I really enjoy sharing good news with you. When something happens in my campaign that gets me excited, like hitting a landmark number or getting a mention in some media source, I just want to gush about it to my supporters. You’re all like a family to me, and the roles you’ve all played in getting me this far will never be forgotten.
Unfortunately, not all news is good news. As much as I enjoy sharing the good news, these updates should be about transparency. You deserve to know the genuine state of things, whether the news is positive or negative. Today, the news is a mixture.
Let’s do the good news first:
 

In light of the recent setbacks to my campaign, Inkshares has granted me an at least 30-day extension. Overall they’ve been extremely understanding and reasonable, and I really want to thank Avalon, Thad, Elena, and all the rest of Inkshares staff for working so hard and diligently to handle this problem. They’ve all been very communicative, professional, and encouraging through this process, and I don’t want their hard work to go unthanked. They genuinely seem as determined as I am to see Tantalus Depths reach the levels of success it truly deserves, and I am extremely grateful for all the hard work they’ve done behind the scenes.

Now for the bad news.

Tantalus Depths lost a lot more pre-orders today. A lot. All told, it looks like almost a third of my pre-orders were illegitimate ones. That’s hard for me to stomach. It’s not just hard because I’m seeing my numbers drop and realizing just how much more work I have ahead of me, it’s hard to know that what I had thought to be all genuine community support was, in fact, largely counterfeit. Whoever’s been abusing the credit system to support my book probably thought they were doing me a favor. They probably believed that by artificially raising my pre-order count with false orders, they were helping me get to my goal. I can appreciate the intent, and I can admire the initiative, but I find the methods unconscionable.

Tantalus Depths is a fine book. I’m proud of my work, and I believe in it. I believe it to be a story worth sharing, something worthy of print on its own merits. I worked really hard to get it to the state it’s in. I’ve also worked really hard on bringing in the genuine, legitimate pre-orders that I have, and I’m proud of that hard work too. These false pre-orders, though...I’m not proud of those. I’m embarrassed to have had those in my campaign. I’m not sorry to see them gone. While it’s hard to see my pre-order count ticking backwards, I’m relieved to know that those orders I’m losing, I never really had. The ones I’ll have left at the end of the day will be the ones I worked hard for and genuinely earned. I’ve no need for manipulative tactics and exploitative methods: I have a good book to sell. When enough people have seen it, it will reach its goal, because it’s good enough to get there. I know this, my genuine supporters know this, and once this campaign is over, it’ll have been proven.

To the person or persons who have abused this system to support my book: thank you for your interest in Tantalus Depths. I hope you’ll show that interest by purchasing a pre-order with real money, and encouraging your friends to do the same. I also hope you will stop exploiting this site. Doing so harms every book you touch, and harms the company as a whole, which harms every author who’s published with it. Do not poison the well for this community for the sake of promoting a book you like. It helps no one in the end.

Meanwhile, I’m still plowing on with my campaign. I have no idea where I’m going to find all the rest of the pre-orders I need now, and I have no idea where I’m going to find the energy I’ll need to get through an extra 30-or-so days of this madness (I’d fully intended on going into a coma for about a week after my campaign ended), but I know I’m going to figure it out. This community is so supportive, and my friends and family have been just as supportive. One way or another, we will get there. I’m working on figuring out some more story updates I can send that won’t be spoilery so I can keep opening up the rich world of Tantalus Depths to you over the next few weeks of extra campaigning, and I’m hoping to come up with one or two more incentives. Since I have to climb back up to the 600 mark, I’m making that the goal we need to hit for me to release my video of me reading chapter 3. beyond that, who knows what’s ahead?

We’ll find out together. Come, let’s dive into those depths...

Followers of the Space Sloth,

Not sure if the video is going to work down at the bottom, so if the embed link doesn’t work, click here! 

I decided to do a video update before heading on vacation. I’ve never done a video blog before, but I thought it would be a good way for me to get over the fears I have about talking about my book in public (sort of public). Hopefully, the embed link works. If it doesn’t, just scroll past the mess of code for a rehash (unless you clicked the link above!)

;;

You guys have been wonderful this week. I cannot tell you how thankful I am. I waned to talk to you a little bit about what the book means for me. I plan on getting a better video very soon with the help of a good friend, Andrew Ludewig at MTI Photography. 

The book is important to me for many reasons. It is something that I’ve worked on for a very long time, like many writers. I started dabbling with it in high school and then really went to work on it in college. I somehow managed to balance being a caretaker to my elderly grandmother, putting myself through college, working nearly full-time, staying up until 2 AM doing design homework, and finding the spare minutes between classes to write. I’ve given a lot in life to people, sometimes too much. I’ve been through a lot. This book was my refuge. It was my saving grace. I’ve poured all of myself into for many years and it is time for me to let go, and time for me to show it to others.

For me, publishing the book just as much about healing as it is about achieving a goal. Thank you to those who support me and those considering supporting me.

After tomorrow evening I’ll be gone for a few days, in the mountains and away from technology. I’m very concerned about losing all the ground I’ve managed to gain in a relatively short time. If you could make recommendations and pass the link to the book along, even if you haven’t pre-ordered and are still on the fence, I would greatly appreciate it.

(That ended up being more detailed than the video! I’m so much better at writing my thoughts than speaking them, which is why I need some professional video help)

Thank you and much love!