Readers, Friends, and Sorcerers All,

A couple of updates before my favorite holiday of the year. First, the Leaderboard for The List was posted on Sunday, and SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS is currently at #4! This is great news, but only the top three are guaranteed full marketing and distribution by Inkshares. So we need to sell some more copies. 30 more unique readers (that means new people buying books) would get us there. 

If you haven’t purchased a pre-order, now is the time. Or if you have, beg someone you know to pick up a copy. In the spirit of the holiday, I would be very thankful. 

We also have a NEW INCENTIVE! After weeks of design and discussion, we’re ready to unveil a very cool prize for everyone who picks up a pre-order at the Mage level or above. It’s a BOOKMARK!

But not just any bookmark. This actually plays a key role in the novel itself. As you may know, Codex Arcanum is the bookstore where Owen first finds Sorcery for Beginners.  He is given this exact bookmark with his purchase, but pretty much forgets about it until much later, when the bookmark plays a key role in the final act of the story.

If you look closely, there’s also an Easter Egg that hints at future books in the Codex Arcanum series. Let’s just say Sorcery is only one of many Arcane Fields of Study, which include Cryptozoology, Cryptocartography, Time Manipulation, and Multiverse Exploration, to name a few.

But to get to those topics, we first need to publish this book and get it out to as wide an audience as possible. And YOU can help us do that. Please think about purchasing a pre-order if you haven’t already, and think about sharing this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. It helps us out a ton.

May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and if you don’t, an excellent week. Again, I really appreciate the support! 

mh

P.S. Special thanks to Juliane, who designed the bookmark!

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

We have passed the halfway point. Only 44 days left in our fundraising campaign. Sorcery for Beginners will definitely be published, but we are still aiming for the FULL editing and marketing package. To get that, we need to keep selling copies.

And we had a big boost yesterday -- out of thousands of books, Sorcery for Beginners was chosen as one of the Top 35 unpublished projects on Inkshares! It’s called The List, and you can read about it here:

http://blog.inkshares.com/post/153308043055/the-2016-list

There we are, right up top! Cue my reaction:

Basically, the top three pre-sellers on The List by Dec 31 will get a full publishing package. And maybe a solid-gold car, I’m not sure. Either way, it’s pretty awesome.

So if you haven’t bought a book yet, or you know someone who might like a copy, now is the time. Send the link to friends, keep sharing on Facebook, guilt your family into making a purchase, whatever works. Juliane and I really appreciate your support.

Thank you all --

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Big news today. SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS has been chosen as the November selection for Gary Whitta’s Nomad Syndicate. Yes, THAT Gary Whitta! Writer of The Book of Eli, After Earth, and this little unseen, indie gem:

I won’t lie, my heart is beating like a scruffy-lookin’ Nerf herder right now. It’s been a pretty awesome six weeks since we started this campaign, and we’re not done yet. You can still pre-order SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS, get a signed copy, and an extra-special "early adopter" prize which we’ll be unveiling soon. But you have to purchase before January 1. Tell your friends, tweet it from the mountain tops, and pick up a copy if you haven’t already! Darth Vader will thank you.

May the Force be with you all --

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

WE DID IT!

We hit 250 pre-orders! Actually, as I type this, we’re at 261. Not quite enough to win the Geek and Sundry contest, but enough to guarantee publication. No matter what else happens, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS will be printed and available for sale on Amazon. How do I feel about this?

Seriously, I am overwhelmed by the support you’ve all shown me and this book in the last month. Some of you are family. Some of you I haven’t seen in over ten years. Some of you are complete strangers. But from now on, I consider all of you friends and rock stars. A thousand thank yous are not enough.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The contest may be over, but the crowd-funding period continues until January 1. If we can get to 750 pre-orders by then, Inkshares will put full marketing and distribution
support behind SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS. So keep mentioning it to friends and spreading the word, it helps us out a ton!

BUT WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR BOOK?

Not until 2017, I’m afraid. When, I’m not exactly sure yet. One of the reasons I chose to publish with Inkshares is that SORCERY has a heavy design element. So we have to get notes from an editor, create around 30 illustrations, design a cover, and format every page to look like a "For Dummies" guide. I want to create something for you guys that looks really cool and different, but to do that will take a little time.

However -- if you’d like to read SORCERY earlier, simply let me know and I will send you a PDF of the full manuscript. I’ll probably make some edits myself before sending it to Inkshares, but I can send a PDF by Christmas for those who are interested.

Again, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for your support and friendship. Crowd-funding this book was one of the more scary things I’ve done, and your encouragement kept me going. Because of you, a book I wrote will be published and put into the world. Just knowing you have my back makes me want to be a better writer, and give you something you’ll really enjoy.

On top of that, you guys raised $570 for breast cancer prevention over the last three days! I know Jeannine and all the other cancer fighters out there will appreciate it. Thanks again, and I’ll be in touch soon --

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Now that that song is stuck in your head, let’s talk turkey. There is indeed only ONE DAY LEFT in the Geek and Sundry Contest. You guys have been champions this last month. You’ve tweeted, you’ve recommended SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS to friends, you’ve purchased 233 pre-orders!! I am humbled and moved by your generosity and support. 

Now, we’re almost at the finish line. We probably won’t win this contest, but the book can still be published. All we need is 250 pre-orders. If we can sell 17 more books in the next day, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS will be printed and placed in bookstores (hopefully Powell’s!). It will be for sale on Amazon. We can make this happen.

I know I’ve asked a lot of you all over this last month. You have stepped up in amazing fashion, but now I just need to ask you for a little more. If you’re getting this email and you haven’t purchased a pre-order, please consider doing so today. If you have purchased a pre-order, maybe forward this email on to a friend. Maybe share the link on Facebook. Maybe post a link to the book on Twitter. Whatever your social media fancy, we need you now.

And remember, any sales in the next day will also have a $10 contribution made to support breast cancer prevention, in honor of my friend Jeannine.

One day. 17 more pre-orders. If we can make that goal, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS will become a real, published book. And I will owe it to YOU. Thank you for helping make my 30-year dream come true, and I hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All --

WE’RE AT NUMBER 7! I am beyond amazed. We entered the Geek and Sundry contest TWO MONTHS after everyone else, and within less than a month we shot to the top ten, and now seventh place, all thanks to your amazing support.

I know there’s only 3 days left in the contest, and I know the top three spots are many hundreds of readers away. BUT -- if we can hit 250 pre-orders, Inkshares will publish SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS regardless. That’s only 38 more pre-orders. We can do that, and I know we can do it by Nov 1st.

In the meantime, I will be posting another chapter to celebrate crossing the 200-sold mark. It’s one of my favorite chapters in the book, in which Owen enters a magic bookstore called Codex Arcanum and buys his copy of SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS. Look for that soon.

Remember, every book purchased between now and Nov 1 will result in $10 being donated to a breast cancer prevention fund, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So not only will you be helping SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS get published, but you’ll be helping an important cause.

Let’s do this, everyone. Let’s hit that 250!!

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT! Thanks to your amazing support, we’re currently at 196 orders. To make the top three, we need to sell at least 100 more copies. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a pretty tough hill to climb. Twenty-five copies a day. We’ve done that before, but in these last days I need to sweeten the pot a little.

So, from now until Nov 1, I will match every copy sold with a $10 donation to a Breast Cancer Prevention fund. A friend of mine from high school was just diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer, so this is a particularly important issue for me. She’s having surgery next week, so good vibes for #teamJ9 are appreciated. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month, so your pre-orders will not only get you a fun novel about sorcery, but also put some cash toward a worthy cause.

Thank you all for sharing, tweeting, and especially placing those pre-orders. Only four more days, then I promise to get out of your hair for awhile. WE CAN DO THIS!

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

Good morning! (At least, it’s morning here in Los Angeles. The sun is just peeking over the backyard fence and the kiddos are stirring. This may have to be quick.) 

We here at the Codex Arcanum had a nice surprise last night -- Daniel Hashimoto, one of our first readers and creator of YouTube’s amazing Action Movie Kid -- posted a shout-out video for SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS on his channel! Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjXq49iHNMs&feature=em-subs_digest

It already inspired someone from halfway across the world to pick up a pre-order. If you squint you can even see a couple shots of Yours Truly trying to look like a film director.

Huge thanks to Hashi, Mandy, and their kids for taking time out of their busy schedules to help promote SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS. Take a look at the video, share it with friends on social media, and let’s keep racking up those pre-orders! Once we hit 200, I’m going to post a new chapter, and it’s maybe my favorite in the whole book. Stay tuned for that here:

https://www.inkshares.com/books/sorcery-for-beginners

Also, check out Action Movie Kid if you haven’t already! They have tons of great videos. One of my favorites is a recent one they made about the Tooth Fairy: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8-U4aigvsw

Only FIVE MORE DAYS left in the Geek and Sundry contest. Let’s do this!

mh

Readers, Friends, and Sorcerers All,

Only SEVEN DAYS left! In the last three weeks we have sold 162 copies, and overcome 390 other entries to make it into the TOP TEN of the Geek and Sundry contest. But only the top three will receive full distribution and marketing from Inkshares. We have ONE WEEK to sell 190 more pre-orders.

But seriously, I’m fine. I know we can do it. If you’ve been thinking about buying a copy of SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS, or maybe you know someone who would like a copy, or you just want to buy a new door stop for $10, the time is NOW. The link is here --

https://www.inkshares.com/books/sorcery-for-beginners

Click the pre-order button. I will be eternally grateful. THANK YOU!

mh

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All --

Amazing news. As of this morning, SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS is in the TOP TEN of the Geek and Sundry Contest! We’ve only been in the contest for three weeks, but because of you guys, we’ve already blown past 390 other entries.

So yeah, this is me right now:

20 more readers, and we’ll be at number 7. 200 more readers, and we’ll be in the TOP THREE. There are only 8 days left in the contest, but I’m feeling insanely optimistic. I know we can do it! 

Your support means the world to me. Keep sharing, tell a friend, and please, if you haven’t done so, pick up a pre-order. THANK YOU ALL!

mh