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    The Quiet Fan

    Dear OTF,

    Have I told you lately how much I love you? No? Well, I do. I really do.

    Did I mention that just coincidentally, my next book, The Quiet Fan, will be put out by the reader-funded publisher Unbound? It's just gone live on their web site, so if you click here, you can read an extract, digest the synopsis, or cringe at the video (at least that's what I do). And pledge to buy a copy.

    I didn't know much about Unbound when they showed an interest. Then I realised my sister had given me one of their books at Christmas (The Good Immigrant), which I immediately read and enjoyed. The reader-funded model actually allows them (and you as a reader) to publish things they think are worth publishing, and not what the marketing department thinks will sell. I'd be lying if I said I was wild about the prospect of promoting it across multiple platforms in the coming months (that is, bothering everyone you know or are connected with, several times over), but in a way it's a good chance to test your own claims to be a writer. If not enough people want to buy it, you've got your answer.

    All thoughts and critiques are welcome. Big thanks to seanoftheshed, who already pledged.

    #2
    The Quiet Fan

    Does that £350 "pie and a pint" have a vegetarian option?

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      #3
      The Quiet Fan

      That looks really good, Ian. I think I'd enjoy that.

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        #4
        The Quiet Fan

        Excellent news, I'll be signing up for the Beltway/ Bielefeld Bruiser's latest.

        Is it just my imagination, or do you actually sound more Scottish since moving to Germany? Like that Rangers fan who was Reisegruppenfuehrer of Niedersachsen a few years ago.

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          #5
          The Quiet Fan

          imp wrote:
          Did I mention that just coincidentally, my next book, The Quiet Fan, will be put out by the reader-funded publisher Unbound? It's just gone live on their web site, so if you click here, you can read an extract, digest the synopsis, or cringe at the video (at least that's what I do). And pledge to buy a copy.
          To be honest it was the video that finally persuaded me to pledge. I think it's the guilt trip strategy that is often used by charities for impoverished children when they show a picture of a grubby faced urchin with sad tearful eyes and a river of snot streaming from his left nostril in the hope of getting your account number and sort code.

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            #6
            The Quiet Fan

            Done. Splurged for the ebook. Was going to get the hardback, but the shipping and exchange kicked it into HOLY FUCKING SHIT territory rather quickly.

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              #7
              The Quiet Fan

              Yes the shipping cost rather threw me. In the end I ordered the hardback* and had it sent to noj for free. He can read it then pass it on to me.

              (*When I say I ordered it, that's what i thought I was doing, but it turns out I was pledging money towards the book being printed one day or something.)

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                #8
                The Quiet Fan

                After the China Crisis fiasco, I swore I'd never do this 'pledge' thing again. But then I saw its little face on that video and...well.......

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                  #9
                  The Quiet Fan

                  Yep, the international shipping costs are a shock - though there's £4 off until the 30th. Also, that's why you can buy two copies and have them sent for the price of one (the idea being that you find someone else who's interested.... I know, an outside shot).

                  Just read out seanoftheshed's post to a delighted kitchen audience.

                  Am working on beetroot and quinoa pasties for ad hoc.

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                    #10
                    The Quiet Fan

                    That looks really good imp. Will it be distributed to shops as well? I think I picked up a Jonathan Meades self-picked anthology published by Unbound for a song in a Dublin Oxfam bookshop (a week after it was published, natch).

                    Now very tired of Meades and his even more clapped-out contrariness, but it was a very handsome hardback indeed. I saw it in Proper Bookshops as well. Or do Unbound leave the distribution to the author?

                    EDIT: ah reading the above I guess the pledgers have to get to a certain level before getting bound paper out there.

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                      #11
                      The Quiet Fan

                      It works like this - we reach the target, Unbound publishes the limited edition hardback, and at round about the same time Penguin/Random House publishes a 'normal', unlimited edition. Which will be cheaper, of course, but if everyone waits for that it might not get published at all. It's a weird dynamic, and I've spent the last 24 hours coming to terms with my new world of self-pushery.

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                        #12
                        The Quiet Fan

                        Subscription based publishing. It's back to the eighteenth century folks!

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                          #13
                          The Quiet Fan

                          Add another $15.

                          Enjoyed the excerpt. Looking forward to reading its entirety.

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                            #14
                            The Quiet Fan

                            imp wrote: It works like this - we reach the target, Unbound publishes the limited edition hardback, and at round about the same time Penguin/Random House publishes a 'normal', unlimited edition.
                            Just out of interest, is that part of the deal you agreed with Unbound? They've found another publisher to run the paperback as well? Or did Penguin pick it up separately?

                            Either way, I had a good look through their site and it looks to me like a cracking model.

                            You can have some of my money tomorrow, when I can get to my debit card without waking up my girlfriend.

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                              #15
                              The Quiet Fan

                              @Cal, Sam and any other pledgers - many thanks, I very much appreciate your support.

                              Re. the publishing model - the agreement is that all books that reach their funding goal are put out by Penguin/Random House, which has no editorial input, that's just the deal they have with Unbound. That is, they trust Unbound to find books that will not shame the Penguin/RH brand, I guess.

                              The money raised in advance is purely to pay the costs of producing the initial limited edition. After that, there's a 50/50 royalty split, which is way more generous than standard publishers (usually 7.5-15%). On my first two books, I received comparatively minor advances, and I still theoretically owe money on both of them. The advance for Rock n Roll Soccer about paid my travel, research and publicity expenses. Simply put, if my wife didn't have a 'proper job', I would no longer (or have never been) a writer. So I feel this way is worth a try. The general consensus in publishing right now seems to be that, aside from big names, advances will soon be a thing of the past for most writers.

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                                #16
                                The Quiet Fan

                                Anyone still interested in pledging - PM me for a discount code.

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                                  #17
                                  The Quiet Fan

                                  Congratulations on the book- shame you've been so consistently unpleasant to other people who've posted links to theirs.

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                                    #18
                                    The Quiet Fan

                                    Untrue - I was one of many voices raised against the friend-proclaimed sexist, racist, self-published interloper. If you can find other examples, knock yourself out given that you seem to harbour a consistent fascination with this topic.

                                    And congratulations - however sarcy - are unwarranted until it meets the funding target. Funnily enough I was saying to my old man this morning that it maybe works better this way. Instead of having a book out, flogging the fuck out of it and then being disappointed by crap sales, this way you get to flog the fuck out of the book beforehand, and if no one buys it you save yourself the disappointment on publication.

                                    Edit - reading back this thread, I'm not going to allow my unpleasant stalker's unnecessary, unwarranted and slanderous comment to stand unchallenged. Here are all the books I've bought and enjoyed that were written by people who either are or have been on OTF:
                                    Daniel Makagon - Underground
                                    John Doran - Jolly Lad
                                    David Stubbs - Future Days/Send Them Victorious/Fear of Music
                                    Jeremy Simmonds - The Encyclopaedia of Dead Rock Stars
                                    David Wangerin - Soccer in a Football World/Distant Corners (both favourably reviewed)
                                    Justin Bryant - Small Time (likewise)
                                    (I've a feeling there might be some more.)

                                    Like most writers/readers, I love well-researched books and quality writing. I hate hacked-out, sloppy shit that's been penned to exploit a perceived gap in the market, and don't see why any writers - professional or otherwise - shouldn't be held to high standards when it comes to style and content.

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                                      #19
                                      The Quiet Fan

                                      I, er, haven't actually made my pledge yet, Ian, because I forgot I'd lent my bank card reader to a friend. But I've got it back now, so if you fancy PMing me a discount code I won't say no ...

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                                        #20
                                        The Quiet Fan

                                        I'm in at the postcards level

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                                          #21
                                          The Quiet Fan

                                          I will be selling my soul at the following next Monday night, if any London-based Books regulars are interested. I expect at the very least to hear Nefertiti heckling from somewhere behind the higher shelves. And please try not to "think a literary Dragons Den"...

                                          Together with Unbound, Waterstones Gower Street are hosting a new monthly Pledge Party where you can hear from a selection of new books that are crowdfunding. Think a literary Dragons Den where 8 authors each have 5 minutes to pitch their book.

                                          You'll hear everything from Fiction to Memoir, Poetry to History, and can vote for your favourite at the end of the night. The power of the Dragons' is yours and the authors' books are in your hands!

                                          Tickets are £6 / £4 and include a drink plus a £5 voucher to pledge against a book of your choice.

                                          BUY TICKETS ONLINE, IN STORE OR BY PHONING 020 7636 1577.

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                                            #22
                                            The Quiet Fan

                                            Regrettably, I shall be otherwise engaged.

                                            And that apostrophe after 'Dragons' is giving me eyeache.

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                                              #23
                                              The Quiet Fan

                                              good luck imp, fucking hell things are getting brutal. Are you gonna trash talk your competitors, try to psyche them out? Pre event could end up like a boxing weigh in.

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                                                #24
                                                The Quiet Fan

                                                I'm hoping for a friendly, co-operative event with my fellow tortured artists. Just tried timing myself, though - had barely bumbled through the opening to my patter and realised I was already 2m 30s in. Maybe I should just stay at home and send a Tweet.

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                                                  #25
                                                  The Quiet Fan

                                                  I've contributed. Can't recall which level.

                                                  I don't think this is a terrible way to get books published. If I'm going to buy the book anyway, I don't mind paying in advance.

                                                  The traditional way isn't working very well for anything that isn't about vampires or by a racist Fox News contributor or both. I suppose some other books can get enough of a push from good reviews and "buzz," but unless the author is already well-known or it's a hot topic with a wide built-in audience, its very hard to break through, I imagine.

                                                  I look forward to it.

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