Guest blog from author and publisher Steven Saus. Spec the Halls is now available for purchase!
My name is Steven Saus; I’m an author and publisher. I run Alliteration Ink, where I both publish original work and also provide publishing services. This year, I’ve taken up the mantle of running Spec The Halls from Abra Staffin-Wiebe. There’s both a writing contest and a charity fundraiser. Right now, I’m doing a bit of a blog tour to support the fundraiser; each entry talks about something different, so you’ll want to stop by them all. You can see a full linklist of the guest posts at specthehalls.tumblr.com and read more about the whole project (and get the charity eBook) at specthehalls.com.
It’s really exciting to be doing an eBook as a fundraiser. It makes things a lot more flexible, especially in two big ways:
We can deliver more to donors without taking away from their gift. Ever wonder how much the wrapping paper, envelope labels, canvas totes, and unwanted “subscriptions” end up costing? I always thought it ironic that environmental organizations would send you unwanted paper calendars in the mail. When you get a tote bag for a mere $10 donation, either a large chunk of your donation is paying for the bag, or the bag was made in a sweatshop somewhere, or both.
That’s not the case here. With Spec The Halls, all of the proceeds will go to Heifer International. All of them.
Once I assembled the first eBook, the second didn’t “cost” any more to put together. Nor did the third. All of that money is going straight to the charity.
And what do I mean about “the proceeds”? Simple. Paypal charges some transaction fees. Amazon and the nook store also charge per-sale fees. I can’t make those go away – which is why it’s best if you get the eBook from specthehalls.com . But after those mandatory fees, every cent goes to the charity. Period.
I can let people donate on their own. You can’t write off the purchase of Spec The Halls as a charitable donation (just like you can’t for that yogurt that donates to breast cancer research). I’m not thrilled about that, but the effort and paperwork to make it happen was so far beyond my ability… well, let’s just say that Simon Canderous1 would have been upset at the amount of paperwork. But I can do something that’s almost as good.
I can give you a copy of the eBook if you donate to Heifer International on your own.
Send me a copy of your reciept (dated after 1 Nov 2011, please) and I’ll gladly get you a copy of the eBook, just as if you’d bought it from me.
That’s something that would be simply impossible to do with a paper book fundraiser.
Go check out the Spec The Halls eBook, and enter this year’s writing contest!
This year’s edition of Spec The Halls is only available for a limited time, so act quickly to get your copy!
1Don’t know who he is? Go check out Anton Strout’s books!
K.W. Taylor 