August 2014

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August 2014

How on Earth Update

image credit: Michael Baird

Dear Patient Supporters,

As promised, here is another exclusive update on the How on Earth book project.

Our Strategy

We’d like to explain a little more about what we’re actually doing with How on Earth and how we’re doing it, in order to give you a bird’s eye view of the project.

Here’s a short list of the main tasks on which we’ve been focusing:
designing the Not-for-Profit (NFP) World economic model
conducting research and collecting data to support and refine our model
writing a world-changing book about the model
creating a website platform to enable and empower readers to put the ideas into practice
setting up avenues for publishing, distribution and printing
writing articles about the NFP World model to be published by other organizations
giving talks and getting feedback on the model
promoting the book and ideas whenever we get a chance
sourcing funds to further support all of the above
Creating momentum and enthusiasm around the book before we publish it is central to our strategy.  Every successful book has a lot more to it than just the writing, and many good books never get the attention they deserve because the authors fail to put enough energy into promoting their work.  We’re working hard to give How on Earth the inevitability of success we know it needs in order to make big ripples all over the world, developing relationships with key “influencers” in the media and public.

In the process of putting together How on Earth, we’ve been as open to feedback and new data as possible.  As a result, it’s been an incredible learning journey so far but also, like any good journey, much longer than we had anticipated.  We are still discovering new information that supports the Not-for-Profit World model in ways that we feel compelled to include in the book. We also keep learning from discussions and critiques of our ideas about ways to improve the model. The positive outcome of this is that every new bit of data and every discussion we have with a skeptic proves to us even more that this model really can work.
This is exciting, but we realize that in order for it to really gain traction, we must make the NFP World model as resilient as possible to anticipated criticisms. It has to be presented in such a strong, bold way that even its harshest critics won’t be able simply dismiss it.

New Publishing Date

We know you are eagerly awaiting the final product and are curious about when the book will finally arrive at your doorstep.

We feel it’s best to aim for publishing the book in April/May 2015.  We understand that this may be disappointing to some of you, as we have yet again pushed back the publishing date.  Having worked on this project for more than three years, you can imagine how eager we are to get this book out there as soon as possible too!  However, for this book – and your contribution to supporting it – to have its greatest impact, we’re making sure we ‘get it right’ the first time, rather than scrambling to update an edition because we hastily published before we were ready.

We understand that by the time we send out the book, your address may have changed. We’ll check in before then to confirm your address and ensure that your books reach you.
It’s worth remembering that it’s not just a book that you’ve funded; you’re supporting the development of a healthy, sustainable economy.  In backing this project, you have had the foresight to support the emergence of a new stage in our economic evolution.

Publishing and Distribution Contracts

We are happy to tell you that we have officially set up Post Growth Publishing with Bowker, so we are now able to self-publish How on Earth.

As far as distribution goes, we have signed contracts for North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand withChelsea Green Publishing.

We are also in the process of signing a contract with Next Culture, an organization that’s eager to translate the book into German and distribute it throughout Germany.  If any of you, or an organization you are involved with, would be interested in translating the book and/or distributing it in a particular country, please do contact us.

Donnie’s Speaking Tour in the United Kingdom

As mentioned above, we’ve been focusing a lot on getting the word out about How on Earth.  The next big step is Donnie’s UK Speaking Tour, September 12- October 6. You can see the tentative schedulehere.  Donnie will be presenting, discussing and exploring the Not-for-Profit World economic model all over the UK. We hope this provides a chance to meet those of you who reside in the UK.  Even if you can’t make it, please help us spread the word about the How on Earth UK speaking tour.

Also, keep an eye out in early September for our upcoming article about the Not-for-Profit World model in The Guardian newspaper, as part of our promotion in leading up to the tour.
A huge “Thank you!” goes out to Gudrun Freese for helping set up all of this up and for all her hard work on the publicity front!

Jen Will Present at the Degrowth Conference in Leipzig, Germany

Jen will also be presenting the NFP World model at the Degrowth Conference in Leipzig, Germany, September 2-7. It will be the topic of a Group Assembly Process about social economy, which will allow for a thorough group discussion about the model over the course of three days.  This process will provide invaluable feedback that will further improve the model.

That’s all our news for now.  Thank you so much for joining us on this journey to a better world for all!  And we look forward to keeping you updated on our progress in the coming months.

Sincerely,
Donnie, Jen, Fernanda, Sarah, and Michelle