Robert Batten liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
I’m curious: does that mean none of the 15 Inkvengers can enter another contest until Too Many Controllers comes out, or just that there can’t be another "Inkvengers" collaborative entry?
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    Robert Batten liked the forum thread, Geek N Sundry Contest Entrants: Crowd Funding Guide!
    Great advice from @Rick Heinz and @Ricardo Henriquez Follow it and you’ll be in the running. I did and ended up in the top three last contest. 

    I’d also add be personal and specific. If you are asking someone to help you out, be polite before hand. Treat people like people. Don’t just hit them with a generic ’pre-order my book’ demand.

    Also, if you are asking someone via email/DM/Facebook make sure you finish with a call for action e.g. "It’s be great if you could could pre-order and support my dream.  You can do this by clicking here (insert your Inkshares link)." Too many people leave the end of a request open - you need tell potential supporters what to do as Inkshares can be tough to navigate if you’ve never used it before.

    Finally, get to know your fellow Inkshares authors. Most are helpful, as you’ve seen from Rick and Ricardo. Becoming part of the community is a great way to develop your skills and move forward.
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      Robert Batten liked the forum thread, Geek N Sundry Contest Entrants: Crowd Funding Guide!
      great tips from master @Rick Heinz  :-) follow them all, I mean it. 

      The only thing I would like to add is, don’t be afraid to follow up with people multiple times. When someone says "yes, I’ll pre-order" and then they don’t the most likely reason is that they forgot, so they will be thankful when you remind them. During my campaign, I had to remind people 2,3 times and every time the answer was "dude, I’m so sorry I just keep forgetting" and it makes sense, we are not their priority and everybody has a lot going on.

      I hear a lot in the forums "I don’t want to annoy people. Keeping my friends is more important than the campaign."  my approach to that during my campaign was: I annoy people on a regular basis for multiple different reasons, annoying them so they can help me achieve my dream seems the best reason I can think of. Trust me on this one, even the most cranky of your friends and acquaintances will be rooting for you when you say to them "I have a book deal" 

      This is the best advice I can give: ask everybody you know to buy your book. follow up until they either say no, or buy your book, get over your own insecurities and stop making excuses for why you are not asking someone or following up with someone.

      Good luck to all!
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        Robert Batten liked the forum thread, Geek N Sundry Contest Entrants: Crowd Funding Guide!
        Greetings everyone! 

        I’m Rick, and I love crowd funding and contests. Since all of you are entering this Fantasy contest (my genre of choice) and I’m going to end up bankrupt in the near future. I figured I’d give you some quick pointers on how to get started on the prospect of crowd funding. Because for many, you’ll quickly find it’s more daunting than you realize. 

        1. Contests are the best way to drive orders to your book because they provide a sense of urgency. ~Make sure you tell people you are in a contest, it’s a big deal, the top 3 get published and be excited. 

        2. In order to crowd fund, you need a crowd. This one is one I often see overlooked. Even if your crowd is 10 people, that’s fine, get those 10 people before you pitch strangers. There is this farmers market theory of kale thing that John Olivir did and it’s totally true. Nobody will buy the one, sad, lonely piece of kale. But that same kale with 10 more people behind it giving it a thumbs up! Perfect.  Basically, before you go mass pitching to anyone who will listen: Get your immediate 100% surefires to order. Spend that time polishing your campaign page. 

        3. Use Video. @Joseph Asphahani ran a fantastic campaign using video updates. Short, simple, and sweet. @Tal M. Klein went and had some amazing muppet ad’s and he was the prior Geek N Sundry contest winner. 

        4. Don’t be afraid to ask people to support yourself, not your book. It’s a small division, but it makes a big deal. Ask people to help support you get published and back that dream. It will take 2 years before they have a book and there is a lot of editing that goes into it. Your story may look completely different, so focus instead on your idea, and who you are and why it’s important to you. 

        5. Focus on your own extended networks, family, and friends first, then turn your attention to crowds and other Inkshare authors. Yes, there is a community here, and everyone is trying to get their books funded. At some point, it’s about playing match maker and cross pollination of reader bases. That is a good and healthy thing. It’s okay to market each others books to your crowd. That’s why you knock your people out of the way first. Then you can help others and others can help you. 

        6. Passive media: Ads, cards, fliers, these things help you build your author brand and focus your vision, but they don’t help with crowd funding in a contest. They won’t net you any sales. What they will do: Is polish your writer brain into a fine-tuned 15 second selling machine. 


        So, those are some of my quick tips. Inkshares had blogged about it before: and Tal Klein wrote his tips. I’m willing to help and offer advice to anyone, just send me a PM. 

        ~Rick Heinz
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          Robert Batten liked an update for Tantalus Depths

          Every once in a while, something will happen that reassures me Tantalus Depths is really succeeding where it matters.

          Getting picked by the Break the Bechdel Syndicate was one of those, as it reassured me that Tantalus Depths was doing an effective job of representing strong female characters, which was crucial for me. Getting picked by the Great Sci Fi Syndicate was another, as it reassured me that I was effectively creating a science fiction work that embodied the best aspects of this genre I love so much. There have been many little things along the way that provide similar assurances that I’m on the right track, either in the form of reviews, recommendations, or general feedback. Today I was honored in a totally new way.

           

          KSU Trumbull, the university branch responsible for almost all of my college education, did me the great honor of coming to me and holding this interview to promote my book. This is the same college where I honed my writing skills, took advanced literature classes, learned character development from theatre classes...heck, Tantalus Depths was written for classes at this school. The fact that they’d honor me by highlighting my work is a tremendous honor that I’m still processing.
          Please go ahead and check out this interview.
          Also! Tantalus Depths is now only 87 pre-orders away from FULL PUBLISHING. We have a bit less than 13 days to get there. We are SO close, everyone. Keep pushing!

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            Robert Batten followed Richard Saunders
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            Robert Batten liked an update for Mission 51

            With only 3 days to go in the funding campaign for Mission 51, it seems clear we will not reach the required 250 pre-orders for publication through Inkshares, at least not at this time.

            BUT, this is just a bump in the road to publication. It is a one door closes, one door opens kind of thing. Let me fill you in on the plans.

            In 3 days, the funding campaign ends, and shy of a miracle where we do reach 250 pre-orders, Mission 51 will automatically go into “draft” mode on Inkshares. All of the readers, who have my everlasting gratitude for your interest and generous support, will get their money back. The project will remain listed on Inkshares, and I will be able to communicate with followers through this forum, to keep you updated on the continuing progress of Mission 51.

            I will continue to revise, enhance and beautify the book, including the art. I am convinced that this fun story has merit. I have been encouraged by the support from personal friends and family, by 188 followers of the project on Inkshares, by achieving 168 pre-orders, by 14 high-quality recommendations, by being chosen as a “Staff Pick,” and by the support of the GREAT SCI-FI for the 21st CENTURY and BEYOND SYNDICATE.

            With that in mind, I have decided to enter Mission 51 in the 2016 Launch Pad Manuscript Competition. This opens several opportunities for publication. Please check out the link. I am very excited about it!

            In any event, I can assure you that this book will be published sooner or later, hopefully sooner. I would love to have the backing and services of a formal publishing house like Inkshares, but I have self-published several books before, and I will self-publish Mission 51 if the need be.

            So stay tuned for future developments in the Mission 51 saga! I will keep you informed.

            Thank you all so very much for your words of encouragement and your generosity. I have truly felt the love here on Inkshares. It is a great platform, a wonderfully supportive community of readers and authors. I have enjoyed every minute and I am not going away!

            Peace and love always!

            Ferd   :-)

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              Robert Batten liked an update for Sync City

              Greetings Jackolytes,

              The copy edited version of Sync City has spent a couple of weeks back at the mothership getting its penultimate mission directives before heading back off to Girl Friday Productions to get fully beaten into shape! And this is good. This means we are making distinct progress toward bringing Jack and his ride into your hands.

              There are still a number of technical areas to deal with – the cover for example – before its ultimate completion. But for now, it’s onto the marketing stage. The goal here is to get Jack and Sync City into as many hands as possible on launch day. And why do you want this? Easy. So you can look cool at parties. When some drops the fact that they have just purchased the outstanding Sync City, you can casually say “Sure, I know it. I went to school/uni/ pubs/worked/ played sport/chatted/emailed/Facebooked/Tweeted (delete as applicable) with the author. I was there from the beginning.” Automatic kudos!

              With this in mind, I’d love it if you can spread the word to friends and family and have them jump on board – and who doesn’t like having cool friends and family. To do this, you need to send them to this link and have them hit pre-order (some supervision may be required). If you yourself haven’t pre-ordered, then now is the time! Sync City and a lifetime of awesomeness awaits!

              Cheers,

              Peter

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                Robert Batten liked the forum thread, Looking for feedback - happy to reciprocate
                @Robert Batten Just sent you an invite on the site.  Group page is bare bones at the moment, but that will soon change...

                @Matthew S. Adams I also did the paid membership.  It’s been worth every penny.  The things I like best about the paid membership are the ability to see reader breakdowns/statistics, and adding additional options for people to use when they critique you (ratings scales and such).  The ability to maintain more posts allows you to make multiple chapters of your novel available at all times.  Having the ability to go back and read your previous chapters makes it easier for members to give you ongoing feedback. 

                If you’re serious about getting feedback on your work, it’s a godsend. 
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                  Robert Batten followed Jay Lockwood
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