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We at aois21 publishing are committed to bringing Paul's book to market, but as an Independent Publisher, without the means of the top publishing houses, require additional support. As Paul himself is also not of great means, we turn to crowdfunding. We have spent the past two years chronicling Paul's work on the Publish Me! podcast to build an audience for its release. Now we are turning to you and that audience to help fund the important tasks of editing, cover design, and production of the first run.
Paul has poured his life into his story, and that has formed into a book of over 250,000 words. At aois21, we believe the story to be the most important thing, and that all stories should be shared for the good of all readers. When we first consulted with him in 2014 as he was pitching ideas, Publisher Keith F. Shovlin and Editor in Chief Corey Parker were both delighted with the outline of The Will of the Magi. The story that Paul was proposing was an interesting approach to fantasy, with a stronger role of the magic that supports it. Since then, Paul has not disappointed as we have reviewed passages in progress.
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The Will of the Magi is the story of Aiden, one born to fire, his father a peasant, his mother gone shortly after his birth. Born with the ability of the Magi, to channel and control one of the great elements: Fire. Born to a small, insignificant village, far away from the politics and realities of the kingdom he has been thrust into. His journey through this world will allow him, a man thought to be of no destiny, to have one greater than those of Kings and Magi. If only he can survive the perils of blood, flame, and magic.
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Our goal was set modestly at $1,600, though there are three key milestones within that goal:
- $500 for editing, Paul's book requires a developmental review and is at our highest price level due to its length. This editing will go beyond grammar and sentence structure, but will also provide a deep review of the plot and story structure, with advice and suggestions being made.
- $600 for cover design. Everyone judges a book by its cover, and especially so with fantasy works. Paul has chosen aois21 designer Rana Gainer to create an image that will adorn his work. Gainer will be creating an original artwork which will then be adapted for eBook, paperback, and hardcover design.
- $300 for production. We will be working with Lulu.com to create the print and hardcover copies of the book. The hope is to produce 100 paperback copies to start and 50 hardcover. With this cost coming upfront, any money available would be grateful. Many copies will need to be given away, either for perks, review, or to libraries, so that cost must be covered.
- $200 for advertising, taxes, and fees. Understanding that this campaign, the podcast, and our social media outreach can only go so far, we would need to commit at least a modest sum to advertising. If we go above and beyond our goal, this line item in addition to the production will be added. Any excess will also help cover the cost of the perks and the taxes and fees owed for this campaign.
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At this time we are not considering any sort of merchandise to support the book beyond the basic plan (posters, postcards, etc.). For that reason our perks serve as a preorder for the book:
- Shoutouts: Your name and gift will be spotlighted on the Publish Me! (monthly) and Literally This Week (weekly) podcasts. We will tweet our thanks from the @aois21 and @PublishPodcast twitter accounts. We will also share a post on the aois21 publishing and Publish Me! Podcast Facebook pages.
- the eBook: A fully optimized eReading experience. Formatted for all eReaders, either as a .MOBI, .ePUB, or .pdf file.
- the paperback: a perfect bound, paperback edition of the book.
- the hardcover: a perfect bound, hardcover edition with dust jacket.
- acknowledgement: Your name listed in the acknowledgements section on the verso of the title page.
- the print: the cover of a fantasy book typically is an original artwork that can stand on its own, and it will be the same for The Will of the Magi. Designer Rana Gainer is currently creating that cover art and you will be able to get a print of that work, made from the original digital file before the work is adapted for the paperback, hardcover, and eBook. This 8 by 10 matte finish print will fit in any collection or on any wall.
- Signature in blood: Using a glass tube quill, Paul will mix some of his own blood with a coagulating liquid so that his name will appear legibly on a hardcover edition of the book.
- the +: Pair your paperback or hardcover edition with an eBook copy and get it signed by the author, in ink.
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The book is written, so there is no worry that the author would not complete it. aois21 is prepared to publish it and is supplying editors, designers, layout artists, and marketers to complete the work. The issue is one of sales. The fantasy book genre has a rich following at the moment thanks to the success of the Harry Potter series and Game of Thrones.
It will be available on Amazon and through IngramSpark, as well as all the digital markets including our own aois21 market (market.aois21.com), We already have partnership deals with several independent bookstores and will reach out to more stores with this and other titles from our catalog.
We will attend Comicons and Renaissance Faires to reach out to our audience, in addition to traditional book events in stores, schools, and libraries. We will encourage reviewers to read the book and recommend it on Amazon and Goodreads. Any money devoted to advertising will go towards building a larger presence in the fantasy reading community.
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aois21 publishing, LLC is a marketing and publishing firm organized to help self-published authors market their stories and help others develop their ideas into the next bestseller. By fully leveraging cloud-based technology, social media, and existing online distribution markets, aois21 Creatives will find their work available worldwide and have a partner that believes in the power of the story and wants to help them tell it.