Comments on: Would you buy a book before it’s written?

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:42:48 +0000

I’m finding lately that the more I know about an author’s process as she’s writing a book, generally fiction, the less I’m interested in reading it. That’s one big reason why I’ve been unfollowing some writers on Twitter. When they start discussing details of the story, or how a character did this, or most especially when they quote from the text, it drives me batty. I’d much rather be surprised and delighted by a book once I have the finished product in my hands. Knowing too much of what happens during the process can ruin the book for me.

I may be in the minority, as some people relish every one of those things I mentioned. So I see this exactly as you said: something that works well for some projects but not others. I’d say nonfiction is better suited for it.

By: Amy Armstrong

Amy Armstrong — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:25:46 +0000

I’m too poor to contribute to crowd funding, but would happily accept contributions 😀 (Just kidding.)

By: Kristin Laughtin

Kristin Laughtin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:55:37 +0000

It’s interesting and I’m sure there are certain personality types that would be very enthusiastic about this idea, but I’m not one of them. I want the book completed, and then I want to dive into any extra stuff (by or about the author) after the fact. And if I really like the story, I’ll get too impatient waiting for it to be finished!

By: Diane Henders

Diane Henders — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:00:37 +0000

It’ll be fascinating to see how Unbound pans out in the end. I could see it working well for non-fiction. As long as the writer has sufficient expertise, it would seem reasonable to expect a successful outcome.

I think it might be harder to find support for fiction projects, because of the diversity of writing styles. If I’m not sure that I’ll like the book, I don’t think I’d pay money and commit to having my name printed in it. For fiction, I prefer to support the author after the fact, by buying books I like.

By: Vanessa Robinson

Vanessa Robinson — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:19:10 +0000

I have funded other mediums like this such as clothing, figures, and the second Firefly movie. While it would be interesting to keep up with my favorite authors this way, I would actually be more interested in doing this for newer writers with interesting ideas trying to break into the market. As a member of a writers group, I know how creating a system of support and creative input can get people interested in stories that they would otherwise never read so it would have the capability of widening the potential audience. Of course, they would have to be decent writers to start of with, but providing a mix of new writers and established writers in this manner could make an interesting balance to draw a wide audience in.