Hello!

By my reckoning there is two days left in the Nerdist competition and SQUIDS IN currently requires a minimum of 56 pre-orders to get a top 3 finish. Sadly there are only 55 followers who have yet to commit to ordering, so I don’t think we’re gonna make it. I would love to get back up to 5th place however and that seems very achievable. Another 4 pre-orders will do it :)

GREAT NEWS! The second SQUIDS IN raffle prize winner Brian Guthrie has received his octopus and sent me this photo....

We may not finish top 3 in the contest but Hendrix has now strategically positioned his offspring in the UK, US and Germany. In revenge for not winning, he is going to unleash a deadly virus and there is nothing you can do to stop him. Just be sure to go outside and spray paint a "10 Octopuses" symbol on the wall before you go. It may help to educate a future generation about where it all went wrong:)

Thank you guys for all your support throughout the contest. This will be my last update before the result is announced.

Matthew

Nell Walton · Author · added over 7 years ago
Well you can’t say Hendrix doesn’t fight the good fight.

Hendrix and I started the SQUIDS IN campaign like this...

But today I feel a bit like this...

There has been massive movement at the top of the leaderboard which now means that finish Top 3 is now out of reach. I have no plan for achieving 46 unique pre-orders over the next 5 days. That’s what is required as of today in order to finish in the Top 3 and get published.

What does this mean for you guys? Well it means that, if I choose not to chase the target of achieving 250 pre-orders within the next 2 months, you guys will all get your money back and this project will be put to bed.

I have a difficult decision to make.

In the meantime, please check out the current leaderboard and support one of the books still in with a chance of finishing in the Top 3 - https://www.inkshares.com/contests/nerdist-video-game-contest

Throughout this contest I have been supporting Peter Ryan and his book "Destiny Imperfect" as well as Prescott Harvey and his book "In Beta". If you have yet to order either of these books, please do so. It’s so close at the top, your order may make a huge difference.

Onwards and upwards!

Matthew

Matthew Poat · Author · edited over 7 years ago
Yeah, who knew that Peter "Octopus Slayer" Ryan was Korean....
Nell Walton · Author · added over 7 years ago
Hah!  Save Hendrix!

Today I thought I would share some of the nice things various people have said about SQUIDS IN during its campaign, not just to give myself a much needed ego boost going into the final week of the contest but also to show the level of support that other people have shown for this project over the past few weeks. Thanks guys!

A hilariously unique concept, engagingly written and adorably illustrated. Also gaming, profanity, and a naughty monkey. Sign me up! Jaye Milius


The opening excerpt of ’Squids In’ is packed with humor and over-the-top awkwardness. So obviously, I’m enjoying it immensely!  Ken Lindsey


Big fan of the man and the book. A game playing cephalopod - what more could you want? Pre-order now!  Peter Ryan


This is so creative. I could hardly believe the premise when I first read it, then I continued reading... and I was hooked!  Stephanie Brooke


Yes, please.  J. Danielle Dorn


An octopus gamer?! Yes please.  Brian Guthrie


I’ve certainly not seen a concept like this before, and it’s absolutely great! Give it a look, and consider a pre order!  H. Wardrope


Okay, this exactly what I needed. What a riot! You need a fun read at the end of the day, and this fits the bill.  Lauren Drube


Very fun read! Check it out  Dann Matias


THIS  Thad Woodman


Somewhere, OCTODAD IS SMILING!  Dom L


Love it  Claireg24


A slacker surprised by an octopus in the pool, I’m curious if they will eat snacks and play games. can’t wait to find out! come check it out!  Joshua Griffith


A great book from a great Author. One not to miss.  Jamie


A great Read!  Nell Walton


This is my daddy’s book. He tells me it is very good but that I’m not allowed to read it yet because it’s not a children’s book.  William Poat


I’ve competed in E-sports and the twitch-factor required for top tier fame is insane. Squids In hits on a funny and sarcastic note of gaming. Who is really behind that keyboard typing in ’gg.’? I’m rooting for the cephalopod myself and you should as well. For too long E-Sport dominance has been held by specific regions! It’s time for a new champion to rise and crush the competition in the name eight-legged critters everywhere.  Rick Heinz


A squid named Hendrix turns out to be a heck of a competitive gamer. This is my kind of book!  Tony Valdez


Although I highly doubt an Octopus could beat me in Dota2, Starcraft, or even Hearthstone, I look forward to seeing Poat pull it off!  Jamison Stone


Loving this hilarious concept! Check it out! Chelsea C. Moye


Don’t forget to pre-order SQUIDS IN by clicking here and save Hendrix from being eaten by a hungry Korean guy...

Matthew

Eid Mubarak to all Muslim supporters of SQUIDS IN. Peace and happiness to you all. 

Unfortunately the book has dropped back into 5th place following a surge of support for Peter Ryans excellent "Destiny Imperfect" but it is still within spitting distance of finishing within the top 3.  Just 16 pre-orders will see Hendrix the Octopus back up there and on the road to publication. If SQUIDS IN fails to finish in the top 3, this is what will become of Hendrix...


Don’t let this happen to Hendrix, pre-order SQUIDS IN today.

Matthew

Hello,

Check out the pre-order stats provided by Inkshares for SQUIDS IN:

As you can see, the rate of funding has flattened off as we approach the end of the Nerdist video-game contest. By keeping a close eye on the leaderboard (I swear my F5 key is going to break due to all the double-tapping) I can see that this is apparently also true for a lot of the other entries in the contest too. The quiet before the storm perhaps?

If the contest ends as is, I would of course be slightly disappointed not to have made it into the top 3 but I would be supremely chuffed with how the contest has gone. I never thought that my silly book about a video-game playing octopus would receive this much support from within the Inkshares community and honestly, you guys make up like 50% of my pre-orders, so thank you for making me feel so welcome here! 

In return, I have decided to give something back to the community by starting up a new syndicate called "Why So Serious" which will focus purely on funny, humour filled books to make us all smile and laugh in these dark and desperate times. 

Feel free to join the syndicate and help us to decide the first book we should back.

https://www.inkshares.com/syndicates/why-so-serious-

All the Best

Matthew

Good Morning All and Happy 4th July to all of my ’merican friends...

The Nerdist video-game contest has officially entered its closing stages. With only 11 days to go, now is the time to get your pre-orders in both for SQUIDS IN and any of the other awesome books in the competition. 

Experience has shown that the final few weeks of an Inkshares contest can produce massive fluctuations on the leaderboard. I just hope that SQUIDS IN, which is currently in 4th place, will either maintain this position and be the first of the losers or see a massive run of orders over the next few days and take the fight to those infront!


I consulted the oracle and he predicted good things for my silly little book!

SQUIDS IN was mentioned on this weeks WriteBrain podcast along with a few other books from the top ten so go check out what JF Dubeau and Mr. Murloc have to say about the concept and my campaign page (Note: Yes I know Octopuses and Squids are different types of Cephalopods. Is just that octopuses are cooler but "Squids In" sounds like "Quids In" which is a slang British term for winning a lot of money. Obviously this pun doesn’t translate very well.

I am also happy to say that the first raffle winner Thomas J. Arnold has shared a photo of his prize octopus playing Fallout.



I know that these Inkshares contests get a lot of visibility on the site and that frankly disrupts the normal operation of the platform for those of you who are trying to fund a different type of book at the same time. Well I just wanted to highlight three books that are funding right now and do not appear in the Nerdist contest for the simple fact that they are great books.

Mission 51 by Ferd Crotte - https://www.inkshares.com/books/mission-51
Murder at the Veterans Club by Christopher Huang - https://www.inkshares.com/books/murder-at-the-veterans-club
I Am Waltz by Matthew D. Dho - https://www.inkshares.com/books/i-am-waltz

I think that is all for now. If I think of anything else, I’ll be sure to send you a note about it.

PRE-ORDER SQUIDS IN NOW AND WIN A FREE OCTOPUS STICKER!

Matthew

Inkshares just released a new blog post where they asked the current top ten authors in the Nerdist video-game contest to single out one (or more) of their competitors, either inside or outside of the current top ten, that has caught their eye.

http://blog.inkshares.com/post/146712571455/top-authors-in-nerdist-video-game-contest-discuss

I am so humbled by the fact that SQUIDS IN was mentioned by two authors. The fact that you guys appreciate my silly little octopus tale enough to share your opinion with others really does mean the world to me, so thank you Peter and Luke for your kind words.

Matthew
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