An Update on the Beatrice Project

As I write this, I’ve just put together my notes for what I’m going to say at the Book Bloggers Conference panel on… let’s check the program here… “syndication, monetization and affiliate programs for your blog.” To some extent, I’ll be talking about the limitations I’ve seen in revenue-generating strategies for blogs such as affiliate relationships with online retailers or ad sales. For websites with the highest traffic in their category, these can be very successful, but for the majority of blogs below that popularity threshold, they’re much more likely to simply be a source of what I’ve called “beer money” or what Paul Graham has called “ramen profitability.”

(Now that I think about it, those are two distinct categories. “Ramen profitability,” in the context of a business startup, implies that you’ve poured everything into this project and it’s making just enough to sustain itself while you continue to search for the financial breakthrough. “Beer money,” on the other hand, suggests that you already have a primary income source to cover your sustenance needs, and what you’re making on this project is a little bit extra—not enough to go wild, but enough to occasionally treat yourself.)

From that not-so-exuberant starting point, though, I’m going to ask the audience members to think about what else they can offer their readers, focusing on things that (a) those readers would value enough to buy, and (b) those readers can’t easily find anywhere else, at least not at the level of quality they can provide. When I took stock of my situation, I came up with an app version of Beatrice that would combine feature-length Q&A transcripts of conversations with writers and video extracts from those conversations. Since the successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this spring, I’ve been focused on making this a reality.

There’ve been a few changes to the game plan along the way. After talking things over with a developer, I felt that it could be more feasible to start out with enhanced e-books rather than a standalone app; I asked my Kickstarter backers (and a few other people on- and offline whose judgment I value) what they thought, and the consensus seemed to be that as long as I was staying true to the fundamental concept of using video and interviews to introduce readers to great writers, I was good to go. So I downloaded Apple’s iBooks Author software and started building my first issue.

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4 June 2012 | uncategorized |

The Beatrice App Is Go!

It’s official! A few days ago, the Kickstarter campaign to cover the development of an app version of Beatrice was successfully completed—which means that not only will the basic Beatrice platform be free to download, it will include a free first issue with memoir authors Darin Strauss (pictured), Deb Olin Unferth, and Alina Simone in feature-length interviews accompanied by streaming video highlights.

When the app launches, you’ll also be able to buy the next issue, featuring Jodi Picoult—whose latest novel, Lone Wolf, debuted at #1 on the NY Times best seller list—and debut novelists Alice Albinia (Leela’s Book) and Nick Dybek (When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man), for either $1.99 or $2.99.

I also have another bit of good news, which is related to the success of the Beatrice Kickstarter: Shortly after I launched my campaign, I learned about an indie bookstore in Salina, Kansas, that was running its own campaign, aiming to expand the business. I got in touch with one of the owners, and we agreed to cross-promote each other’s efforts, and to sweeten the pot, we announced that if we both succeeded, I would go out to Salina later this year and host a multi-author event there. Well, they made it! So, we’ll have to figure out the date, and we’ll have to figure out the authors, but I’m going to go, and we’ll record the event, and we’ll record a bunch of author interviews, and that will be another free issue of Beatrice. And it’ll be awesome. I told you: 2012 is going to be huge.

29 March 2012 | uncategorized |