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Number One

Gm!*

Thanks for your interest in the intersection of books and the blockchain!

I’m an author who’s been traditionally published in papers like the Washington Post, and who has released books both with small presses and as a self-publisher using Amazon’s KDP program.

A long-time listener of the Tim Ferriss Show, I heard enough about how NFTs* were revolutionizing the visual arts world to wonder about how authors could get involved.

As a holder of several of the early books released as NFTs, as a member of many of the groups exploring this niche, and as a writer who is working on NFT releases of my own, I have a unique perspective on what’s happening in this space, and I have started this weekly report as a way to share what I’m learning with my fellow readers, writers, artists, translators, collectors, and investors.

Also, if you’re new to all things NFT, there’s a lot of jargon in here – but you’ll find definitions for anything not described in the Glossary.

So, without further ado, here’s all the latest news at the intersection of books and the blockchain.

Minute #1: State of the Art

Here are the major players that I’m tracking in the space –

  1. $LIT – this is the community that brought Neil Strauss’s latest book to the blockchain; their token is set to begin staking, and has been trending up this week, but is still very affordable. Unlike the other players in this space, they are not strictly focused on books – but their Project One was a book, and unquestionably the most profitable book release in the space so far, grossing 492 ETH (approximately $1.47 million USD) to date. It’s also has one of the best communities I have seen online – not surprising for a group that aspires to create the “world’s first cultural currency.”
  2. PageDAO – this group is very focused on books, and has the only operational “book minting” page that I’ve found so far which is open to anyone. They have a very engaged core team and their own token, and they host a collection on OpenSea     – they are definitely an organization that authors who currently self-publish on Amazon should look at.
  3. BookCoin (see Minute #2)
  4. NFTBooks – this week they launched their Beta Test, with ~50 authors (including myself) involved.
  5. Creatokia – released their “The Poets” collection, and raffled two airdrops on their Discord.
  6. Readl – is looking at creating a channel in their Discord server specifically focused on helping authors understand NFTs and the blockchain.
  7. Independents – besides the groups mentioned above, there are authors who have already released NFT books on their own – notable so far is Brian Toups, whose sci-fi novel Drifter has grossed 10 ETH (approximately $30K) since its release in January.

You can expect me to do a side-by-side comparison of these groups in the future – and “deep dives” into each of them in future weeks. If you’re interested in my early experience with NFTBooks, Creatokia, PageDAO, and Readl, as well as a long-read article on this NFT nice in general, check out this recent article.

Do you know any other organizations or individuals that I should be following? If so, please reply to this e-mail or contact me on Twitter (@E_H_Carpenter).

Minute #2: Mint of the Week

This week’s big mint was Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck which is the first major offering from BookCoin.

The model they used (for this release) essentially took 1,111 quotes from Mark’s NYT Bestseller and released them in a generative mint*. Each quote has utility as well as collectible value – they give the holders access to the author, an unreleased chapter of the book, and Manson’s online school.

I picked one up from the whitelist* (at 0.1111 ETH*) and picked up another when the floor* dropped to 0.07 ETH.

This is an NFT that may have value to authors who are entering the NFT space because of the connection it gives to Mark (holders of this NFT gain entrance to Manson’s private Web3 community) – so now might be a good time to scoop one up.

The next big offering from BookCoin is the whitelist for their Metalibrary Founder’s Card – a token similar to those being offered from Creatokia and PageDAO that will have utility for authors. Sign up for the whitelist here, and as a bonus, use this code – BOOKSMEETBLOCKCHAIN – in the “Secret Scripts” block to score 50 points toward your whitelist rank.

Minute #3: Alpha

Definition: “Alpha” = information / opportunities to get in ahead of the crowd on new projects.

As noted above, the BookCoin Founder’s Card whitelist is worth looking into for authors, in my opinion.

If you are an organization or an author who has alpha on offer, please e-mail me (ehcarpenter@gmail.com) and let me know about your project so that I can consider it for inclusion in next week’s Minutes.

Minute #4: Assessment of the Market(s)

We are at the very, very early stages of the books-to-blockchain movement. While a few big publishers (and the agent system) are gatekeepers for traditional publishing, and while Amazon dominates the self-publishing world (and the distribution end of things) it’s still a Wild West on Web3.

There are a few offerings on OpenSea (I will turn my attention to Objkt in the future) – but OpenSea doesn’t even have a specific category for books yet! There are several groups working to set up separate markets focused on books, with a range of models for distribution – some relying on their own tokens, some using common crypto like ETH.

The biggest barrier to entry right now is inexperience and fear of the unknown – but it’s actually fairly simple to get set up with the basic tools you need to publish in the NFT space – and now is the time to start building the networks that will be one of the most important aspects of success in NFT books.

The space is going to look very different for established authors such as Strauss and Manson – but there is definitely a big opportunity here for lesser-known authors to break out. There’s also going to be room for translators, illustrators, and editors.

Minute #5: Resources & Reading

There’s a Facebook group that may be worth joining – Cryptoversal – a small but growing community of NFT Book authors, illustrators and publishers.

And this longform article that I wrote last month gives insight into what the NFT space looks to a newcomer, and includes links to articles from BookRiot and LitHub.

Next week, I hope to be able to list some developers who are interested and/or have experience in creating smart contracts for books, as well as providing more resources and reading recommendations. If you know of a developer, a resources, or an article that you think I should link to, please let me know via e-mail or Twitter!


NUMBER TWO

By now, you should know what this is all about, so, without further ado, here’s all the latest news at the intersection of books and the blockchain.

Minute #1: Models, Markets, and Tokens

Right now, I’m seeing a couple of trends in the development of the marketplace for #NFTBooks.

The first is the split between organizations and individuals who are leveraging existing markets such as OpenSea, Objkt, and Foundation ($LIT, BookCoin, PageDAO, and independent authors) and those which are creating their own, book-specific markets (Readl, Creatokia, and NFTBooks)

Across both of these categories, there are several organizations who are offering (or planning to offer) a unique NFT that gives access/utility for authors – this includes Creatokia’s Creatoken*, PageDAO’s Membership Card, and (potentially) BookCoin’s Founder’s Card. The first two are available as linked; the Founder’s Card is still in whitelist.

Finally, there are the coins – $LIT and PageDAO have their own publicly traded coins already, but their projects are currently denominated in ETH on OpenSea – NFTBooks has its own coin, but the project is in beta at the present time. Readl is using Moonriver, and Creatokia has a collection on OpenSea, but also has their own functional marketplace, which facilitates sales in either ETH or by credit card.

The $LIT token (here on UniSwap) is very undervalued right now in my opinion, and I’m definitely bullish on it – I hold a lot, and am planning to buy more – that said, I’m not a financial advisor and nothing in this letter is meant as financial advice.

My perspective? If NFT books are going to compete with other forms of books (hardcover/paperback/e-reader) their price point is unlikely to be competitive on ETH markets due to high gas prices. Probable exceptions will be for new releases by big-name authors through existing and active communities (like $LIT Project One) – a lower-cost coin/gas/marketplace such as Tezos on Objkt will probably offer a more attractive price point to mass-market customers – as, potentially, will very cheap alt-coins like $NFTBS, or $LIT. Readl’s MOVR implementation is also one to watch for price-point.

* While I do hold a Gold Creatoken, I haven’t seen the value to justify its 10x cost compared to the Black Creatoken, so at this point, if you’re picking up one of these, my recommendation would be to go for the Black which as the best utility/cost ratio from my perspective. You can compare the various Creatokens here.

Minute #2: Debunking the Hype – #NFTBooks aren’t immune to censors.

I think it’s important to be very honest about what #NFTBooks can and can’t do. While I’m bullish on the idea, I’ve seen several projects which claim that minting a book on the blockchain somehow prevents it from being censored.

Nonsense.

Remember, this is a community that literally “burns”* NFTs on a regular basis. And if you’ve minted a finite number of #NFTBooks, there is pretty much nothing from preventing a whale – either an individual, a collective, or a crypto-holding state – from buying up all the copies of your #NFTBook and burning them.

So I think this is something that the community is going to have to come to terms with.

Minute #3: Project Updates & Beta Publishing

The floor has dropped on Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck which was the first major offering from BookCoin – down to 0.084 from .1111 mint cost. Volume on OpenSea has been 6.49 ETH in the last 7 days – and the project has released an article on Medium talking about how this first launch has informed their future plans.

Neil Strauss’s Survive All Apocalypses has continued to perform well on secondary – generating 4.39 ETH in the last 7 days on OpenSea – and it has just become the first NFTBook to be optioned for film. (Tooley Entertainment has bought the rights to adapt in into a narrative drama film in which an apocalyptic event is framed through a comedic mock survival manual. Strauss will executive produce with Tucker Tooley and Jack Sun, the holder of the original NFT, who holds the rights to the book.) Neil, notably, will be a headline speaker at #NFTLA, whose tickets are currently on sale.

Brian Toups’ Drifter has clocked 0.13 ETH on secondary in the last 7 days – which is the best I’ve seen for an independent so far, and extremely good profitability if compared to royalties through other self-pub platforms like Amazon’s KDP.

Readl is testing their publishing platform this week with plans to go live next week.

Minute #4: Alpha

Definition: “Alpha” = information / opportunities to get in ahead of the crowd on new projects.

If you are interested in becoming a member of MHouse, I have invitations available for the following roles: Artist, Businessperson, Collector, Developer. Second only to $LIT, this is one of the overarching organizations that I think has the most to offer authors in this space, and they are very early in their roadmap. Send me an e-mail (ehcarpenter@gmail.com) if you want an invitation code.

The most intriguing (and most beautifully-designed) project I’ve come across this week is SitkaWorld – especially if you are a writer or reader of fantasy – or a gamer. That said, the design and thoughtfulness of this project is such that I think everyone reading this note would do well to visit the site and take a wander through it. Here’s an invite to their Discord – I recommend visiting their website first, and then getting ready for the most unique onboarding experience I’ve seen so far.

As noted above, the BookCoin Founder’s Card whitelist is worth looking into for authors, in my opinion, and you can score 50 points on your list ranking by using this code: MARKMANSON in the “Secret Scripts” block.

If you are an organization or an author who has alpha on offer, please e-mail me (ehcarpenter@gmail.com) and let me know about your project so that I can consider it for inclusion in next week’s Minutes.

Minute #5: Additional Reading

There’s more to the intersection of writing and NFTs than book NFTs – here is an article about writing “backstory” for graphic NFT projects.

This piece, by the same author as the previous, gives another take on whether and how authors can engage with Web3 through NFTs.

Greg Fishbone has put together a really great resource for this field – the Literary NFT Directory – there’s a lot of good info in here on organizations, podcasts

Do you know any other organizations or individuals that I should be following? Articles I should be reading and sharing? If so, please reply to this e-mail or contact me on Twitter (@E_H_Carpenter).


NUMBER THREE

Minute #1: Models, Markets, and Tokens

Cryptoversal has a beta version of an #NFTBookstore here – it runs on Polygon (Matic Mainnet) and it is envisioned to be compatible with the integrated reader that PageDAO is developing. The minter is expected to go live in Q3 and mint to both OpenSea and this storefront. There will be an online form coming for authors coming soon and I’ll look to include that here when it’s available.

And this week’s “new addition” is AlexandriaLabs – another group focused on bringing books to the blockchain, whose site is soliciting submissions of any length for publication. I hope to have more information on their concept next week.

The big token news is staking coming to $LIT – I expect to see that arrive next week, and believe the value of the coin will rise as HODL*ing is incentivized and a new wave of projects hits. There is a drop for Genesis* HODLers (see below) and another for non-Genesis accounts coming later this month; that plus the live event in LA at the end of this month makes me very bullish on $LIT.

BookCoin hosted an AMA this week where their leadership team shared the following key points:

- The Alan Watts book will be their next drop, with the Metalibrary Founder Card coming later. (Notably, they followed this announcement with a Discord poll asking what the community thought – and an overwhelming majority voted for the Founder Card to be dropped first. Stay tuned to see what happens!)

- Their short-term focus is on building a strong foundation by bringing “Big IP” to the book NFT space, then building a private reading environment (think e-books) gated through NFTs. Only after that are they planning to open their platform to all authors – which is important for those of us looking for a channel to bring our writing to the blockchain.

Minute #2: TIME for a change.

Yesterday’s announcement that TIME Magazine was dropping a full-issue NFT, with priority to Genesis members of the $LIT DAO* community represents a massive leap forward in the idea of print-media as NFTs, and reinforces in my mind the fact that $LIT is one of the most important communities for early-adopting writers to be a part of.

It's easier than you think to become a member – feel free to reach out to me for assistance in onboarding if you’re interested.

Minute #3: Project Updates & Beta Publishing

Readl is looking to do a slow rollout of modern authors in the next few weeks, and is recruiting Ambassadors for their platform – you can sign up for that role here if you’re interested, and this is something I’d definitely recommend for authors! This is the platform that I assess is going to offer the best early access for authors to bring their books to the blockchain in a dedicated bookselling site.

NFT Books still has a Beta portal up, but they remain a “Telegram-only” platform in terms of communications with authors, and I’m not seeing a lot of progress happening here.

Creatokia has just released a Roadmap thread in their Discord, and while integration of modern authors (including self-publishers) is on the map, it’s several milestones into the future at this point – that said, it looks like Creatoken owners will benefit from upcoming drops of an AI-narrated audiobook and the ability to showcase their NFT Art in a 3D Showroom. Stay tuned, this could get real interesting!

Minute #4: Alpha

A unique community that I am recommending to authors is CryptoNobles – like $LIT (and unlike most of the other organizations that I write about in here) it is not a book-focused community – but its architect is “The Countess,” an anonymous patron of the arts with links to Cozomo d’Medici. She runs weekly Arts Contests that allow holders of a CryptoNoble NFT to showcase their art, and from each week’s selection, she purchases five pieces, while encouraging others to do the same. For self-publishers of book NFTs, I think this can be a really good opportunity – especially since the floor price to buy a CryptoNoble is extremely low right now.

I’m doubling down on my recommendation of MHOUSE for writers – apply for membership here, and use referral code 4078251 to accelerate the review/approval of your application. Second only to $LIT, this is one of the overarching organizations that I think has the most to offer authors in this space, and they are very early in their roadmap. Their genesis project LINKED, which has just opened for applications is specifically seeking writers – along with the more traditional NFT artist genres of photographer/artist/videographer/musician.

I’m also still recommending SitkaWorld – I’m going to be contributing educational content to their Discord, starting with a “History of Self-Publishing”. Here’s an invite to their Discord – I recommend visiting their website first, and then getting ready for the most unique onboarding experience I’ve seen so far.

In case BookCoin pivots and drops their Founders Card next, their Founder’s Card whitelist is still worth looking at and you can score 50 points on your list ranking by using this code: AUSTIN in the “Secret Scripts” block – see the previous minutes for more “Secret Scripts” to boost your ranking.

If you are an organization or an author who has alpha on offer, please e-mail me (ehcarpenter@gmail.com) and let me know about your project so that I can consider it for inclusion in next week’s Minutes.

Minute #5: Additional Reading

Walker Caplan’s article on LitHub is a bit dated, but has a lot of good information and ideas for authors considering the jump to Web3.

If you’re looking to expand your network of Twitter accounts involved in NFT Books, this list is probably for you.

Do you know any other organizations or individuals that I should be following? Articles I should be reading and sharing? If so, please reply to this e-mail or contact me on Twitter (@E_H_Carpenter).

NUMBER FOUR


Minute #1: Upcoming Events

There is a digital summit coming, hosted by Bookwire (Creatokia’s parent company) – it happens 29 Mar, 15:00 CEST, and you can register for free here.

There will be a lot going on at #NFTLA next week – BookCoin, MHOUSE, and others will have a presence there – sadly, I will not be in attendance for most of the event, but am looking forward to some of the after-parties.

Notably, BookCoin is doing an IRL Meetup at 4 pm on Tuesday, March 29th at E-Central Downtown Los Angeles Hotel, 1020 S Figueroa Street Los Angeles 90015 CA. If NFT books are your thing, I’d try to make this one! (I will be in the air somewhere over the Pacific Ocean at the time, but I’ll be there in spirit!)

Speaking of BookCoin, they have set a mint date for their next project – 19 April 2022, 1111 MetaLibrary Founder cards will come to the market – you can sign up for the whitelist here – and you can score 50 points on your list ranking by using this code: NEOTOKYO in the “Secret Scripts” block – see the “Alpha” category in previous Minutes for more codes to boost your ranking.

Last week I mentioned AlexandriaLabs in passing – this week I highly recommend checking out their demo video, reading their Author FAQ, and if you are interested, applying to be part of their upcoming alpha launch, because the window for submissions closes on April 2nd!

Minute #2: TIME to get $LIT?

$LIT’s token remains undervalued in my opinion – the organization has pulled off another coup with the TIME Magazine NFT, which tripled in value on secondary over the course of the first two days, but has dropped back down to about 2x its opening value.

$LIT brands itself as a cultural currency, but a big test of a currency is the extent to which it is accepted as payment for goods and services – which leads me to note that $APE, another of last week’s crypto development is already unlocking early access to music – Snoop Dog and Wiz Khalifa’s latest drop – and that TIME Magazine is adding it to the list of cryptocurrencies which can be used for subscription payments.

Will $LIT be able to make the jump from community-specific token to an actual payment vehicle? Given some of the names associated with the project, I’m optimistic that it could happen.

Minute #3: Am I a Sol Man?

This week’s last-minute find is SolType – a platform built (for now) on the Solana blockchain – but which, again, appears to be planning its own native token $STYPE. I expect there will be more to follow on this project – it has an active Beta minting portal available through its Discord – I’ve signed up for a creator’s profile and look forward to checking out the process and the products myself.

Minute #4: Building Your Network

Not a lot on the “alpha” front this week, and I’ve mentioned Alexandria Labs’ deadline, SolType and the BookCoin Founders Cards already – so here are some recommendations for other folks / organizations to follow in the books-on-blockchain space if you’re not already doing so.

If you’re looking to expand your network of Twitter accounts involved in NFT Books, this list is probably for you. Want me to add you to the list? Send me an e-mail or a note on Twitter.

1.       Readl – I feel that they are going to be one of the leaders in this space, and that now is the time to start engaging with their team if you’re an author.

2.      $LIT – Unlike the other players in this space, they are not strictly focused on books – but they’ve now participated in releasing both books and magazines with phenomenal success.

3.      PageDAO – this group is very focused on books, and has the only operational “book minting” page that I’ve found so far which is open to anyone, but I expect that will change later this year as others groups bring their solutions live.

4.      BookCoin – Austin-based startup with solid A-List IP. Good community, and the team engages with and listens to their members.

5.      NFTBooks – Very active social media presence, and in Beta mode with ~50 authors (including myself) involved.

6.      Creatokia – the NFT-face of German powerhouse Bookwire. High production values, and they intend to “give Authors, Self-Publishers and Content Creators the opportunity to create their own NFTs on our platform within 2022.”

7.      CryptoNobles – like $LIT (and unlike most of the other organizations that I write about in here) it is not a book-focused community – but for self-publishers of book NFTs, I think this can be a really good opportunity to network – especially since the floor price to buy a CryptoNoble is extremely low right now.

8.     MHOUSE. Second only to $LIT, this is one of the overarching organizations that I think has the most to offer authors in this space, and they are very early in their roadmap. Apply for membership here, and use referral code 4078251 to accelerate the review/approval of your application. Their genesis project LINKED, which has just opened for applications is specifically seeking writers – along with the more traditional NFT artist genres of photographer/artist/videographer/musician.

9.      SitkaWorld – A very novel approach to world-building and community-building. Here’s an invite to their Discord – I recommend visiting their website first, and then getting ready for the most unique onboarding experience I’ve seen so far. If you make it through the process, you’ll find me and some of my writing inside!

What organizations do you think I’m missing here? If you know something I don’t, please e-mail me (ehcarpenter@gmail.com) and let me know about it so that I can consider it for inclusion in next week’s Minutes.

NUMBER FIVE


Minute #1: Readl’s Universes

Readl has just unveiled a very unique aspect in their approach to NFT Book publishing – the creation of “Universes” focused on a particular author. Within this concept, readers and collectors can buy not just NFT Books and collectible cover art, but tokens entitling them to a cut (ranging from 0.1% - 1.0%) of the total royalties generated in that Universe.

Their first Universe is focused on Ava Lock’s Womanoid Diaries books – and I’m happy to say that I’ve already picked up both a copy of the first book, and a token entitling me to 0.1% of all the Universe’s royalties going forward.

This approach allows readers, investors, and collectors to share in the profits of valuable IP by established and emerging authors, and it encourages promotion of books by incentivizing everyone in the ecosystem to talk about their favorite authors / Universes in social media and IRL.


Minute #2: Readl & Creatokia Online – $LIT & BookCoin IRL

There is a lot of value to meeting up – either in conferences or less formal venues.

I’m participating in a Twitter Space hosted by Readl next on Thursday, April 7th at 10:00 am PST to discuss “Telling Stories in the Digital Era” with Manila-based cover artist Keith Gutierrez.

Sadly I was unable to attend Creatokia’s All About Blockchain Digital Summit since I was flying from Australia to the US, but if anyone was in attendance who wants to fill me in, I’d love to hear about it – I thought there was a recording planned, but I haven’t seen it yet, though I have asked the Creatokia team about it.

I was able to personally attend an NFTLA after-party event hosted by $LIT – and I have to say, I was not expecting to see Neil Strauss and Mark Manson in the same event, or to get to chat with them about NFTs and the book industry.

I feel there is a lot of value to these kind of in-person events - and while the $LIT party was not an #NFTBook-specific meetup, I did have the pleasure of meeting some other folks who are in the NFT publishing space including CDVagabond of PageDAO and BookCoin founder Ty Ward.


Minute #3: New Projects I’ve Found

Speaking of BookCoin, the whitelist is open for their Founders Card, but there is a known issue with their “Secret Scripts” function – the team is aware and I will let all readers of the Minutes know as soon as it is fixed. Meanwhile, I’ll be looking for more scripts to share here.

This week’s most interesting finds are this poetry collection on Objkt and the Annie’s Bookshop project.

The poetry collection interests me because it has already sold 30 Tezos (about $120) in 60 days – which isn’t bad, considering that 1/3 of self-published authors make less than $500 per year! The artist also has a lot of other interesting material in her collections on Tezos. Worth looking at.

Annie’s Bookshop has some interesting aspects – it’s a generative project, has a pretty detailed website, and it features AI-generated “books” created out of sentence snippets in five genres. Not a lot of apparent utility for authors looking for an outlet, but I’m on their Whitelist and will be interested to see how this one works out.


Minute #4: Recommended Reading

Here’s some additional material that’s worth reading if you have the time.

This isn’t an NFT Book, it’s a book about NFTs… creating, selling, and buying them. Sadly, it’s only a walkthrough of the basics – it will help you get an OpenSea account set up and lazy mint through that site, but it’s not going to help you create your own smart contract. Probably worth it if you’re brand new to the NFT Space, but if you’re already comfortable buying and selling NFTs, maybe not.

Then there’s this interview of author Elle Griffin by reporter Mark Helfman. Griffin explains why the traditional publishing model is broken for self-publishing authors and how she is using a unique approach to crowdfund her next novel by releasing successive chapters as individual NFTs, which will later grant their holders a royalty share in the completed novel. It’s worth reading – as is her own article about how and why she’s writing a story inspired by the Loot project.

NUMBER SIX

Minute #1: Links of Interest + Upcoming Events

Creatokia’s All About Blockchain <<< recording of the conference is here!

Update the Sitka World Discord invite link <<< this one doesn’t expire!

BookCoin has announced their Metalibrary Founder’s Card info at last! Mint date = 18-19 April 2022 for mint-list and 20 April 2022 for public. Mint price is 0.15 ETH with 777 cards available in this first drop. Instant mint-list with the purchase of a “Subtle Art” NFT (floor = 0.49 ETH as of 15 April 2022) or power-level the mint-list competition here with the “Secret Script” ALANWATTS. (Additional “Secret Scripts” can be found in each previous edition of the Minutes – check the archive here.) With mint-list able to obtain three cards and public able to mint five cards, I expect this item to sell out with good potential for the floor to rise, since tokens like this offered by other groups have been selling in the 0.25 ETH range lately.

Readl is hosting a Twitter Space featuring author Ava Lock and artist Inaki Diaz on April 20th. They'll discuss storytelling through videogames and novels, the stigma surrounding NFTs, and how Web3 adds value to the traditional reading experience.


Minute #2: The Importance of Inclusivity

In the BookCoin Discord last week, one of the members asked that the team reconsider using the term “whitelist” because it has problematic racial overtones. I would ask that folks reading this consider using “mint-list” in its place.

This is just one of the things that I’ve noticed regarding diversity and inclusion in these spaces. I’ve noticed that there is an implicit assumption to infer that ambiguous avatars / usernames are male, and I’ve noticed that not a lot is done to make things accessible for the visually impaired (i.e. alt-text for images, GIFs, etc…)

My recommendation is that we think hard about our language, assumptions, and what we can each do to make our shared spaces more inclusive and welcoming to all netizens.

Just something to think about as we work together to create the culture in this niche of Web3.


Minute #3: Credit Card Payments on OpenSea?

One of the current issues for authors in the NFT space is the fact that there are a lot of barriers for traditional readers to access your books.

The need to set up a wallet, obtain coins, etc. creates a higher barrier to entry than readers experience at Amazon or their local bookstore.

But OpenSea looks like they are about to start accepting credit cards for NFT purchases.

This is, in my opinion, an important step for making NFT Books go mainstream.

It’s worth noting that Creatokia already has credit cards as an option, and Readl is headed in that direction – and I believe this is a must-have functionality for all literary projects going forward.

Question for the devs – how hard would it be to make a mint portal with a credit-card purchase option?


Minute #4: Marketplaces

So far, I’ve considered OpenSea and Foundation (ETH) and OBKT (Tezos) as the major platforms for the independent primary / all sources secondary for blockchain books – but it looks like Solana is also a contender with SolSea.

While several organizations are either deploying their own coin or working off a “non-standard” coin, I think they should all be considering how their books will appear (or not) in the Amazon of NFT exchanges (i.e. OpenSea)


Minute #5: Recommended Reading / Listening

Here’s some additional material that’s worth reading (or listening to) if you have the time.

I’ve learned a lot from the incomparable Cozomo Medici – I highly recommend subscribing to their Medici Minutes for a more overarching perspective (from a top collector) of the NFT art space.

Two articles by Sebastian Park - Welcome to the Matrix and The Composability Fantasy

Podcast with Joanna Penn and J. Thorn on the Creative Potential of NFTs

A great post by SitkaWorld’s Rae Wojcik on why creators need Web3.

Number Seven

Minute #1: Recent Literary NFT Launches

The last couple of weeks have been a busy time for Book NFT launches – I’m going to highlight three of them here – all very different, all worth looking at.

BookCoin dropped its Founders Club cards, which were set for a 777 mint at 0.15 ETH… but low demand resulted in the mint being closed at 333 cards, with the rest reserved for a future re-opening of the mint. It will be interesting to see how this project delivers future value to HODLers. Notably, a rare card sold right away for 2 ETH – after that, the floor has settled around 0.19 ETH and volume has been light.

Transient Labs transformed Caitlin Cronenberg’s The Endings from a physical book of photographs to an NFT version – with 500 copies priced at 0.35 ETH. But the project opened flat, with just 28 copies minted and no secondary volume to date.

Finally, in contrast to these big-name, high expectation launches, I hold up in contrast my own Genesis project – an NFT adaptation of my 5-star short fiction Lethargica. It’s multi-media format features a short “book trailer” movie as the public-facing NFT – teasing the story without allowing the full book to be read without purchasing the NFT. Owners can unlock audiobook and written versions of the full story, and a portion of all profits goes to “Doctors Without Borders,” and to buying art from those who have bought a copy of the Lethargica NFT…

This project has outperformed my own expectations, with 10 percent of the First Edition copies sold at incrementally increasing prices – so far, the market has not showed price sensitivity between 0.01 – 0.02 ETH. This drop is the next step of my research project on how authors can best engage with Web3, and part of this includes experimentation to see just how to properly value NFT books – the Cronenberg example shows the dangers of putting too high a price on these pieces, even when they have celebrity backing.

Also, it’s worth noting that I have made more in sales after the first three copies sold on OpenSea than I did on Amazon Kindle in the last 10 years – and those early Web3 sales have covered the costs of professionally recording the audiobook version of the story, which is bundled with the NFT – but could also be released on Audible at a later date.

At this point, for indie authors, a well-designed lazy mint on OpenSea looks like a really great alternative to anything currently offered by the various organizations positioning themselves as Web3 publishers – but we will see what happens in the coming weeks!


Minute #2: What People Want

In preparing for my Genesis project, I did some polling across various Discord channels and Twitter to see what utility people were most interested in getting bundled with a literary NFT, besides great storytelling.

The answers in order were:

1. Royalty-sharing
2. Eligibility for airdrops
3. Mint-list for future projects
4. Charitable donations, and
5. Art collection from holders.

My personal perspective is that royalty-sharing is going to be an important feature going forward for artists working in this space, with Readl’s Universes being a very early example – so three guesses at why my own second NFT drop will be!


Minute #2: What Creators Need

In a word – community. I have been extremely impressed with the engagement of the $LIT community in supporting its artists (myself included) in their recent internally-driven #LITsupportLIT Twitter raid / rooftop party at Punk6529’s museum.

As noted in the first Minute, even big names can fall flat without the engagement of community – and certainly for artists and authors without a massive following, being an engaged and engaging member of Web3 communities is key to selling art and finding fans.


Minute #3: Recommended Reading / Listening

Here’s some additional material that’s worth reading if you have the time.

@vagobond puts out a Monday roll-up that’s worth a look - https://vagobond.com/category/books/

I’d also recommend following Elle Griffin on Twitter – and following her List of folks who are involved in Web3 publishing - https://twitter.com/i/lists/1503366643711324169 - if you ask her nicely, she might even add you to the list!

Finally, @Jonny_Stockholm and @LisaFerland3 have put together a great post on mirror.xyz (and a thread on Twitter) that are worth reading, in my opinion.

Last but not least, check out our friends from SitkaWorld being interviewed by Joanna Penn on her podcast!


Minute #4: Things to Watch this Week

I think we are going to see Readl start to take off now that they have opened up as a portal for publishing – apply here to get approved to publish!

And BookCoin is also asking authors to submit to be considered, as well as pursuing publishers. BookCoin is also teasing the idea of “Earn to Read” – so I’m really looking forward to seeing how this might play out.

And Alexandria Labs, which has been a bit quiet lately has just announced that Ken Liu will be coming on as an advisor! (Amelie Lasker, head of Alexandria Labs is also going to be speaking at NFT.NYC, which is a great sign both for her project and the Literary NFT niche in general!)

Number Eight

Minute #1: A Big Week in NFT Books

A lot of big news from Europe this week – Creatokia is the virtual host of Der deutsche Sachbuchpreis 2022The German Nonfiction Prize 2022 – and will be releasing “Digital Originals” of the nominated and winning books – all of which look like really interesting reads!

Readl has just released Version 1.6 of their UI, optimizing it better for mobile and adding support for MP4 and MP3 collectibles – which I find really exciting, as most of the short fiction pieces for my upcoming “Love & War” Universe contains both of those components!

They’ve also released a guide to help US Readl’ers get their hands on Moonriver (MOVR) which is still the coin of the Readl realm – although integrations with other crypto and fiat purchase options are planned for the future.

Additionally, Readl’s second Universe is dropping on June 1st – featuring Emanuele Giusto (@KantfishNews) an Italian multidisciplinary author who believes in the principles of the Renaissance… but what does he think about The Degenaissance?

Because the creator of what some consider to be the defining art piece of Web3, ɐʇɐɹ (@rata_yonqui) is collaborating with BookCoin to incorporate his unique artwork into – something. Soon. Making the biggest question this week not just “wen?” but “what?”

Additionally, BookCoin’s genesis project, Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck had a nice bounce in floor price linked to Manson’s appearance on the VeeCon stage.

And mark your Twitter Spaces calendar on the 26th of May for a discussion between two unique projects which I’ve been following since the beginning – Sitka World and Alexandria Labs.

Minute #2: Creatokia’s Showroom – a Web3 First!

Several projects have talked about bringing libraries to Web3, but Creatokia seems to have made the first substantive effort to actually do that with its “Showroom 01” – which features Creatokia literary originals alongside visual / audiovisual and 3D pieces. This exhibit represents a great “first step” – but as a co-curator, let me share some thoughts for creators.

First, VR venues like this have a great deal of potential to act as focal points for bringing the “NFT Books” community of readers, writers, publishers, artists, collectors and poets together – and it’s my hope to help showcase how this can be done.

But I’ve already noticed a drawback with the current implementation – at least in OnCyber.io (which, incidentally, is also where Punk6529’s “Museum District” of the Open Metaverse is deployed) – much of the utility of several of the leading literary NFTs isn’t accessible.

For example, if I hang a copy of $LIT’s “Project One” AKA Neil Strauss’s Survive All Apocalypses, visitors can only look at the cover art – they can’t “flip its pages” as they can on OpenSea – not even if they press “E” to interact further with the piece.

Items that use a video frontispiece – like my own Lethargica project, or the TIMEPieces cover that I currently have displayed do show the video, and some interactive audiovisual NFTs, like FLUF World: Thingies #9737 also seem to work – but curiously enough, even Creatokia’s own stained glass collectibles fail to provide the viewer with their full range of properties – WAV files are a key unlockable component of these lovely NFTs, but in the showroom, they, like several other works, are reduced to simple 2D art – a far cry from what a reader / audiophile might hope for.

That said, my experience was through my laptop computer – perhaps VR users are having a different, more holistic experience?

My challenge to Web3 literary NFT designers is to work with your developers – and those of the major platforms like OnCyber.io to make sure that your “Book NFT” isn’t reduced to a mere portrait when people interact with it in VR.

In a perfect world, especially under VR glasses, a person would be able to reach out, take the NFT, “read” it, or “listen” to it… A person on a laptop/mobile should be able to interact with it on the wall – flipping its pages or listening to the audio.

It’s early days, so I’m not complaining – just pointing out that it’s the words that separate Book NFTs from many other types – and that we as a collective need to make sure that those words are accessible to visitors to our VR showrooms, museums, libraries and galleries.

These are just my thoughts – what are yours? Feel free to drop me a line to @E_H_Carpenter and let me know… Or comment on my thread on this topic! (Re-Tweets are much appreciated!)

Minute #3: Project Updates

I'm still very bullish on $LIT – if you aren’t already a part of this organization, their next Project is dropping soon, and it’s not to late to “buy in” by picking up some or all of the following NFTs on secondary:
·       Project One – Survive All Apocalypses
·       The Degenaissance
·       Project Two – Flux
·       Project Two – Motion
·       Bonus: An Invitation to Kindness

The coin is also quite cheap – reflecting the market overall – and with ETH as cheap as it is, the “cash price” of the NFTs listed above is very reasonable – you can get into this for well under 0.75 ETH.

If you’re not a $LITizen yet, start by joining the Discord – and give me a shout in the chat, I’ll be happy to mentor you as needed!

In another update, SolType has partnered with SolanaPrime in order to build solid foundations for their planned token, $STYPE, as described in this article on Medium.

Number Nine

Minute #1: Two Alpha Opportunities

This week, readers of the Minutes have a unique opportunity - the first 25 people who purchase a copy of Lethargica will get a second copy airdropped to them that they can sell on secondary.

The floor is currently 0.02 ETH, but there is definitely a first-mover advantage as it rises to 0.03 soon. Also, primary buyers of this NFT will be airdropped another utility NFT shortly - one that will gift them with a percentage of 2022 NFT book sales… Don’t miss this opportunity, but do feel free to share it in your alpha channels.

The second item is DECA - this is a 2D gallery platform with a FREE MINT of its Octagon utility token. Here’s a link to get yours - and here is a set of galleries that show what you can do with this, particularly in the context of book NFTs.

I’m very bullish on DECA because it’s backed by Punk6529 and Cozomo, among others - and I think it’s going to really revolutionize the way that collectors connect with artists.


Minute #2: What’s Working in NFT Marketing

The best practice for independent authors right now is creating networks - I highly recommend joining the communities listed in Appendix One (below) and becoming active. I’m seeing people come in and very quickly rise to become mods / team members of organizations where they add value.

Additionally, my observation is that 90% of my NFT sales so far have come from people in my networks - not strangers.

Writing a great story is only the first step in being a successful author - most of the rest is marketing - and that’s just as true in Web3 as in traditional and self-publishing models. Look for me to write some long-form pieces on this in the near future.

Speaking of marketing, you need good tools - I think that DECA is an example of one, but I have found some others that I will share soon - ones that help you create moving pictures that are worth thousands of words in marketing your books / NFTs.


Minute #3: Three Ways to Get Paid this Week in Web3

  1. You can get a job! BookCoin is hiring for a Social Media / Content Management position.
  2. You can write to win! Sitka World and Heroic Story are offering a $100 bounty for the best 500 word submission in this writing contest.
  3. You can self-publish an NFT literary project - if you want a class on how to do this, DM me - @E_H_Carpenter

Bonus “4th Way” - build a time machine, go back a couple of weeks, and buy goblin anything when the floor was still low!


Minute #4: Listen to This, Read That…

I tuned into a great Twitter Space last night, and the recording is here. Hosted by StoryPrima DAO and Doug Thompson on story in the Metaverse - it’s well worth listening to!

Also, if you aren’t reading those other Minutes, you’re missing out! Literally. On some really good advice and alpha opportunities that transcend literary NFTs and speak to the wider crypto/NFT ecosystem.

GLOSSARY

Originally, I had included a glossary of terms, but MHOUSE has just released a dictionary which I believe is such a superior reference document that I've linked it here instead.

MHOUSE Dictionary - Defining Web3 Culture

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