Short Summary
There’s no book-length treatment of the history of filk, the folk music of science fiction fandom. There should be. I’ve started writing one, with the working title Tomorrow’s Songs Today. It will cover the history of filk from the early SF conventions to today. If this campaign is successful, it will be available as a free e-book. It will be available by the end of 2014.
Helping me out will be the same team that supported me on my previous crowdfunded e-book, Files that Last. Terri Wells has agreed in principle to do copy editing, and Matt Leger to provide cover art.
I've been around filk since 1989. In that time, I've chaired two ConCertino filk conventions and am currently chairing a third, run filk programming for Boskone for about two decades, and been indicted inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2004. I've been an officer of MASSFILC continuously since 1991. A number of filk songbooks have been edited by me, including some for Worldcons.
Filk goes back long before my involvement in it, and I'll be spending lots of time talking with people who can fill in the earlier history, people whose names are legendary in filk.
This is a book which I'd love to see, and the best way I know to see it is to make it happen, with the support of filk and SF fandom.
What We Need & What You Get
You might ask why an e-book needs money. Isn't it just a matter of writing it and putting it up on the Web? Well, not if we want it to be good.
A book needs copy editing. Even the best writers need another pair of eyeballs to keep their blunders from getting into print. This is where Terri comes in, and it's time-consuming work, less fun than actually writing the book. She saved me from a lot of embarrassment in Files that Last.
Even a free book ought to look good, with a professional-looking cover. That's what I've asked Matt to provide. He does really good work.
The book will be available for free. There will probably be a payment-optional outlet for those who want to contribute, and there will be a limited hard-copy run, but essentially all the money I'll make from the book will be the income from this campaign.
What if the campaign falls short? There will still be something. A shorter book without cover art.
But let's not think of running short, let's think of stretch goals! If we can hit $3500, I'll bump Terri's role from copy editing to ongoing editorial review, working with me not just on whether I'm writing coherent sentences but on what I'm writing, telling me to do it over if it isn't good enough.
New stretch goals! As long as the campaign reaches its basic goal, I'll donate one signed and numbered print copy to Interfilk. At $2600, I'll donate a copy to the Cushing Library at Texas A&M, which has an active filk collection. At $2700, I'll make it two copies to Interfilk, and at $3000, three copies (plus the copy to Cushing in both cases). More than that would flood the auction market. All signed and numbered books, including perks, will be in "perfect" (paperback) binding with a color cover.
What do you get if you contribute? For $10 or more, you'll get listed in the book as a contributor. Higher contributions will get you a souvenir. And would you like me to put together your own songbook for you? I'll do that.
The Impact
In a way, this book is like Files that Last. It's an effort to make knowledge permanent. A free e-book can be passed on from computer to computer without wearing out or becoming inaccessible. You'll be able to give it to your grandchildren and let them know what crazy stuff you did at filk cons and where it came from. And you'll learn more about filk than you know now. At least I will, by the time I'm done! I've already put together what I think is the biggest list of past filk conventions ever compiled, and of course that will be in the book. (Did you know that the first filk con was called FilkCon? Eminently logical.)
I delivered Files that Last on time and expect to do the same with this.
Risks & Challenges
Any personal project carries some risk. There could be changes in my life that would make me fall behind schedule or even make the book impossible. If I find myself with other work that sucks up all my time and energy, the book will take longer. As long as I'm physically and mentally able to, I will produce the book, and there's no reason to believe I won't.
I'm the only person making that promise. I've got full confidence in my team members, but they could also run into issues forcing them to change their plans. If they do, I'll find the best help I can elsewhere.
Other Ways You Can Help
The key to making this campaign work is to make sure people know about it and want to support it. Whether you're in a position to contribute or not, you can let your friends know about it and post links to it. Please don't spam or post in inappropriate places, but any filk or fannish discussion channel that allows fundraising to be mentioned should be fine.
Let's get the word out and make the book happen!
Follow hashtag #tst2500 on Twitter.