Job Creators in Crowdfunding

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I was updating my list of crowdfunding activities for 2012 and realized something interesting: I already have two projects marked "JOB CREATOR" and it's only January.  One is "The Bookstore That's Bigger on the Inside" where funds will go toward paying staff members, among other things.  The other is Plunge  webzine, in planning stages currently with a Kickstarter to open soon, and the job it's creating is mine as Line Editor.

In this lousy economy, people care a lot about creating jobs.  They might like to know if a crowdfunded project is doing that, and it might attract more donations.  So I'd like to encourage folks, when posting about their own projects or those they support, to include "JOB CREATOR" in the post.

Imagining a Better Ebook Library

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Current library handling of ebooks is crummy.  Big publishers have arranged it so that the library can only lend the ebook to one person at a time, which cuts out a key advantage of ebooks over paper books.  The libraries all seem to use a thing called Overdrive, which does not accept ALL ebooks, so there's a bottleneck problem.  Some publishers limit the number of times an ebook can be checked out before the library has to repurchase it.  Readers are not thrilled by this, neither are some librarians, but Overdrive seems to have a monopoly for now.  I'd like to support brick-and-mortar libraries, but if that's not feasible, I'll settle for supporting reading.

Rather than attempt to scale the castle wall, it may be more efficient to get ebooks into people's hands by going in the back way and creating a virtual library.  Put together a collection of ebooks that people can read without those obnoxious restrictions, building the collection from books by individual authors and small presses who get shut out of more mainstream models.  For people who want to read ebooks, it would be an efficient way to find a substantial supply of them -- much of which might not be available through more conventional venues -- without having to hunt them down one book at a time.

One useful feature is "I want more of X."  Have drop-down menus for all the authors, publishers, and genres that the service already offers.  Then a box for listing things that aren't available yet, like "I want lesbian mystery and chromatic SF, but you don't have any."  Make the results visible to people who might like to add their books.  (A fun crowdfunding option might be to let people make donations to put a 'bounty' on a certain type of book they want added, which would go to whichever author/publisher contributed one.)

Now ideally -- and I'm not sure if this is technologically feasible at the moment -- the content would be visible to subscribers but couldn't readily be saved by them.  That's a 'cloud' kind of model, where a person is paying for access rather than ownership, and it's a good virtual version of a library where people read books but don't keep them.  It would be straightforward to do with the material visible only on a regular computer; doing that with ereaders might be harder, but would be very helpful in reaching people who love ebooks.  Something where people could download temporary ebooks that would disappear after a limited time would probably be harder to build.

There might also be a section of ebooks available for free download, from authors/publishers who feel that giving away a free sample can attract buyers.  Ideally, however, all the ebooks in the "lending library" would also be available for sale, in case readers want to keep a copy.

This would probably be more straightforward to launch than trying to break into library access.  It's not too hard to put things on password-protected pages of a website.  A couple dozen books or so -- preferably in several different popular genres and topics -- could be enough to get the ball rolling.  That's a size that could feasibly be gathered by a consortium of authors and/or small presses.  Then let it grow from there; hopefully adding at least one new book a week to keep subscribers interested. 

Hopefully the subscription price could be kept low, maybe $5/month or $50/year.  (The nearest library to me charges $60/year for a library card if you live outside the town limits, which pretty much means rural residents are humped.)  Consider splitting that with half the fees going to site upkeep and half getting divided among people who provided books.

I'm putting this out in the open because I think it's a viable idea, but I don't have the webcoding skills to just do it myself.  If someone else does, however, I'd be happy to help with concept development, and I do have a couple of books that were dual-published in ebook and paper formats.

A Tarot Spread for Creative Blocks

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

moon_fox mentioned being stuck with story plotting, in the context of wondering whether a Tarot reading might help.  I design Tarot spreads, and I thought, "Hey, a lot of people could use a spread for that!"  So I made one.  Everyone is free to try it out; we have a lot of readers and questioners here who might enjoy playtesting it.

"The Three Muses Spread"

This spread illuminates the context of a creative block and offers ideas for getting back in action.  The spread forms kind of an upside-down pyramid.  Lay the first card vertically at the base and the second card vertically above it.  Lay the third card horizontally above the second card.  Lay the last three cards, each vertical, in a horizontal row above the third card, working from left to right.

4 - 5 - 6
- [ 3 ]
- - 2
- - 1

1) You.  The first card represents the questioner, and may reveal personal aspects underlying the block.
2) The Idea.  The second card represents the creative work that is blocked, and may hint at flaws or gaps within it.
3) The Block.  The third card should be read with both upright and reversed interpretations.  It embodies the obstacle preventing progress.
4, 5, 6) The Three Muses.  These three cards offer fresh inspiration to help you work through or around the block, getting your project back in progress.

Look for connections between the cards.  In the first three cards, parallels between You and The Idea or The Idea and The Block are especially important.  If one of the Muse cards parallels any of the first three cards, that's the place it applies -- for instance, if #4 and #2 are both Cups, think about how that Muse relates to The Idea.


Although I designed this with Tarot in mind, that being a popular system, it should work with pretty much any divinatory tool that uses layouts.  It could easily be expanded; I kept it concise because most crowdfunded readings are on the short side.  I haven't playtested it myself yet, just jotted it down here, so if anyone tries it then I'd enjoy feedback on how well it works. 

Prop Request: Huntress

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

quennessa is seeking props for upcoming photo shoots about Artemis and Sekhmet.  If you have not seen her fine art photos yet, you should totally go look -- among my favorites is the "Between Heaven & Hell" series.

The Arkh Project - Videogame featuring underrepresented characters

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

I just came across The Arkh Project on IndieGoGo.

They're planning to prove the videogame industry wrong on their idea that only games with white, straight characters sell. I thought some people here might be interested.

The Arkh Project - Videogame featuring underrepresented characters

[anke]

I just came across The Arkh Project on IndieGoGo.

They're planning to prove the videogame industry wrong on their idea that only games with white, straight characters sell. I thought some people here might be interested.