Greetings Followers,

I contacted Inkshares today and let them know the refunds were not going out on schedule, but I’m getting word that they are now being received. If you have not yet received a refund, please contact hello@inkshares.com to clear up any issues.

My book did not win any deals, which is probably a good thing since I will have more creative control by self-publishing the novel once it’s complete. I’m aiming for next year sometime so hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

Thanks for the support!

Michael.

Good morning everyone! 

I know it hasn’t been long since my last supporter email, but this one is a special announcement. You all know my novel by its name Human Resources. What I haven’t told you previously is that the title is changing. There are various reasons for needing to change the title. Human Resources was a great title in some respects: it was understated and linked back to the corporate dystopia, as well as the way humans are treated in the novel. However, despite that, there were signs it would make the book harder to sell. Some of the issues were:

• Human Resources is not a unique title. There weren’t any other science-fiction books I could find with that title, but hundreds of business books. That meant searching for the book could be difficult.
• It confused people. Right throughout my campaign I encountered people who thought I’d written a non-fiction business manual. This can be addressed to an extent with a good cover, but I still had people misunderstand after I started including a cover image of a person with a big sword.
• It’s out of genre. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by switching it to a title that is more recognizably from the genre of the book, it makes it stand out to people who read that genre.

So, without further ado, the new title is Blood Capital. This title isn’t as subtle, but ties it firmly in the genre. It also links back to the corporate dystopia, the treatment of humans in the world, and (bonus) the city the novel is set in. Work is underway on the final cover image, and I can’t wait to share the outcome of that. In the meantime, Inkshares have posted a (short) video of Matt Harry (Head of Story Development at Inkshares) talking about Blood Capital.

Matt Harry of Inkshares Discussing Blood Capital (July 2018) by Robbie Batten: https://vimeo.com/240758751

Robert Batten.

All things literary have been a whirlwind. I’ve recently gotten notified that The Punch Escrow has been selected as one of Kirkus Reviews’ 100 Best Books of the 2017. That is great news! But on the same day I learned that Goodreads didn’t see The Punch Escrow fit to be listed among their selections for the Goodreads Choice Science Fiction awards. What adds insult to a bit of injury is that some of the books that they did nominate aren’t even published yet!

However, there is still some hope. YOU can alter reality! If you read and liked my book and have a Goodreads account, it takes about 4.8 seconds (I timed it) to write-in The Punch Escrow in the Best Science Fiction category. It would mean the world to me. The write-in field is at the bottom of the link above. It looks like this:

All you need to do is type in The Punch Escrow (it will auto-fill) and that’s it—you’ve altered reality! 

Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and this book. I’ll be writing a more comprehensive update on what’s going on with the film adaptation next year, there’s just a lot going on and I’m legally not allowed to discuss any of it. But it’s all *good* stuff!

-Tal