Thank you everyone who has subscribed so far.
Thank you to everyone who has subscribed so far. Your contribution naturally goes well beyond just popping your email in a box and reading my work. The conversations we have had, the critique and feedback I have enjoyed, the palpable sense of community that is evident here in Fiction Substack... I am grateful for all of it!
This, of course, has been no walk in the park…
When you are balancing a full-time job and other time commitments, it is easy to let your daydreams go unwritten. To let your aspirations remain tucked in the desk drawer, out of sight and out of mind. I am determined to not let that happen.
While I have been approaching this 100-subscriber milestone, I have been quietly observing the struggles of everyday indie authors and aspiring writers, myself included. The harsh reality of indie publishing is that getting a book professionally edited, wrapped in custom art, formatted, and sent to the printers costs thousands of pounds upfront. It takes gumption and a lot of capital to pour into your dreams.
Traditional publishing, meanwhile, locks readers out until the book is on a shelf and is notoriously difficult to breach. Standard Kickstarters force creators into a terrifying 30-day ticking clock with no guarantee of success.
What if there is another way?
Joining the Expedition
I am inviting you to help me build a universe.
The Strings of Us serial will remain free to read here on Substack. This is my ‘Lighthouse’ project and it will always guide you to the finished shores of the story regardless of your involvement.
However, today I am officially opening the Cartographers Guild. This is an invitation for the most dedicated readers who want to help fund and develop the book’s creation in real-time.
What do Guild Members get right now? Aside from helping fund the book, members of the Cartographers Guild will receive exclusive access to:
High-res maps and deep-lore drops about the universe.
Character profiles and concept art.
Raw, unedited “work in progress” updates (the messy behind-the-scenes).
The ability to vote on future story elements and stretch goals.
How It Works (The Leaderboard)
I am opening paid Substack subscriptions, as well as a Ko-fi page, so that if you feel like supporting the progress of the interstellar ship Chrysaora, you can do so on a monthly basis or as a one-off tip.
Here is where it gets fun. We are gamifying the launch. For every contribution, there will be an automatic conversion into ‘Credits’ applied to a public Leaderboard, updated in real-time.
(Every £1 contributed via subscription or Ko-fi tip = 10 Credits). 👇
The Community Pot:
When The Strings of Us officially launches, a percentage of the initial net profits will be placed into a Community Pot. This pot will be distributed to all the Leaderboard point-holders as a massive ‘thank you.’
To be completely clear: Treasury Points have no real-world cash value, and contributing is not a financial investment, stock, or equity purchase. This is a crowdfunded passion project, and the Community Pot is simply a discretionary, post-launch ‘thank you’ gift to reward the people who helped me build this rabbit-filled universe.
What does your support lead to?
I will be running this project very much like a Kickstarter, but without a stressful time-frame. This book is going to take time to perfect, so instead of promising everything up-front, we will work towards goals that unlock one by one as the treasury increases.
Destination 1: The Professional Polish (£2,500) This goal is all about getting the basics right. When we finish this book, we need input from professionals: a developmental editor to point out where the story is going wrong, a copy editor to make sure it reads perfectly, and formatting to ensure that when it hits a physical page or your Kindle screen, it looks stunning.
Destination 2: The Horizon... I have already planned a number of stretch goals beyond this that range from art, add-ons, digital exclusives, and upgrades to the physical book itself. When we smash Destination 1, we will vote together as Cartographers to define which direction we fund next.
So what is the next step?
Your Next Step
Choose your path and help us launch the Chrysaora.
Path 1: Join the Cartographers Guild (Fund the Launch) If you want to earn Credits, climb the Leaderboard, and unlock the behind-the-scenes lore, you can join the Guild in two ways:
The One-Off Tip: Drop a tip in the Ko-fi Treasury to instantly get your name on the board.
The Subscription: Upgrade to a Paid Substack Subscription to steadily accumulate Credits every single month. And while you are here, for the first month this link below will give you a lifetime 20% off your subscription.
The link expires March 25th
Path 2: Ground Control (Free Support) If you aren’t in a place to contribute financially, you are still a vital part of this crew! You can help us reach our goals for free simply by hitting the “Like” button on this post, leaving a comment, or Restacking it to share the Strings of Us universe with your friends.
The Recruitment Bounty: Want to climb the Leaderboard without spending a penny? Use your unique referral link to invite your friends to the Chrysaora.
The Immediate Loot: If you bring in 3 friends, the ship’s computer automatically grants you 1 month of free access to the Cartographer’s Guild (our paid tier).
The Leaderboard Points: For every single friend that subscribes using your link, I will manually inject 50 Treasury Points into your Leaderboard score, updated weekly. Recruit your friends, fund the launch.
Just visit my leaderboard page here for your unique referral link.