Two books, both at different stages of promotion, both requiring visibility and attention. I need to find new readers for one to fulfil my responsibilities to myself and to my publishers and for the other so I can get the opportunity to push it into production. However, I am so very tired and would prefer to be writing rather than promoting.

So while I’m looking for new and interesting ways to get new eyes on my work along with preparing the next book I’m working on, I’m unfortunately neglecting the most important people in this a whole endeavour; you guys, my readers.

But, I haven’t forgotten about you and while nothing is currently going on, I am preparing a few cool extras to show my appreciation for your support. If nothing else, I’ve included a few sketches of robots that I’m doing for Inktober (a sort of illustration challenge that spans the month of October). I have a few other bits of interesting news coming up in the next week or so, but until then, if you know any Science Fiction lovers or Fantasy/Horror fans, let them know about my books. You know I’ll appreciate it and if you recommend through the Inkshares site, you’ll get credits that you can use to buy more books!

Thanks for your continued support.

And now for some robots

JF

Good day dear sentients!

Good day sentients!

Oh it is a good day. I have so much to share... Let's start with a fresh new cover? Behold! The final layout for the cover of The Life Engineered!

Thank you Elsie and Eric who both contributed their artistic talent (layout and illustration respectively) for this. It looks amazing. Notice the little starburst there? Awww yeah...

Now for something more serious

Friends, let's take a look at the gears and wires of things. What some would call the 'inside baseball' of the situation. What follows is my publication calendar as it stands today:

You have The Life Engineered, releasing in late February/early March and then two mystery books in 2017 and 2020 (I'm so eager to be able to talk about those!). Still, this looks a little empty doesn't it? Here's what I want my calendar to look like if things go well:

If I can fund A God in the Shed I'll have enough momentum and confidence to start funding the sequel to The Life Engineered (tentatively called Arch-Android). I'll also be in a position to look at getting the sequel to AGitS funded and published as well. This leads us to what I dream my calendar could look like:

This version implies that I can spend more time writing either by doing it full time or having it allow me to work less hour at the day job. Obviously this is a pipe dream but this is a 'go big or go home' industry. You'll notice that Arch-Android gets a much earlier release and that three other books are added to the list. These might be another sequel to The Life Engineered or other projects I have in mind. I might also move the sequel to A God in the Shed earlier. I love looking at this version of the calendar. It hums at me like a  well tuned ion thruster.

Of course, to get to calendar 2 or calendar 3 I need you help. There are over 400 of you guys following The Life Engineered and each of you is amazing for your support. Many of you have already backed A God in the Shed and that is awesome. However, if we want to fast track this train to the second calendar, I need your help. The Nerdist Collection contest is a shortcut to part of that. All I need is for more of you to pre-order a copy of A God in the Shed.

I know you're getting a lot of these updates with those kinds of requests. I'm aware this must be getting tiresome. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least try. I have a lot of cool things planned for the future and I want you guys to be a part of it. Go pre-order A God in the Shed. It'll be awesome.

Thanks again for your continued support.

JF