My first tangible reward from a kickstarter

I had to title this post carefully so as not to give the impression that I am doing a kickstarter, or directly involved in one (though there are a few I support when I can – right now my favorite is http://kickbrad.com, mostly because Brad Beaulieu is a great sport about the kicking jokes I keep making).

Kickstarter, “a funding project for creative projects” is a US based site that lets you (depending on your country) contribute money to creative projects, with different rewards set by the project based on contribution amounts, etc.

The first kickstarter I ever took part in, over a year ago, was for backing Tobias Buckell in writing the fourth volume of his xenowealth saga. I dipped my foot into the waters with this project because I knew Buckell, at least as far as social media and blogging lets you know someone vaguely, and because to be frank it was killing me that there could be another book in the series and I wouldn’t get to read it.

Most of the time when I back a kickstarter (and they almost all tend to be books of one sort or another), I opt for the e-book only, but with this project I went full tilt, hardback and e-book. The e-book arrived a few months ago, but I held on reading it until I had the hardback in my hands.

Well, today, it arrived, and I’m here to tell you folks, it is gorgeous.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. These are funded projects, and I realize the quality from this project isn’t necessarily going to be reflected in other projects, but I was honestly expecting something less professional. I had no reason to think that, but when you think “home grown publishing project,” you tend to think of the guy working in the attic, stapling together his book and hand scribbled drawings. This book is, and here’s where the bibliophile in me comes out, this book is beautiful. The paper is crisp and clean, the binding perfect.

I am one happy camper.

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