Mike Mongo Launches InkShares Crowdfunding Campaign to Write New Astronaut Instruction Manual for Kids in Key West, Florida

The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Kids Lays Out Course to Become an Astronaut by the Year 2025 and Prepare for Careers in Space

By Robert Hoskins

Key West, Florida – Launching a campaign for his debut non-fiction space careers book, “The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens,” on web-based crowdfunding publishing platform Inkshares.com this week, professional space educator and self-described ‘astronaut teacher’ Mike Mongo is on a mission: to get your kids to space.

Mike Mongo Launches InkShares Crowdfunding Campaign to Write New Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens

“Being a native Floridian, I am a life-long advocate of space. When it comes to converting for space, I was practically born into the role, “ says 49-year old Mongo. “It is one of the reasons I became such a dedicated proponent of space careers to students.”

In addition to his role as Chief Brand & Culture Officer for interstellar space science advocacy non-profit, Icarus Interstellar, and being a popular speaker at space science conferences, Mongo is the Key West-based author of HUMANNAIRES! Mike Mongo’s Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens. After initially self-publishing, Mongo’s book has recently received a new burst of attention and activity from having been selected for crowdfunding by publishing startup Inkshares.com.

“Inkshares is a better model than traditional publishing,”said Adam Gomolin, Inkshares’ Chief Legal Officer, “one that is more remunerative for authors, and more sensibly disperses risk, but does not diminish quality.”

At Inkshares, books are selected by Inkshares editors and then prepared for crowdfunding. After a crowdfund campaign, the successfully funded books are then published for release and distribution in the general market.

“[Our] model allows us to gauge interest in a title and build a community around a book or piece of writing before it even hits the marketplace,” Gomolin explains, “It is like a traditional publishing house with all the editing, marketing and art support — the difference being the crowdfunding model and that our authors keep a lion share of their sales proceeds. In our opinion, everybody wins. And Mike Mongo’s Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens is a title all of us here at Inkshares are very excited about.”

Mongo says the time is right to encourage middle-school age students to pursue careers in in space. “The difference from when I grew up during the Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle eras, and today…is that today private industry is taking the space industry to unimagined heights. Companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, XCOR, and Bigelow Aerospace are tomorrow’s Apple and Google, they are tomorrow’s Hilton and Ford. These are real companies that already offer real jobs, and soon those jobs with be in space. ”

The crowdfund campaign kicked off this past week for The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens and has already achieved nearly 15% of its $10,000 goal. If the campaign reaches its financial goal by the campaign’s October 15th deadline, the book will then immediately be prepared for publication.

“It’s exciting,” says Mongo. “I became an astronaut teacher and wrote The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens when it dawned on me several years ago how, for me, astronaut was no longer a viable career option. That epiphany is the exact reason why I became an astronaut teacher and why I wrote the book. I want to make sure all the young students today who want to go to space realize that they genuinely do have the opportunity to live, work, and place in space…and maybe one of them will be so inspired by my book and they will remember and hold a seat for me to come along too!”

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Vertical Publishing Crowdfunding Platform, Pubslush.com, Helps Writers Raise Money to Fund Writing Projects

How to and Why Authors Should Crowdfund a Book

by Justine Schofield, Pubslush

 The digital age has brought about a rise in self-publishing. Writers now have access to the publishing tools and services that were once monopolized by traditional publishers. Equally as important, the Internet now provides authors with the means to connect with their audience and promote themselves and their books. No longer do writers need the backing of a publisher to make a name for themselves. All they need is Wi-Fi and a keyboard.

Pubslush: Crowdfunding to raise money for Books, Authors and Self-Publishers

As with all things, there are, however, disadvantages to self-publishing. The author incurs all the expenses of publishing, which can add up quickly. Most authors publish their book knowing that not only will they possibly not recoup their out of pocket expenses but they also may not generate a profit from sales.  It is a big financial risk for the self-publishing author. However, crowdfunding has introduced a solution to this problem and is quickly becoming the newest staples in the self-publisher’s toolbox. Now authors can not only promote and create their own books, they can fund them as well.

Crowdfunding is a way to fund great new ideas in all creative and business fields and authors are joining the ranks of those finding success in the crowdfunding industry. If an author is going to publish their book, the first step is building their author platform, i.e. connecting with and building their audience, making a name for themselves in the industry, etc. Once they’ve established themselves in the industry, they will need to start promoting their upcoming book. Here’s where crowdfunding enters the publishing equation.

Rather than creating a buzz around their book, authors can now create a buzz around their crowdfunding campaign, which will subsequently promote their book, too. By offering their book as a reward, authors can gain preorders while they’re raising funds. At the end of their campaign, they will have accumulated funds that they can use to publish without digging into their own pocket.

Crowdfunding is a great option for established authors, too. The crowdfunding industry is very up and coming and people get excited about supporting projects and being a part of the creation process. Conducting a crowdfunding campaign will give any author a badge of recognition and something that differentiates them from other authors. An author that has already found published success may choose to crowdfund for a cause, raising funds and garnering support for their book and donating a portion or all of the funds to a philanthropic organization. Plus, established authors can offer some really cool rewards, like meet and greets, signed copies of the book, or an invite to the book launch party. Win-win for everyone.

Although the big name platforms are getting a lot of attention, there are smaller, specialized platforms that cater to specific niches, like Pubslush, a global crowdfunding platform for books only. At Pubslush we work solely with writers, publishers, and other industry professionals. Our goal is to create a vibrant community where readers are the gatekeepers and writers are able to publish more successfully.

As a niche platform we are able to offer author-oriented tools, analytics, and support. We’re also able to offer other specialized features, such as our “Buy” button, that links to an author’s Amazon page once their book is published. We work hard on author education, so that no author launches an uninformed crowdfunding campaign. In addition, our author and publisher support team works closely with every campaign to ensure it’s as successful as possible.

For more information about crowdfunding for authors and publishers and to learn more about the specialized services Pubslush provides visit our site or send us an e-mail at hello@pubslush.com. We would love to hear from you!

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Justine Schofield is the development director of Pubslush, a global crowdfunding platform only for books. Authors can raise funds and gauge initial market viability for their book projects. Justine graduated from Emerson College in Boston, MA with a degree in Writing, Literature, and Publishing and is currently enrolled at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, earning her MFA in Creative Writing. She specializes in social media and public relations and in the past she has worked with growing companies to develop their online presence. Justine has become a prominent industry voice for educating authors and publishers about crowdfunding and her work has been featured on many online publications.

Arizona Attorney Publishes New Book on Equity Crowdfunding: “Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners

Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners now available from Amazon.com

By Robert Hoskins

Arizona Attorney Jonathan Frutkin of The Frutkin Law Firm recently published a new book about this new source of finance, known as “equity crowdfunding.” According to Frutkin, the same power of online funding will soon let local companies raise capital online – and more importantly, make customers into owners, increasing the market share of businesses that successfully leverage this new opportunity.

Jonathan Frutkin, CEO of Cricca Funding

The book, titled Equity Crowdfunding: Transforming Customers into Loyal Owners, provides insight into how business owners can turn their customers into loyal customers while raising money for their company. It is now available for print and digital purchase on Amazon.com.

“Equity crowdfunding is the single largest marketing opportunity for local businesses to transform mere customers into loyal owners,” Frutkin said when describing the concept. “By resetting the relationship between corporation and patron, the new rules for crowdfunding are going to fundamentally shift the way entrepreneurs think about both raising capital and creating long-term engagements with their customers.”

Interest in crowdfunding drastically increased after President Barack Obama signed the JOBS Act (Jumpstart our Business Startups) in 2012 legalizing equity crowdfunding, subject to new rules being agreed by regulators. A total of $2.7 billion was provided through crowdfunding by individual donors last year, according to reports by research firm Massolution — up 81% from 2011. This space is only going to heat up further when SEC rules for the JOBS Act are released this year, paving the way for equity crowdfunding.

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