Hello There,
Are you interested in getting your hands on my book before everyone else? In today’s mid-month update, I will tell you how and talk about something not directly related to my book, my new website. While the redesign is close to a year old at this point, I’m guessing many of you are unaware of the change. I’m only writing about it now because I’ve had lots of other news to share, and two, I wanted to make sure the site was working correctly before telling you about it.
Perhaps you have never had to redesign a website, well I can tell you it’s a lot of work and often extremely frustrating. So why bother? In my case, it was to make the job of publishing online more manageable. Previously, sending out updates like this meant navigating three different software applications, one for writing, another to post on my site, and a third to send emails. Each program worked a little differently, and as a result, I often had to spend time reformatting text before I could share it. While the work wasn’t too difficult, it was cumbersome and tedious.
My website now runs off of a new publishing platform called Ghost, which handles both postings to my website and sending out emails. On top of that, this new software directly integrates with my writing program, allowing me to upload my work without any formatting changes. All this to say, this new platform is making my life a whole lot easier, and it should allow me to publish more consistently going forward, which will become more important as I get closer to finishing the book.
One other reason I chose the Ghost platform is its ability to run a membership program. You may be familiar with, or have heard of, a site called Patreon that allows fans to support creatives through subscriptions. Well, Ghost allows me to run a Patreon-like service where you can become a contributing member and directly support my work.
In exchange for your monthly or yearly subscription, you will get early access to the book and behind-the-scenes bonus material. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing an early manuscript draft of the book with supporting members. Then, when the book is completed, members will get a digitally signed ebook copy. You will also get access to audio recordings, images, and other behind-the-scenes material that I used to write the book. You can think of this bonus material as the DVD extras for this project.
Your membership will help bring this book into the world by offsetting some of the production costs and will be used to pay for items such as the AI-powered grammar checking software I use or to order test prints. Full disclosure, this is a recurring monthly or yearly subscription and not a one-time pre-order. I would like to offer a non-subscription option, but Ghost currently does not support this functionality.
A fun aside: Over the Christmas break, I read a book about Charles Dickens' life, which provided some interesting detail about how he made a living. It turns out that his primary source of income was subscriptions from his novels, which he serialized in either a monthly or weekly format. In short, if subscriptions were good enough for Charles Dickens, they are good enough for me!
In closing, I’d like to give a shoutout to my friend and first supporting member Kyle! Thank you for taking the leap with me.
Whether you choose to become a supporting member or not, I just want you to know how much I appreciate your support. The fact that you take time to read these emails and respond with words of encouragement means the world to me.
Sincerely,
Nelson/Roberto
I had big plans for this fall, but unfortunately, I've been dealing with some minor health issues. It's nothing serious, but I have decided to take a few months off from the newsletter and content updates to focus on my health.
I forgot to mention in my last update that I was going on vacation in August. As a result, I didn’t have time to write a proper update this month. The newsletter will return in three weeks with another Beyond the Book post.
Over the past month, I queried three literary agents and took the most significant break from the book since I started the project in January 2016. Even though taking a break feels a little weird, it is nice to slow down and give the story (and myself) space to breathe.