Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
That’s very respectable @Rick Heinz ! I pre-ordered a copy of Seventh Age: Dystopia and am looking forward to your campaign :D 

The advice @Rick Heinz gave is excellent so I will expand upon that a little bit by saying this: don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! As a participant in the previous contest, I had to reach out using  multiple platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google, blogs, Reddit, etc) and pester coworkers, old teachers, friends, extended family members, and Inkshares members. From day one, I promoted my book, messaged people constantly, and updated my readers regularly. The contests are grueling, but if you set your mind to the task you’ll be surprised at the outcome. I started off with no fan base when I entered the contest, but I didn’t give up and kept fighting. In the end, I was about 8 orders behind 3rd and reached Quill by the end of the contest. If you’re passionate enough about your project, people will see that and support you :)
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    Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
    And that’s exactly why I agreed to step aside @Alisa King . I understand the full point needing to get others in the contest. I’m just waiting for them to shift my page out of the contest at the moment. I’m not planning on ending my campaign, I’ve still got a sequel I would like to fund! :)

    @Joey Angotti Don’t worry man, I had just taken off like a bat out of hell before I talked to Inkshares. Just, having my contest page shifted to outside the contest takes a little bit on their end from Thad the developer since I don’t want to undo my work so far.  

    If you want my advice, start now, just... start running right now. The contest is going to cause a ton of stress and it’s super fun, I love them, so I jumped in, but it’s a race and it requires a lot of work. 

    Here’s the thing: No author has a shot more or less than the others. You see, I took off out of the gates because my friends and family are already registered for the website and I didn’t have to explain it to them. Eventually, I’ll hit the same wall as everyone else.  Because you can only hit your local strangers up for crowd funding: once. (ask anyone whose tried two campaigns)

    I gladly willing to coach and help any new author trying to hit the ground game on the best way to get crowd funding going. This contest is 90 days long sure, but don’t way so long. 

    As for Seventh Age: Dystopia, I hope you enjoy the concept and I’ll pick up campaign mode on that later on outside of the contest. :)
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      Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
      Another point to note is that the Inkvengers project was a collaboration of authors who had already experienced success via Inkshares on an individual basis first. That was why each participant was invited to be a part of it, since they had each already shown their ability to muster up pre-orders.

      If they prove successful in this contest, it’s mainly because they already know how to hustle based on the experience they have already amassed prior to Inkvengers. 

      That, after all, is what these contests is about, the hustle. Whether your idea/writing is any good isn’t as big a factor as maybe it should be. A great book written by someone who struggles to promote it properly will always struggle against a mediocre book written by a natural salesman with a big social network. At least in a crowdfunding/competition setting.

      On a whim I entered SQUIDS IN into the last Nerdist contest after I had only been on Inkshares for about 6 weeks prior. The project had no build up, as the idea was conceived specifically for the contest, yet it ranked as high as second at one point and ended up sixth in the end with just shy of 100 orders. It was hard work and an eye opening experience (I don’t think I’ll be partaking in any Inkshares contests for a while as a result). It managed to get so high for a few of reasons:

      1. I badgered people on Inkshares, in person and online for the duration of the contest to pre-order
      2. I provided regular updates on both the book & related items
      3.. I engaged directly with both followers and those who had ordered
      4. I did all I could to ensure the book always appeared on the main Inkshares page.

      In short, don’t be put off entering the contest based on who or what you are up against. Provided you put as much effort as is possible into promoting your book, you shouldn’t end up too disappointed at the end. I was very chuffed that SQUIDS IN finished top 6. I was beaten by those who had done a better job all round then me. And that’s OK. 

      P.S. SQUIDS IN is still funding. It needs about 100 orders within the next month to reach quill. If anyone is interested in seeing my crazy book about a video game playing octopus get printed, go check it out.

      Matthew

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        Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
        I have to wholeheartedly agree with @Joey Angotti here. I think he has brought up a valid point which should not be overlooked. 

        I’m also not trying to rain on anybody’s parade but as a whole, I would like to see a more diversified Inkshares community where blossoming writers aren’t turned away by contests because favorites are already declared. 
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          Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
          People with established support bases are always going to have an easier time of it than people who are just getting started. That’s kind of inevitable for a contest like this. But don’t let yourself believe it’s a forgone conclusion that someone will win a competition just because they have a large readerbase, or because they’ve won them in the past. When I entered the hard sci-fi competition with Tantalus Depths, I had no existing support base whatsoever and hadn’t been on this site before, AND I entered almost a month into the contest. Sure I didn’t win, but I worked my way up to within a dozen pre-orders of taking fourth place, and now I’m only 90 pre-orders from hitting full publishing. In the end, it all comes down to how much work you put into your campaign. You can be a complete beginner and still run laps around veterans if you’re willing to work harder than they are.
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            Joey Angotti liked the forum thread, Geek & Sundry Contest - New Rule
            Hi @Joey Angotti. A fair concern to have, and thank you for sharing it! First, I’d like to mention that Rick Heinz’s project isn’t eligible and he is gracefully bowing out of the contest. Regarding Inkvengers, the anthology is atypical to the books we publish, and we have precluded books with more than two authors from joining further contests, as it does make it harder for single-author book entries to have the same level of self-promotion. It’s important to us that we make sure the system is open to new entrants. Our community is expansive, and separate from just this one contest (which has only just begun!). It can feel daunting to see books with lots of orders out the gate, but so much can happen in the span of three months!
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              Joey Angotti recommended A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khroma
              Hey everyone! Please check out my entry into the new Geek and Sundry contest: A Soldier's Crest: Heroes of Khroma! The ASC Franchise is the next big thing in Fantasy and now is the time to be a part of it!
              A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khroma
              A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khroma
              A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khroma follows the paths of the strongest warriors to ever inhabit the Earth. In this post-apocalyptic medieval bloodbath, Vallick Halstar must prove that he is worthy of the title, "Hero of Khroma."
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              I write mostly unamusing web code by day and moonlight as a writer and illustrator of words and pict...
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              Joey Angotti commented on A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khroma
              Hey Cresties!

              I mentioned giveaways and unlocks above and I wanted to detail that a little further here. This is what I’m planning:

              10 Preorders: Upload of Chapter 1
              15 Preorders: One lucky preorderer will receive a signed copy of A Soldier’s Crest.
              20 Preorders: Upload of Chapter 2
              30 Preorders: Upload of Chapter 3; Another lucky preorderer will receive a signed copy of A Soldier’s Crest.
              40 Preorders: Upload of Chapter 4
              45 Preorders: Another lucky preorderer will receive a signed copy of A Soldier’s Crest
              50 Preorders: Upload of Chapter 5; One lucky preorderer will receive a rare(only 5 or so made) autographed copy of a poster featuring the cover artwork by Hieu Bui for A Soldier’s Crest.

              What do you guys think? Do you like this extra incentive to preorder? Let me know in the comments! I’m planning more giveaways and unlocks when we get above 50 preorders, but I’ll wait until we get there first. Don’t want to get ahead of myself lol

              Also, please recommend this book to all of your friends and spread the word about the ASC universe!

              Thank you!
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