An Experiment In The Long Tail: Funding the release of "The President's Stiff"

There's this neat site called Fundable. The way Fundable works is, you can set up a collection, setting your terms and what you're offering. If the minimum is met, then the money is taken from those who have committed, and the fund creator gives up whatever they've offered. If the total isn't met, then nobody has to pay anything.

I have a story that I think is quite funny and good. It's very left-leaning, and unfortunately, it took more than a year to be passed on by one market, which has made the story basically unsellable, due to the fact that current events will soon turn the story from science fiction into alternate history.

If I receive $100 in pledges within 25 days, I will release the story online under the sharealike Creative Commons license via my website. Anyone who pledges more than $20 will receive a 500 word personalized flash story on the one-word subject of your choice.

Interested? Go check out the fundable page.

And now, a teaser. Here's a sample of the story:

"What kind of big fish?" He asked, then took a drink of his tea. I waited for him to swallow his drink before telling him. His eyes bulged comically, and he sputtered, but managed not to perform a spit-take.

"That's not a fish, that's a whale." He rocked back in his chair and looked at the ceiling, biting his lower lip. It was hideously cute. "There are a hundred roadside attractions," he said, "between here and New York claiming to have the 'Last Great American President' on display. Did you know that the only men more impersonated were Elvis and Michael Jackson? We'll never sort through the fakes."

"That's why I'm hiring you," I said slowly. "I don't have a lot of time here." Along with very convincing photographs, English had couriered over a contract that gave me exclusive trade rights for one week. After that, he'd start a bidding war that I could never win what with so much of my capital tied up in actual stiffs at the moment.

"You don't deal in politicians. English must have something you really want," he said, grinning.

"That's none of your business." I'd given him enough leverage over me for now. "I'm offering you a job here." My cheeks were warm, a sure sign I was lying to myself about this being just a job.
He gave me a surprisingly calculating look for a moment, and then nodded. "Fine. When do we leave?" I wondered if I had made the right choice with him, but it was too late now to find someone else.

"I'll pick you up in two hours. Pack light. My car is small."

Interested? Toss in a buck or two. Apparently, the system only takes a minimum of $10. That makes it much harder to use this thing for short stories. Anyway--

Edit: If you'd like some other samples of my published work, visit my bibliography.