You guys may have noticed it’s been a little quiet here. There’s a reason, and it’s a long one, so I’ll sum it up before I get to the good stuff.

First, all cards on the table: running a crowdfunding campaign is exhausting. Emotionally, it’s draining. You have a day where you crush it and you feel on top of the world. Then there are days, weeks, where nothing happens, and you wonder who you thought you were to even attempt something so ridiculous. We came out of the gate firing, and then I faded away. I feel like I owe you all an explanation as to why.

Hey everyone, we’re starting a NEW CONTEST this week.  If by FRIDAY AUG 12 at MIDNIGHT we can be at 150 orders, I’m naming a character after one of the lucky readers who preorders a copy this week OR who refers someone to preorder a copy this week.  

We did this contest once before, and it was won by Annie Boehnen, who I just finished adding to BLUE WATER moments ago.

So everyone who was holding off, NOW IS THE TIME.  I’ll be contacting you all personally this week.  Or you could save me the time and just order your copy of BLUE WATER right now!

We’re well on our way to our goal of getting this book in your hands.  Let’s crush this week!

Thanks, 

Joseph Parcell

Hello everyone, I hope you’ve had a great weekend.

We are at 117 orders, which puts us EIGHT AWAY from halfway to Quill, and we’re less than four weeks into funding!  So to get to that halfway point, I’ve proposed a contest.  

Whoever gets the most referrals by MIDNIGHT (PST) MONDAY will get $20 from me, essentially meaning I’ll buy your book for you.  (I can’t get Inkshares to refund your money and still send you a book, so this is the next best thing.)

If you haven’t purchased your copy of BLUE WATER yet, get it now, and refer some friends, and you’re in the mix!

Send your friends along to buy the book, and get them to DM me on Inkshares, or on Facebook, or shoot me an email at bluewaternovel@gmail.com, and tell me you sent them. Score those referrals and I’ll pick up your tab.

Thanks!

Joseph

Hey everyone.  I just want to say THANK YOU again for pushing us past the 100 mark last weekend.  It’s so humbling to have this much support, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. As promised, I’m handing out the first three chapters of BLUE WATER.  But I thought instead of just sending them along in an email that you have to print out and read, I’d do something else to make it a little easier.  (Hopefully.)

At the bottom of this document is a link to our website.  There, you’ll find a link to three different versions of the beginning of BLUE WATER, so that you can read it on your screen of choice, be it a computer, an iPad or iPhone, or a Kindle.

The PDF will be the simplest.  If you want, you could just download that and print it, or read if from your screen.  PDF is pretty versatile, and can usually be read anywhere.

The ePub and MOBI file are your expert (cooler) mode ways to read.  I’ve tested both out, and they both work fine.

THE DIRECT LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS IS HERE: 
http://www.bluewaternovel.com/#!read-it/ekdqn  

To download the PDF from a PC/Mac:
1.) Click the link below.
2.) Right click on "PDF"
3.) Click "Save Link As..." and save the file where ever you like.

 To read on Kindle:
1.) From the Kindle, click the link below, (or open Silk and go to bluewaternovel.com and click the link "Read the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS")  
2.) Click "KINDLE (.mobi). The file should download immediately.
3,) After the download is finished, click "Open."

To read on iPad/iPhone:
1.) From the iPad, click the link below, (or go to bluewaternovel.com and click the link "Read the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS")
2.) Click "eReader(.ePub)"
3.) Click "Download" in the bottom right
4.) After the file completes downloading, the "download" button changes to "OPEN IN..."  Click that.
5.) Choose "Copy to iBooks"

If anyone has any trouble, please do not hesitate to let me know, either by private message on Facebook, or emailing me at bluewaternovel@gmail.com

Thank you again for all your belief in this book.  With any crowdfunding campaign, the worst fear ever is no one else shows up.  You guys have answered the call in droves.

If you haven’t preordered Blue Water yet, maybe these three chapters will be enough to sway your opinion.  There’s 32 more where this came from.  If you want to know what happens next, we have to get to at the very least 250 to achieve a light publication goal.  The good news is, three weeks in, we’re just shy of halfway there.  So PREORDER TODAY, and TELL YOUR FRIENDS.  Spread the word, share the chapters link with anyone you think might be into the book, and let them get a taste.  The only way anyone reads more is if we cross the finish line.  Together, we can finish this campaign, and finish this story.

Thank you all again.  Keep up the good work,
Joseph Parcell

Hey everyone, just a quick note to let you know that if you have preordered BLUE WATER already, and we hit our goal of breaking preorder #100 by midnight tonight, I’ll be sending along a link for you to download the first three chapters.  If you haven’t preordered yet, and you are one of the ones that put us over 100, you get the first three chapters as well!  So if you want to help out, let all your friends and family and neighbors and co-workers and pets know that we need only 12 more preorders to get there.  But we need them TODAY!

Send everyone to http://www.inkshares.com/books/blue-water and help us break a milestone.  

Thank you all,

Joseph

The winner of the GET YOUR NAME IN BLUE WATER contest has been chosen.  Congratulations to Annie Boehnen!  You’re now a character in the book!  Want to see if she survives to the end?  Preorder the book and tell your friends.  Otherwise, you might never find out.

Good day to you all.  Just a quick one today.

First, our GET YOUR NAME IN THE BOOK contest is going strong.  It ends tonight at 3am EST (midnight Pacific.)  If you want to have a character in BLUE WATER named after you, get those preorders in.  If you’ve already ordered, refer someone else, and your name is in the running.  But the clock is ticking.  Get ’em in.

Secondly, BLUE WATER has been in the running for funding for less than two weeks, but this is the second time we’ve tried for publishing.  Our first round was during the Nerdist’s first contest.  The campaign was rushed previously, and we fell short mainly because I had no plan.  This time is different.  

But something is still here from before.  Something rushed that took no planning.  Our COVER.  The jacket for BLUE WATER was pulled from a teaser for the webseries, and hastily photoshopped together, so that we didn’t have to use the generic Inkshares cover.  It served it’s purpose at being a replacement, but honestly, hasn’t done much for us in terms of grabbing attention.  And since Inkshares works by grabbing attention, it’s time to retire it.

So with that in mind, in the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D. (to borrow a phrase from another successful crowdfunding campaign in hopes that some of their good fortune rubs off on us) we’re debuting the NEW BLUE WATER COVER.  I promise you, it will turn some heads, which will in turn snag some clicks.

So tune in next week, and see it here folks.  In the mean time, get those preorders and referrals in to BE A CHARACTER IN BLUE WATER!

Thanks a bunch,

Joseph

We have a special offer TODAY ONLY.  Pre-order BLUE WATER today (July 11) by midnight PST, and get the ENTIRE FIRST CHAPTER delivered to you via email! If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, now is definitely the time as we close out week one of the campaign.

Thanks for a great start!  We’re well on our way to getting BLUE WATER in your hands.

Joseph Parcell

http://www.inkshares.com/books/blue-water