They say every ending is a new beginning and I believe this to be true. Let me share a little history with you before I expound on this. If you're the impatient-type free free to just skip to the Announcement section below.
Alarm Clock Dawn
As many of you who followed me from the beginning on Steemit know, launching my debut novel, Alarm Clock Dawn in installments was my first foray into book publishing on the blockchain in 2016. The novel was originally published in 2013 but sales floundered because I found it difficult to get the message out as an indie author with a limited budget. Up until 2016 my life was like a masterclass in trial and error, with an emphasis on "error". Thanks to the support of this community my fortune changed after I serialized the book on the blockchain.
The Perfect Pause
That first experience went so well that I decided to use my next book, The Perfect Pause as an experiment to showcase of the power of decentralized crypto-backed social media for indie authors. This time, I decided to approach the launch in a very unconventional way. The final chapters were individually published on the blockchain in 2017 before the actual book was published (click on link directly above to read more). Logic would tell you this approach would cannibalize sales of the published book but it didn’t.
My intention with The Perfect Pause was to create a self-sustaining project (requiring zero out-of-pocket expenses) and to use the launch of the book to illustrate the power of blockchain-based social media for indie authors. It worked! The revenue from the posts financed the book design and marketing.
With that project it seemed the stars were in alignment. Leon Logothetis, host of the Netflix series The Kindness Diaries, was generous enough to endorse the book with a cover blurb. In the end, the project exceeded my wildest expectations. The sales continue chugging along, albeit ever more slowly, three years later.
Announcement!
Now for the exciting part. The draft of my next book is done! Over the last year I’ve been taking my time and creating new posts in my Mindful Moments series (see links below) as new ideas organically arose. I wanted to create a companion book for the Perfect Pause but go a step beyond and present easy and practical ways to enhance your life through the mindfulness that meditation sparked. These ten Mindful Moments blog posts will serve as the foundation of my next book.
The creation of the first draft is only the initial step in the arduous journey of creating a book. Over the next few months I’ll be re-reading all of the post comments, enhancing the posts, and crafting them into the final chapters. When these chapters are complete I’ll have an open call for beta-readers on Hive to read the manuscript and offer feedback. After this, the final chapters will be posted individually prior to the book being published.
The Hive community is valuable beyond measure. Now more than ever it's important to use all of the creative thinking at your disposal to design our own life plan and thrive. All we need to do is think outside of the box to discover the multitude of ways in which we can utilize the power of this community to enhance our own life plan and to help others achieve their own. Each time someone takes necessary steps towards perfecting themselves and pursuing their dreams I believe this world becomes a little bit better because of it. I couldn't be more excited about our collective future.
The real question is...Why aren't more authors doing this? The question itself shines a spotlight on a huge opportunity for Hive.
What's your life plan? The clock is ticking.
As always, I appreciate your tremendous support!
Here are links to the Mindful Moments series in its entirety:
1 - Two Week Media Fast;
2 - Worry and Fear;
3 - Setting Boundaries, ;
4 - Self Care.;
5 - Listening To Understand;
6 - How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything;
7 - You Are What You Think;
8 - Law of Attraction;
9 - Stop Giving Your Power Away; and
10 - Negativity, A Roadmap To Self-Improvement;
With Gratitude,
~ Eric Vance Walton ~
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com)
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
Alarm Clock Dawn, one of the first full length novels published on the blockchain, and the book that started it all for me can be found HERE. Or Click Here to read it for free on the Steemit blockchain
My meditation book, The Perfect Pause, is priced at $12.99 (paperback) and $4.99 (eBook). Buy the paperback and receive the eBook for free!
Hi Eric,
Seems like I missed this post but I found it thanks to your latest write up :<)
This is awesome and your story is inspiring.
I see quite some parallels with mine and with my life
I quit my last job ( as a teacher ) in the Summer of 2016 - feeling burnout and disappointed by the system that I didn't seem to fit into. I have been self-employed since then and into crypto since May 2017. I also changed countries ( Netherlands to Portugal ).
Like you, I'm using my blog to share my writing and to receive feedback and - aside from that - mindfulness is also an important theme in my writing.
Anyhow, this wasn't supposed to be about me, it's just that all of this really excites me.
I'll leave you another comment on your latest post.
See you around! ✨
Hey Vincent! It does sound like we have very similar trajectories. That 2016-17 period seemed to be a period of transition for so many people. I'm very grateful to have made the move when I did. I would have been considerably more difficult to make a pivot like that now with everything going on.
My wife and I were considering a move to the Netherlands a few years back. I've heard it can be very expensive though but at least you get something useful in return for all the taxes.
I appreciate your kind words about my project. I love this phase of a book, when the writing is nearly done and you can focus more on the book design and the launch campaign.
Great to hear from you!
Same here. I'm glad I made that decision back then.
One reason why I moved from The Netherlands to Portugal is money. I can't live the life I live now in The Netherlands. Housing is Portugal so much cheaper, especially if you pick a small town.
I read that you've got a dog called Amstel, I guess you named it after this Dutch river making its way through Amsterdam and not after the mediocre beer with the same name ;<)
Enjoy it :<)
✨
I've been so busy trying to keep my ducks in row that I haven't ventured out into the world of others. Great to see this book taking shape, all the best with it Eric.
Sult
Thanks Sult! It's a welcomed distraction from all the crap going on right now. There's so much excitement at this stage of a book project. I like the collaboration aspect of it too. I'm working with an illustrator to come up with twenty original drawings to be included in the book. I hope your week is going well!
I tried telling @the-polymath todo this some time ago.. although he has started but the motivation is not there. I hope he reads this post and grab some motivation
I hope so too! There's nothing worse than regret.
I am looking forward to this. Personally, any moments of reflection and meditation give a space for the unexpected to happen. It may be goodness or just gratitude.
I say reflection because there seems to be a perception that unless someone meditates or focuses on nothing or blocks out everything that there is no benefit.
The reflection I am thinking of comes from the Jesuit and Kaballists that reflect and imagine as part of their spiritual life. Rudolf Steiner says spending as little as 5 minutes everyday thinking about the life/story of a physical object is beneficial to increasing the amount of love and gratitude one sees in the world.
Hi Ruben, Thank you! I believe this as well. Just a small amount of time set aside for reflection makes a huge difference. If it can shift your mind to a state of gratitude it can make a person's entire life experience better. I think meditation just makes a person more receptive to these kinds of reflective moments, like a conduit. Daily affirmation books are great to usher in these moments of reflection. Enlightenment, inspiration, or even just sparks of joy can come from the unlikeliest of places, can't they?
Yes absolutely.
I went on a walk today and realized that I needed to think about my projects one step at a time, instead of stressing out. That slow speed let me appreciate my surroundings where driving by the same street didn't let me consider as much.
That’s a great example of the benefit of slowing down! Walking or riding my bike almost always allows me to sort out my challenges and roadblocks.
I remember that with Steemit, we created a group in my town called Team Cardumen. In that team we organized poetry evenings, conferences, forums, exhibitions and even concerts, all made with the work we did in Steemit. We even had two literary magazines on the platform, where we wrote our literary works. Our plan was to publish an anthology with the best texts, but we didn't reach that goal because of the debacle. Your idea excites me and I think we could take those ideas and make them a reality in Hive. I hope your project will be as successful as the first one. Greetings, Eric!
Thank you my friend! That sounds like a wonderful project, Nancy, and is a great example of utilizing Hive to its maximum potential! I hope you move forward and start building something similar here. Enjoy the rest of your week!
This is inspiring Eric. I am considering a book launch on Hive. Your story here provides some helpful pointers. Appreciate you!
That's exciting, Lydon! I hope you do it. What is the book about, if you don't mind my asking?
It is a discussion on quantum physics from a western Christians perspective between a father and his two children of 12, and 13.
That sounds very interesting! I always felt that someday science and religion/spirituality would merge as our knowledge grew and many of the phenomena we believe from a faith perspective would eventually be proven by science.
Yes. There is more and more evidence for it. We are excited to share the project soon. :)
I can't wait to read it!
Hive seems like a great place for authors as every post can earn and help build a following. Have you discussed it with other writers? The problem may be that they are already doing social media that they think will reach a bigger audience. We need to build the audience here to make it more attractive.
Have fun.
I've tried, time and time again, to introduce groups of authors outside the platform to this formula and few follow through. Just yesterday I shared a link to this post in a Facebook writer's group I belong to and it was flagged as spam and taken down.
Honestly, I think the concept of cryptocurrency is the biggest hurdle. It's is so foreign to some people that it scares them away (hard for us to believe, I know). Also, so many authors are still locked into believing that antiquated system of traditional publishing that they can't think beyond it.
Thankfully, I never had much success going the traditional route. My one traditionally published book experience was a complete nightmare and turned me away from publishing that way ever again. The editor was a super-controlling know it all whose opinions were decades outdated, then the publisher put zero effort behind the book promotion. This way is so much better.
People will come around, they'll be forced to eventually. It's just frustrating to watch so many authors needlessly struggling, wasting years trying to win the approval of gatekeepers when they could be seizing control of their own destinies this way.
Publishing does seem a very traditional industry, but with lots of self-publishing going on these days you would think authors would be looking at new outlets. Maybe we need to place less emphasis on the crypto aspect of Hive. It is also about freedom and the rewards can translate into more conventional currencies through various channels. A lot of creators are talking directly to their fans and Hive offers a way to do that without interference from some central company who may make you pay to reach them.
Publishing undoubtedly is a very traditional industry. Many of the minds of these young authors are thwarted by academia who teaches them there's only one proper way to do things. I believe it's more about control than anything else.
I think focusing less on cryptocurrency would be a good strategy for bringing in more of the mainstream to Hive. So many people believe the MSM's negative narratives of crypto....how it's only used for nefarious means, how exit scams steal people's funds, etc. Anyone with a little experience in the crypto-sphere will know that that's far from the truth. There's much more unsavoriness in traditional finance than there is in this space.
The removal of "the corporate middle man" and not having to pay for outreach is reason enough for people to be coming here in droves.
How are you dear friend @ericvancewalton good night
Since I met you, I followed your work, and let me tell you that you have done very well, you are an admirable person. Congratulations for finishing your draft, without a doubt you will have good comments when you give the opportunity to read it. May success always accompany you dear friend
Thank you my friend! I appreciate that. I'm just trying to follow my bliss and am very thankful that platforms like this exist that allow me to do it. I don't know where I'd be without it...probably still working the best years of my life away in a cubicle. I hope you have a wonderful day!
This is a lovely post to read and so interesting to listen to your story.
I've been looking at how we develop The Ink Well community on Hive to do just this - create alternative and additional income streams which enhance conventional streams.
I think Neil Gaiman experimented way back with publishing digitally (the end of everything said the
naysoothsayers) and found that far from undermining print, it enhanced sales.Look forward to reading about the continuing story :)
Thank you @shanibeer!
I love Neil Gaiman's work! This is one good example of how fear/greed holds a majority of people back. Many authors are hesitant to do anything remotely like this because they're afraid it'll hurt sales and/or someone will steal their ideas. I've never found either to be the case. The more we share our material and stories with our readers the more investing in our work they become. Many of my readers feel like friends, I've learned little bits and pieces about them through our exchanges. It's such a rewarding experience all the way around...like being part of a tribe.
There are SO many untapped opportunities here on Hive. Aside from self-publishing, all kinds of businesses could be launched using similar crowdfunding formulae on this platform. If those who are driving this platform can stay focused, keep pettiness/harassment to a minimum, and keep Hive growing the sky will be the limit.
Thanks for the comment and the work you're doing with The Ink Well!
Love this
Thanks @nathanmars and I appreciate everything you're doing to get the word out about Hive. You're working incredibly hard and it's not going unnoticed!
Will love to read it as you progress writing it
Thank you!
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This is my 700th post?! I'll take this as a good sign. : ).
That is very cool! I guess I never realized how you kind of got started on here. What a genius business sense :) Congrats on the accomplishment and good luck with the tasks ahead of you!
Thanks a lot, @bozz! I still can't believe how it all happened, even four years later. It was really just a lot of trial and error, I made a lot of mistakes but tried to learn from them. The rewrite of this will be fun. I hope to create something that is actionable and can truly help people.
Promoting Hive on Twitter -