Vol2 Updates 04 Nov 2011 11:42 pm by David !
Almost done.
Most of you who submitted stories to MOD2 should have by now received an email from us. There are still a handful that have yet to go out, as we correct typos in email addresses and so on, but they should all be sent soon. If you have not heard from us by Tuesday November 8, please contact us with the title of your story and the email address you used to submit. With 2,000 emails to send, it’s possible a few got missed, for which we apologize. Thanks for your patience!
Okay, so what now?
Matt will be at the Minneapolis Indie Expo this weekend along with MOD1 artist Katie Sekelsky and (on Saturday morning only) MOD1 author John Chernega! Stop by, say hello, pick up a book or bring yours to get signed, and grab one of our free MOD2 sampler booklets!
Some folks have been posting their stories online. If you’d like to read some of the stories we couldn’t fit in the book, you can search the #MachineofDeath hashtag on Twitter, or one enterprising reader has also set up rejectedmod2.tumblr.com. There’s also a list growing here at Tree Lobsters.
The official title and full table of contents will be announced at our Super-Stupendous Magic & Variety Show in Los Angeles on November 17. It’s a free evening of entertainment we’re putting on as a special “thank you” to celebrate a year of MOD — and you’re invited! But even if you can’t make it to L.A., you’ll be able to watch a live stream right here on the site.
And what’s next? We’ve made no secret of the fact that we want to publish more of your stories. We’re going to focus hard on MOD2 for now, but then what? More books? Ebooks? A podcast magazine? There are lots of directions we could go, and we have lots of crazy ideas, but we’d like to hear yours too. What would you like to see? (Remember that we have to, and want to, buy the stories that we publish — so “put ’em all on a blog!” is not necessarily the most viable option.) But leave a comment with your thoughts!
That’s it for now. Thanks, everyone. What a crazy year this has been. Come on, let’s do it all again.
36 Responses to “Almost done.”
on 05 Nov 2011 at 12:18 am 1.Tom Dullemond said …
I think perhaps some short, themed collections. You said there were enough stories for five books; why not a few ‘Oracle of Death’: fantasy themed submissions; ‘Galaxy of Death’ etc. Think along the lines of the cool themed MoD game decks. Your payment wouldn’t have to be nearly as high; frankly, with the indie respect around for MoD a token payment would suffice. #imho
on 05 Nov 2011 at 12:55 am 2.Anonymous said …
Oh, oh I second the themed collections idea. Alternately, short collections where the titular cause of death is the same; these might need to be quite small, more pamphlet than novel, to keep from dragging, but it would be interesting to read 5-8 different stories in the theme of “DROWNED,” for instance.
on 06 Nov 2011 at 12:44 pm 3.Kristy said …
I totally love this idea!
on 07 Nov 2011 at 7:08 am 4.Jasmine Wahlberg said …
I agree on all points with this one. As long as there are enough good stories on single themes (and with what I’ve been reading from what people have put out as far as rejected stories on Twitter and such), this could be a really fantastic idea. Also, I know I can’t be the only one who really didn’t give a flip about the money in the first place (although I do understand wanting to do right by your authors of course). As far as AproposPenguin’s suggestion, I think I’ve read three or four stories titled METEOR so far (actually, I think one was ASTEROID, but the concept was similar), so I’m sure that’s a definite possibility.
I guess the question remains — how much further do you guys want to go on this? I’m almost sure the vision isn’t really to pluck another full volume from the submissions you already have, but given that you’ve just probably spent an exhausting few months sifting through stories, how much is too much to ask? And if it comes down to it, is there anything the community can do to help?
on 05 Nov 2011 at 12:32 am 5.Pelotard said …
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of “micro-art” – a play put on for only one person ever to see, a painting hidden somewhere, a piece of music composed for one occasion and never performed again. How about having one or two stories set aside as, say, prizes for a contest? The winner gets the story, printed on fancy paper, signed by the author and the publishers. Still under the same license, so they’re free to put it up on a Web site should they so desire, or just keep in the bookshelf, or read aloud at a poetry happening, or whatever takes their fancy.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 8:38 am 6.treelobster one said …
Well, the list is on Mad Art Lab, which belongs to @surlyamy. I’m just one of the minions.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 8:59 am 7.Jeremy C said …
With the qualification that I have no comprehension of the logistics (not the mention the potential or lack thereof for profits) behind such a thing, a podcast magazine sounds fantastic to me.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 9:17 am 8.Chanelearl said …
I have a a question, and an idea.
First, If I publish my stories on my blog, will that in any way affect their chances of being considered for future projects?
Second, have you considered some sort of audience selected anthology, where you post stories and let the readers vote on which to include. I think it would be fascinating to see which stories come out on top in a different arena.
on 06 Nov 2011 at 1:15 pm 9.Ross C Hardy said …
Yeah, I’d like to know the answer to the blog question as well.
on 06 Nov 2011 at 1:47 pm 10.Kwyjor said …
I too find this question to be of importance.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 10:13 am 11.Chris said …
I could envision a very cool smartphone/tablet app for the Machine of Death. It would basically generate a random “death slip” and the story that coincides with that title.
That said, I know next to nothing about the logistics of such an app, but I can at least see it being cool in my head.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 12:08 pm 12.Terri Lynn Coop said …
1) I do like the idea of some “reader’s choice” awards. List 4-5 per month and let readers pick. Then a quarterly ebook, fer cheap, as in 99 cents. Small token payment, this is more about bragging rights.
2) In the 6% that made it to the “one-potato, two-potato” round and the 21% that made it to the “on the table” round you have an embarrassment of riches that while they may have not fit the overall theme and mood of the anthology, could be perfect for monthly or quarterly ebooks – either free or 99 cents. Enlist some of the masses to act as guest editors and let the also-rans out to play. I don’t think anyone would get tired of MOD – I think it would bring more readers into the fold.
Save the print edition and the podcasts for the winners. They are the royalty and the deserve it. However, you also have a tiger by the tail and the more exposure it gets, the more likelihood for a big pub house or a film co to take notice.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 12:14 pm 13.Brigid Marz said …
What about a quarterly newsletter on the book project?
Something way smaller and cheaper than McSweeneys, but same concept – we could pay to subscribe and it would come with a few teaser stories and art, and an update / insider’s guide to the progress and process on the book.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 1:46 pm 14.Ryan Estrada said …
Shorter, themed collections sound pretty dang amazing. Even as an audiobook series, rather than print. Allow people to subscribe or buy individual albums to get the collection all at once, or they can wait until all of the individual stories are released on the podcast.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 5:15 pm 15.Anonymous said …
What about the illustrators? Have they been picked yet?
on 11 Nov 2011 at 2:04 pm 16.Anonymous said …
Yes yes, whither the Illustrators?
on 05 Nov 2011 at 6:13 pm 17.Guest said …
What’s the situation with the emails that haven’t gone out yet? Did they just fall through the cracks yesterday or are you still making some decisions?
on 06 Nov 2011 at 8:56 pm 18.Teapot said …
I’m wondering the same. I fully expect rejection but want to see the letter everyone else got.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 6:49 pm 19.David J. Webb said …
A podcast magazine is a fantastic idea! At a story per week, your pool of stories should last a long, long time. You could go through the stories that have already been bought and paid for first, to lower initial costs and drum up interest in the current anthology. Even when buying new stories, the payment could be lower, as it could just be the audio rights… but the bragging rights would still be excellent.
on 07 Nov 2011 at 12:08 pm 20.Terri Lynn Coop said …
That is an ungodly amount of work to put into the also-rans.
on 05 Nov 2011 at 7:28 pm 21.j. said …
Any word on the illustrators, though?
on 05 Nov 2011 at 7:33 pm 22.Alan said …
With the ease of e-publication these days, what about a monthly e-zine. Maybe two stories a month, ebook only, for 99c – put it out through Kindle and Smashwords, and you get very wide market penetration and formats to suit all devices. You could pay a lower rate for the stories, but still pay (naturally – we’ve all got to eat!) and hopefully the MOD reputation would drive sales. That way MOD fans get a couple of stories every month and the MOD bandwagon rolls on.
on 07 Nov 2011 at 12:12 pm 23.Terri Lynn Coop said …
This is the best, most sensible and most cost-effective use of the material. One more key component. Recruit some guest editors from different themes and let them put it together. That way the work is spread out (fits in with your crowdsource philosophy) and there is some variety of voice and interpretation of the premise (ie – I personally like less character angst and more plot-driven action with an actual playing out of the death prediction). I’ve been in a couple of collections like that and they are awesome good fun.
on 06 Nov 2011 at 7:34 am 24.Rpjiorle said …
Is there a way of knowing how far into the selection process your story made it? Did it say in the email? I feel like that might determine what people should do with their stories (either post it on a blog themselves or wait and gamble that the MOD dudes decide to do something with it).
on 06 Nov 2011 at 12:29 pm 25.Nick said …
As far as I can tell, they only let you know if your story made it to the very last round of the selection process.
on 06 Nov 2011 at 11:58 am 26.RejectedMod2 said …
Thanks for the shoutout! We’ve got a few stories, but the queue is getting low. Send us more!
on 08 Nov 2011 at 12:30 am 27.Mike Lamb said …
For anyone interested, I give you:
23 Hits of Acid and a Talking Dog
http://wordplague.com/node/22
on 08 Nov 2011 at 8:48 pm 28.Ryan Howard said …
More books please. It seems like the idea definitely still has legs, and I will keep submitting so long as submissions are being had.
That being said, genre mini-books would also be nice. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Action, Romance, whatever.
But please, please, keep releasing physical volumes. Don’t contribute to the downfall of print!
on 09 Nov 2011 at 12:28 am 29.Nick said …
I agree, I would rather have a physical copy than an electronic copy, even counting the added price I have to pay for shipping and stuff.
on 09 Nov 2011 at 6:59 am 30.Tom187 said …
Who won the photo contest?
on 12 Nov 2011 at 10:49 pm 31.Jeremy C said …
According to Wondermark, the simultaneous “Classy Photo Contest” winner will be announced later this week. Perhaps the MOD Evidence contest will suffer a similar fate?
on 09 Nov 2011 at 7:50 am 32.J said …
If we didn’t get an email by November 8th and we sent a query, how long should we wait until we assume that we got lost in that pile?
I’m sure this is a lot of work for three people, so I’m not trying to rush or anything. I just have this paranoia that my story never landed in the first place.
Thanks!
on 09 Nov 2011 at 8:20 am 33.Danny Dourado said …
Just wanna state how glad I am that someone else hasn’t gotten a response yet either. Though it’s still veeery early after the deadline and judging by how many emails they got through in record time, shouldn’t be long at all!
on 10 Nov 2011 at 11:12 am 34.Becky R said …
I think some more books are in order–perhaps a collection of flash fiction on a particular topic? Come on, you’ve got to give us flash fiction writers some love. 🙂
on 11 Nov 2011 at 12:45 am 35.Glenn Justice Reisher said …
I’d like to see a User-Voted book featuring what we, the readers considered the best of the rejects. Like, Expand the site—or even use the tumblr site— post the rejected stories, and, after a year of people thumb-upping or thumb-downing stories, take some of the most liked stories and make a volume out of them.
on 11 Nov 2011 at 12:47 am 36.Glenn Justice Reisher said …
Or a Graphic Novel collection, featuring comic-formatted stories only.