So I announced THIS on Monday. Have a read if you haven’t already.

All set? Cool.

Before I put out the announcement I had a few authorial and writing pro friends take a look at my proposal. (Thank you authorial and writing pro friends!) Everyone had a few reservations and clarifications, but otherwise there has been overwhelming support and enthusiasm from my writing peers. Huzzah! Of course, everyone is watching this to see what happens. It will be interesting to see if it works or if it flails.

Since announcing my Next Way To Publish I have had great feedback from my fans and readers. Not a ton of feedback, but enough to know I may be on the right path here. Thank you to everyone that has reached out with their two cents. Got two cents?  Then comment away below! Only have one cent? Not my problem, slacker. Get a freaking job!

So this Friday I will put the list of novel pitches up. They shall be glorious! GLORIOUS, I SAY! Be sure to stay tuned so you can have a looksee at the ten choices I have come up with. Yes, there are ten. Many of the writers, and some of the readers, that have offered feedback have been worried that I am offering too much choice. And that is a good point.

The prevailing theory is that too much choice will turn off fans. Too much choice and no one will want to make any choice at all. This could have some merit, but I come from a sales background and a restaurant background. Both of those industries are all about having MORE choices for customers. The theory there is that if you offer everything but the kitchen sink then the customer will go find the kitchen sink somewhere else.

I don’t really agree or disagree with either theory.

What I agree with is that I have ten novels I want to write and I cannot pick. (THE GLORIOUSNESS IS TOO MUCH FOR MY FEEBLE WRITER MIND!) The list I post on Friday is not a list of three novels I want to write and seven throwaways. I actually narrowed it down from more than those ten! Yikes, I say! I have notes on all ten of these novels, and many of them have opening sections written or sketched out. I would be happy to write any of the ten. Now, some are more involved than others. Some will take some extra homework on my part to make totally kick-ass. But that is to be expected. Regardless of which novel is picked it will be a novel I am fully invested in to write.

Something I don’t really talk about in the post is what happens if the novel chosen is part of a series. Will the second novel be up in the next round? Easy answer: no. If the novel chosen is the first in a series then that tells me that the series will be successful on its own. I don’t need to worry about offering the second in the series in the next round of novel choosingness. I’ll add the second novel to my list of Glorious Things To Write Because Of The Gloriousness. It’s a real list. Trust me.

So, there is that part.

The other part is what if two novels are really close, almost splitting my fan base down the middle. You know, like the Blue and the Grey. The Hatfields and McCoys. Capulets and Montagues. Mounds and Almond Joy. My butt. (Get it? My butt is split down the… OK. Sorry.) Will fans be put off if the one they really want is thrown back onto the slush pile of novel pitches? Good, damn question! I’m hoping that won’t happen, but it could. And we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Because, and this is really what this post is about, the entire point of my new process (which you can read about here) is for everyone to have fun. Whether it’s the readers/fans that vote, or bystanders that get to laugh and point at my folly, or, as it will really happen, BASK IN MY GLORIOUSNESS, or just my little, ol’ self, I want this to be fun. I want everyone to at least get a kick out of this process. To enjoy reading and talking about the pitches. To enjoy voting and seeing which ones become the top three. To enjoy getting others to vote, and when the time comes, to pitch in and fund the novel voted for. To do a shot every time I link to the original post here. DRINK!

I want us all to have a good time. I sure plan to.

There will be more posts, random thoughts, updates, podcast posts (yes, folks, I will record the pitches and probably some of the updates and posts I write here in STEREO), and general merriness. (By merriness I mean drunkenness. But you figured that out. DRINK! Don’t argue. DRINK! I get to change the rules of the drinking game anytime I want. MY POST!)

Because, if it does fail, and I don’t get the novel funded, then at the very, very least we all had a good time trying.

And if you aren’t having a good time then what’s the point, right?

Well, other than to BASK IN MY GLORIOUSNESS!

Cheers.

Oh, and read this.

DRINK!