This is what I want from the Internet - relatable, human interest stories. Not sugarcoated, overly constructed, or AI generated.

I'm not even a fan of golf (I've played exactly one full round). My buddies and I got told off by 'The Brigadier' - the red-faced moustachiod Welshman who managed the course - for improper footwear and reckless cart driving.

Seems like the sport was much more fun in the 1970s!

Thanks for sharing this moment.

You should hold onto that idea.
As long as the driving force is the work itself, it's natural to want to share it.

I know authors who pubkish in a myriad of ways. Some are more successful than others, but no one has it all fogured out.

Different approaches suit different writers.

I can't help but think that fiction needs a multimedia app which solves discoverabiliy and creates community. With Lightning tips and zap to unlock, of course.

Ha ha. It's a story based on reality! I met a very strange Romanian guy who was a top competitor at a tournament in England.

Originally published here...

Triple Word Score by Philip Charter - FICTION on the WEB short stories

https://www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2021/06/triple-word-score-by-philip-charter.html?m=1

Thanks.

I did this with 21 Futures. We completed 20+ podcasts and shared lots of shorts and excerpts. We even made cinematic trailers!

This was good for brand recognition and awareness, but it's hard to tell how many copies it shifted.

Good question.
I'm not sure I would do anything differently.

All the stories were published in zines and litmags previously. That gave me the boost that editors considered them worthy (and hopefully readers too).

It's important as a writer to have a product you can point to and wave around as your proof of work. Most books now (self and trad pub) build authority, not sell copies. With that said, I'd love to sell more copies, haha.

The traditional route is virtually impossible for short story collections, and I'm not sire the results would be any better.

And as for a Substack to publish stories, I'm not really a fan for a few reasons:

1. If the story is unpublished, you burn it's originality by posting it.
2. Substack / Medium or other fiction sites are centralized platforms that control, restrict, or harvest your content (e.g. for AI).
   3.Finally, I think it is very very hard to build an audience of people who want to spend time reading diverse stories. The only successful Substack fiction I'm aware of is big names like Salman Rushdie or Chuck Palahnuik serializing new novels to earn more money than they could with trad pub contracts.

Maybe 6 months or 1 year after publishing the book, it can be good to post the individual stories accross many platforms. Give it a try. I've even posted a couple here to earn a few sats. As we move forward with Nostr, Lightning, and better incentives for community-driven fiction, I think this method of publishing will develop. We will think small, not try to crack the algo.

Really, community, networking and trust sells 'less commercial' creative work (like short stories, poetry, crafts, etc.) I could have done more festivals, fairs, events, readings, online forums etc., but I was focussing on my business. If you are retired, it's no biggie spending an entire weekend at an event to sell 30 copies, but the money you earn is usually less than minimum wage.

Overall, having a book you are proud of is worth it, no matter the sales.

Ironically, the easies way to monetize it is to write about your failures!

Having read this article, I just tipped you 100 sats.

It took about 0.01 seconds...

Bitcoin + niche is the way to go. I believe it will shape the next 20 years of content, community, and startup.

What is your opinion on tea with milk?
I'm a Brit, but I only like green tea (plus mate and herbal teas).

For me, tea with milk is nauseating!

Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you can make sense of my journey - it's never a linear path. In amswer to your question, I don't coach much now, but I still love it, and would not close the door on helping others.

Digital businesses give us the opportunity to be sovereign, and that is truly amazing. If you just focus on that, you are living a fulfilling and rich life.

Add to that you wrote a book. Amazing. Publishing your truth is and important proof of work that should make you feel proud.

Keep going with your biz. As it is connected to bitcoin,you are on the right path for sure.

No and I still haven't read a copy. As others have said, thanks for the review and saving us from reading it.

I'm sure it's the right book for some normies, but not for me.

Thanks for this review. I remember chatting about it with you in Prague (even though it was not released then).

The title is 'meh'.
The cover is absolutely baffling.
The content was always going to be vanilla and unoriginal.

Still, Natalie is a good actor in the space, and I hope lots of people read the book.

Adding in all the nuanced social commentary, shitposting, and editing you do, that's an impressive tally!

I'd say traditional publishing was very different pre- internet (and pre Amazon).

Profits may not have been so driven by the 1% of top authors, but most people were denied the opportunity to publish. That said, I think with all creative work, the patrons and publishers have always funded more misses than hits.

Re: bitcoin, I think we are in a strange position. Incredible opportunity to earn and build on Nostr as first movers. But bitcoiners are often non-fiction readers (they do read a lot). The keenest fiction readers are 50+ women.

I tend to think that once we move away from Big Tech fremium platforms, monetizing creative work will come down to how well you can build a community.

Thanks for this. Recaps are much appreciated!

Pretty much exactly my thoughts on the book! I'd be happy to publish this review on the 21 Futures blog if you like. I've been keen to get some more reviews live.

With higher production standards (editing, cover, and marketing), this book could really be a winner. At its core, the story is worthwhile and well expressed.

Congrats to Michael, and I wish him well with the book.

Certainly at the moment, some people are happy with drivel.

How much of the internet will be genAI? Probably 99% because it can produce so much content quickly. But I'd argue that most of the readership for that content will also be bots.

With deepfakes, AI influencers and machine text, there will be a tipping point. If 60% of Instagram was AI gen accounts, real people would leave. Especially with images, but also with text, viewers and readers will find ways to demand and verify humanity.

Everything will become about proof of work.

I see how well-written comments on LinkedIn gain more traction than posts. That's because 50% of the people are posting drivel, and the other 50% are commenting with AI.

The value of words trends to zero when producing them costs no time.

That's why words produced with thought and effort WILL continue to be valuable.

Final thought: If platforms like Insatagram become pure AI drivel-flows, people will cease to find it valuable and will eventually migrate elsewhere.