Some good news for me, and a big up for Inkshares. 

Here’s the thing; I missed my funding goal, didn’t even make Quill. Because I am impatient, and because the book itself was already finished, I just couldn’t wait to try another route to crowdfund my novel. 

So, I went to Kickstarter, and I did reach my funding goal. The book itself is being printed now and backers will be getting their copies before the end of June. Digital launch is set for 1st July on all platforms, advance orders available now. Paperbacks should be on Amazon around the same date. 

So does that mean I turn my back on Inkshares? Well no. 
Obviously I haven’t been as active on here as when I was funding, but part of the reason for that is the massive amount of work involved in self publishing. 

While I was funding, I read some comments on a Kindle forum criticising the Inkshares model, saying it wasn’t good value. An INkshares spokesperson pointed out that self publishers spend on average $2,000 (or thereabouts) getting their book to market. 
Another person said it was nothing like that. 

Well I raised £1,666 (£1,800 before deductions) on Kickstarter, and I have spent it all and then some.

I set up a publishing imprint "Blue Poppy Publishing", I had an artist paint a picture for the cover £450, I spent £350 on ISBNs, £360 on editing (it only had one editor), £300 on cover and other design work, £900 on printing, and a bunch of other sundry stuff.

I have had to format the interior file and convert it to PDF, which included learning more about Word sections, embedding fonts, and all sorts of painful stuff like that than I ever expected to do. I had to liaise between the printer and the designer over the exact specs for the two different cover templates, and check silly details like which way round the title goes on the spine. 

I also had to find out how to convert the file into a digital type layout with internal links and approved fonts, then get it converted into .mobi .pdf .txt .rtf .epub dot dot dot you get the idea? 
Also had to upload a special version to Createspace because otherwise I will have to jump through hoops and pay through the nose to get the paperback available on Amazon. 

So while I may be a lot more experienced at producing a book now than I was six months ago, I would still drop it all and leave the hard work to experts if I could. The difficulty for me, living in the UK is the cost of postage for physical books to the vast majority of my friends. Other than that, I think Inkshares is a brilliant idea, and I hope it goes from strength to strength. Well done for making so many authors dreams come true. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just sold our 250th pre-order of Tantalus Depths. As most of you already know by now, that is a very, very important number.

It means we have a book.
Tantalus Depths now qualifies to go under the Quill imprint.
 

Under the Quill imprint, Tantalus Depths can now be printed on demand, can be given an ISBN number, and can see limited distribution. Under Quill, it would be available to purchase through Amazon or Inkshares, in ebook or paperback form. It’d see some limited editing and design assistance, and all the backers would get the books they’ve paid for.
We are not stopping here.

Quill is a goal, but it is not the goal. The real goal is 750 pre-orders, and as far as I’m concerned, the journey to Quill was only significant as a landmark. Quill does not offer advertising services. It will not put copies of Tantalus Depths onto shelves, unless I arrange that with the bookstores myself. It doesn’t offer the fine-toothed editorial combing of my manuscript that it needs to be really ready for readers.

So yes, I am extremely happy to have gotten this far. I owe you all immensely for making this much possible, and I could not have asked for a more supportive group through this process.

But we’re not done yet, and I’m not going to stop until I see that 750th pre-order come in. We have 68 days to bring in 500 more pre-orders, and mark my words, we will do it. I’ll not allow myself the luxury of even considering the Quill option right now, because I’m not allowing myself to believe Tantalus Depths will fall short of making that goal.

Press on, my friends. We’re a third of the way there.

Hello All,