Hello, everybody!
It may be hard to believe but 2027 will mark 10 years since the first release of "The Big Men."
To celebrate, I am putting together a special edition of the book that will include at least a few full-page illustrations, and perhaps an all-new cover image.
As part of that process, I've decided to make my first foray into the world of crowdfunding in an effort to (hopefully) take the visual elements of the project to the next level.
Why crowdfunding?
Despite a decade's worth of experience publishing various successful works of speculative fiction, this will be the first time I'll be working with artists on commissioned pieces for one of my books. Historically, I have always handled every aspect of publication production myself, which has allowed me to save quite a bit of money over the years and increase the profitability of my releases. Still, skilled as I may be as a designer and publisher, there are limits to my abilities as an artist that I'm certain could be far exceeded by those who specialize in the visual mediums. Of course, artists need to be paid for their work and crowdfunding the project will allow me to do so before the book is even published, rather than waiting the months (or years) it might take for said artists to be similarly compensated by receiving a share of the revenue generated from its sales.
Why Ko-fi?
Having thoroughly examined a variety of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, I've come to the conclusion that Ko-fi is best suited for the sort of fundraising I am attempting. In short, it largely comes down to simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use, both for myself and for those donating to the project. Fortunately, Ko-fi also happens to be one of the most widely known, used, and trusted mechanisms for safely and efficiently gathering tips and donations online, and I have personally used it to support artists and content creators of all sorts over the years, which gives me a high degree of confidence in endorsing its use to all of you in this case.
What's the plan?
Basically, I will be actively fundraising for this project via Ko-fi until the end of 2026. While that's happening, I will be interacting with a few artists I already have in mind and preparing an open call for other artists that will begin in January of 2027 if sufficient funds are raised to support that. January through June of 2027 will be the project's production window and it will be published in mid-to-late 2027, most likely between the beginning of July and the end of September.
I will of course be keeping everyone up to date on the status of the project as things progress but anyone at all familiar with me and my output over the past ten years already knows that if I say I'm going to do something, that thing is going to happen, on time and on budget, one way or another.
What's in it for me?
The satisfaction of knowing that you helped to create something very cool, and helped to support real human artists in a world increasingly being overrun by "AI" slop.
As much as I would love to be able to offer something more tangible to supporters for their financial contributions to this effort, that would, honestly, largely defeat the purpose of them. The point here is to get as much money as possible into artists' hands (myself included) for high-quality work they will be spending a considerable amount of time and effort creating. If that's something you're willing and able to do, then by all means, please consider donating to the cause.
That said, please DO NOT donate if you are not in a comfortable financial position to do so. I am very aware that times are tough for a lot of people these days and I wouldn't want to see anyone already struggling put themselves in a worse position by spending beyond their means.
Shut up and take my money!
Gladly. Donate to the project.
