Crowdfunding The Wise of Heart
I’m delighted so many people are enjoying The Wise of Heart. I’m busy collecting feedback from my readers, tweaking the story, and getting ready to kick off the crowdfunding campaign. This week’s bonus post explains how the crowdfunding campaign will work, how Substack subscribers will fit into the scheme of things, and describes the promotional video. Then I’ll provide backers with a sneak preview of the promotional video.
The crowdfunding campaign will start with a target date before the end of the month. I’ll offer digital (ebook) copies, paperback, and hardcover editions. A deluxe leather edition, naming rights for select characters, and other premium options will also be available.
Name those characters!
You may be wondering how the crowdfunding will work for those already backing The Wise of Heart here on Substack.
First, it’s no accident that the monthly subscription price here is $8. That’s exactly the price of the digital (ebook) edition. You’ll have your choice of an ebook file direct mailed to you, or a Kindle version gifted to your email. While $8 is on the high side for an indie novel, it’s in line with many trad-pub offerings. And the illustrations add value justifying the price bump. The final ebook price will be $7.99 on Kindle at least for the initial release. The only difference is, you - and the crowdfund backers - will be getting your copies a few weeks early.
Of course, print editions will also be available in both paperback and hardcover. The Backer’s Limited Edition print versions will have a custom cover to make them more collectable. The covers will revert to a standard version before the public release.
And with a little luck, I’ll be able to source some interesting promotional items for the conference circuit.
Substack subscribers will be able to credit their subscription costs toward any of the Kickstarter benefits
Here’s the script for the video.
Video Script
In 1925, a group of businessmen in Dayton, TN met at a local drug store to discuss how to challenge the recently passed Butler Act that forbade the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. They looked for a teacher willing to admit to teaching evolution and then willing to be arrested. The leader of the local cabal, George Rappleyea, found his volunteer: local high school teacher, John T. Scopes.
The Scopes trial became a media sensation, with journalists from across the country descending on Dayton to cover the proceedings. The trial also attracted the attention of high-profile figures, such as lawyer and politician William Jennings Bryan (right), who joined in the prosecution, and renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow (left), recruited by the ACLU, who assisted in Scopes’s defense.
In drama and in fiction, the trial is presented as a clash between modern progressive science and outdated religious superstition. Today the shoe is one the other foot, as the progressive advocates of gender theory and transgenderism defy the truths of biological science. So what would happen if we brought the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial up to date amid today’s transgender mania?
That’s what The Wise of Heart is all about.
[Narrator] He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. [Proverbs 11:29]
He wanted to test the new Gender Awareness in Academia (GAIA) Act, but high-school biology teacher, Mike Andrews, got more than he bargained for.
Arrested and thrown in jail for the crime of teaching the biology of sex determination and for refusing to affirm a student’s gender identity, Mike faces a show trial amid a media circus.
Who can he trust?
The school superintendent who set him up?
His defense attorney who shares a secret history with the prosecutor?
His girlfriend who may not have his best interests in mind?
Her mother who is out to destroy him?
Mike will have to learn that winning the game sometimes requires writing your own rules, and success comes only to The Wise of Heart.
Illustrations by Elin Chancey further bring the events of The Wise of Heart to life.
However, the illustrations significantly increase the costs of producing the book.
To offset those costs, I’m offering you the opportunity to back The Wise of Heart and be first in line to receive the complete ebook and backer’s limited edition print versions as well as other special features and premiums.
Check it out, and back today.
Thanks!
No, that’s just a screen shot. The full video is available behind the paywall line. As always, the story itself remains free. I’m grateful to the paid subscribers here who are helping me fund this experiment in creating an illustrated novel.
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