Day seven of the campaign and the crowdfunding competition is now drawing to a close, and it has been an intense week. The support from my friends, family, and the community has been astounding. In seven short days, you have all ordered 125 copies of Human Resources! That is crazy — Human Resources is now 50% of the way to guaranteed publication! What’s more, that has been enough to push the book into first place in The Launchpad Manuscript crowdfunding competition!
Unfortunately, second place has not been idle, and are slowly eroding my lead in the competition, so we can’t slack off now! If you haven’t yet ordered a copy, it would be great if you considered doing so. Other things that are incredibly helpful are all the posts people have been making on social media, and the fantastic reviews and recommendations people have been leaving on Inkshares. Please keep it up!

Judges Top 50

Just today the The Tracking Board announced the second round finalists from the formal judges stream — the Top 50. Guess what? That’s right, Human Resources made the cut!

What happens if Human Resources doesn’t win the crowdfunding competition?

Well, that’s a little defeatist, but I’ll answer the question. If we don’t win the crowdfunding competition (but with all of you helping I’m sure we can do it), the story is not over. There will still be three other ways Human Resources could be published:

1. The regular crowdfunding campaign will continue beyond the competition — if we gather 250 pre-orders, the book will be published under the “Quill” imprint. If we gather 750 pre-orders, the book will be given the “full-ride” Inkshares treatment. I have an explanation of the difference between Quill and full Inkshares publishing later in this post.
2. Separate to the crowdfunding competition, the professional judging process continues. Human Resources is still in with a chance of being picked up as a result of this process fingers crossed.
3. Wildcard prizes. Scott Free and Energy Entertainment have guaranteed to each pick up at least one project / writer. They can select these from any of the finalists, so independent of the first two options, this could also happen.

What happens when the campaign is successful?

A much better question — I like the positive attitude. So many people have jumped up to support me, and I can’t describe what that means to me, but many of them will not be familiar with the Inkshares model.
Right now, Human Resources is a draft. If the campaign is successful, the novel must go through the publishing journey. What does that mean?

1. The manuscript needs to be finished. I have a first draft, and am approximately (as of the time of this post) 70% of the way through a major rewrite. I need to finish this before I can hand it in for publication. Rest assured I am working on arrangements to ensure I can dedicate the time necessary to complete this quickly. I would anticipate the re-write will be complete early in the New Year.
2. Editing. Inkshares will need to assign me one or more editors (depending on the level of publishing — see below). I will turn in my manuscript to them and then we will collaborate on the polishing of the novel until it is ready for production.
3. Design. The Inkshares team will take the manuscript and format it into a beautiful book for you. At this point, you will likely get access to electronic copies of the book.
4. Printing and Shipping. Inkshares will print the physical books, I’ll sign them, and then they will be shipped to you!

The reality is, the publication process takes time. There are a lot of factors in how much time it will take, so right now I can’t give you a date for when you will receive your books. However, once publication is confirmed, the first thing Inkshares does with its authors is to collaborate on a publication plan and schedule. Throughout the entire process, I’ll keep everyone informed on where we are at, what is planned, and what our expected timeframes are.

What is the difference between Quill and Inkshares imprints?

Inkshares offer two different tiers of publication; Quill, and Inkshares. Quill can also be considered “publishing light.”
Books that attract at least 250 pre-orders qualify for Quill. These books receive a copy edit, are published on your major online stores, and physical copies are printed on demand. The books are available for bookstores to order wholesale, but aren’t actively marketed to bookstores. With Quill, the author is responsible for providing the cover art for the book.
Books that attract at least 750 pre-orders qualify for the full Inkshares service. These books receive multiple layers of editing, from developmental edits (which look at the overall story, character development, and plot holes) through to copy edits seeking spelling and grammatical errors. Inkshares also provides professional designers to create the cover and fully tailor the “interior design” of the book. Finally, the Inkshares marketing team gets author recommendations and markets the book to bookstores, arranges signing events, etc. These books go into mass production, rather than being print on demand.
Inkshares have more detail on their business model here.