I’ve been kinda silent here for a while, mainly because I’ve been so busy finishing up my Master’s degree and then planning a KickStarter campaign to change the world.
Is this the first time I’ve mentioned the KickStarter campaign around here? Well, hang on to something, because I’m about to blow your mind.
You might remember that last December I ran a campaign asking fans to contribute to the production costs of releasing The Dragonswarm, but this time I’m far more ambitious. This time I’m asking supporters to help the Consortium acquire all rights to the final book in the trilogy, so we can release it into the public domain from day one. I’m trying to demonstrate the noble consequences of patronage in action.
We’re putting everything we’ve got into that KickStarter campaign. We drafted a press release and sent it out to hundreds of local and internet media sites. I’m sending emails to everyone I know and talking about it constantly on Twitter and Facebook. Today I even rebuilt all my published fantasy stories with a little promo in the back exhorting readers to check out the KickStarter site.
And last Friday we got our first hit on the press releases. Passive Voice Blog, one of my favorite sources for indie publishing news, ran an excerpt early Friday morning under the headline, “Digital Revolution Renders Copyright Obsolete.”
Saying that to a crowd of writers really ruffled some feathers. I spent all day Friday fielding comments and ended up responding a couple more times over the weekend. All told, the post remained one of the most popular posts at Passive Voice Blog all weekend (and is even now), and it drew nearly 100 comments.
I didn’t find a friendly crowd there, but I did find a phenomenal opportunity to refine my message. I probably heard every objection I’m likely to hear from an artist-type (over and over again, and expressed with surprising vehemence at times), and it was encouraging that every objection they brought was something I’d considered. Nothing any of them said really rattled me.
It was an exciting debate. Several people have told me that it made for some entertaining and enlightening reading, so if you’re at all interested in the role of copyright and the arts, go check it out.
Oh! And swing by my KickStarter campaign, too. Donate a buck or two, and spread the word to everyone you know. This is all about the message.
