A Consafo project is funded by advance sales of the book. Here is how it happens:

1. I outline the basic concept of a book.

2. The book concept is announced here and at Real Live Preacher. At this point we don’t accept money, but people can sign up to buy an advance copy.

3. Those who sign up to purchase an advance copy begin helping me make publication decisions about content, title, etc.

4. Once we have enough pledged purchases to cover the cost of the project, I send an email out and people begin buying their advance copies. In the case of the first Consafo project – Turtles All the Way Down – we needed 325 advance sales to pay for printing 2000 copies of the book. I start with pledges instead of purchases because I don’t want to take anyone’s money until I’m certain the project is viable.

Advance copies are sold at a discount. Buying an advance copy of the book gets you one share in that particular Consafo project. You can also earn shares by agreeing to edit one or more essays. Editing an essay is the same as purchasing an advance copy. Which means you earn a copy of the book for every essay edited as well. We’re talking about copy editing, fact checking, and editing according to an editorial philosophy that we’ll describe at the time. Only people with some editorial experience will do this.

5. Those with shares in the project vote to determine the content of the book and choose its title. 1 share=1 vote. Other decisions may be made by the group as well. The nature of these publishing decisions will be determined by the project.

6. The cover and layout are done by a professional, if advance sales provide the budget, or by a volunteer from the publishing team who has graphic and design experience.

7. Blurbs for the back cover also come from within the Consafo publishing group. No famous people allowed! Anyone with a share can submit a blurb. I did this for my Christmas book. All the blurbs were from people you’ve never heard of before.

9. The entire publishing team is named in the book as the editorial staff of Consafo for that project.

10. The book goes to print.

11. Those who bought advance copies get their copies of the book before they are shipped to anyone else.

10. The book is sold exclusively at RealLivePreacher.com. I might sell a box to a bookstore or two, if they asked. Maybe. Or maybe I’d refuse. First, I doubt any bookstore will ask. But if they did, they would expect to buy their books at 50% off the cover price. That’s fine if you’re a publisher and you have 5000 copies and are looking for publicity. I’m not trying to sell thousands of copies. I’d rather sell them slowly, over time, at my own website.