The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption

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Twenty five year old ChineseTaiwanese-American author Tao Lin is offering 60% of the US royalties of his forthcoming untitled second novel as shares (via Freakonomics) –

I am selling 6 shares (each of 10% of the U.S. royalties of my second novel) for $2000 per share. This includes all U.S. serial, reprint, textbook, and film (and other performance) royalties.

Shareholders will receive checks (and copies of the royalty statement from my publisher) in the mail every 6 months after the book’s publication (probably Fall, 2009 or Spring 2010). Shares can be resold at any price at any time, I will facilitate trading and promote it on my blog if that is what a shareholder wants.

Based on sales of my first novel I project sales of my second novel to be ~13000 after 24 months (if there isn’t more mainstream attention than with my first novel). If there is more mainstream attention sales will be “considerably higher” I think. Regardless of the amount of mainstream attention that happens I believe that in the long term sales will remain steady and that my second novel will remain in print.

I think shareholders should, at worst, expect to begin making a profit on their investment within 32-40 months, after which they will make profits every 6 months for the rest of their lives without having to do anything.

I quit my job, my last day is in two weeks. People who buy shares will “actually” help me focus more on the novel. I “actually” will work better on my second novel, the way the novel is right now, if I have no obligations or responsibilities at all.

I think this is another thing people can talk about in terms of me and will “in itself” “increase sales” in the long term. If anyone buys shares they will have concrete motivation to promote me and that also will increase sales

I also feel it is “funny” “just to do this offer” which makes me view it like any other “funny” thing I might do in that I feel that something “has already been accomplished” just by making this offer, even if no one buys shares and people “think I’m retarded.”

I am almost tempted to buy the shares myself. It would be a fun thing to do, for the sheer quirkiness quotient of it.

By the way, if I offered 5 shares of 10% of the worldwide revenues of ‘The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption’ for Rs. 100000 each, would anybody be interested?