Another stretch goal met, a new one is added.
over 9 years ago – Sun, Jun 14, 2015 at 01:45:38 PM

We hit 900 backers so we've unlocked Stretch Goal #3!! Thank all for your continued support. It'll be interesting to see if we break the magic 1,000 backer number - not many projects do that in fiction!

I've added a new goal (about 1/2 way between Goal #4 (which we are fast approaching) and goal #5.  This one is really special.  It'll do a raffle, just like we are for the audio versions but this one will be giving away 5 copies of an EXTREMELY limited edition copy of Rhune (the first book in my next series.  What's really exciting about this, is there are only 25 of these books in existence, and it'll give you a chance to read a book a whole year before it's release in summer of 2016!

Now, this isn't the "final version" of the book. It's essentially the version my editor received, and of course there will be edits from Del Rey for the final release, but I suspect the book is pretty "solid" and won't be changing very much.  It'll also be interesting for people to see the difference between this version and the final version.  Here is a bit about the book:

 What does it mean if the gods can be killed?

In the land of the Rhune, trees can tell the future. Raow can’t sleep before adding more human bones to their bed; crimbals steal children through secret doors in the forest, and the gods are beyond reproach. But when Raithe’s father is slain, he does the unthinkable—he kills a god. From this act rises the legend of the God Killer, the seeds of a rebellion, and the question of whether the gods are really immortal after all. Before the Dark Ages, there was the age of Myth and Legend. Before kings and castles, there were mystics and heroes. Before two thieves, there was an empire. And before there was an empire, there was Nyphron. Everything you think you know is a myth. Learn the truth behind the legend. Discover a new world by the author of The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles.

This is a very exciting perk, and I'm please to make it available to the backers who are being so supportive of The Death of Dulgath.

Beta reading opportunities
over 9 years ago – Sat, Jun 13, 2015 at 12:55:59 PM

It's quite exciting seeing the posts and comments about how anxiously everyone is waiting for the book. I, of course, want people to have the ability to read it as soon as possible. It occurred to me at lunch today that a lucky few could get early copies by being beta readers.

What is a beta reader? They are non-professionals who read a novel and provide suggestions to improve the story, its characters, or its setting. Some beta readers do find and comment on typos and grammar issues, but that is not the primary purpose of a beta reader. 

So, here's what I've decided to do...I'm going to select 1/2 my beta readers from Kickstarter participants and 1/2 from my beta list that I've been collecting lo these many months. If you've not been a beta reader before, don't worry, that doesn't disqualify you. In fact, Robin usually chooses a wide range of beta reading experience including "newbies."  Also, if you've not read any of my other books before, this is actually a good thing. She tends to have a mix of new readers as well as old veterans.

So, what's required of a beta reader?

• You'll have to commit to read the book and provide feedback within a three-week period.

• You'll be asked to rate each chapter on a scale from 1 - 5 on four key metrics: character, plot, pacing, and overall.

• You'll be asked various questions such as what did you like, what didn't you like, was there anything you were confused by, etc. Some beta readers will answer these questions on a chapter by chapter basis, others will do it after each "reading session."

• There will be a survey at the end of the beta to give your overall impressions once the entire book is over.

The manuscript you'll receive will be in "pretty good shape," but it will be far from the final copy. The whole point of the beta is to find things that need to be changed. For this reason, it is probable that the final book will be different than the one you'll see. In past beta reads. we've plucked characters from death's door, added and removed scenes, and moved a whole lot of stuff around

Also, keep in mind that you'll receive the book pre-copy editing. Yes, we'll go over the book...several times in fact, but there will still be nits large and small that will be taken care of before the book goes to press. If reading a manuscript in this form would be distracting or bothersome to you, then you might not want to volunteer for beta reading. If any of this sounds interesting to you, sign up here. Robin will be picking the readers once we are close to starting which will probably be the end of August.

One thing I should warn everyone about, there will probably be more volunteers than spots. Robin does the best she can to obtain a diverse group and if you aren't selected, please don't take it personally. There will be many more turned away than accepted. While I wish we could get feedback from everyone, it just isn't possible to digest that much data promptly In any case, I hope some of you will be interested in this opportunity which is available to you for backing the Kickstarter. 

As for other news....

• We have more than 150 guesses for the "final amount" which will give one lucky winner a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind, leather-bound copy of the book (cost $200 - $300; value: priceless). Add yours from this link. Note deadline for entering is end of the day Tuesday 6/16 (midnight EST).

• We are now the 14th most funded fiction Kickstarter for the United States. IF we get another $1,410 we'll bump Blackguards (an anthology I have a short story in).

• We reached goal #2 so there are Posters for Death of Dulgath added to the add-ons.

• We just need eight more backers to get some audio downloads to five lucky winners

• We are just $778 from the next stretch goal (which gives us upgrades to the print books and custom signed ebooks).

Another stretch goal met, the cover has been revealed
over 9 years ago – Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 01:21:02 PM

We have just transitioned from day 8 to day 9 and the Kickstarter is still going strong, thanks once again for all the amazing support.  Here's a quick update on where we are:

• Goal #2 has been reached and we now will have beautiful The Death of Dulgath posters by famed artist Marc Simoneti.

• I've worked up the bookmark concept to satisfy Stretch Goal #1

• We've had the cover reveal for the bookstore edition of The Death of Dulgath. 

• We are only 31 more backers away from hitting Goal #3 which will provide 5 audio downloads. So tell your friends who might be interested about this Kickstarter.

• Goal #4 and Goal #5 have been posted. We are less than $1,700 away from the getting upgrades to the books, and custom signed ebooks
• We are currently the 15th most funded Kickstarter in the US for fiction.  Hollow World was the 8th most funded when it's funding ended. And we have exceeded that Kickstarter by $6,000!
  
• More than 120 people have entered the "Guess the final amount" contest the winner will receive a one-of-a-kind hand bound full leather version of the book. Remember deadline is end of the day next Wednesday!
  
• Short stories have started coming in. We had more than 400 people sign up to be notified when submissions are open and each of them have been emailed. If you didn't see your email, here are the instructions.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for the amazing support you're giving this project, it's really great to see people so excited for the for the new book, the extra perks, and the add-ons. I put in my own guess for what I think it will end up at - we'll see how close (or far away) I am.

A special contest just for backers
over 9 years ago – Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 09:17:08 AM

How high is high? Where will this Kickstarter end?

Today, I have a special little contest for all the backers. I thought it would be interesting to give a very special prize to the person who can guess the closest to the final funding amount. Now, of course, it gets easier the closer we get to the end, so this contest will only run until next Tuesday 6/16/2016 (1 minute after midnight EST).

The prize will be something special...probably one of a kind. Right now I'm thinking a hand-bound, full-leather copy of the book that will cost about $200 - $300 to produce. If I think of something even better than that, I may substitute it. Bottom line, it will be something to treasure.

So, anyway, here's the deal:

• 1 entry per backer
• if you make multiple guesses, I'll take the first you made.
• Deadline is next Tuesday 6/16/2016 at midnight EST
• Here is the link to enter
• The entry page has some tools that shows daily contributions to date for this Kickstarter. It also shows that data for my past Kickstarter (Hollow World). This should help you come up with your guess.

I'm excited about this, and I hope you will be too!  Oh, and we reached our next stretch goal, so I'll put up the next one in just a minute.

Another Kickstarter worth considering
over 9 years ago – Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 05:35:01 PM

I've backed a good number of Kickstarters over the years and one of the organizations I've bought the most from is Silence in the Library. This is a small press that has been producing high quality anthologies, graphic novels, and fiction projects through Kickstarter since June of 2013.  Their projects include:

• $21,008 - Pride and Prejudice Illustrated by Janet Lee  
•  $ 8,740 - YA Fiction from Silence in the Library
•  $19,881 - Athena's Daughters, Volume 2
•  $12,197 - Silence in the Library Publishing Fall 2014 Releases
•  $16,270 - HEROES! A Diverse Superhero Anthology
•  $ 6,087 - Elected - A dystopian novel by author Rori Shay
•  $15,884 - Icarus: A Graphic Novel
•  $44,350 - Athena's Daughters: Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy
•  $ 8,191 - War of the Seasons, a fantasy trilogy by Janine K. Spendlove
•  $ 8,349 - Children's Illustrated History of Presidential Assassination
•  $28,431 - Time Traveled Tales: A Speculative Fiction Anthology

They just launched their latest project: MONSTERS! the anthology and I'm confident it will be as successful as their other projects.  This anthology of horror short stories both traditional and unconventional are coming from a fabulous line up including: Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, Timothy Zahn, Maxwell Alexander Drake, Addie J. King, Aaron Rosenberg, Janine K. Spendlove, Bryan Young, and many more.

Silence in the library has a long standing tradition of well-run Kickstarters producing high quality books. I hope you'll check it out and if you like what you see, please consider backing it.