STARMEN, a novel
A project in Sherman Oaks, CA by Francis Hamit000days
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00hours
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Funding Successful
A Literary Experiment With Genres
Backers: 35
Average Pledge Per Backer: $26
Funded: $895 of $650
Dates: Aug 11th -> Oct 10th (60 days)
Project By: Francis Hamit
Backers: 35
Average Pledge Per Backer: $26
Funded: $895 of $650
Dates: Aug 11th -> Oct 10th (60 days)
Project By: Francis Hamit
$895
current pledge level
Last Updated: October 10 @ 21:08 -0400 GMT
137%
of goal
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Latest News
The Story Continues at Amazing Stories 
October 6th - via: kickstarter.com
https://amazingstories.com/magazine/ Today Amazing Stories put up a 15,000 word excerpt from the first part of STARMEN. The first of four to keep you emtertained while we get the E-book properly formatted and prepared for the big launch next year.... (Read More)
Business Decisions: How I will Price and Distribute This BOOK
October 2nd - via: kickstarter.com
Well this will be over soon and I have learned a lot doing this Kickstarter. I made some mistakes but I'm very grateful for the support of friends, old and new and the kindness of strangers. Thank you one and all. I may have sold myself... (Read More)
The Sources and Methods That Inform This Epic Novel
September 29th - via: kickstarter.com
Hello again, Gentle Reader. As we approach the finish line for this raise I thought I would share some of the many elements that went into this novel. It took about four years to write but many many things influenced the final story you will... (Read More)
This May Be Your Only Chance To Get The Hardbound Edition
September 24th - via: kickstarter.com
Seriously. I am thinking of doing just the E-book and the thick paperback. This is all most people want. Hardbounds, unless they are signed for collectors, are a bit passe. Extra money for the same book? Why? There used to be a phased... (Read More)
THREE NEW REWARDS ADDED!!! CHECK IT OUT!
September 21st - via: kickstarter.com
I decided to refresh this by eliminating some rewards that didn't attract any interest and adding three new ones that should excite all the collectors out there. These are very collectible items from previous novel promotional campaigns.... (Read More)
Rewards Revised! New Ones Coming AS Some Are Dropped
September 20th - via: kickstarter.com
This morning I deleted some of the Rewards. Obviously the ones that no one signed up for. I am going to try and provide some more attractive replacements. Let me think about it. 20 days to go. (Read More)
Alternative Book Cover Version Two Compared With The Original. Which works best?
September 19th - via: kickstarter.com
Alternative Book Cover Version Two Based on feedback, I moved the title a little. Small changes sometimes make a big difference. I think this is very powerful and catches the eye. The original cover developed and donated by Markee Book Designs... (Read More)
Looking To the Future: There Are Many Options On The Path To Publishing.
September 18th - via: kickstarter.com
Alternative cover design I started looking at Canva, a design service with a lot of free features, including templates for book cover design. I have to save money wherever I can. And this is a journey of exploration. I came up with an... (Read More)
Another Excerpt: Two Detectives In A Very Strange Town
September 16th - via: kickstarter.com
In this part of the story Blake Tilman, the senior Pinkerton detective , desperate to get away from El Paso and away from too much female attention, goes hunting for very bad men: The kind that are wanted "Dead or Alive". The Pinkerton agency... (Read More)
An Excerpt From Chapter Nine. Time To Show Rather Than TellTell
September 14th - via: kickstarter.com
Early in our story the Anthropologist George James Frazer, seen here as a young man, infiltrates the Apaches. He was able to do so with help from the Pinkertons in El Paso. “I can not tell you everything, but I will tell you what I can,” Jim... (Read More)
My Publication Strategy. Donate Now or Wait Until Next Year.
September 13th - via: kickstarter.com
I'm setting the official publication date at March 1, 2024. Possibly the E-book will be available earlier but the strategy is to gather as many reviews as possible before publication to increase interest and sales. There is a lot of... (Read More)
How You Can Help: Spread The Word
September 11th - via: kickstarter.com
I appreciate the support. You Backers have helped me exceed my original goal. Now I need more of you. So Please copy the URL and paste it places beyond my reach so that your friends and colleagues have an opportunity to be part of this appeal.... (Read More)
Two Kinds of Donors. Both Are Very Welcome.
September 8th - via: kickstarter.com
Someone asked why, if I've met my goal, why I'm still asking for money. Well the received wisdom is that you set a low goal so that you don't waste the Kickstarter experience and get something for your effort. If a Kickstarer appeal is actually the... (Read More)
Have I Undersold This?
September 5th - via: kickstarter.com
We are almost halfway through this campaign and I've noticed something. Very few donors ae actually just donating a dollar for the E-Book. Most are donating at the higher tiers and donating more than the amount requested. A few are donating at... (Read More)
Progress Is Being Made!
September 4th - via: kickstarter.com
I have finished! All that is left now is for Leigh to check everything. This will take more time because she is an excellent editor. When we did the Virtual Reality book that was published 30 years ago the publisher's people complained that she... (Read More)
More things left undone
September 2nd - via: kickstarter.com
One of the priviliges of writing fiction, even fact-based historical fiction is the right to make up improbable coincidences. You can slide with perfect confidence into Alternative History because Real Life has outdone you at every turn. Hence... (Read More)
Of Things Left Undone
September 1st - via: kickstarter.com
I am in the final stage stage of line-editing this book. Not one of my strenghts so Leigh will do a follow-on edit to be sure nothing has been missed. At the same time I'm adding new material because as I approach the ending some of my characters... (Read More)
MORE MERCHANDISE FOR YOU!
August 30th - via: kickstarter.com
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fhamit/starmen-a-novel/rewards#reward-UmV3YXJkLVVtVjNZWEprTFRrMU16RTNNemM9 Some may think I've put the cart before the horse by offering all of these mugs and other items before the book is even published.... (Read More)
Ways To Smooth Out Your Prose and Make It Sing!
August 28th - via: kickstarter.com
We seem to have stalled a bit. Must be the hot weather and the hurricanes. Last week here we had the first hurricane in eighty years and an earthquake at the same time. A "hurriquake" !! Only in L.A. We were warm and dry so it's all good.... (Read More)
Ways To Enhance Your Creative Spirit
August 27th - via: kickstarter.com
During the COVID lockdown I was recovering from three spinal stenosis surgeries and was advised to keep writing to keep my mind alive and prevent dementia. Before the last two surgeries I was filling time by building the first draft of STARMEN from... (Read More)
Historical Fiction: Finding The Untold Story
August 26th - via: kickstarter.com
There are hundreds of great stories lurking in historical records that have not yet been told. Let me tell your how I came to write The Shenandoah Spy. My journey into the American Civil War began with a single article assignment. Belle Boyd... (Read More)
The Devil Is In The Details. With Historical Fiction Research Is Only Half The Fun. Creating Characters Based On Real People Is The Rest.
August 25th - via: kickstarter.com
Almost 25% done and I wish there were more of you on the Donor List. I put the minimum donation at a dollar because I want as many people as possible to read, enjoy and tell others about my book. My long term goal is to get a critcal mass of... (Read More)
PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS; WORD OF MOUTH HELPS
August 24th - via: kickstarter.com
More donors today. Some old friends I've known for decades and it's great to see them again and to have their support. Sadly not as many of those than there used to be. I'm a member of several diverse communities. There is Fandom, that legion... (Read More)
Thanks To You We've Made Our Goal But There Is More To Do
August 23rd - via: kickstarter.com
So here we are. Mission Accomplished? Well, yes and no. There is enough money in the kitty to pay for formatting. The next thing is publicity beginning with a Kirkus review. That goes to all the public libraries. That's why I added the dead... (Read More)
Adding Two New Rewards For Readers Who Like Their Books The Traditional Way
August 23rd - via: kickstarter.com
I did some back of the envelope calculations to try and satisfy those who would rather have this book in a more traditional format. I am thinking that in a six by nine inch size with about 500 pages that I can provide a nice trade paperback edition... (Read More)
How I Use Artificial Intelligence Artwork To Enhance My Creative Vision
August 22nd - via: kickstarter.com
First of all thank you all for for your generous donations. We are almost at my first goal. I am looking into ways to offer a paperback and a nice hardbound with a dust jacket as additional Rewards. Again as POD items made to order, one at a... (Read More)
My Experiments With A.I. Generated Art
August 21st - via: kickstarter.com
I get some pretty wild ideas when I let my mind wander. This whole thing about "objectifying women" made me wonder when that happened for me. I mean its always been part of the culture going back centuries so lets put aside whether or not it's... (Read More)
The Implications of the Thaler vs Perlmutter decision. How to use Artificial Intelligence in Your Writing
August 21st - via: kickstarter.com
Not even God can get a Copywright. That's one of the takeaways from Thaler vs Perlmutter. Thaler wanted to register an image generated by by a computer program he devised. Perlmutter, who runs The Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, said... (Read More)
Almost There! Just $80.00 More To Meet My Goal
August 20th - via: kickstarter.com
Thank you all so much! This is very encouraging. I especially appreciate those who selflessly add extra dollars to their donation. My first time doing this and I'm feeling my way. Adding free content is another way to thank you. If there... (Read More)
A NEW REWARD:, a signed copy of my mini-memoir A PERFECT SPY
August 19th - via: kickstarter.com
No words of writerly wisdom to impart today Gentle Reader and we have a hurricaine bearing down on us, so I may be absent if we lose power. But I've upped the ante and added a Reward that illustrates how personal experience can become a powerful... (Read More)
WRITERS RULES FOR BOOK SIGNINGS
August 18th - via: kickstarter.com
I've been thinking ahead about promoting this book and the changing landscape of publishing. It has been 30 years since my best-selling non-fiction book VIRTUAL REALITY AND THE EXPLORATION OF CYBERSPACE was published. 15, 700 copies in the first... (Read More)
A WEEK IN AND WE'RE ALMOST THERE. WHAT'S NEXT? YOU TELL ME:
August 18th - via: kickstarter.com
You have all been terrific. I'm less than $100 from meeting that $650 target I began with. Originally I'd planned to go higher. $1,500. Not just to properly format an E-book that will run on any device but a paperback edition as well. The... (Read More)
EVEN A DOLLAR IS WELCOME
August 16th - via: kickstarter.com
An old friend who I have not seen or heard from for many years wrote me to say that she hasn't got much these days but would give something. And that is all I want. Even a dollar is welcome. Seriously. I set the goal low deliberately because I... (Read More)
A Parallel Story Line Is Developing
August 15th - via: kickstarter.com
I hate to leave loose ends and I have a big one with that big balloon you see on the cover. Rose Green, Sir Percy Wyndham and their crew got crosswise with some Apache spirits and the whole thing just disappeared into Limbo. Not a satisfactory... (Read More)
Now 57% of my goal!
August 14th - via: kickstarter.com
Thank you so much! Less than $300 to go! (Read More)
CHECK OUT THE FAQS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY PROCESS
August 14th - via: kickstarter.com
Looking good! We're already at 41% of goal. Tell your friends! And check out the FAQ section. (Read More)
Why I'm stll adding material
August 13th - via: kickstarter.com
As I take a final journey through this long complicated narrative that I've spent years devoping I'm still finding places to make patches and improve .the stories. Yes, that's plural. In some ways I'm like the famous artist who was caught sneaking... (Read More)
Thank you for your kind offers but I know how to do this
August 12th - via: kickstarter.com
I am receiving multiple offers of assstance with my campaign from people I don't know and who have not taken the most basic step to assist me; making a donation. Seriously folks, I'm a consultant about sales and marketing campaigns. I help... (Read More)
Off to a great start! 26% of goal in six hours!
August 12th - via: kickstarter.com
Got eveverything loaded, went to take a nap and came back to see that I'm already 1/4 of the way to goal. Very nice. Thanks so much! (Read More)
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