Can I first say thank you to everyone who back Children of the Wise Oak.
We didn’t hit the publishing goal. I guess I know some of the mistakes I don’t want to make excuses, but there were some aspects that presented more of a challenge than others. 
I’ve read a lot about Inkshares, and other options for self-publishing. Some positive comments and some negative about all options.
I still see Inkshares as the Gold Standard for self-pub but I am going to fall back to Kickstarter in an attempt to get this title published. If it makes it, there will still be heaps of good reasons to try again on Inkshares since I still won’t be in bookstores beyond my home region, apart from Amazon.
The email from Inkshares did say "Feel free to use Inkshares as a communication vehicle, even if you choose to publish elsewhere." which is actually a very mature business position. 
It makes me a whole heap more likely to stick around and recommend Inkshares to others.
So as soon as my Kickstarter project is live I will let you know. 
Thanks for the ride so far everyone. It’s not over yet.

Well, the Nerdist contest is over and I’m very happy for those who made it into the top three. Congratulations!

For the rest of us, the story doesn’t end here. Some have chosen to move on to other publishing options, while many have chosen to stick it out with Inkshares. I, for one, am going to stick it out for the remainder of my campaign and see if I can at least hit my Quill goal, if not more. I keep having this very positive feeling that things are going to move in a very good direction from here on out.

I have some friends who have their own podcasts and I will be plugging the book on both shows. I have passed out postcards all over Asheville and haven’t even hit the bookstores yet. I’m going to try and reconnect with some of the press outlets I reached out to a while back just to cover all my bases. 

If you were holding back on supporting me because of the contest (which I totally get), now’s the time to get your pre-order in! It would mean the world to me to at least see the book make it into Quill. It will open so many doors for me and I will be one step closer to realizing my dream of being a full-time writer. 

But, enough about me, don’t you all want to see how my quirky, retro-sci fi spy story turn out? Avalon, idyllic home of the human race has remained a neutral bastion for alien refugees escaping from across the galaxy. The Sons of Mars want to turn the system into a staging area to wage their own war for dominance. The fate of the galaxy all rests on the shoulders of a badass secret agent, a scientist completely out her element, a blue-skinned tech specialist and a somewhat obnoxious A.I. 

There’s still time to come along for the ride and make sure the "ride", as it were, becomes a reality for everyone to enjoy!

THANKS!

Jason

WE DID IT! We got the #1 spot in the Nerdist competition! 

Thank you all so much. The outpouring of support from you guys BLEW ME AWAY. To everyone who pre-ordered a copy (or three!), I just want to tell you again how much I truly appreciate it. If I had any human feelings left I might almost be moved, but as you know I got rid of those around 1998.

THANKS TO YOU, Champions of the Third Planet will be in your mailbox or your inbox or on Amazon or at your local bookstore later this year! I really can’t thank you guys enough.

Now everybody QUIET! I have to get back to writing...

--Chris

Greetings again.  As we near the end of the Space Opera contest I hope you all have had a chance to look at some the books at the top of the competition.  There are some interesting ideas and good books on the list. 

I wanted to make sure you all knew that “Fortunes of the Space Sloth” is not going away with the end of the contest.  There are 59 days left to reach the pre-order goal and the crew will be pushing on with their adventure.

Based on my progress this weekend I have high hopes that the full first draft will be completed by this time next week (unless the Space Sloth crew gets into some mess they haven’t told me about yet).  At that point I’ll be shifting to refining some parts of the narrative and really starting some outreach.  I hope you all stick around for the rest of the adventure.

And as always, I thank you for your support.