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An idea and a proposal to all of you


  • JimZombie
    Oct 20 9:09 PM
    Reply
    In association with Eclectomatic Ezine and Eclectomatic.net, I am considering setting up a "donate to read" site.

    What does this mean for writers?

    Let's face it, publishing is a hard gig and a stomach twisting ride. What I propose will suit the unpublished writer, serious or amateur.

    The writer submits their work to the site, it is checked for quality and either accepted or rejected based on quality. Stories would need to be of a high quality, both in content and in technique, as I have neither the intention nor the skill to become a freeride editor.

    If a writers work is accepted, it is converted into a PDF document and bassed on the authors wishes, the file will be either free for view or require a donation (the donation sum is up to the reader). In the case that the file requires a donation to view/download, the author would need to provide and excerpt or blurb to give the reader an idea as to the stories content and quality.

    Writers would be entitled to 90% of all donations their work attracts, the rest would go towards maintaining the site.

    Of course, writers would be free to withdraw their content at anytime.

    So, how does my pitch sound. Who wants in?

    Any questions?

  • wolfcub
    October 27 ↑
    Reply
    It sounds good to build a fan base, but writers would move on as soon as they had enough fans, and try to publish "properly".
    It would also be quite hard to get any reads for quite a while, until the idea had become really popular and was everywhere you looked...and then there'd be a lot of competition.
    But it does sound interesting...

    • JimZombie
      October 28 ↑
      Reply
      Building up a fan base to persue publicatin is kind of the point of the idea. It isn't about me making money, it is about exposure. Remember, I'm a writer too

      • wolfcub
        November 1 ↑
        Reply
        i know, but the problem I have is that I think people would be put off paying any money to read it to start with. Sure, some would, especially with the 'sample' to give them an idea what they're reading, but i think they'd be less likely to commit a couple of pounds/dollars for something they are reading online.
        If you spend £6 on a book, you can look at ALL of it first to check you'll enjoy it. They probably wouldn't be able to do that online, so even though it would be less money, they wouldn't want to commit.
        I could ask friends to help me build a fanbase to start with, then go from there...but my mates would expect me to let them do it for free.

        • JimZombie
          November 3 ↑
          Reply
          You bring up some good points but it isn't anything I haven't really considered.

          One thing you missed is that the reader would be able to download PDFs.

          Another thing, friends don't make for a great fanbase, having friends that read your work is nothing compared to having an international fanbase composed of individuals that chose to read your work.
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