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Post by Teskas on Jul 17, 2008 10:02:13 GMT -5
Not really suitable for adults when you get down to it. My own view is that vulgarity is the enemy of creativity. But yes, very good for its creator's intent.
The big thing with this Internet upload is that other creative people are being frustrated by the behemoths of the arts, and the Internet may be the only way forward.
CSF is caught between the rock of traditional Christian publishing and the hard place of secular SF publishing.
Joss Whedon is, in a secular context, facing something similar. In his case, the Hollywood system can shut down avenues of work for writers, actors, musicians, production designers, et cetera, instead of expanding it. He's trying to use the Internet to do something about it.
We are at the beginning of a revolution in the arts. I just hope those interests vested in the status quo don't step in and insist on regulating the Internet, and prevent these new avenues from taking off.
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Post by rwley on Jul 17, 2008 12:12:25 GMT -5
Sort of an "if you aren't going to write for us, you're not going to write for anybody" scenario?I pray not, for all our sakes.
RWL
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Post by torainfor on Jul 17, 2008 13:51:36 GMT -5
Well, as long as there are "Us's" like MLP, we'll probably do all right.
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Post by rwley on Jul 17, 2008 14:22:35 GMT -5
Amen.
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Post by Teskas on Jul 17, 2008 14:34:07 GMT -5
This is a newish Internet company that allows people to watch and show films online without charge. If as a result of watching the film someone purchases the DVD, the "distributor" earns a small commission. snagfilms.com/films/But the big deal about this is that people are sampling online. Every DVD I have ever bought was as a result of seeing the film somewhere else--in the cinema, online, or on TV. The Internet itself has been a marketing tool. This takes it one step further. The Internet becomes the showcase of the product and then the shelf the customer selects the DVD from. I think this is the direction Joss Whelon may be trying to take. It is certainly a way forward for the visual arts, just as MLP is for the written word. The distribution problems and the control of distribution are freed up. One of the biggest obvious beneficiaries will be Christian film makers, who have great stories to tell, but no Hollywood-style power base of finance and clout from which to tell them.
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Post by mongoose on Jul 17, 2008 15:47:08 GMT -5
simple application: I watched the videos and enjoyed them. I wanted to show them to my wife, but our internet connection is such that the video constantly starts and stops, about every second or every other second. So I bought the thing on iTunes for two dollars.
A friend has a misty Edwards CD. I copy it. I like her music, so I go to iTunes and buy all the Misty Edwards music I think I'll enjoy. But I never purchase media without knowing what I'm getting.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Jul 17, 2008 15:55:48 GMT -5
Another application of this to MLP is that I'm trying an experiment with one of the launch novels, Summa Elvetica.
The author wanted to try this, and I was game.
He'll be offering the entire novel for free download on his site. The theory is that when people get hooked by what they've read on their screen they'll say, "Man, I've got to have this for real," and will order a printed copy of it.
We'll see!
Jeff
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Post by torainfor on Jul 17, 2008 16:02:59 GMT -5
I could see that. I don't like to buy books I'm not sure about (the library's been great to me lately), but I wouldn't want to read an entire book off my computer screen.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Jul 24, 2008 12:02:54 GMT -5
A no-news-is-good-news update from LightningSource. I asked my rep about Amazon's threats regarding BookSurge and rival POD companies. Here is her reply:
No changes, Amazon is placing orders with us daily/weekly. They are still one of our distribution partners, and continue to list our titles on their website as we put out the datafeed weekly. So far so good, nothing has changed from this end.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Jul 25, 2008 14:29:43 GMT -5
Another reason why my Grand Prize is so cool: www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391442,00.html. It's an opening day recap of this year's Comic-CON. My Grand Prize for the MLP launch is a trip for two to next year's Comic-CON. Jeff
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Sept 17, 2008 7:36:23 GMT -5
Please be in prayer for me during these last days in the run-up to Launch Day.
Things are progressing well but I still have some major hurdles that I need to see God get us over.
There were some obstacles in the path that would've been devastating, but God has cleared the way there. Still others remain.
Right now my biggest concern is that the whole online catalogue / shopping cart / credit card authorization system isn't working yet. I've been working on it solid since late August, and it's still not working.
It's a more complex integration than I thought it was going to be. Already there are seven companies involved at some level--and that's not even using creative counting to sound impressive (like adding ISPs, Microsoft, etc.).
Every time we get one obstacle cleared and get one more step into the transaction, a new problem arises.
But this whole endeavor is moot if people can't purchase my products. Please pray--especially since I'm going out of town for 5 days now for the ACFW conference.
Also, most of my time is being spent on MLP, which means some of my freelance editing projects are not getting done, which means some of my paychecks aren't coming in, which means more stress at home...
God is in charge of all this. I have no doubt. It's going to work out according to His plan. Right now I'm so focused on making it work at all that I don't have time to wring my hands and wonder if sales will soar or tank. That's probably a good thing!
I may be asking you guys to help me test out the shopping cart system in the Last Days of September.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
Jeff
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Sept 22, 2008 9:40:58 GMT -5
Update. Praise God, the shopping cart is working! Carl Nasal, the ACFW webmaster, spent 2 grueling hours with me at the ACFW conference trying to figure out what was going wrong. He discovered it by "accident." Long story, but the short of it is that he had changed an e-mail address from mine to his to test something. When he was changing it back it serendipitously occurred to him that the system was asking not just for any ol' e-mail address for MLP (as the instructions indicated) but for my PayPal account e-mail address. GAH! Changed it, and boom: instant success. Carl Nasal rules! Give his services site a gander: www.camna.com. And of course God rules even more for dropping the notion into Carl's head--the key thought that enabled everything. There are some other difficulties still left to iron out. For instance, PayPal is currently charging sales tax to everyone, but only Colorado residents are supposed to have that. I've got PayPal on it, but I'd appreciate continued prayers about it. If you're interested in helping me test out the shopping cart, drop me a note and I'll send you the link. Don't worry, I'll refund your purchases right away. Jeff
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Post by pixydust on Sept 22, 2008 15:41:59 GMT -5
Wow, glad you got that worked out!
And don't forget about the blog tour. I'm know that will help with the buzz! We'll just pray God fixes the paypal thing.
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Post by Jeff Gerke on Sept 23, 2008 7:35:16 GMT -5
Thanks, Rachel.
The mystery tax has now been fixed, but two new problems have arisen. My e-book products are now mysteriously priced a few cents higher than the prices I've set. Why? Also, PayPal isn't assessing ANY sales tax. I'm required by law to pay sales tax on products sold in my state (Colorado), my county, and my city, so I need that part to work--because I'm certainly going to have to pay it!
It does feel like things are getting closer to being ready, however. Which is very nice, considering that this thing goes live a week from tomorrow!
Jeff
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Post by rwley on Sept 23, 2008 10:31:34 GMT -5
If we've already signed up at MLP for the drawings, do we still have to buy something? I want to, but I really don't know if the budget will expand right now. The belt is aobut as tight as it can get.
RWL
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