NFT PUBLISHING
The “Wild Sun Collective” is both an ephemeral and material exercise in neo-modern art curation. Uniquely formulated as the first literary publishing project leveraging extraordinary gains within the blockchain space alongside the unique distribution platforms for artistic collaborations produced by it. “Wild Sun” is a traditionally published series generating its own fan base through a budding literary galaxy. With a third installment within the “Wild Sun” universe, “Wild Sun: Mindchanger”, a novella, and the broader “Wild Sun Collective” will immediately bypass legacy publishing models and shift their existing modalities over the long term.
The eight hundred years of publishing, let alone storytelling, prior to this project are glaringly analog. The acceleration of digital immersion compels modern stories to focus on neo-modern sensibilities. For decades authors have mostly toiled to find publishers, value for their work and wide distribution tools. However, through the advent of NFT markets for digital art a new paradigm has created a path toward a new publishing avenue. This project will lay out a novel plan meant to bring artists/vision/readers and collectors together as a team in an immersive experience.
The “Wild Sun Collective” utilizes four novel mechanisms to create a fair and inspired environment:
Immersive Publishing (NFT)
Literary Fair Launch
Artists as Partners (fair royalties)
Novel Rights Transfer (NRT — blockchain)
Most consider storytelling to be an ancient practice spanning a vast set of mediums. As it pertains to literature, it was a Chinese treatise on agriculture and farming practices published in the 13th century that was the world’s first machine reproduced publication. It contained text and illustrations that were brought to life through a wooden movable type printing technology. Approximately two centuries later a metal printing press was developed in Germany, and it ushered in the mass printing revolution. Electronic devices represent the newest mode of publishing, however legacy publishing practices persist. Interestingly, with the democratization of publishing in the digital age we have seen fewer independent efforts maintain financial viability for authors. This historical jaunt is only to contextualize the breadth of this project’s scope now that physical impediments have been removed.
It is often the case that the objective experience of preceding generations continually distills itself as cultural phenomena for those succeeding. This is a reflection on why our traditions persist as truly durable artifacts. We have all become inured to artistic expression as “content” by larger producers/institutions. A new discourse can be crafted by artistry and not commoditized cultural sentiments.
Immersive publishing means no middlemen. Artists from every medium working side by side to build deep roots quickly and effectively into many collector bases. The “Wild Sun Collective” pulls artists from animation to graffiti to help visualize the characters/worlds/scenes and feel of the novel. Art will be sold as 1/1 digital items on the artist direct Ethereum based marketplace. Collectors will get a 1/1 art from the book, an e-reader version of the book and physical goods and experiences. The physical goods will include: first edition signed copies of the book, limited full color hard-bound coffee table art book and in some cases other goods. Experience and other goods may include “Wild Sun” memberships and NFT badges and meetings with authors and artists. It is a marriage that is long overdue.
As first movers, Immersive Publishing will be the precursor to a new wave of literary works. It is born of the more transient responsiveness burgeoning throughout our digital age. It is a lightweight vehicle crafted for projects such as ours. Gone is the bureaucratic heft of establishment intermediaries. We ought to consider and embrace the possibilities that abound in allowing a story to spill over its banks. We are authors soliciting collaborators across mediums without any limits except time. A literary work will be represented by a multitude of artists across mediums; the production process is short, accelerated and intended to encapsulate a collaborative zeitgeist between all artists.
Scarcity is not art. Neo-modern art collectors will have an opportunity to experience the vastness of the “Wild Sun” universe through all project offerings. Those interested in the cultivated micro zeitgeist will have an opportunity to purchase a piece intended for financial accessibility. It is an opportunity for the collective artists to allow inclusivity to outweigh more exclusive elements.
We will be publishing directly via OpenSea.io (blockchain goods marketplace), removing the middleman between the authors and the readers/collectors. This means the book can be sold at a fair price while a majority of the proceeds will be channeled directly back to the authors and artists to help fund future projects. In the current publishing space, it can be difficult for creators to be fairly compensated and for readers to find new works. The “Wild Sun Collective” addresses these challenges to create a better experience for both creators and consumers.
With smart contracts, all artists will receive payment for their works that far outpaces analog opportunities. The artists involved vary geographically and therefore, culturally. This project will yield a collaboration that spans multiple continents and styles with no true limits on how the “Wild Sun” universe impresses upon them. Now storytelling, initially born of a singular vision, becomes a creativity fractal. While each outgrowth is inextricably linked to the DNA of its source, it is re-born through the abstract kiln of the creative process unique to each artist. It is as much a meditation on publishing as it is on societal influence converging on artistic inclinations. All artists without commission create pieces and lift all others in the curation.
Like writers, artists often make low flat fees for cover art or art involved in promotions around a book. The “Wild Sun Collective” believes that to build a true experience you will need artists from all genres for the long term. To have partners instead of commissioned art. In this case a royalty percentage will be introduced to all artists working on the project. For the 1/Thousands (not yet set) a 2.5% royalty yield will be provided to each artist involved every quarter. This builds a healthy creative process and intimates viability while respecting each other’s work and talents.
4. Novel Rights Transfer (NRT)
Publishing and experiencing literary works have not evolved appreciably during the thousand years since its inception. Internet and social media are an amalgamated harbinger of a neo-modern society. There are three elements that yield to a current interplay of ephemeral and material taste making:
Democratize: The digital revolution ushered in a democratization of knowledge and technology across disciplines. This implies that institutions are no longer unilateral gatekeepers to our social experiment across cultures.
Decentralize: As a result of ubiquitous process knowledge and commoditized technologies we have undergone a transformation of access. Institutions innovate because of independent and micro-competitors. These accelerants open the door to innovation and interestingly, hastening decay of legacy models.
Destabilize: The “Wild Sun Collective” is an attempt to usher in Immersive Publishing for all succeeding authors. Literary works will have the opportunity to come to life at a speed and size never before seen.
Publishing and associated rights (like film) typically belong to a publisher. Authors have little to no control over how much they receive for rights (if anything). This will be the first time in history that rights (both publishing and film/movie) to a novel in an established/published series have ever been sold directly via a blockchain transaction as an NFT. The “Wild Sun Collective” will set the standard for a new paradigm in publishing and other immersive experiences.