Update on Print Versions of Focused Fandom Books

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I got the draft copy of Focused Fandom: Fanart, Fanartists, and Careers and plan to look it over in the next few days.  I also am queuing up Focused Fandom: Cosplay, Costuming, and Careers, but may need to figure out a thing or two about distribution.

So far I have to say that Create Space is actually working really well.  There’s one or two things that are inconvenient, but mostly it works very smooth and the quality is good.  I’ll write up my experiences at some point.

Also, I’ve come to realize that doing them JUST as e-Books was honestly a mistake.  These are the kind of books that people will give as gifts, mark up with sticky notes, etc.

Some books, simply, aren’t suited as eBooks, or only as eBooks because of reasons of practicality, culture, and indeed, personal intereaction.

In fact, in an age of eBooks, we really have to ask what a book MEANS to us – and to others – and if we’re really speaking the same language when it comes to, well, books.  That’s a fascinating subject and one I need to explore more . . .

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

How Blogging DOESN’T Help Your Career

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(The Roundup Of This Series is here).

So I’ve just spent about three months writing about how blogging helps your career.  I hope it was informative, inspiring, and at let me try out using more metaphorical writing techniques.

But there’s also the question – when does blogging NOT help your career?  There may be times, ways, things, and mistakes you can make that are actually bad for you.  Based on my experiences, I want to share this with you in the interest of fairness.

This may not mean you shouldn’t blog – but it does mean you might want to take some precautions to avoid problems.  This may not mean you won’t blog, but may mean it’s not going to help your career.  You have to assess risks and results.

So when does blogging not help or can even damage your career?

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Running a KickStarter Part 2

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(More from guest columnist Hannah Lipsky of Chaotic Shiny!  She just finished her Kickstarter from this post, and is going to tell us what we learned).

One third. That’s the magical number that represents the biggest thing I learned about running a successful KickStarter campaign. One third.

One third is the portion of my backers that found my project via KickStarter. The rest – well over a hundred people – found my project via other means.

Why is this such a big deal? Because KickStarter is sometimes considered an “if you build it, they will come” type of platform. Create a slick-looking project, make a spiffy video, carefully calibrate your rewards levels, launch the project, and then sit back and watch the pledges roll in. Post an update now and then to keep your backers in the loop.

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