These are the original FAQ that I used when I launched the project. Now that the project is complete, and the book has been published, a lot of these questions are no longer really relevant. However, I've left them up as I thought that they provided a nice guide to what the project was, and what my original intentions were when I launched the project. In relation to FAQ number 4, please note that it is NO LONGER POSSIBLE to buy a word.
3) Where did you get the idea?
6) Will my contribution be acknowledged?
7) Why do I have to pay for my word?
8) What happens if my word isn't used?
9) Are there any restrictions on the words I can submit?
10) What word should I choose?
11) What happens if two people choose the same word?
12) Can I buy more than one word?
14) What will happen if you don't sell all ten thousand words?
15) What kind of story will you write with the words?
16) What will happen when you've finished writing the book?
17) Will the book actually be any good?
18) Are there any legal points I should be aware of?
19) I'm a literary agent or publisher, and I was wondering if you're looking for representation?
20) Where did you get your website made?
My name's Chris Baker and I'm the person coordinating this project. If you'd like to find out more about me, check out the "About Me" page. If you'd like to read some of my earlier work, take a look at the "My Writing" page.
The internet has changed the world around us; things which would never have been possible just a few years ago are now easy. Where in the past a collaborative project involving as many as ten thousand people from all over the world would have been a logistical nightmare, now it is perfectly possible. This is a real opportunity to do something unique, something that has never been done before, and that excites me.
I do, however, have an ulterior motive as well! Like many people out there, I'd love to be an author. The sheer number of aspiring authors, and the competition in the bookshops, means that publishers are reluctant to take on new authors unless they are certain that their books will sell. It's my hope that through this project I can raise my profile, get my work seen by a few more people, and hopefully generate some interest from the publishing industry (if you're a publisher or agent and would like to get in touch, please see the "Contact Me" page!).
I first had the idea when I was reading an article about an initiative launched by "The Art Fund" to raise the money to buy a painting by Turner (see here for more details). Basically, they divided the painting up into pixels and sold them at £5 each, in the end raising £522,000: enough to keep the painting in the UK. Suddenly a thought just flashed into my head:
"Would it be possible to do something like that with words?"
My thoughts immediately turned to the million dollar homepage, an idea that I had long admired as brilliantly simple and brilliantly effective. From there the idea was born and, although it needed some adjustments to make it useable, this website was the result.
Yes! I want a word is open to absolutely anyone and everyone, although you will need a credit/debit card or a paypal account to complete the purchase. To buy a word simply click on the "buy a word" button on the home page, which will direct you to page operated by paypal, a secure website that will process the payment for you. After filling in your payment details, but before confirming your payment, you will be asked to input your choice of word(s). After confirming your payment, you'll be directed back to the site: it's as simple as that!
You, the contributors, will get the chance to see your words feature in a proper novel. Moreover, you will have contributed to what could be the world's biggest ever literary collaboration. If you choose to, you can also have your name displayed alongside your word on the website.
Yes! All contributors can choose to
have their name displayed alongside their choice of word on the website, and
everybody will also be acknowledged in the final book. In the electronic version
of the book I plan to have each of the contributed words linking to the relevant
name. The paper version is going to be a bit more difficult to organise and I
haven't yet decided how I'll do it, but I will somehow (any suggestions, let me
know!).
I've also been asked if people are allowed to submit their web address instead
of their name for display on the website/in the final book. The answer is yes,
that's absolutely fine. However, I won't accept web addresses for any sites that
contain adult material, hate, promotion of any illegal activity or anything else
that is likely to be widely regarded as offensive. If you're not sure whether
your proposed site falls into one of these categories, send me the link before
you buy your word and I'll let you know if it's ok. You should also bear in mind
the conditions for word choice set out in FAQ 9.
There are two reasons why I decided
to charge for words rather than just giving them away for free. The first is
that I wanted to make enough money to cover the costs of running the website,
and the project generally. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I wanted to make
sure that people think carefully about their choice before they submit a word.
If the words had been free, I was concerned that people would just have
submitted the first thing that came into their head, rather then giving it their
full thought. Hopefully, the result should be a more interesting book!
Now obviously, if I do sell all ten thousand words I'll receive far more money
than it will have cost to run the website etc. At the moment, such a result
seems quite unlikely, but in the event that it does happen I plan to give any
money that I make to my dad: he's the one who's given me the support and
encouragement to get the project up and running, so I think that he deserves it!
Several people have asked what happens if their word isn't used, or if the final book isn't completed. I'd like to make it clear now that I fully intend that every word will be used, and that the book will be completed. However, I have to admit that there is always the possibility that, somewhere along the line, something might go wrong. So, I am offering a full guarantee: if, for any reason, your word is not included in the final book, or the final book is not completed, you will be entitled to a complete refund. For the purpose of this I'm going to say that if the book has not been finished by the end of 2011, it will count as 'not completed' and all contributors will be entitled to a full refund. In reality, I hope to have the book completed substantially earlier than the end of 2011, but I thought it would be wise to allow a little extra time in case of any unforeseen problems.
I really want to make the project as expansive as possible, but there are a few restrictions that I'm going to have to introduce if it's going to be at all practical:
Words must be real, English words, or foreign words that are commonly understood by English speakers (so, for example, 'bonjour' would be ok, 'chien' would not). Basically, if it's not in the Oxford English Dictionary, and I don't know what it means, it won't make it in (and it's no good e-mailing me to tell me what it means, the book is intended to be read by many other people who won't have received your e-mail).
Proper nouns are fine.
Web addresses and e-mail addresses are not permitted.
Anything that breaches copyright law is not permitted.
I also reserve the right to exclude any word. I really, really hope not to have to do this, but this is just to cover my back in case anyone thinks of something I haven't thought of that will ruin the book.
Well, that's entirely up to you (subject to the above conditions). But, bear in mind that there are going to be 9,999 other words that are submitted to the project. If you want to be able to find your word in the book, it makes sense to choose something that nobody else will have chosen. You might also want to think about what kind of words help to make a good story. For example, it might seem fun to have your name in the book, but if the list just consists of 10,000 names, it's going to be a pretty dull book! The word you suggest might also have a big impact on the story itself. If you choose the word "murder", that could point me in the direction of a detective story (although it could also point me in a totally different direction!).
If two people choose the same word, then I will make sure that that word is used at least twice. If three people choose the same word, it'll be used at least three times, and so on.
Yes, you can buy as many words as you like. Within the paypal payment page you will be asked to input the quantity of words that you would like to buy. The default number is one, but you can choose to purchase as many as you like. After you have entered your payment details, but before you confirm your payment, you will be asked to input your choice of word(s). There is nothing to stop you inputting more words than you have paid for, so I am relying on people to play by the rules and only enter the number of words that they have paid for. If you do enter more words than you have paid for, I will accept the words in the order they are entered, stopping after the number of words paid for has been reached. Similarly, if anybody tries to spam the project by deliberately submitting the same words hundreds of times, only the first submission will be accepted (and no refund will be given!).
A typical novel consists of something in the region of 70-100,000 words. It would have been possible to sell, say, 100,000 words but it seemed to me pretty unlikely that anyone would contribute words like "and", "the" or "it", so I needed to allow some space to fit in all the important but unexciting words. Also, I had to allow myself some breathing room to be able to fit the words submitted into a story.
If I haven't sold all ten thousand words by the end of 2008, I will close the project to new submissions and begin to write the book.
At the moment, I really have absolutely no idea: it depends completely on the words that are submitted by you. Once people begin to submit words I will start to give it some thought, and try and build up an outline based on the words that are coming in. The final details really won't be decided until all the words are in.
Once the book is finished, I will make it available as a free pdf ebook from this site. It will also be published as a conventional, paper, book. Hopefully it'll be be picked up by a publisher and made available through your local bookshop. If no publishers are interested, I will publish it myself and make the printed version available online. If you want to be notified when the book is released, you can sign up for e-mail notification on the front page of this site.
I hope so, and I will do my utmost to make sure that it is. If you want to assess my ability as a writer, you can read some of my previous writing here. It important to note, however, that the final quality of the book will depend to some extent on the words that are submitted.
There are a couple:
Firstly, you should be aware that you are not actually buying a word, you are buying the right to choose a word for inclusion in a future book.
Secondly, the copyright to any book produced as a result of this project will be owned entirely by Chris Baker. By submitting a word to the project, you will not obtain any ownership of the resulting book, and you will not be entitled to any share of any future profits made through the sale of the book.
Yes I am! If you're interested then please get in touch via one of the methods listed on the "Contact Me" page.
I actually designed and made the website myself. I got my web hosting from a company called 'Lunar Pages' - they've done a really good job so far, and if you're looking to get your own site hosted, I'd thoroughly recommend them. To find out more about Lunar Pages, click on this link.
© 2007-2012 Christopher M. Baker