[wolfrom]

Have you spent any time at places like http://www.fanfiction.net/ ?

My wife is always saying that there are many authors on there that ought to focus on getting non-derivative work published (if they aren't already).

I imagine authors could use pseudonyms for their fundraising?

[AmberShah]

A few more suggestions I thought of:

literotica.com is similar to fanfiction.net except focused on erotica and some crossover into romance or other. Some of the authors there have published their stuff (from the site and otherwise) through regular publishers. I have personally polled certain author's profile waiting for the next installment of a novella, and since they are doing it on the side (for free) it can take awhile. That is what I first thought of when I read about storyfunded, that these authors could use that to get some $$ to write the stories, and thus justify spending the time to write the stories (the money made selling it after the fact would just be gravy)

In case you haven't heard of it, Absolute Write is a really popular forum for writers (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php) And of course, all these writers are readers and they are already into the community-support spirit since they are on a forum. If I were you, I'd totally take out an ad on there and/or get active on their forum (not spamming, of course, just providing help with your site in your signature)

I signed up as an author and the email I got said samples should be 10 pages. This seems like a lot. Of course, some could be that long, but it seems odd to make that the average. Not just as a writer, but as a reader, I am not going to take the time to get invested in a story 10 pages worth when I know there is nothing coming. Unless you do partial chapter releases? That would be cool. Not sure if you've heard of it, but Dear Author has a "First Page Saturdays" where they, obviously, provide the first page of a novel and people can critique or whatever. It's pretty easy to decide whether you'd keep reading from just that much alone (try it and see: http://dearauthor.com/category/features/first-page-features/) and btw, I'd have funded a couple of those myself...

[jeromec]

This is fantastic advice. Thanks a lot! :)

I will definitely look into literotica.com, and absolutewrite.com. I have noticed romance novels seem to be quite popular on writing sites.

As for posting around 10 pages, we certainly will be looking to find the optimum number of pages to post. I agree posting even fewer pages may suffice. However, some contribution levels will be $5, $10, or higher. We feel people donating higher amounts will want to see a little more of the story's direction. We do allow authors to release and edit writing as they see fit. Ultimately, the amount posted and read is determined by authors and readers, not us.

Again, this is all excellent advice. Thanks!

[jeromec]

Funny you should mention that. Just today I sent a message like that to the author of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, which many people (including myself) really seem to like. Now that you mention it, I may have to spend more time on fanfiction.net. Authors must own the copyright on their work so they would have to create something original, but that shouldn't be a problem for such creative types.

Yes, authors can use pseudonyms, initials, etc. for their pen name.