This will be a work of self-published ghostwritten crowdsourced crowd-funded faux-autobiographical erotic fan fiction.
The ghostwriters have written a prologue and we’ve come up with the first set of questions for the backers. What happens next is based on your choices. The smallest details, biggest plot points, and how explicit the book is…. The story is in your hands…
This project involves many things I love. I love crowdfunding and I love Kickstarter (I’ve backed 168 projects so far!). I also really love finding creative people to collaborate with. The two amazing women who are my ghostwriters will be incorporating the feedback of the backers to build the story of my fantasy-self. I’m going to be as surprised as you are in what gets produced. EXCITING!
But the best aspect of this project is crowdsourcing the plot. At every pledge level you get a certain number of votes. As the writers share the story they will present options for you to vote on. Everything from the background of the characters, to major plot points, sexual escapades, and even the brand names of objects… Everyone casts a vote (multiplied by how many votes you have) and that is how we’ll know what happens next.
By incorporating the readership into the development of the story the collaboration is integral to the whole project and the opportunity for things I would never have thought of is guaranteed. Together we can write the best book ever.
There is no greater honor than being immortalized in erotic fan fiction. But let’s be honest, that isn’t likely to happen to most of us. I’m taking matters into my own hands and producing erotic fan fiction about me.
But I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know enough about erotic fiction to make the right calls, so that’s why I’m letting you vote what happens. This will be like a collaborative “Choose Your Own Adventure.”
THE HONEST TRUTH: I just turned 40 and my last relationship is in shambles. There isn’t much chance I’m going to become a dashing globe-trotting billionaire bad boy conquering the world in business and sexual encounters. But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream about it! (As my mentor Shia LaBeouf says “Don’t let your dreams be dreams!”)
My ghostwriting team is these two amazingly smart and culturally savvy writers. One is a prolific writer and college professor, the other has been writing erotic scenarios for years. Combining their talents with the input and direction of the “wisdom-of-the-backers” is a recipe for wild success in the world of erotic entertainment.
THE UPSIDE: Together (me, the ghostwriters, and you) we can make a book better than 50 Shades of Grey. I read that book, it’s not that great! And if we get even 1/20th of the success of that book we can get a Hollywood movie deal (I just moved to Los Angeles, everyone here is making movies!).
THE DOWNSIDE: The highly sexual fictional version of myself might become more famous than the real me ever will and everyone will think I’m way more sexually experienced than I actually am. To be frank I was a bit of a late bloomer.
THE UPSIDE AGAIN: OH MY GOD, what if it *DID* become a movie and then someone wrote erotic fan fic about me and the fictional version of myself from the movie!? That would be the most beautiful thing to happen in my entire life.
Endorsements
“You better not put me in your goddamn book!”
–Claire L. Evans, writer, singer, and artist.
“Boy, I wish I was confident enough to do something this horribly inappropriate.”
–Daniel H. Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse
“I’ve always found Mikey charming. But erotic? I mean, I guess…? Seriously though, good luck to him. What’s the worst that could happen?”
–Rick Turoczy, PIE founder and startup godfather.
“This is weird, even for Mike.”
–Andrea Chalupa, writer, journalist, producer.
“I invested in Mike’s company and this is how he’s spending his time?”
–Drew Fletcher, angel investor.
“I love the idea of a choose your own adventure book. Unless I don’t. Turn to page 15 if you think I do. Turn to page 30 if you think I don’t.”
–Morgan Evans, writer, actor, producer.
Risks and challenges
One of the writers is not comfortable writing graphic sex scenes. That is why there are two of them. But maybe that is “too many cooks in the kitchen”?
If we go softer core we avoid whatever the book version of NC-17 is, but it’s an erotica novel, so it has to have sex. I know the erotic aspect means some people won’t like it or even review it.
Another risk is that the book isn’t good enough for Hollywood to option for a movie. 🙁
Maybe the whole process is a terrible bore and nobody cares. Maybe the ghostwriter gets a case of “the nerves” and the book ends up being 15 pages of suggestive descriptions of office furniture and maybe it’s only popular among a niche community of office supply fetishists. (That would actually be kind of amazing.)
It is entirely possible we run into an esoteric issue that can’t be resolved. The whole project could be abandoned in a flurry of lawsuits and lost friendships. I end up alone and broke in the deep suburbs of LA wondering what happened to my life…
How can anyone predict the future? (I guess “futurists” can because that is their job?)
But the risks and challenges are part of the journey. I pledge to share them with you and I trust that together we can create a wonderful book that is incredibly uncomfortable for my parents to read.
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