An argument about crowdfunding
Not sure how valuable this is, but I decided to take the time to collate and preserve the vibrant Twitter argument that erupted this morning as best I could. I ended up removing a lot of @names from the tweets in order to preserve readability and remove format-noise. I also rearranged the threads a little, to keep tweets that felt like they went together in a row, so as to better preserve the sense of conversation and make it less confusing for people coming to the discussion fresh.
It starts with Simon Sellars of Ballardian asking author PD Smith about an example of crowdfunding.
@ballardian What do you think? 'Crowdfunding', to get a book written http://bit.ly/oFs1V | http://bit.ly/13eWVM
@PD_Smith New to me!
@timmaughan (Science fiction author and anime/manga blogger) Christ, it's on social media? The ability of these snake oil peddlers to hook people in never fails to disturb me.
@ballardian What gets me is that she has a contract with a good royalty deal. Will she pay investors back if the book earns?
@PD_Smith Sounds like a potential legal minefield. She should get a job & write it in her spare time...
@WillWiles (senior editor of Icon Magazine and author of Spillway) The idea doesn't look that appealing to me. If she has a job, can't she use her spare time, like the rest of us? Seems like the funders don't stand to gain much out of it also ...
@PD_Smith Yes, the more you think about it, the more of a rip-off it seems.
@WillWiles Tell you what, when my book is published, you can all crowdfund it by buying copies. If you want. Or not.
@PD_Smith Now, that's what I call *real* crowdfunding...
@doingitwrong (That's me!) Not sure why you guys seem so hostile to this. It's just Kickstarter by someone you don't like.
@WillWiles Not hostile, highly sceptical. No ROI? Seems like panhandling.
@doingitwrong I'm indifferent to the content of her book. Can't fault her anymore than I can fault Dan Brown. If the model turns out to work out, that's good news for the rest of us.
Here's the model funding a good project. @robinsloan on Kickstarter http://bit.ly/14N9rO (I'd totally crowdfund any of you guys.)
@timmaughan like I said earlier, they're only getting support because people fall for this SocMedia BS it's a slightly more sophisticated version of Nigerian email scams. People are desperate. I'm not anti the model per se, just the content and motivations. This whole seo/soc media gold rush is like dot com boom again. Crossed with Scientology.
@ballardian 99% of writers don't get advances sufficient to live off during writeup so her entire premise is false
@PD_Smith Good point RT @iGrannie: I have several non-fiction 19th century books which were written & produced via public subscription.
@ballardian Good point, but applicable? The no-advance deal means her royalties are higher. Can't be compared to 19th C patronage.
@PD_Smith Or maybe it suggests she doesn't expect to sell many copies... Impressive chutzpah.
@paleofuture (Writer of the Paleo-Future blog.) I'm experimenting with crowdfunding to sell ads: http://bit.ly/co9tKA
I have no problem with her approach. She's not deceiving anyone, even if it's Panhandling 2.0
@WillWiles No question of deception - just no return.
@PD_Smith If she can find people to donate, I wish her the very best of luck. Maybe I'll try it for my next one...
Cheers for that offer :) Not sure I follow re publishing deals: a good publisher can transform the fortunes of a book...
@doingitwrong I honestly think you should consider it. The more I look into book publishing deals, the more they seem like insane robbery.
@WillWiles It seems inferior to the old model, in which a publisher took on the risk and people got a book for their contribution. Advance sales of the book - buy it now, I'll write it later - would make more sense, but a book for $100!!
I can't help but feel gloomy about a culture maintained by tipjars and T-shirt sales.
@timmaughan What about just writing the book first? Then if it's any good you get my cash?
@doingitwrong Yeah, that's an amazing idea. It's not true art if no one is starving!
@timmaughan ha. I prefer you're not a true artist if the passion isn't enough to make you work in your spare time. Get a job! I've got a full time job, write a popular anime blog, write freelance AND I'm writing a novel. No one's starving here!
@jomc (Author of Tomorrow Museum, bookfuturist) microfundng might work best for grants but first we need a tony wilson of publishing
@timmaughan what, someone with ZERO business sense? You do know his story, right?:P
@jomc not businesswise! someone with good taste who reader/donators would trust with selecting good authors to fund.
@timmaughan Ah, I see. I'm still not convinced, as an author, we even need funding. At least not until the publishing stage. If we can't write in our spare time then we're in the wrong game. I'd rather pay my own way and take the hard slog than take handouts.
@jomc i'll suffer the hard slog as well, and i resent the expectation of authors to be their own cheerleaders... but i'd love to see small publishers try different funding strategies -- tipjars, work as nonprofits, etc
@PD_Smith Microfunding can only be part of the answer. Agreed - we need people w/ vision in publishing!
'Crowdfunding' in photography RT @merelbem: Check out http://bit.ly/bhhSAc and http://bit.ly/bpig11. Am writing on the subject.
@WillWiles Isn't that the classic publishing model? Individual publisher with known tastes who people trust to find good books?
Before money ruined everything as usual.
@PD_Smith Absolutely (although a role filled by agents too). But I wonder if editors are less keen to take creative risks now... I was also intrigued to see the idea of nonprofit orgs funding creative work in The Spirit Level (http://bit.ly/bBrYFP)
@jomc interesting. here's a nonprofit publisher: http://www.concordfreepress.com/ they give away their books for free
@doingitwrong Crowdfunding not just a financing tool. Also promotional. Building a dedicated base of rabid fans might be main benefit.
@jomc I see Google "launch early and often" vs Apple's "castlebuilding" as the perfect metaphor for the two approaches
