7.6 KiB
Benefactor: A Short Mystery Novel by FarmerBob1
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Author: u/xamueljones My arch-enemy is entropy*
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Score: 16
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Created: 2015-09-09T16:18:31
Post:
Comments:
u/xamueljones [+6] My arch-enemy is entropy (a minute later)
I'm slightly confused why FarmerBob1 didn't post this link himself, but in the case where it's due to author modesty, I'm posting this.
If you ever wanted to give FarmerBob1 something back for his writing, this is your chance!
EDIT: For anyone who is curious, there are a number of differences between the Amazon version and the one FarmerBob1 posted online. The Amazon version has gone through a very thorough editing process and FarmerBob1 included several more details to flesh out the story and make it more engaging. The web version, I would have given 4/5 stars and the Amazon version 5/5 stars.
u/Farmerbob1 [+6] Level 1 author (35 minutes later)
I don't mind poking you guys about my free-to-read writing projects, but it seemed inappropriate for me to self-advertise for a commercial offering. I tend to be a little conservative when it comes to money-related topics. Thank you, Xamueljones.
u/traverseda [+5] With dread but cautious optimism (2 hours later)
I'm not a fan of amazon as a platform for books. They really like control, and include DRM and all that.
You should set up a gratipay or patreon account. Of the two, gratipay is a lot more grassroots and a lot less well managed, but it's my preference, vaguely.
u/Farmerbob1 [+2] Level 1 author (4 hours later)
Part of the issue here is that I have a bit of a mental hang-up about taking money from someone without giving them something tangible (tangible in a sense that they own a copy legally in this case.) I get really nervous when people just offer me money. I do understand that I am offering entertainment value, but my instincts in this case are not exactly rational.
Perhaps I should work on that.
u/PeridexisErrant [+5] put aside fear for courage, and death for life (9 hours later)
Part of the issue here is that I have a bit of a mental hang-up about taking money from someone without giving them something tangible (tangible in a sense that they own a copy legally in this case.)
Amazon is not a good choice then - all 'buyers' get is a license to read the DRM-encumbered copy until Amazon decides to withdraw that, which they may do at any time, for any reason, and without a refund.
I'd strongly encourage you to publish in open formats, and use a DRM-free store or something like Patreon to charge for it.
u/blazinghand [+3] Chaos Undivided (4 hours later)
I think patreon has an option where subscription fees are levied on a per chapter basis rather than a monthly basis. Mother of Learning does this I think. This works best for serials but you may also find it more satisfying.
u/Farmerbob1 [+1] Level 1 author (5 hours later)
Thank you! I will have to go look at Patreon again. If I'm serious about making a living as a writer eventually, and people like Patreon, then I suppose I need to learn to like Patreon.
u/blazinghand [+3] Chaos Undivided (2 hours later)
I understand your attitude, but would prefer to see links like this rather than not see links like this. I'm making this post explicitly because I would like to encourage authors who have written works to share them, even if they cost money to read. In this case, xamueljones happened to find it, but in the future I'd like not to have to rely solely on his (excellent) curation.
u/VanPeer [+6] The shard made me do it (7 hours later)
Well, if you insist... Flotsam is my short science fantasy. It's free and the preview shows the full story. The protagonist uses his eye for physics to escape a sticky situation, although I hesitate to call it rational fiction.
u/Farmerbob1 [+3] Level 1 author (3 hours later)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not shy. If you read my online serial fiction, you would certainly have seen my notes on those sites.
Those sites are mine. Reddit is definitely not mine, so I will not initiate self-promotion of commercial works here. Not unless I choose to buy ad time.
(I'm really picky about how I deal with money, perhaps more picky than I should be.)
u/blazinghand [+6] Chaos Undivided (4 hours later)
I understand your principles but for me Reddit is almost entirely a tool I use to find things I want to read, commercial OR non-commercial. I basically think of Reddit, particular r/rational, as a place I go to point me at things that have a much higher than likely chance of being interesting. Probably on some moral or principled level what you're doing is the right choice. Maybe only people other than the author should be posting links to commercial writing. It certainly might come off to some as gauche if you did post links to works that you charge money for. I think Eaglejarl might have gotten some crap when he made a commercial version of 2YE even though he still had the free version available for download for all of us who followed along.
That being said, my comment is meant to be a "show of force" to demonstrate that there is at least one (or more, if it gets upvotes) reader in the community who cares more about getting quality works than avoiding authors self-advertising on r/rational for things that cost money.
By making my comment, I create a counteroption to that guy who was like "thanks for not posting your commercial works" for people to upvote. That guy is reasonable and expressing a reasonable opinion, but I care a lot more about finding works over preventing self-promotion than he does, so I have a different opinion.
I hope that my comment gets many upvotes so authors feel more comfortable submitting content they think fits, but costs money. This way, my life is better because I will be able to more easily find things to read.
u/capsless [+2] despiser of hpmor (an hour later)
and thank you, for having that attitude :)
u/Farmerbob1 [+3] Level 1 author (4 hours later)
Xamueljones - could you change the description to a short story mystery instead of a short mystery novel?
u/alexanderwales [+3] Time flies like an arrow (4 hours later)
There's no way to change post titles after the post is live.
u/xamueljones [+2] My arch-enemy is entropy (6 hours later)
Er....sorry, but titles can't be edited once a post goes up. I did check my Amazon review to be sure that I didn't do something similar there.
u/blazinghand [+2] Chaos Undivided (4 hours later)
I enjoyed reading this! It's a pretty short read but was worth the 99 cents. Bear in mind that it's a kindle ebook so you'll need a computer, a tablet/phone with kindle app, or a kindle to read it. The prose was solid and I didn't notice any typos.
This is the second time I read this story, since I think I read a free version of it once. I liked the way each character was explained, and the last bit narrating the mystery's solution was satisfying.