Sponsor an SF Author

Due to lack of response,
(and medical problems, but mostly lack of response)
This project has been terminated.

If you were one of the few, the proud, the sponsors,
you'll get a print copy of the book when it's published.

Read the Book

Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet: A Fable of Lost Worlds

Part 11
(posted 19 August 2006)
(subscribers got it earlier)

Charles Dickens did it. So did Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. Steven King's done it. PBS and NPR do it all the time. And now it's my turn.

I'm Don Sakers, science fiction/fantasy writer, best known for my Scattered Worlds series. And I'm a participant in alternative publishing.

Alternative Publishing? What's That?

You're probably aware that the publishing world is in flux, and nowhere more than in the fields of science fiction & fantasy. (For some of my thoughts on this matter, see this essay.) To make a long and painful story short, the traditional model of publishing seems to be in a slow, inexorable process of collapse, and writers need to find new models and methods for making a living.

That's where Dickens, Franklin, and Twain come in. They all used what's called the subscription model of publishing. Readers could subscribe to a particular book; every week (or month) they received the next chapter, until the book was done. Only then would the book actually be published.

With suitable modifications for the Internet age, the subscription model can work. Especially when it's combined with the PBS/NPR "pledge break" model. Donations totalling about $100/week add up to the advance an average book would receive from a traditional publisher.

I'm indebted to Lawrence Watt-Evans for showing that it can be done.

How Does It Work?

I'm working the next Scattered Worlds novel, Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet. Every month, more often if I can, I'll post the next bit of the book on this page, and email it out to subscribers. Below are some options for making donations. As long as the donations keep coming, I'll keep posting and emailing. When the book is done, it will vanish from this page and reappear in book form from Speed-of-C Productions. Then on to the next title.

What Does My Donation Get Me?

Your donation goes to support a working writer. I'm not promising anything. Legally, this is a donation, and you are not guaranteed anything in return. I am not a non-profit enterprise, and your donations are not tax deductible.

That being clear, everyone who donates is a subscriber, and will get (via email) each new portion of Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet, usually a few days before it gets posted here. Those who donate a total of $20 or more, and keep me updated with your mailing address, will receive an autographed copy of the finished book. Those who donate more than a total of $100 will get an extra-special gift (of some sort), and anyone who donates $250 or more will get a special gift plus an autographed set of all the Scattered Worlds books.

(You don't have to donate the whole amount at once, it's your total donation that counts. $2 a month will get you the autographed book, and if you send $10 every two weeks you'll qualify for the autographed set and special gift.)

In addition, I'll email subscribers any short stories that I write in 2006. (They won't be posted, so you'll be getting something special.)

Names of all subscribers will be listed in the back of the book, with catchy titles for those who donate more.

Your subscription will last until Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet is done. After that, I'll clear the decks and open the subscription list for the next title.

Here's a chart that shows the options:

Total Donation	You Receive
below $20	Satisfaction of supporting an sf writer Emails of each new section of the book Bonus emails of any new short stories Your name listed in published book as "Subscriber"
$20 - $99	Satisfaction of supporting an sf writer Emails of each new section of the book Bonus emails of any new short stories Autographed copy of the published book Your name listed in published book as "Sponsor"
$100 - $249	Satisfaction of supporting an sf writer Emails of each new section of the book Bonus emails of any new short stories Autographed copy of the published book Special gift Your name listed in published book as "Patron"
$250 or over	Satisfaction of supporting an sf writer Emails of each new section of the book Bonus emails of any new short stories Autographed copy of the published book Special gift Autographed set of Scattered Worlds books Your name listed in published book as "Benefactor"

How Do I Donate?

There are two ways to donate. The fast, easy one is to use PayPal by clicking the button below:

Include your streetmail address if you want a book:
Then click the button:

The slower, more complicated way is to send a check or money order, payable to "Don Sakers," to:

Don Sakers
Meerkat Meade
811 Camp Meade Road
Linthicum, MD 21090-3030

Remember to give me your email and streetmail addresses.

I Can Read It Here For Free, Why Should I Pay?

Yes, you can read the book here for free, just the way you can watch PBS or listen to NPR without paying. But what you're reading here is first draft, along with typos and infelicitous turns of phrase -- the final version will be in the published book, and you'll have to pay for that. And you won't get your name in the book. And...if the donations stop coming in, I'm not going to continue doing this. You might not get to read the end of this story, and you won't see any future books for free. So donating is in everyone's best interest.

I Haven't Read the Other Scattered Worlds Books

You don't need to have read any other Scattered Worlds titles in order to understand Hunt for the Dymalon Cygnet. It's not that kind of a series. Of course, once you've finished this book, you'll probably want to read more; you can find the rest at www.scatteredworlds.com.