I am nearly ready to start The Ends of Britain, my planned new series on the big issues facing Britain. Having started two weeks ago with a target of 25 backers, I have found 21, so need just four more by the end of today. You can find out more and back the project here.
There’s more explanation of my plans in previous posts on this site, here and here. I also provided some answers to questions from my old friend Ben Whitelaw last week. One answer, which he pulled out in a headline, sums up why this project excites me:
In many ways I would rather have relatively few committed readers, who have a stake through paying for access and who will therefore tell me what they think and want, than lots of casual, anonymous ones.
And, along the same lines:
The great thing about self-publishing is that your readers are your clients – the relationship is a direct one, and it leads to much more interaction than writing for a publication. Writing and publishing Card declined, on the story of Britain and ID cards, led to some great email conversations and an evening discussing the issue with 40 digital rights activists crammed into the upstairs room of pub. It also means you can write about what you’re passionate about, rather than what you can get commissioned.
If you subscribe and this goes ahead, you will get access to everything published on Beacon by 60+ writers, including my weekly series on the future of Britain, for $5 a month. So sign up today – and in this case, that means today as the fundraising closes at midnight GMT. Let’s not have this turning into a pumpkin…