Karina's idea??

[Realmcovet]

I don't know how many of you have been keeping up with the posts
around here, (I read them every opportunity I cam get), but Karina has
come up with a really great suggestion for us all, and I was wanting
to see how many of you all mesh with Karina's idea.

In case there's any of you who haven't been able to keep up, here is a
"repost" of what she has offered:

"The discussion seems to keep branching in two main directions:
there's the creatives (authors, visual artists, etc.) who want to
create, and the publishers/marketers (who are also creative, but let's
just call ourselves P/Ms for now) who want a product they can take out
into the world.

I don't see any reason why we couldn't work on both branches
simultaneously. The P/Ms could start planning on a paperback
publication of Nicola's memoir or collection of short stories, and
start testing their new marketing ideas. In the meantime, the
creatives work on the 12-month chain of short stories plus media. The
P/Ms will need to use the Crs' skills at some point to create
advertising material, so then there'll be collaboration between the
two main teams. Also vice versa, when the Crs have a marketable
product, the P/Ms will be called in.

While I agree that this collective should support works by new
authors, I don't think it should be its main aim. Quality is quality,
new or established. Quality is what we want to do, and do it with a
twist and a spark that will be our own. I don't think established
authors will really benefit from the collective at this point, if they
were just looking to reap some financial advantage, they'd be better
off sticking with the current publishing system while it lasts than
playing with us kids. I honestly believe they are doing us a humongous
favour by offering their work so generously to help us get started
with plus points rather than minus."


I think it is a really sensible and fair way to go, but of course we
want EVERYONES input here, so if there are any of you that see "holes"
or "pitfalls" in this, or just disagree completely, we would like to
know. It sounds like a few of you are already vibing with this idea,
so I would like to get a general consensus to see if this is something
everyone would like to see go into action.

I especially agree with that last few lines of Karina's suggestion in
particular:"I honestly believe they (the established authors) are
doing us a humongous favour by offering their work so generously to
help us get started with plus points rather than minus." And that, "I
don't think established authors will really benefit from the
collective at this point, if they were just looking to reap some
financial advantage, they'd be better off sticking with the current
publishing system while it lasts than playing with us kids."

So we all need to definately keep that in mind too.

I already have a few ideas I'd like to throw around with the
"Cartoonist-Who-Writes" (Mark Heath, I believe?) feller. Has anybody
been to his site yet? Pretty cool stuff. :) It's nobrowcartoons.com.
Check it out if/when any of you have a few free moments, if you
haven't already.

That's another thing, I've been trying to tackle at least 2 of you a
day, going to your profiles, following up on websites (to those that
have made one available) to get to know you even further. I don't know
how many others of you are doing this too, but it's definately another
great way of getting to know one another. I'm also taking the liberty
of adding all of your websites to my blogroll as well, for numerous
reasons. Didn't know if any of you have considered that, but it's just
another idea to throw out. I do like the introductions thread we have
started as well, so please, continue to introduce yourselves!!! :)


Most of all though, if everyone on board here could let us know what
you think of Karina's idea, that could get the ball rolling.


Rachel

[Adam Lowe]

Yes, I think Karina's idea resolves most of the niggling little
questions. I really like the idea of separating work at this point, so
it gives people a clearer direction and makes our input more defined.

I also agree big name authors will not be benefitting from this as
much as everyone else. I think Karina was referring to my earlier post
when she said this, so I thought I'd clear up what I meant. I was
referring not necessarily to financial benefit but rather to the
benefits of a coop and the experimentation such a project suggests. I
merely meant that if we're going to experiment, we should really go
the distance and not just play it safe. That's why I'm happy with the
idea of monthly fiction alongside our first print project. It means we
can take those risks and really offer something different. I believe
it's not simply enough to do things differently, but to do things
differently to benefit more people than the current system.

The blogroll idea is also a great idea. I'm a very sporadic blogger
because I rarely get comments and I'm not sure how many people read my
blogs. That's probably just a lack of exposure. If we all add each
other's blogs to our blogrolls, it increases traffic for all of us and
is an excellent early publicity move. It also allows us to comment and
reflect on goings on in the coop to create a bit of a dialogue around
it for ourselves and others.

Is anyone else getting excited by the possibilities of all this?

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Adam Lowe

Features Editor
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Polluto [http://www.polluto.com]
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[Realmcovet]

Excited is an understatement. Absolutely!!

I went to your site by the way, the "Troglodyte Rose" one?? Oh my
GOD!! Totally amazing!!

On Jan 17, 11:48 am, "Adam Lowe" <beyo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, I think Karina's idea resolves most of the niggling little
> questions. I really like the idea of separating work at this point, so
> it gives people a clearer direction and makes our input more defined.
>
> I also agree big name authors will not be benefitting from this as
> much as everyone else. I think Karina was referring to my earlier post
> when she said this, so I thought I'd clear up what I meant. I was
> referring not necessarily to financial benefit but rather to the
> benefits of a coop and the experimentation such a project suggests. I
> merely meant that if we're going to experiment, we should really go
> the distance and not just play it safe. That's why I'm happy with the
> idea of monthly fiction alongside our first print project. It means we
> can take those risks and really offer something different. I believe
> it's not simply enough to do things differently, but to do things
> differently to benefit more people than the current system.
>
> The blogroll idea is also a great idea. I'm a very sporadic blogger
> because I rarely get comments and I'm not sure how many people read my
> blogs. That's probably just a lack of exposure. If we all add each
> other's blogs to our blogrolls, it increases traffic for all of us and
> is an excellent early publicity move. It also allows us to comment and
> reflect on goings on in the coop to create a bit of a dialogue around
> it for ourselves and others.
>
> Is anyone else getting excited by the possibilities of all this?
>

> UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Adam Lowe]

Why, thank you! Did you visit the blog or the website for the book the blog refers to? One is http://troglodyterose.blogspot.com and the other is http://www.troglodyterose.com. I have a few other project-specific blogs that branch off from the Trog Rose blog.

Cheers

2009/1/17 Realmcovet <rchl...@yahoo.com>

--

[malinda]

Hi folks,

This topic and the discussions about how this collective aren't really
beneficial to established authors (or at least those in "the system")
has been interesting for me. I'm not sure that this was what Nicola
originally envisioned, but I do agree that the discussion seems to
have pushed things in that direction.

I've enjoyed reading all your thoughts over the past week or so, but
I've come to the conclusion that at this time, I have to bow out of
this endeavor. I'm not terribly "established," but I already have
promotional events scheduled by my publisher for my upcoming novel,
and I anticipate my calendar is going to be pretty full for the next
couple of years. I think it would be silly for me to think I can also
actively participate in an out-of-the-box publishing cooperative.
There are only a certain number of hours in the day. If I had enough
of a body of work to just contribute something already written, I
would, but I don't -- I have to go and write it, and then I have to
give it to my publisher. So for now, I'm going to be content to see
what develops without me (I will probably leave/un-join the google
group, too).

Thanks for allowing me to be a part of the discussion so far, and good
luck in the future!

Malinda

[Adam Lowe]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I follow your train of thought here. Is it simply because you don't have time or because you're worried this won't be of any use to you as an already existing author? As we've discussed, this will be of benefit to everyone. The whole point is we're looking at ways of reviving the publishing model to benefit as many writers as possible. That includes small press, mid-list and big name authors, as well as new and future authors.

Even if you don't have the time to add much, at least stay in the group. You can always join in on the discussions or lurk quietly at the back.

2009/1/19 malinda <malin...@gmail.com>

[nicola griffith]

Ah, Malinda, we'll miss you.  But you may have a point: a first novel requires total focus.  I hope it goes brilliantly.  We wish you all the best.

Nicola

--
www.nicolagriffith.com
http://asknicola.blogspot.com