So, disclaimer first. I love Inkshares, I think it’s the greatest thing, and one of the few real ways for new authors to have an actual shot.  The principal is sound. Authors write, the crowd picks the best, you don’t have to front production costs - boom! Should be a recipe for instant success. You guys get production costs upfront so if the book flops you don’t lose anything, which shouldn’t happen cause the key demographics CHOSE the book themselves,so you get royalties too from what aught to be a successful book.

But the system grew and changed direction a bit, as systems often do. That just happens. There are so many authors on the site and we are all trying to sell our stuff, there’s not a lot of money to go around between all of us starving artists to fund all the books we’d like to, and the contests tend to pull focus from us if we aren’t in that genre. And when big names come on, like the Gary Whitta’s of the world, a lot of folks will follow and fund them, hoping they and their vast network will reciprocate.

I think k we need more Readers, just readers . Which I know is hard to get people to come over and do this if they dont also have a stake in sticking around like those of us writing do.  So I wondered what a possible solution might be.

Don’t get me wrong, this probably wouldn’t be easy to implement or extremely cheap, but I think it could help.  What if when, as a Reader only, when you supported a book by pre ordering, you got a bit of the royalties? Not a lot mind you, like 1% or 1/2 of 1%.  Something small enough that the individual authors didn’t really feel it, but Readers who support many books over a long period of time, would certainly build up.  It’s unfortunate but people need incentive to do new things, and right now if they want a book, they go get one, online or in a store.  The immediacy factor is a big deal.  But if they had a financial incentive.......? Just a thought.  You guys probably already thought of it, but I’d love e to know what your take is on that.