The Tao of Blogging, Part 8
The finish line — thank you, one and all!
Once again this week, we got some great quotes from some more Medium heavyweights, professional published writers who agreed to join our efforts. Special thanks this week go to Luke Trayser, Rachel Thompson, Thaddeus Howze and Hassan S. Ali!
So, one marathon has ended. We reached the goal of 52 wonderful quotes. We’ve got what I hope is a great book full of laughter, a few tears, and some thought provoking alternative perspectives. The next marathon begins, which is selling a sh*t ton of these things in various forms so we can raise a bunch of money for literacy projects. First, let’s start with the final quotes from the book. Then we’ll get into all the business particulars (all of which are optional).
From Luke Trayser, maybe… just maybe… double spacing after a period is why we can’t have nice things
Zero Sum Game
Don’t curse the donut with a bite taken out; somewhere in the world, someone in need rejoices to find life-saving nourishment. Consider instead the overcrowding you cause because you choose to hoard all that extra space.
From Rachel Thompson, Why do men want to change the world but can’t change a roll of toilet paper?
Rolls and Roles
He offers his life for country and wife; she fixes his uniform’s seam. She carries the baby, he never says maybe to 3 a.m. runs for ice cream. Big things… little things… things for which you laugh or scream. Ah, what a team… Ain’t love a dream?
From Zac Chapepa 💫, Every time I look in the mirror I see a different person
Reflections
Sometimes I see the child I once was. Sometimes, my mood changes my perception of who I am. And sometimes, I see people, past and present, who seem to be photobombing my morning shave. What is this, a mirror or an MMOG?
From Hassan S. Ali, Avoid standing directly under loose wrecking balls
Survival is Good
In this crazed, distracted age of social media, do the simple stuff: breathe; perform basic biological functions, and, as tempting as it is to text or look at Facebook or Twitter while 5000-lb objects are hurtling toward you, choose not to.
From Thaddeus Howze, Write on, you beautiful bastards, no matter what. Universes won’t create themselves.
Imagine
A single sentence sings an aria of angels, even if it is just once a day. A paragraph that paints the world with an economy of brilliance. And a story where each word houses within it, the potential of a universe. Another blank page awaits.
Okay, now on to business…
Additional book pages
I wrote this story of the book and naturally used quotes from other writers. Book guides definitions would indicate this is part Preface and part Introduction, so I guess we should settle for my favorite scientific fallback term (props to Notorious DCI):
Preface-Introduction Thingy
Our Contributors
My original intention was to have a spread celebrating our authors with donut-themed photos, which I mentioned in The Tao of Blogging part 6. I showed my picture and that of one author in The Tao of Blogging part 7. To date, we have exactly one other photo, from my ninja editor, JoJo Magno.
Since we’ve had such a stellar response (not surprising, since we’re talking about a bunch of introspective, self conscious writers), I guess it’s safe to say this idea is a no-go. But I would like to commend the two brave souls who took that courageous first step, like Neil Armstrong. One small step for an author, one giant leap for writer-kind. These are issues that are larger than any of us. And the one big question we must ask ourselves has to be “is that a cinnamon crumb AND a powdered sugar donut in this picture?”
Instead, it looks like we’re stuck with the one thing that should make everyone feel like I’ve betrayed you, a listicle:
Book Reviews
Here’s one more fun thing for anyone interested. Since this book will be published without the fanfare and scrutiny of a normal book, I thought it might be fun to create some fake quotes praising the book. I did something like that for The Grammar Games, but I thought it would be cool if some of our contibutors could don a fake identity and write two or three sentences about the book. If anyone is game, please send me your ideas. (Come on Ellie, Notorious, Hassan, Jennifer, Devon, Gutbloom, Thaddeus, et al, I know you could do this in your sleep. It might even be better that way!)
Publishing Options
Paperbacks for authors
Through http://www.ingramspark.com, you can purchase paperback copies for yourself and your friends for $4 per copy, plus shipping. If you buy a few and sell them, that’s up to you, but it would still be nice to make a donation to your favorite local literacy charity. In the last post, I listed some non-profits that use over 85% of the money they raise for programs. But you can choose whichever group you like. I will set up an account, and figure out how you can access it to get your copies.
Paperbacks for the Public
Amazon’s Create Space provides free services, like isbn numbers, if the on demand print books are sold on exclusively on their site. I will eventually set up an account there for the general public to buy the book. Unfortunately, those books need to sell for around $15 to make even a minimal profit.
E-books
I am learning how to create EPUB formatted books, which can be sold on Amazon, iTunes, and other digital book sellers. These distributor don’t require expensive isbn numbers. They do take a percentage of the sales, but the popularity and reach of these sites is huge. On Amazon, the majority of daily inspiration books sell between $.99 and $2.99, while funny quote books like this sell for between $2.99 and $4.99. Because it’s for charity, I would hope people would be willing to chip in the cost of a cup of coffee. If anyone with publishing experience has ideas on what price to set, please let me know.
FREE!
I hoped I got your attention. Each author will receive a free copy of the e-book.
More fun stuff
Each author may want to do other things with their artwork. Do you want to sell t-shirts, posters, or coffee mugs? Contact me to discuss exactly what you want to do. If you do want to create your own for-profit product, we’ll work out some arrangement. The only thing I would ask is that you donate to the photographer who is listed under your entry since their shot will form a large part of the design.
Finally, I want to give one last extra special shout out to the people that helped me scout out new writer quotes, helped with the editing and gave some much needed feedback a couple of times when things got really sticky (and no, “It ain’t what you think.”) Mille grazie to Denise Smith, Tremaine L. Loadholt, Gemma Kennedy, Sonny Bohanan, Alexainie and the OG widow and ninja editor JoJo Magno. It is amazing that we created a book in just six weeks.
Last note: one of our contributors, Rachel Thompson is a book marketer and master of social media, with 158K Twitter followers. If anyone needs help with marketing their book, or wants to learn about how it all works, she has a lot of resources at http://badredheadmedia.com.
Oh writers of Medium, you have shown your wisdom in one great quote and are poised to become part of a published collaborative book! Send me your questions or feedback in the comments below. If you’re shy, send me a private note, or email me here.
Thanks again to everyone!
