HUNTER is here.
Hunter is a short Sci-Fi story set in a dark and desperate world. It is just about 2500 words, which is about the length of a story you'd read in a magazine. I'm not really sure what the appropriate cost is, so I'm experimenting with the Pay What You Want model that seems to be working really well for a lot of artists I respect and admire.
If I sold Hunter to a magazine, I'd probably get around $125 or so (assuming I could get the SFWA professional rate of five cents a word. I figure that at least 125 people will want to read this, so if all of them donated a dollar, I'd feel really good about this, and I'd be able to do it again in the future. If you're interested (and I hope you are) you can download Hunter and pay what you want (even the low low price of NOTHING AT ALL) at Wil Wheaton Books dot Com.
A couple of FAQs:
Is this about the amazing 80s cop drama HUNTER starring Fred Dryer?
No, it's an original work of fiction set in a world I made up.
Where could I find out more about HUNTER and Fred Dryer?
Oh, I bet Wikipedia will help you with the show and its star.
Don't you mean "it's"?
No, I don't. This rhyme from Strongbad has served me well: "If you want to be possessive, it's just I-T-S ... if you want to use an apostrophe, it's I-T-APOSTROPHE-S!"
Can I use something other than PayPal to give you filthy money?
Not at the moment, no.
But PayPal is evil!
I know. Luckily, you can stick it to me and PayPal at the same time, if you want. Yay!
What about Google Checkout?
I'm working on it. Well slap my fanny, I figured out how to use it. Yes, you can use Google Checkout. The only thing is, I couldn't find an option that lets you set your price, so I set it at $2.00, which seems to be the average people are choosing to pay.
Can I download the artwork and use it for the cover?
Yes! I tried to embed the neat image Will Hindmarch designed into the files, but apparently I haven't unlocked that skill yet.
Are you going to expand this story?
Maybe. I know a lot about the world and other stuff that would be spoilery, because I've thought about it a lot, but I don't know if I'm ready to expand this particular story much more. I think I'll be revisiting [spoiler] at some point, though, because it's very intriguing to me.
So I've decided to pay for this. What do you suggest?
A billon dollars seems about right to me, but most people are choosing between 1 and 5 bucks.
Can I print out the PDF?
Yes.
I bought the [mobi | pdf | epub] but now I want [some other format] do I have to pay you again?
Of course not, but thank you for asking. You're a good guy or girl.
Can I give my copy to a friend?
Yes, but I'd prefer you link them to the Hunter page at Wil Wheaton Books dot Com where they can download their own copy. I hope that this will introduce new readers to my work, and if they're at my virtual bookshelf, maybe they'll check out my other work.
Are you doing an audio version?
I don't know. Maybe in the future.
Isn't Wall of Voodoo an amazing band?
Hell yes! I've been listening to The Index Masters
pretty much non-stop for three days.
Will you put this in the Amazon or iBooks store?
Probably not. I'd like to keep it DRM-free and pay-what-you-want.
Okay, that just about covers it. If you like this, please tell your friends.





