A "What If" Question for the Mods (and the group)

[Tabitha]

So...I was thinking about the whole Pay-It-Forward thing, and how it's never really worked itself out.

Another group that I'm a member of does a monthly group read in which the mod chooses the book to read (usually picks a different genre per month, contacts the author/publisher beforehand to see if they're willing to give away print copies as well as e-copies; the print copies are a big incentive, especially for non e-book fans like me), and then facilitates the giveaway & author/reader discussion. The giveaway works in traditional giveaway form, except that there is heavy expectation put upon the winners that they "must" participate in the author/reader discussion.

I'm wondering if Fringe Fiction would be able to do something similar for indie authors and if it would be more effective than past attempts where authors were offering up their own work instead of the mods deciding who they wanted to promote.

Maybe this is just opening up a rotten can of worms and, if so, I apologize and you can ignore it. It's just something that makes the other group extra special- having a chance to be part of a select discussion AND get a physical copy of the paperback to read; that's a huge incentive for a budget-conscious reader like me. I realize that it would be a chunk of change for an indie author to provide paperback copies if they were selected, but it would certainly be an honor to be asked and to have the publicity as well (I would think).

Anyway, it was just a thought and I wanted to share the positive experience from the other group b/c while it is wonderful, it's trad. published books only and I'd love to see a similar avenue of recognition for indies and Fringe is my go-to indie place :0)

Lily, if I'm opening the proverbial floodgates, please delete me topic b/c my aim is not to cause the mods undue stress!

[Lily]

It's fine :)

We have talked about that and agree a mod choice group read would be ideal for everyone. It's just... we're all kinda busy right now...

[Tabitha]

I completely appreciate that! Maybe someday.

I would love the opportunity to participate as a reader, with a chance to get in on new indie reads with a paperback copy (it's so hard for me to read a book off of a computer; I know there's gotta be others out there like me).

And as an author, hypothetically speaking, I'd much rather donate paperback copies to a small group that gave me assurances of honest feedback and reviews as opposed to only going through Goodreads' main giveaways. I don't think I've given away a single paperback copy on Goodreads itself that ever received a review in return.

But yeah; maybe someday :0)

[Lily]

I can think of at least two authors and their books who would go for this, that I would want to read, no problem. Yeah, maybe someday soon... ish.

[Tiger]

I thought Pay it Forward was fairly successful actually. People read my book and I read theirs. It was fun. Did I miss out on a consensus where it sucked? :)

Lily, I will go for anything along these lines!

[Michael]

the Pay it Forward did work, but over time it kinda just fizzled out. doing something different my work better

[Lily]

Tiger wrote: "I thought Pay it Forward was fairly successful actually. People read my book and I read theirs. It was fun. Did I miss out on a consensus where it sucked? :)

Lily, I will go for anything along th..."

Like Michael said, it just kinda fizzled out and none of us mods have any interest in renewing.

Honestly, if any members want to renew Pay It Forward or start a group discussion/read along of their own, by all means. Send a mod a message (if a proposed group read) and we'll give you a stamp of approval to post for the topic. We do already have tons of folders for discussion that no one's using...

The only thing I ask is for authors to not recommend their own books for a group reads. Other than that, anything goes.

[Tabitha]

What Lily and Michael said. I wasn't trying to imply that it "sucked". But the latest attempts (if I recall correctly) ended with Lily getting bombarded with author-spam and bullied by attention-seekers.

I think if the mods ever wanted to weed through Fringe authors' offerings (or even indies beyond our group) and promote monthly reads then it would be more successful and professional than opening the proverbial floodgates.

[Courtney]

My only opinion is I dislike the "Johnny and Jane come latelies" and vanish the moment they promote their copy and paste junk mail in out group. Or participate but be sure to link their book/blog with every post.

I would LOVE to see the authors here swap books and reviews again like with the Pay-it-Forward since it helped with very visibility on Amazon recs and was just good to have decent people be able to recommend their books to friends.

I'm all for something like that happening again but - as Lily said - it can't be something mods micromanage for it to survive and thrive.

[Lily]

Yeah, members need to more active. You don't have to wait for mods to give you the green light. Go right ahead. All folders are already there. Have fun.