So... I’ve been thinking about steeping away from the Syndicate. The number of fantasy books funding on the site has all but dried up over the past months. We’ve been fortunate enough to be able to find a good book each month even if we had to dip into SciFi and even into general fiction with Black Cloud, but I feel like the purpose of this syndicate just doesn’t exist anymore.
So... I’m asking if anyone would like to take on leadership when I leave or if I should simply ask Inkshares to dissolve the syndicate entirely. Please let me know sometime in the next week!
So... went with Proteus this month as our pick. Not fantasy of course but it’s a bit of a drought on the fantasy side. Feel free to throw in recommendations for next month!
Sooooo.... We’re back in the situation where there are practically no choices for our monthly pick. Of the 100 odd funding fantasy books, plus another twenty or so in sub categories - the vast majority are mistakenly tagged and not funding at all. Of those that remain, the campaigns (to me) look like they are stalling out at less than 50 orders so I very much doubt our selection would have a meaningful impact.
Anyway, feel free to suggest a book that’s caught your eye regardless of whether it’s in production, funding, or published, or even if it’s fantasy or not! Final selection will be made on the 14th or 15th
My vote’s for Kanimbla (full disclosure: it’s my book) on the grounds that a) it’s actually Fantasy; b) pre-orders are being crippled by international shipping fees; c) it’s almost halfway to Quill funding (international shipping costs have placed the 750 goal well out of reach) and is also #4 in the Launchpad contest so Syndicate backing might be enough of a nudge to help it achieve Quill funding and/or push it into the top 3 on Launchpad.
I hadn’t planned on bringing my book up in this Syndicate as it seemed impolite, but after I went for a bit of a dig the other day, it appears to be about the only fantasy book currently funding that isn’t dead in the water...
Otherwise, I seem to have gotten confused. I thought the Syndicate ended up voting for Rule Britannica last month? If it did, my vote is for Mutants: Uprising. If not, my vote remains for Rule Britannica.
Apologies for the late note again - my impending launch has been distracting me (2 days to go!!!)
Anyway - we are still suffering from a shortage of options in the Fantasy categories. So once again, I find myself broadening the scope of what we support (I’m sure we’re due for an influx of fantasy books soon!).
One member at least has mentioned Rule Britannia 86 pre-orders 27 days left. I really like the look of this book myself and would love to see it succeed. Unfortunately I think it belongs firmly in Category 3 - there’s been almost no movement at all on the page with the exception of the 3 Syndicates that already supported the book.
If there are any books out there that I’ve missed, or you have a different opinion about anything here - please let me know!
*EDIT* I somehow blanked on Kanimbla - added into Category 1.
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Mutants: Uprising33 pre-orders 78 days left and currently 3rd in the Nerdist contest. A case could be made for this being Urban Fantasy and I think the premise is pretty cool. With less than a month left in the contest, our support could have massive impact and possibly keep the book in one of the winning slots.
Hi Craig, I had checked that out and it looks like a pretty good system. I like that you’re trying to maximise the effect of the impact of your support but also that you are keeping an eye on stories still in the draft stage that look promising. I backed "the walls are closing in" - as the syndicate noticed, it seemed to just need that extra nudge over the finish line. The main book that caught my eye this time around was Rule Britannica, although it’s probably a bit too sci fi for this syndicate.
The situation on Inkshares is pretty fluid - sometimes a book we intend to support funds easy and another that we like needs a nudge. That being said we try to maximise the impact of our support when and where we can. If you scroll down and check out older months you can see some of the factors we’ve considered when making our choices.
Welcome Chris! Any and all discussion is welcome here, and feel free to mention any books that happen to catch your eye - we don’t have any strict rules about nominations or votes but generally come to some sort of consensus :)
Very busy time prepping for my launch. I’ll be travelling for the next week, but feel free to suggest any books that catch your eye! As always I’ll make the selection on the 14th or 15th.
No problem, Craig--thanks! I pre-ordered Sorcery for Beginners already, so I’m leaning toward The Slave Prince, but fine with whatever the group decides. Extra books can be donated!
Thanks for the heads up Kevin. I totally understand. You will be missed!
Anyway, you are absolutely right that there isn’t much going on right now. The vast majority of the ’funding’ books look like they are Geek and Sundry contest books that have reverted to draft but didn’t lose the tag.
I appreciate the nomination but unless it’s an overwhelming choice, I can’t choose Bones. At least half our members have already bought it!
Just a guess, but I think there is such a backlog with books to be published, I haven’t seen the contests popping up like they did last year--thus no influx of new projects. That said, I think I’m going to take a hiatus after this month. I financially need to concentrate on other things. I plan to read The Knight Proper as soon as I get some proper breathing room. So for this month I nominate The Bones of the Past. I hear it’s coming out in May.
I’ll admit to being rather stumped this month. I’ve dug through the many funding books in the fantasy categories (many of which are tagged as funding but are not). And while I’ve come up with a few more interesting projects, they seem to be abandoned. None of the books in Category 3 has seen significant movement either. So... Another project that has already funded? One that’s in production or one that’s available right now? Let me know! or let me know if I’ve missed a funding project you’d like us to consider!
Finally, has anyone read The Knight Proper yet? I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts since this is the first book we’ve supported that any of us has actually been able to read! (I admit I haven’t had time to read it myself yet)
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Ok, I made the pick - you should have access to the book right now since it’s already out. And you should all have some credits left over to spend on other things :)
I’ve been digging through funding fantasy, dark fantasy, historical fantasy books and while many are marked as funding, most of them aren’t and just have the tag still for some reason. I’ve only come up with two new books to consider this month - one of them is in Category 4 and not yet funding, and the other may or may not have anything at all to do with Fantasy. EDIT - I’ve also added Arcadia but it only has 4 days left! SECOND EDIT - Removed Arcadia (campaign ended) and added The Builder’s Spark in Category 3.
If there are any other books you’d like added to the list, please let me know. All comments and opinions are welcome!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
The Walls are Closing In 305 pre-orders 47 days left - no fantasy link that I can think of but I only read the first chapter there may be something?
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
My vote is still for Fae Child. I’ll politely counter that our support and nifty badge might shift the momentum again. She’s on the friendly side of getting to 250, and once she can get around 200, general momentum should kick in. Also, I know she’s been campaigning hard and hasn’t abandoned getting this done despite the slog that these campaigns become. I just have a gut feeling about this one.
Fae Child is now down in Category 3. This is a book that I’d really like to see succeed but honestly, all momentum seems to be lost (1 order in the last 20 days). Our support is unlikely to make any difference.
This leaves us with a rather small number of choices at this stage. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see added! February could be a month for us to consider choosing a book that has already funded or is even already available such as: Catching Stars, Shadow King, orThe Knight Proper.
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
No books in this category so far!
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Both front runners look like excellent choices to me. I’m leaning slightly towards The Phantom Forest myself if only because the project looks like it might actually make it with our support - it’s up to 201 orders at the moment and nearing the tipping point where people jump in to push it over.
Unless anyone is strongly opposed, I suggest we support Phantom Forest this month and put Fae Child at the top of our list for next month.
I have read The Phantom Forest and I believe that should be where our support should go. Liz Kerin has put a lot of work into the premise and I enjoy her take on the damned souls of her book.
Not too early at all Jenny! Actually, I’m really late. We need to have our choice made by the 15th and I usually have a list up well before this. Fae Child will be added to those considered of course :)
I’ll have a preliminary list up shortly.
If anyone else has any books they’d like added to the list or would like to voice an opinion about anything or everything - feel free :) You can contact me here, by DM or any other way you feel like.
If it’s not too early, I’d like to offer a nomination for this month. Since we’ve broadened our scope to include fantasy of all shapes and sizes, I propose we make Fae Child our pick for this month. The author describes it as "Alice in Wonderland meets Taken". If you haven’t already, I’d recommend giving it a look.
Its been a hard decision that I’ve been trying to talk myself out of, but unfortunately I’m going to have to cancel my syndicate membership. I don’t want to, but I also realize that my money is more scarce than I want it to be and I need to turn every bit of spare cash I can muster to try to get the editing and art I want in order to get Magus to a point where I feel its where it needs to be for me to try the self-publishing route. If my financial situation improves to a point where I can keep building my Magus budget and afford the syndicate membership I’ll be back, because I really do love the choices that have been made for backing in the year I’ve been here. Just felt I owed everyone an explanation before disappearing.
Wow! My fellow dragon riders and slayers of the shadows, you blow me away.
I wanted to chime in here first for a round of thank you’s as I’m overwhelmed. You made an impact indeed--just 8 pre-orders away from Quill with 16 days to go in my campaign! Again, this is very humbling stuff. You inspire me to do better work and burn the midnight oil a little longer, dig a little deeper and give this project--our project--my very best effort. I’m proud and flattered to have our group’s emblem on my page.
Here’s the first list for our new expanded range of fantasy books. Most of those I found are unfortunately in Category 3, but there is certainly time for them to get the ball rolling. If I missed any books you’d like to see added, let me know! Also, our December pick has to be in by the 15th so voice your opinions! As always, feel free to voice your opinions, comments or choices for the month here, via DM to me, by email or any other way you can think of reaching me!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Since I didn’t get a single message against, and our previous choices already incorporated more than just Epic Fantasy, I’ve gone ahead and made the change. It’s not showing on the Syndicate page yet but it should update over the next day or so. Thanks Everyone!
I’ve been thinking of making a change to our Syndicate for a while and wanted to hear what everyone has to say before going ahead with anything. So, what do you think about becoming simply “The Fantasy Syndicate”? My own preferences often lie with Epic Fantasy and all the world building that goes along with it, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy Urban Fantasy or any of the many other subgenres.
One of the simple realities of Inkshares is that while there are often many fantastic fantasy books to choose from at any given time, while Epic fantasy options are often sparse outside of a major contest. Several of the books we’ve chosen in the past wouldn’t fall into the “Epic” category either but were no less great choices (Feyside and Beyond the Code are excellent examples).
So, before I build out a list of choices for the month, what do you all think? Should we broaden our reach?
Anyway given that there is only one choice on the board as of now, I’ll go ahead and make the pick on the 10th unless I get a number of messages/other votes to the contrary.
Early list for November! Bear in mind that if enough people voice their preferences early, we can make our pick as early as November 1st and still have it count for the contest. I did a little more digging this month, but sadly many of the interesting projects I looked at are near the end of their campaigns and have only managed to get a handful of orders.
As always, feel free to voice your opinion(s)/comments/suggestions here, or via DM, email, or carrier pigeon!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Witherfist 151 pre-orders 69 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
I was just writing the same thing as Penny haha. I love both of them as they were the first books I ordered on the site but... I have to chose one. The Last Faoii has nearly half the time left that Witherfist does. So though I wanna vote for both I’d say The Last Faoii for this month.
I really like Witherfist but The Last Faoii is closer to Quill and has less time left in the campaign. I think our support would be more of an advantage to that book this month and Witherfist next .
I have one for Category 2 that just launched: Silver Eyes by K.E. Madsen. I’ve been following this project for a while and think it has major potential. That’s my vote!
I have clearly been lax in my duties and haven’t dug up many new titles for us to consider for this month’s pick. Inkshares and Girl Friday have been keeping me busy with a succession of deadlines... Anyway, here is a refresh of last month’s list. Please feel free to suggest any others you think we should take a look at or voice your opinion on one or several of those listed below!
Happy reading!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill.
Witherfist 71 pre-orders 98 days left (contest entry).
The Last Faoii 143 pre-orders 54 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Welcome Jacob! Always good to have more fantasy fans around. Feel free to jump in and recommend books you think we should take a look at, or read back over others we’ve considered in previous months and let us know what you think!
Hello everyone :) wanted to jump into this and help contribute. Big fan of many of the book here and cant wait to check out the other. Hope you don’t mind one more in your mix. ;)
Wow guys!! I got the best email when I woke up this morning. I can’t thank you all enough. Your support really, really means a lot to me! I won’t let you guys down!
Thank you for the vote of support Kevin. Though I have to admit I’m not really comfortable picking my own book. Besides, I know several people in the syndicate have already ordered a copy and I’d hate to force anyone to double up...
My personal vote is for The Bones of the Past. We’ve voted for so many books that didn’t make it, why not continue to support one of our own that has a bright, bright future? I think it would help generate terrific momentum for our group. And what a book to associate our logo with!
Welcome Chad and Kaytalin! Great to have you join us. As mentioned below, there aren’t any really strict rules about voting or nominations in this syndicate. Just jump in with your opinions or comments here, via DM or email. I take everyone’s opinions into account when making a final decision.
Chad - both great choices! No need for you to pick one over the other. We’ll see what everyone else is thinking over the next few days and a final pick will probably be pretty clear.
Did some skimming and early reading and I’d love to throw support to either of Witherfist or Impervious. Being in a similar position to both I think it’d be great to give one them a strong shot in the arm. Both of them seem like solid ideas with strong writing. Hard to pick one over the other right now!
Welcome aboard, Chad :) Good to have you with us. I know what you mean about promotion taking up a lot of time / energy. I think that’s why I like these syndicates so much - it’s a great way to find out about other people’s brilliant projects.
Hi folks...newest member and happy to be aboard. I’m the author of A New Dawn Coming and really see the value of a group like this to help emerging and fledgling writers gain the boost they deserve! Also, it never hurts to have some good Karma floating around, you never know when you might need that!
I’m going to get up to speed on the suggestions for this month and chime in as soon as I can. Promoting my own book right now is pretty damn taxing but it’s always good to step back and appreciate what else is out there too!
There’s no real call to start. I put up a list like I did last week, and people throw in an opinion or another suggestion. Jump in with your opinion at any time :)
We have a large silent majority here as well as people who sometimes prefer to contact me via DM. I’ll put it all together and make the final pick in a few days.
I’m so glad you’re all considering The Last Faoii again! Tahini has been working really hard and her updates rock my socks off! If you haven’t already followed her, you should! She sends out "missives" instead of updates. Every time she talks it makes me feel like a warrior. haha! I love it.
Not at all Jenny. I noticed Witherfist a couple weeks ago and it caught my eye. If you need any tips on funding and or contests let me know. I’m more than happy to help.
Craig - thanks so much for the nod to Witherfist. It means the world to me that the book and my efforts to get it out there to readers are being acknowledged. I don’t have the big readership that some of the other contest entrants have gathered yet, so I’m incredibly grateful for any opportunity to share Witherfist with a broader readership.
So, I put up a bit of a longer list but I think we should start considering an extra factor when we make our choice – is our support going to make a difference. We’ve supported a couple books in past months that were really excellent, and fit in with our particular sub-genre of fantasy perfectly, but where the authors did little (Soul Blade) or nothing (the Northern Divide) to support and promote their own work. Until our syndicate is big enough that we can sway things with our support alone, I think we should shy away from choosing books in the 3rd category listed. We’ll keep an eye on them and if they get in there and start pushing, we can look into giving them a boost.
All of the books below are either my choices or were suggested by other syndicate members in past months.
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill.
The Living God 122 pre-orders 122 days left (contest entry).
The Last Faoii 66 pre-orders 81 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Witherfist 34 pre-orders 63 days left (contest entry).
Impervious 35 pre-orders 63 days left (contest entry).
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Feel free to jump in and let us know of any books you think we should take a look at. Ill write up an early list for next month and post it this weekend.
Finally getting home and checking my email to discover that you all selected me was very uplifting. I tend to be inactive in the syndicate discussion because I’ve always found the selections made to be for books I really felt had exceptional promise in some way, so finding out I’ve been selected felt like a true honor to me. Now I have to push extra hard to make sure I get Magus into all of your hands. Thank you all.
Hey guy’s I’m going to have to cancel membership to the syndicate, I just checked my bank account and I currently have no money. It’s awesome. I truly am enjoying every moment of my life. In the meantime, everyone take care with your projects and message if you need help with anything. Peace.
I’d actually recommend you try. With 13 orders, you don’t have much to lose and the contest will get you a little more visibility if only from everyone checking the rankings constantly. You’d need to get a fair number of sales fast to benefit from that though. So be ready to push hard.
I really want to submit my work into the contest but I’m so iffy about restarting from zero, not that it really matters, I only have 13 pre-orders. I’m just not sure. Any tips?
Alright! It looks like we’re spoiled for choice with the new contest underway. I’ve picked out a handful of what I feel are solid choices but I’m in full editing mode for the next two weeks and haven’t had as much time as usual to really dig in. As always, free to jump in with opinions and suggestions!
I’ve removed the Last Faoii from the list for consideration because Tahani mentioned in her last update that she was restarting her campaign on the 18th of August (I was going to suggest to her that she email inkshares and reset now but she doesn’t follow me so I have no way to DM her)
Thanks for the suggestions Kevin. I’ll compile a list over the next week or so (I’m swamped with edits and haven’t done any digging of my own yet). Everyone else feel free to throw in your choices as well!
Hey Kevin. Glad to have you with us. Suggestions and opinions are always welcome! I’ll get an early list up for August in a week or so but don’t hesitate to throw out ideas anytime.
Hey there everyone, happy to join your group. Just getting into the swing of things after a busy month, but I’ll participate more for August’s pick. Borehole Bizarre is a great choice for July. Plus, it’s fun to say "Borehole."
There are no formal rules for nominating in this syndicate so feel free to jump in anytime. The Last Faoii looks like a great choice and I’ll add it to the list here and on the Goodreads group.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-last-faoii 71 ordered 54 days left (I haven’t had a chance to dig into this one myself yet but I will over the next week)
As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or anything else feel free to post here or DM me.
I’ve been following this syndicate for awhile now, but I needed to get some finances under control before officially joining. I’m super excited I finally made that happen!
I see that you’re already looking at books for July. Even though I just joined, can I nominate someone? Tahani Nelson’s The Last Faoii is really amazing, and the excerpt she put up a few days ago blew my socks off! I also follow her personal blog and I know she’s battling some hard times right now and I think at least being *nominated* would give her a much-needed pick-me-up! (I admit, this is kind of selfish of me. I know that she posts more chapters/excerpts when she’s happy or excited, and I want to see some new stuff and will do pretty much anything to make that happen). Anyway, if I need to wait a bit for nominating people I can do that. Mostly, I’m just excited to learn about some new fantasy books! ^_^
The longer campaigns are both good and bad. Without the sense of urgency, many authors tend not to push as hard until most of their time has passed. It’s also harder to convince friends and family to buy NOW and not wait for months... There is always the option of asking for an extension after all.
Feel free to suggest anything else you’d like to see added or express your opinion on the current list! As always I’ll make the final pick around the 15th unless the choice is clear before then.
There are certainly no restrictions on whether the book is written by someone in the syndicate. We can keep Reflection on the radar for a future month once EN starts funding. I haven’t had a chance to take a look at that one myself yet but I’m always open to suggestions.
I’m not sure if we’re only supposed to pull books from the syndicate itself but one book that caught my eye was one by E.N. Ferril, Reflection, it’s not a finished work and needs editing (same with every work that ever existed) but s/he has definitely put in a lot of work to it.
I don’t think it’s in funding right now though. I’m still going through a long list of books for review after that I’ll have a couple more books to toss in.
Welcome L.V. Feel free to reach out anytime. We usually throw around choices for our monthly pick before I make a final decision around the 15th (unless the choice is really clear before that). You can post suggestions here, in our chronically underused goodreads group https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18125540-june-suggestions or to me by DM or email.
Hey guys I went through the list of syndicates and saw that this one most suited what I was interested in going in for. Even though my book series says science-fiction, it’s actually a blending of sci-fi/high-fantasy and maybe a couple others. Hope to meet everyone in time. Let me know if you need anything.
Draft-fest is coming up at the end of the month. The whole community is going to be trying to drive attention to Drafts on the site and as a part of this, each syndicate is being asked to pick out a few books they’d like to highlight. So... Please use the fancy new search function and pick out a handful of Epic Fantasy drafts you’d like to see get a boost! post them here or email/DM them to me. We’ll submit a final selection on Tuesday May 24th.
I went ahead and chose The Northern Divide for this month’s pick - it’s exactly the kind of project this syndicate is all about! Some really impressive world building, and truly epic story. Make sure to check out @Wamuhu Mwaura’s maps and artwork! Thank you @C. Brennecke for the recommendation!
Most of you have probably heard by now that John is taking a step back to focus on his writing and other projects and has asked me to take over the Syndicate (the name was also modified at his request). I will do my best to continue as John started and run things in much the same manner - feel free to post recommendations here or in the Goodreads group for monthly choices. With a little luck the next Nerdist contest will be Epic Fantasy and we’ll be spoiled for choices for the coming months!
Our pick this month was Kelsey Rae Barthel’s Beyond the Code. I feel it deserves a push toward Quill and though not strictly epic fantasy, the secondary world element is strong enough -- LOVE the map!
Suggestions for next month? You can add them here and I’ll check this out before we vote next month, or feel free to join in the discussion on our Goodreads group:
This month I voted on Soulblade: Forgotten Souls. This was a tough decision for me this month, since usually I want to try and pick titles where our vote will give them a boost toward funding. However, I also want the titles our syndicate votes on to be reflective of what we are looking for, and @Kirsty L Jennings’ fantasy book, complete with map (HAVE YOU SEEN THE MAP? WOW!) is right on par with the rich epic fantasy narratives we support. It’s my hope that with 148 days left, our vote on Soulblade: Forgotten Souls will add a vote of confidence for prospective backers to help Kirsty toward funding.
Calling all syndicate members! Any requests for this month? I’ll be choosing a book to back in a few days so if you have any suggestions let me know here. I’ll use information from here and the Goodreads group to help inform my choice.
@Jamison Stone we had Feyside, Children of the Forest, and Storm of Fury as our top picks. I had a look at other projects as well, but so far from what I could tell Feyside was the best pick for us. Though we won’t push Peter into Quill with the vote, he has a month left so our vote means Quill is absolutely attainable for him now.
@Jeremy Thomas I am not receiving notifications when someone uses the @John Robin tag, I’m not sure why.
I will make a point of checking this thread periodically regardless, but meanwhile for all member of the syndicate, feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions for the March 2016 thread I created in our discussion group:
Folks, after combing through our recommendations in the Goodreads group and looking at projects that need our support the most, I picked Seven Shards. Our vote put Christine into Quill, which just thrills me, since she is at 10 days to go! So happy to use the power of this syndicate to help bring this great work of fantasy to life.
Great to have you on board, Jamison! This is very much home for Rune of the Apprentice! I think that's a great idea about a Sci-Fi Syndicate. Hmm...I have someone in mind! (Composing email now). It would be great to see more of these Syndicates come together for sub-genres and brands of science fiction and fantasy. Such a great place for readers and writers to come together.
Sorry I'm late to the party, been very distracted by RL, but excited to join the Epic Fantasy Syndicate, now! Well done, John! Someone should make a Sci-Fi Syndicate, too!
Hi guys, I'm very new to Inkshares and excited to be part of this syndicate. I have followed you all and aim to leave short reviews on all your projects in the next few days. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help and support you and this group.
This discussion thread if where anyone can suggest books for us to back. We have a Goodreads group (link in the comment below), but for anyone who prefers not to join the group this is the place to share.
Please feel free to join. This group is open to all, but is specifically intended for members of affiliates of this syndicate to discuss epic fantasy titles on Inkshares (or other relevant epic fantasy topics), so that each month we can choose a title to back that best reflects the voice of all members of the syndicate.
We also will work together to reach out to more epic fantasy readers, with the aim of building out syndicate members, or gaining more affiliates who want to help spread the word.
This is for hard core epic fantasy fans. Join this syndicate if you want to comb through Inkshares' titles for the next great Lord of the Rings / Game of Thrones / Wheel of Time and support each month one title with such promise.
You.
Finish up your profile to stay connected with our books.
a) it’s actually Fantasy;
b) pre-orders are being crippled by international shipping fees;
c) it’s almost halfway to Quill funding (international shipping costs have placed the 750 goal well out of reach) and is also #4 in the Launchpad contest so Syndicate backing might be enough of a nudge to help it achieve Quill funding and/or push it into the top 3 on Launchpad.
I hadn’t planned on bringing my book up in this Syndicate as it seemed impolite, but after I went for a bit of a dig the other day, it appears to be about the only fantasy book currently funding that isn’t dead in the water...
Otherwise, I seem to have gotten confused. I thought the Syndicate ended up voting for Rule Britannica last month? If it did, my vote is for Mutants: Uprising. If not, my vote remains for Rule Britannica.
Apologies for the late note again - my impending launch has been distracting me (2 days to go!!!)
Anyway - we are still suffering from a shortage of options in the Fantasy categories. So once again, I find myself broadening the scope of what we support (I’m sure we’re due for an influx of fantasy books soon!).
One member at least has mentioned Rule Britannia 86 pre-orders 27 days left. I really like the look of this book myself and would love to see it succeed. Unfortunately I think it belongs firmly in Category 3 - there’s been almost no movement at all on the page with the exception of the 3 Syndicates that already supported the book.
If there are any books out there that I’ve missed, or you have a different opinion about anything here - please let me know!
*EDIT* I somehow blanked on Kanimbla - added into Category 1.
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Mutants: Uprising 33 pre-orders 78 days left and currently 3rd in the Nerdist contest. A case could be made for this being Urban Fantasy and I think the premise is pretty cool. With less than a month left in the contest, our support could have massive impact and possibly keep the book in one of the winning slots.
Kanimbla 94 pre-orders 74 days left
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Nothing in this category so far this month!
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Worlds Walker 30 pre-orders 71 days left.
The Builder’s Spark 4 pre-order 12 days left
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start (re)funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
In the Shadow of the Rook
Wake up Call
The Dead Wizard
I’ll admit to being rather stumped this month. I’ve dug through the many funding books in the fantasy categories (many of which are tagged as funding but are not). And while I’ve come up with a few more interesting projects, they seem to be abandoned. None of the books in Category 3 has seen significant movement either. So... Another project that has already funded? One that’s in production or one that’s available right now? Let me know! or let me know if I’ve missed a funding project you’d like us to consider!
Finally, has anyone read The Knight Proper yet? I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts since this is the first book we’ve supported that any of us has actually been able to read! (I admit I haven’t had time to read it myself yet)
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Wake up Call 19 pre-orders 15 days left
Worlds Walker 25 pre-orders 128 days left.
The Dead Wizard 5 pre-order 30 days left.
Landfall 3 pre-orders 367 days left.
The Lion in Darkness 1 pre-order 48 days left
The Builder’s Spark 4 pre-order 70 days left
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
In the Shadow of the Rook
I’ve been digging through funding fantasy, dark fantasy, historical fantasy books and while many are marked as funding, most of them aren’t and just have the tag still for some reason. I’ve only come up with two new books to consider this month - one of them is in Category 4 and not yet funding, and the other may or may not have anything at all to do with Fantasy. EDIT - I’ve also added Arcadia but it only has 4 days left! SECOND EDIT - Removed Arcadia (campaign ended) and added The Builder’s Spark in Category 3.
If there are any other books you’d like added to the list, please let me know. All comments and opinions are welcome!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
The Walls are Closing In 305 pre-orders 47 days left - no fantasy link that I can think of but I only read the first chapter there may be something?
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Wake up Call 18 pre-orders 51 days left
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Worlds Walker 23 pre-orders 163 days left.
The Dead Wizard 3 pre-order 66 days left.
Landfall 3 pre-orders 402 days left.
The Lion in Darkness 1 pre-order 83 days left
The Builder’s Spark 1 pre-order 87 days left
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
In the Shadow of the Rook
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
No books in this category so far!
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Wake up Call 12 pre-orders 81 days left
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Fae Child 153 pre-orders 34 days left.
Worlds Walker 17 pre-orders 194 days left.
The Dead Wizard 2 pre-order 96 days left.
Landfall 3 pre-orders 433 days left.
The Lion in Darkness 1 pre-order 114 days left
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Fae Child 152 pre-orders 54 days left.
Shadow King 253 pre-orders 40 days left.
The Phantom Forest 187 pre-orders 11 days left
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Nothing in this section this month!
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Worlds Walker 10 pre-orders 214 days left.
The Dead Wizard 1 pre-order 116 days left.
Silver Eyes 45 pre-orders 15 days left.
Landfall 3 pre-orders 453 days left.
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
Here’s the first list for our new expanded range of fantasy books. Most of those I found are unfortunately in Category 3, but there is certainly time for them to get the ball rolling. If I missed any books you’d like to see added, let me know! Also, our December pick has to be in by the 15th so voice your opinions! As always, feel free to voice your opinions, comments or choices for the month here, via DM to me, by email or any other way you can think of reaching me!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Catching Stars 247 pre-orders 50 days left.
Kingdom of Dreams 209 pre-orders 27 days left.
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Nothing in this section this month!
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Worlds Walker 4 pre-orders 246 days left.
The Dead Wizard 1 pre-order 148 days left.
Silver Eyes 44 pre-orders 47 days left.
The lore of the Aos Si 81 pre-orders 28 days left.
Landfall 0 pre-orders 485 days left.
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
I’ve been thinking of making a change to our Syndicate for a while and wanted to hear what everyone has to say before going ahead with anything. So, what do you think about becoming simply “The Fantasy Syndicate”? My own preferences often lie with Epic Fantasy and all the world building that goes along with it, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy Urban Fantasy or any of the many other subgenres.
One of the simple realities of Inkshares is that while there are often many fantastic fantasy books to choose from at any given time, while Epic fantasy options are often sparse outside of a major contest. Several of the books we’ve chosen in the past wouldn’t fall into the “Epic” category either but were no less great choices (Feyside and Beyond the Code are excellent examples).
So, before I build out a list of choices for the month, what do you all think? Should we broaden our reach?
Early list for November! Bear in mind that if enough people voice their preferences early, we can make our pick as early as November 1st and still have it count for the contest. I did a little more digging this month, but sadly many of the interesting projects I looked at are near the end of their campaigns and have only managed to get a handful of orders.
As always, feel free to voice your opinion(s)/comments/suggestions here, or via DM, email, or carrier pigeon!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill/full funding.
Witherfist 151 pre-orders 69 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Silver Eyes 40 pre-orders 89 days left.
The lore of the Aos Si 76 pre-orders 70 days left.
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Impervious 39 pre-orders 7 days left (contest entry).
Oak and Stone: A Book of Enai 14 pre-orders 11 days left (contest entry).
A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khorma 11 pre-orders 7 Days left (contest entry).
Category 4: Drafts that caught my eye (or the eye of anyone else in the syndicate!), that could be choices once they start funding.
The Cradle and the Sword
The Elements: Descension
Hello everyone!
I have clearly been lax in my duties and haven’t dug up many new titles for us to consider for this month’s pick. Inkshares and Girl Friday have been keeping me busy with a succession of deadlines... Anyway, here is a refresh of last month’s list. Please feel free to suggest any others you think we should take a look at or voice your opinion on one or several of those listed below!
Happy reading!
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill.
Witherfist 71 pre-orders 98 days left (contest entry).
The Last Faoii 143 pre-orders 54 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Silver Eyes 22 pre-orders 115 days left.
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Impervious 38 pre-orders 36 days left (contest entry).
Oak and Stone: A Book of Enai 14 pre-orders 40 days left (contest entry).
A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khorma 11 pre-orders 36 Days left (contest entry).
Reapers: Book One 5 pre-orders 67 days left.
As always, feel free to reach out here, by DM or any other way you like with thoughts, other suggestions or anything else!
Early list for September!
So, I put up a bit of a longer list but I think we should start considering an extra factor when we make our choice – is our support going to make a difference. We’ve supported a couple books in past months that were really excellent, and fit in with our particular sub-genre of fantasy perfectly, but where the authors did little (Soul Blade) or nothing (the Northern Divide) to support and promote their own work. Until our syndicate is big enough that we can sway things with our support alone, I think we should shy away from choosing books in the 3rd category listed. We’ll keep an eye on them and if they get in there and start pushing, we can look into giving them a boost.
All of the books below are either my choices or were suggested by other syndicate members in past months.
Category 1: Books clearly making headway – our selection can put them over the edge to win the contest and/or make quill.
The Living God 122 pre-orders 122 days left (contest entry).
The Last Faoii 66 pre-orders 81 days left (contest entry).
Category 2: Books that are (hopefully) gaining momentum – our support can possibly be the boost they need to really get rolling.
Witherfist 34 pre-orders 63 days left (contest entry).
Impervious 35 pre-orders 63 days left (contest entry).
Category 3: Books that seem to be stuck (generally belong to authors who unfortunately think funding is still a time to focus on writing).
Oak and Stone: A Book of Enai 14 pre-orders 67 days left (contest entry).
A Soldier’s Crest: Heroes of Khorma 11 pre-orders 63 Days left (contest entry).
The Librarian’s Curse 8 pre-orders 56 days left.
Reapers: Book One 5 pre-orders 94 days left.
As always, feel free to reach out here, by DM or any other way you like with thoughts, other suggestions or anything else!
https://www.inkshares.com/books/borehole-bazaar-a-vow-unbroken 119 ordered 50 days left – Some great world building in this dark epic fantasy.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-vatheran-saga 6 ordered 62 days left – Truly massive. Gives new meaning to the term epic.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/reapers-book-one 4 ordered 158 days left – A more military/black ops spin on epic fantasy.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-last-faoii 71 ordered 54 days left (I haven’t had a chance to dig into this one myself yet but I will over the next week)
As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or anything else feel free to post here or DM me.
I’ve been following this syndicate for awhile now, but I needed to get some finances under control before officially joining. I’m super excited I finally made that happen!
I see that you’re already looking at books for July. Even though I just joined, can I nominate someone? Tahani Nelson’s The Last Faoii is really amazing, and the excerpt she put up a few days ago blew my socks off! I also follow her personal blog and I know she’s battling some hard times right now and I think at least being *nominated* would give her a much-needed pick-me-up! (I admit, this is kind of selfish of me. I know that she posts more chapters/excerpts when she’s happy or excited, and I want to see some new stuff and will do pretty much anything to make that happen). Anyway, if I need to wait a bit for nominating people I can do that. Mostly, I’m just excited to learn about some new fantasy books! ^_^
Early list of choices for July:
https://www.inkshares.com/books/borehole-bazaar-a-vow-unbroken 119 ordered 50 days left – Some great world building in this dark epic fantasy.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/the-vatheran-saga 6 ordered 62 days left – Truly massive. Gives new meaning to the term epic.
https://www.inkshares.com/books/reapers-book-one 4 ordered 158 days left – A more military/black ops spin on epic fantasy.
Feel free to suggest anything else you’d like to see added or express your opinion on the current list! As always I’ll make the final pick around the 15th unless the choice is clear before then.
A special thanks to all of you for backing my book through your syndicate! And thank you @John Robin for your great comment!
Please feel free to join. This group is open to all, but is specifically intended for members of affiliates of this syndicate to discuss epic fantasy titles on Inkshares (or other relevant epic fantasy topics), so that each month we can choose a title to back that best reflects the voice of all members of the syndicate.
We also will work together to reach out to more epic fantasy readers, with the aim of building out syndicate members, or gaining more affiliates who want to help spread the word.