Alex Claw

So, I was listening to the Dragon Page podcast today and they were talking with Tracy Hickman, of fantasy novel fame. The conversation was about his new book Song of the Dragon (the first book in the Annals of Drakis trilogy) and after a while it turned to Hickman and the others talking about the state of publishing and the experiment that Hickman is running.

Tracy and Laura Hickman have set up a subscription based website called Dragon’s Bard where for a price one can subscribe to the novel they are writing. A chapter is updated once a week and a community is formed around it, a forum where one can discuss the book and interact with the authors. Once the novel is finished, each person who has subscribed will get an individually numbered hardback novel sent to them.

It’s an interesting concept and one I hope they have success in, but I see a lot of hurdles in the distance.

First, the price, at $12.50 a month (USD) that’s not a massivley steep price to pay, but that’s $12.50 a month for five months (five months being their subscription ‘window’), which comes to $62.50 for a hardcover book. Sure it’s numbered and autographed and designed to be a collector’s item for the fan, but that’s still a lot of money.

Second, their setup seems more along the lines of micro payments, a failed experiment that was tried a few years back when people were trying to figure out a way to make money off web content (mostly newspapers and the like). If one looks at their subscription plans, a lot of it comes down to XX amount for a month, XX for five months, or if you want you can pay XX for a chapter in audio format.

Even if they price it low, people are far more willing to buy a complete set rather than bits and pieces of a set. $20.00 for a whole audiobook or novel rather than $12.50 a month for four chapters or $15.00 a month in audio format.

Third, I’m thinking only the hardcore fans of Hickman are going to be into this, versus the everyday, I’m looking for a bit of something to read, kind of person.  They’re banking on those hardcore fans to pony up the cash to allow them to keep writing.  I suppose having a career that spans over 25 years allows you to build up a pretty large fanbase.  Seeing as they are professional writers and do get paid for their work, they’re going to need to have a lot of people signing up to see a profit in all the work they’ve put into the site.

For up and coming writers, I doubt they would ever be able to pull it off. Someone who is a no name and has yet to prove what they can do, it’s a big gamble money wise.

Fourth, one of their main draws is for the buying the subscription to their book is that it gives the reader a sort of closer view to the writing craft and allows them to ‘interact’ with the writers. Providing a forum and other goodies to the subscriber to play with.

I would think that any good artist or writer would put fan interaction at the top of their list. Especially in this day and age, where blogs, forums, and emailing are becoming a large aspect of the craft.  I’m sure they’re not going to shut off all contact with non paying fans of their works, but from a quick look see at their website it gives one the sense of: “If you pay us, then we’ll interact with you”.

I’ve enjoyed the works of Tracy Hickman and I do wish him success on the experiment.  Maybe I’m wrong on all accounts, perhaps Hickman does have a large enough hardcore fan base to shell out the cash for the subscription, maybe he already has great interaction with the fans of his work and the subscription wall he’s setup isn’t going to hurt him.

I think the webcomics business model has corrupted me and anything that sets up a subscription wall turns me off of it.  Unless you’re waving Team Hickman banners and buying two copies of the books he writes, you’ll probably not be interested in subscribing to the site.

The ball of fire in the sky burns everything in its wake, making air ripple and the earth wither.

It’s summer time here in the zombie infested lands of Tempe, ten years of this and I still haven’t gotten used to it. I suppose during the six months of almost decent weather sort of blinds a fellow into thinking that such weather will continue, but alas the mind is a foolish critter and makes up fanciful delusions that have no resemblance to reality.

Hell, even the walking dead know not to come out in the middle of the day.

These are the times when I think we should adopt some cultural traditions from our Latin neighbors. A fine little siesta is needed when the sun roars overhead, bathing everything in that sepia colored overwhelming heatyness.

Siestas are always needed, that post large intake of yumminess downtime to digest and recharge. Lately, things have been on the much in the way of consumption side of things. Books, articles, a lot of reading and writing has been accomplished over the last week, the downside being that not much drawing was done.

But rest assured, things will continue onward as they have before. The summertime seems to be a time of wandering off into imagination land and bringing back loot from all the pillaging of it.

There are two additional projects forming in my mind, the idea cells are multiplying and they’re at the alien looking fetus stage. Not quite identifiable as a critter, but looking at it you can tell it’s alive. I think they’ll need another six months of subconscious gestation and we’ll see how they fare.

The problem with ideas is that, you tend to have far too many of them and they aren’t always going to work out. Especially when you’re in a dry spell of ideas in a current work, they come at you with wild abandon. These ideas have done that and they’re both a welcome and a hindrance.

Currently they’re being titled as Project Gods and Project Power.

There was also a breakthrough in Project Whisky, which has been plaguing me for weeks as how to get it done, but I think I might have managed to find a solution to the problem. So, there’s a relief.

Project Zed is being punched into wakefulness.

And everything else is beginning to slowly congeal back into semblance of order

Well, the siesta is over and it’s time to throw myself back into the fray, teeth bared and claws extended.  The work is never ending, but it ending would be the horrible part.

Rock on, sunshine kids, and do stuff.