The First Dispatch

This post contains no porn. (Just four embarrassing admissions.)

Earlier this week, you received an email announcing this newsletter was changing hosts. And so it has.

First embarrassing admission

I have no idea how to break through in the attention economy. Put boobs in all my announcements, I guess.¹

It’s genuinely humbling when your dog has three times as many followers in seven months as you’ve gotten in seven years of busting your balls.

In my corporate career, I used to teach my team about The Three-Foot Wall. Most professionals, especially most managers, surround themselves in a three-foot wall, which is high enough that you can’t walk up unimpeded but not so high that you can’t easily get over it.

Here’s the thing: most people don’t. I had employees walk into my office, hands waving excitedly as they described some great new product idea or cost-saving initiative they’d discovered. But as soon as I said, “Great, why don’t you call a meeting with the stakeholders and I’ll champion it,” you could practically watch them deflate.

Note: I never discouraged them. And I always offered my help. But in asking them to take a small positive action first—to step over a three-foot wall—I was able to separate those who were likely to follow through from those who were not.

I used to think people had a similar wall around their personal time. But these days, with a global telecommunication device in every pocket, we’re accessible to the world 24/7. There’s just no way to give attention even to a fraction of those who demonstrably deserve it, which means the wall around each of us is practically unscalable.

Second embarrassing admission

Despite taking years to write, Feast of Shadows didn’t sell. Add COVID on top of that, and Orine and I are struggling a bit. I’m writing cheap copy and building template websites and she’s working the 3 a.m. shift at FedEx.

Still, all things considered, our lives are pretty good. I mean, how could they not be when we have this guy?

But I have to do something different.

This is the first something different.

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I moved my entire catalog online. Everything I’ve written under any pen name, including audiobooks, is here and accessible from any device.

As free subscribers, everyone continues to get news & notifications. I’m glad you’re here. You also get most chapters and some occasional freebies. If you haven’t, check out my latest book:

Third embarrassing admission

I’d like to finish recording The Minus Faction in audio and start Science Crimes Division, but I can’t afford a professional voice actor. I’d do it myself, but I need the equipment: a reasonable microphone, a decent headset, a cheap boom, and maybe a pop filter. Call it 100 bucks.

I made a deal with my wife that I wouldn’t invest in anything that didn’t at least pay for itself. So naturally, I’m hoping enough people will subscribe.

Here’s what you get, now and in the future:

New Stuff Now

Serialized chapters from new, unpublished works-in-progress are posted every 5-7 days. Read the latest months before publication. The second chapter of ANACHRON is now up. I’ve got another ten in the bag, so we should be good all the way to the end of this book and into the next project, and so on.

Every Audiobook

Immediate access to all audio. Listen anywhere, on vacation or on your way to work, including from your favorite podcast app, with no limitations at a fraction of the cost of Audible.

Every eBook

Everything published under any pen name, both novels and short stories, available at any time on any device. Catch what you missed or read while you wait in line at the store—right from your browser without the need for specialty apps.

Discounts on paperbacks

Shipped to you at cost with no markup. Pick any paperback and pay what I pay.

Free digital copies

Any paid subscription entitles you to one free copy of any book in the format of your choice, plus every new release. Redeem now. Keep even if you unsubscribe.

And finally… I almost hate to say it, but for me, it’s definitely the most important:

Keep me writing

Because that’s not a given. Buying retail only helps the retailer. Since subscription dollars go directly to book expenses, you’ll also be supporting the independent artists and editors who help produce my books.

That’s a $280 total value for $2 a month…

One dollar if you buy a year. That’s less than a cup of coffee. And you can cancel anytime.

With more chapters (and hopefully more audio) posted every week, the value of your 200 cents will only increase.

Why so cheap?

Because you’re buying direct. Including delivery fees, Amazon takes between 35% and 70% of every ebook and 80% of every audiobook.

If you buy the next book digitally from a retailer, for example, you’re giving about half of what you pay to corporations and the government. Your choice, I guess, but I’d rather it came to me.

Of course, Founding Members get whatever they want whenever they want it, and going forward, I’d like to thank each of them by name (or moniker, if they prefer) in the dedication of every new book.

Final embarrassing admission

I have no idea if this is going to work. I told Orine I was worried that even the folks most excited about my word vomit might be reluctant to subscribe if only because they’ve already read everything!

But I’m gonna keep trying new things. Such as shamelessly giving you puppy dog eyes on my way out the door…

1. （。 ㅅ 。）