The world of publishing is changing. Although there will continue to be a place for traditional publishing models for a while yet (if only because we still believe in the idea of the 'gatekeeper' -- an 'expert' who has the knowledge, and the power, to determine whether or not our work is 'worthy'), non-traditional models are opening up avenues from author to reader that prove to be better for both. When an author's work goes straight to the reader, it must flourish or falter on its own merits -- word-of-mouth becomes all.

Case in point: my friend Liam Watts has spent a great deal of time and ability on his novel, but has eschewed traditional publication methods in favor of e-publishing and self-publishing -- not because he would be unable to get his book published through the gatekeepers of the traditional publishing world, but because these new routes allow him more freedom and, ultimately, allow him to garner more revenue from his craft. Many authors have chosen these less-traveled paths. I'll be doing so myself soon (Support Your Local C. Patrick! ;-) ). But Liam has added a new curve to the backroad, though -- a Kickstarter financing plan. Kickstarter is a website that allows anyone to put their product plans online and offer opportunities for people to engage in micro-financing that project at a variety of levels and with a variety of 'rewards'.

Liam's Kickstarter is at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1696794878/singularity-deferred-a-novel

Check it out, and if you like the look of it, help out a struggling (possibly starving. :-) ) artist with his project. And while you're there, take a look at some of the other Kickstarter projects. There's no reason why the gatekeepers and the financiers and the venture capitalists should have all the fun ... or all the power.

And (shameless second plug for us), keep an eye out for my own books in the e-verse and for my and Angela's projects on Kickstarter. --cpn

Our first retreat of the season is coming up here this weekend and, well, honestly, we've been beset by marketing problems. How and where do you get the word out to the people who will most connect with the idea of what we're trying to accomplish with Creative Wanderer -- which is to really open people up to their own creative natures? Of course there's social networking. We've been hitting that pretty hard. There's also Craig's List, which is good, but still has an aura of the snake oil salesman to it, at least for me.

This early in the project we can't, unfortunately, afford to go the traditional advertising routes of tv and radio. Those avenues are iffy, at best, anyway in these days of waning interest in the traditional media and increased usage of online-ness. Though various Public Radio/TV outlets might be good venues to try.

Oh, and we've also got flyers to put up. Heh. Ahhh, good old staples and bulletin boards.

So we're plugging along, but if you have any ideas, we'd love to hear them. Drop us a comment, below. Cheers -- Patrick...

As CP and I are discovering, there is always SO much more to each task when starting a business than one might expect. This very site, for example, is a daily devotional for each of us, with time spent tweaking and moving text and various elements about for content and design clarity. 

The retreats themselves are a never ending wonderland of details, more of which surface every week. Will we serve refreshments? What area attractions do we want to promote at each event? How best to include local artists wherever we go? Will we eventually line up rooms for attendees so that we can offer an all inclusive package?

Then there are the many, many challenges and opportunities for marketing (online, on the street, promotions, indirect projects which direct flow of potential customers.) There are related tasks that we must learn to do ourselves or delegate to others in order to maintain sanity (logo design, poster building, portfolio expansion, prints prepared to make available at events.) Every day I give a few shouts of "Woo hoo!" and a few sighs of "uh-oh." 


It is a labor of love and learning, and we are more than happy to invest. "Why?" You might ask. It's simple: we look forward to sharing the outcome of this project with YOU, during what will soon be a series of incredible adventures in creativity and exploration. We plan to have a great time growing our circle of friends and adding pins to our map of places we'd love to visit, here in the states, and abroad. Now, which retreat are you planning to attend?