Book Reviews·Book Review｜When crowdfunding becomes a thing of the past⋯⋯

I just read "Hong Kong Crowdfunding Law - New challenges faced by civil society organizations in the era of national security law" by Duan Media [👈The first 5 friends can read it for free], not only for me who was once obsessed with crowdfunding, this news Might make a lot of people uncomfortable. It’s about “extraterritorial law enforcement powers” ​​and “the Internet is no longer free”, especially when it reads “In other words, all crowdfunding activity platforms and crowdfunding projects that Hong Kong people have access to through the Internet are theoretically required to register with the authorities. , otherwise it will be regarded as illegal." I was extremely heartbroken... Then I happened to read " I entered the book industry when I was old and started a web3 publishing house to pursue freedom " written by@高construction. I thought it was very good, but at the same time, I was very sad💔, Because it seems that the publishing crowdfunding that I really like will no longer have any development in Hong Kong. I’ve written before that I switched from a graduate degree in literature to political science, but my thesis was about crowdfunding for publishing. why? It was at that time that the public was convinced of the importance of voting with money and the power of crowdfunding. If this is no longer possible, will they only vote with their feet?

Silently I took out this collection of English haiku, written by Scott Pack. He is a senior editor who has worked in the publishing industry for decades, and later moved to Unbound Publishing House, a crowdfunded publishing house. When I was writing my graduate thesis, I interviewed him about his views on book crowdfunding and having a fan base. At the same time, he happened to be crowdfunding a book of his haiku, so I participated in the crowdfunding, and because of the interview, I got a copy of it. Signed copy!

"Weightless Fireworks" has 229 crowdfunding backers. The bookmark of this booklet states that without these 229 supporters, this book would not have been completed. This is of great significance to the author and the readers who are looking forward to reading this haiku collection. "Weightless Fireworks" is the first book I support at Unbound , and it certainly won't be the last.

After Scott crowdfunded and published "Weightless Fireworks", he did not continue to push the book into the traditional book market because the audience for poetry is already very small. One more poetry book will not increase the poet's income much, but will increase the income of the poet. It costs a lot to bring to market, but there are only a few readers...Scott actually gave lectures often before, and I was lucky enough to attend them, and I also benefited a lot. Among them, the "big secret" he often said was: "You know the books that can't be sold" How will it be disposed of?" When the audience answered that they didn't know, he would drop a "bombshell": "Of course it was recycled into pulp!" So, in order to prevent another book from becoming pulp, I think his The decision is a wise one, and at the same time, it makes the book more exclusive - it only belongs to 229 backers!

I just mentioned that because of the interview, I got a signed copy and upgraded to a level for free😊I’m very happy. Signed copies provide a more personal connection between the author and fans👆

Usually, when I receive a hardcover book, the first thing I do is to take off the outer slipcover to see what else is inside. I didn’t expect that this “unknown” habit would have a huge impact on this book. Ah👇

That’s right, it’s this naughty haiku quietly printed on the cover of the book——

"This private haiku hidden under the cover may never be read."😂

But who would have thought that this "hidden" haiku was actually the first haiku I ever read! What a chance!

This song "I found an old book I read as a child - I was ten years old again." Not to mention the old books from my childhood, even the magazines I had when I grew up, were all given away because of my mother's indifference. This was like a craniotomy performed by my mother on me. Can she really remove it? What about losing my memory?

This song describes those snails after the rain that we accidentally stepped on and hurt, which has always been deeply remembered in my mind.

I like the simple descriptive feel of haiku, where everything is judged by the reader. Sometimes, readers just want to follow without judging and just read. Through haiku, see the world as the poet sees it.

Crowdfunded publishing can be very personal, just you and your backers . For example, the following two haiku poems that Scott dedicated to his children——

This song is dedicated to Ethan, Scott's eldest son. His eldest son was very accomplished in cooking, so the poet wrote, "When I watch him cook, I see the man who will be after I am no longer in this world." I'm a little teary-eyed, the haiku is too difficult to translate and it's ruined, sorry. What I saw was a loving father, watching his son who loved cooking pursue his hobby, and feeling extremely relieved when he thought that one day he would grow old and no longer be able to look after his children.

"Hidden under the quilt, our daughter is immersed in a book and can travel without our company." These two haiku poems for my children let me see the love of a father🥺I really hope to have such words to accompany me, From parents. But everyone's life is different.

The folded corners of the book are vandalism😂 I think so too

I like these short and concise haiku, many of which express the feelings of that moment, and also outline familiar pictures in front of my eyes as a reader. Writing is the process of failing oneself again and again, getting up from failure, regrouping, and being with words again.

This article uses a lot of haiku from the book as photos for readers to enjoy. I hope you will like it and resonate with it as much as I do.

In fact, no matter how much I read this book or check my previous pledge records, there is no way I can avoid feeling uncomfortable. After all, in addition to Susan Sontag, book crowdfunding has also occupied two or three years of my life. . Book crowdfunding is an exploration and a prototype, with many imperfections. However, the way to improve it is by no means the control of extraterritorial law enforcement powers. In fact, having said that, book crowdfunding is not the target of the crowdfunding law; Just to raise this power.

Sometimes I often look through the names on the backs of crowdfunded books, list them, and occasionally dig them up. I feel that a book connects us, just like the old library card. Will these all be broken up? Furthermore, will they break up?

I slowly put this haiku collection back on the bookshelf, with the lingering lingering feeling in my mind. Book crowdfunding has been around for a long time, and it’s time to talk about book crowdfunding. arrange!

Even the European Book Review started as a magazine through crowdfunding!

[The two related articles are both books (being) published through crowdfunding by Unbound. You're welcome.】