I don't normally post on this site, even though I am a member, but after you did that shitload of work to help me get my HTF submission through your portal at a point where I was ready to smash a computer, I need to say something.
Your commitment is unwavering. And if you are looking far enough down the line, it will be your legacy, regardless of whether it turns a profit or not. And if that is what you care about, then that's all that matters.
My historical novella '1176' did okay on KDP, and at one point was at 4.3 stars, before settling to 4. But it was only selling when I was paying Amazon hundreds (in CAD) to make sure people saw it. And I am writing other stories too, hoping to get traditionally published in one of the magazines or e-zines out there. Hopefully, I'm at least moderately successful, and can end up writing Byzantine Empire historical fiction, which would be my literary legacy, as well as a series of stories set in the Warhammer 40,00 universe.
The reason I am going on like this is that if I have any success, I will have to, in my will, appoint a literary executor, to decide on advertising, etc., in order for my work to keep on generating money for my son.
You have written and published four books of your own, never mind all your other activities. You will have to do the same thing. Probably also with your company, because it WILL grow, because of the amount of WORK you put into it.
Maybe don't try to go too big right away, if you are sure that you are at an at least break-even point with the first one. That will guarantee you the ability to do another one, with more added to it.
But then again, who am I to say, having failed at a couple of businesses?
Until about 2010 (?) and for almost 50 years, the Cape Cod Writers Conference was held there. A group of us were "groupies" to what was a magical experience. No hyperbole. Writers, agents, editors, and the general public mingled for a life-long generative experience.
The new folks who took over in the 2010 block bemoaned the lack of AC and sketchy Wifi. To my mind, those are tools one could find anywhere. What one couldn't find anywhere were the connections and inspiration that happened organically.
Still, they moved the conference to a cookie-cutter hotel site. The conference is now just a weekend. Some of the writers who continued to go there reported back that it was never the same. Setting mattered.
The site now has AC and decent Wifi, though in a thunderstorm, if you're in an outer cottage (like mine) you may find yourself asking Joel to come on over to reset the router. That's just Cape Cod.
A small group of us have continued through the years to hold a "Faux Conference" there -- up until recently every mid-August. With climate change, we're shifting to mid-September now.
The summer the debate was on, the then-conference organizer Jackie Loring sat with us and observed that, should the conference move, people would never have the opportunity we all had had, that they would never know what they had missed.
To me, it looks like what you want to build is the kind of writers' community that is sorely needed.
Admire your dedication, Colin. This is an eye-opening post. For those who don't have benefactors, patrons, or grants, it's an ongoing struggle and debate with the self. Do you have an idea of how many virtuals signed on for the HNSA conference?
I don't normally post on this site, even though I am a member, but after you did that shitload of work to help me get my HTF submission through your portal at a point where I was ready to smash a computer, I need to say something.
Your commitment is unwavering. And if you are looking far enough down the line, it will be your legacy, regardless of whether it turns a profit or not. And if that is what you care about, then that's all that matters.
My historical novella '1176' did okay on KDP, and at one point was at 4.3 stars, before settling to 4. But it was only selling when I was paying Amazon hundreds (in CAD) to make sure people saw it. And I am writing other stories too, hoping to get traditionally published in one of the magazines or e-zines out there. Hopefully, I'm at least moderately successful, and can end up writing Byzantine Empire historical fiction, which would be my literary legacy, as well as a series of stories set in the Warhammer 40,00 universe.
The reason I am going on like this is that if I have any success, I will have to, in my will, appoint a literary executor, to decide on advertising, etc., in order for my work to keep on generating money for my son.
You have written and published four books of your own, never mind all your other activities. You will have to do the same thing. Probably also with your company, because it WILL grow, because of the amount of WORK you put into it.
Maybe don't try to go too big right away, if you are sure that you are at an at least break-even point with the first one. That will guarantee you the ability to do another one, with more added to it.
But then again, who am I to say, having failed at a couple of businesses?
I wish you the best.
Thank you so much, Stephen! I appreciate that.
Just to stick my nose in where it might not belong, here's another venue: https://www.uccr.org/craigville
Until about 2010 (?) and for almost 50 years, the Cape Cod Writers Conference was held there. A group of us were "groupies" to what was a magical experience. No hyperbole. Writers, agents, editors, and the general public mingled for a life-long generative experience.
The new folks who took over in the 2010 block bemoaned the lack of AC and sketchy Wifi. To my mind, those are tools one could find anywhere. What one couldn't find anywhere were the connections and inspiration that happened organically.
Still, they moved the conference to a cookie-cutter hotel site. The conference is now just a weekend. Some of the writers who continued to go there reported back that it was never the same. Setting mattered.
The site now has AC and decent Wifi, though in a thunderstorm, if you're in an outer cottage (like mine) you may find yourself asking Joel to come on over to reset the router. That's just Cape Cod.
A small group of us have continued through the years to hold a "Faux Conference" there -- up until recently every mid-August. With climate change, we're shifting to mid-September now.
The summer the debate was on, the then-conference organizer Jackie Loring sat with us and observed that, should the conference move, people would never have the opportunity we all had had, that they would never know what they had missed.
To me, it looks like what you want to build is the kind of writers' community that is sorely needed.
Admire your dedication, Colin. This is an eye-opening post. For those who don't have benefactors, patrons, or grants, it's an ongoing struggle and debate with the self. Do you have an idea of how many virtuals signed on for the HNSA conference?
Thanks, Ann. Yes, I have some idea of the numbers from HNSNA. I'll also be conducting some surveys before I commit to anything.