Wonderful updates!
First, the initial manuscript for The Madness of Mr. Butler, albeit not finished, is going quite well. I’ve even enrolled in Camp NaNoWriMo in order to hold myself accountable. The story has blossomed into something far beyond what I originally thought. It is becoming a story that surprises me as I bring it all together. I know that once I am done I will be handing in my best work. So, on with your much deserved apology, my dear readers.
I am sorry that the story is taking a while to submit, but I’m also not sorry...and he’s why:
Beyond it just being a busy place around here with infants and toddlers and new jobs and obligations, I am intentionally not rushing the story. This in no way means I’m being lazy. In the stats for Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m averaging 2300 words per day that I have occasionally sacrificed sleep in order to write, as there is no other time. I am putting in a ton of work on this book, and it’s all good work. The way I see it, when you all supported me and helped me win the contest, what I won was a publishing deal. A MAJOR publishing deal. And that means I work until I think the manuscript is the best it can be. I’m not going to hurry and get it done just to get you a book. That is not the habit of a professional author, and by being honored with a contest win, I intend to behave like a professional author. The great folks at Girl Friday are going to do their best with my book once I submit it, they can’t make it good when it’s not.
This is a positive thing. I’m not down on myself or being perfectionistic. In fact, I’ve become quite flexible when it comes to the story. A lot of it has admittedly changed for the better, because once I got these characters interacting, the story became something much more than just about some crazy guy. At this rate, my little 241 page satire might push 300 pages. I’m not sure. Right now I’m just growing everything in the garden until I have to go back, transplant, weed, and mulch.
So I’m not making promises about release dates yet. I’m making promises about quality. You will receive a great book when it’s all said and done. But I do apologize about the wait. It honestly takes a long time to produce any book. You just happened to be there for the moment the agent approved to sell the idea, which is waaaay ahead of publication for any book.
In the meantime, I still have stuff for you to read.
I want to give you a free book if you’d like. It’s only a first draft, but if you email me at madmrbutler@gmail.com, I’ll send you a PDF of An Adventure with Dada, a book I finished during last NaNoWriMo. I’m not bugging you to buy it this time. I’ve been told that I was crazy to try and fund another book, and perhaps those who said that were right. The funding campaign ends in 9 days, and I have 143 copies left to sell in order to make Quill. I could ask for an extension, like so many others have, but I’m going to respectfully bow out and let this one expire and revert to draft. This means those of you who invested (THANK YOU!!!!) will get your money back (unless it completes a Hail Mary in the next week), and the book reverts to draft format. Those of you who chose to follow the book will still be followers, if you wish to be. My plan for that book is to maybe try again after I submit the Butler manuscript. I just need to give Mr. Butler my full attention right now, so it’s time for that campaign to be done. Thank you for your time, support, and attention. If you want a free copy, like I said, just let me know. (I’ve been told it’s quite a fun book with a great story, actually.)
On a side note, I started a draft for an idea I’ve kicked around for a little while. It’s called "The Widower’s Wife," and it’s going to be a bizarre comedy. It’s about a grumpy curmudgeon whose nagging wife dies suddenly, and just as he thinks he is about to get to spend his last years in peace, her ghost starts haunting him relentlessly. It’s just an idea, but if you want to follow that or check it out, I’d appreciate it.
If you’re curious about some of the changes I’ve made to The Madness of Mr. Butler, head on over to the page, because several days ago I quite sneakily updated the teaser, synopsis, and I took down the old chapters and put up a new draft of the prologue.
I hope you enjoy!
Have a great summer everyone!
-Michael
Re: Readers - Yes, we need more readers on the site. Yes, that is the goal that Inkshares is currently focused on. But, we aren’t there yet. That is why it’s in everyone’s best interest that those of us campaigning now should focus on bringing readers in from the outside world.
Support from within the community is awesome, but no one should expect to fund their novel from that alone. We’re just not there yet. If we want to get there, we have to contribute by helping build the reader base. Sure, most of your readers aren’t gonna stick around and buy more books on the site, but a small percentage might, and when all of those small percentages combine, it starts to add up. It’s slow, but it is happening.
Re: Reader royalties - The original idea for Inkshares was that readers would get a share of the profits (hence the "shares" part of the name). However, they hit a legal roadblock and had to move away from that.
Re: Dollars vs Readers - When Inkshares first launched, they did use dollar goals. I’m not sure what their reasoning was, but I’m happy that they changed it because A) Using dollar goals allowed the site to be used and seen as more of a vanity press, and B) Using reader goals is a much better test of how well a book will do once published.
Re: Accounts that can’t be followed - Great idea! I think a lot of supporters would appreciate that. I’ve seen some "private" user accounts before, so I think it is already possible to do this, however too few people know that it’s an option.
Final Thoughts: We’re getting there, but it’s very slow going - and for good reason. Influencing an audience to buy is no easy task. This is a young company with a small staff, and it’s extremely impressive to see what they’ve accomplished so far. They’re working towards the goal that we all want to see, but it’s not a goal that can be accomplished overnight. We can contribute by bringing in new readers and building platforms that contribute to a positive reputation offsite.